Union Loafers loafs its way to the final spot on the top 10

Union Loafers

Loafs its way to secure final spot on the top 10

In the summer of 2016,  I waited nearly two hours to try Union Loafers Pizza. At that time, they  limited their pizza nights to only one night per week: Wednesdays. The pizza was amazing, but can a place that focuses on things other than pizza occupy a spot on stlpizzaguy’s top 10 list? After eating here three times in one month in 2018, the answer is YES.

Union Loafers now serves their 18-inch, Roman-style pizzas Wednesday through Saturdays for dinner. They advertise as a cafe and bread bakery in the Botanical Heights neighborhood “serving naturally leavened breads modeled on old-world techniques.” But what brings in the crowds, hysteria, and packs their restaurant on the weekends is the pizza.

The 18' Sausage Pizza

Stlpizzaguy finally decided on Union Loafers to finish his top 10 St. Louis Pizzas. He is pictured here with sausage pizza. 

THE PIZZA DETAILS: 

Roman pizza is similar to Neapolitan style pizza, but it is considerably less regulated. Roman dough is generally made with flour, water, yeast, salt, and olive oil. The addition of olive oil is crucial because it allows the dough to be hand-stretched out wide and thin. Roman pizza dough often uses a tougher wheat as well, so the crust does not lose its chewiness.

CRUST: The crust is thin, but sturdy. The end-crust is prominent, charred and well-risen. The entire crust is baked darker than most pizzas. The pizza is well done, but not burnt. 

THE SAUCE: A sweet tomato sauce with very small tomato chunks.

CHEESE: Mozzarella cheese used somewhat sparingly, so that cheese does not overwhelm the pizza.

"These three elements added together  is really what makes Union loafers great: the large slices, the well-done crust, and the sweet, slightly chunky tomato sauce."

The owners of Union Loafers named their cafe after a classic Abbott and Costello routine. Bud Abbott has a new job baking bread and calls it "loafing." Costello mistakes "loafing" for being lazy, and he becomes more perplexed when he is told that he has to join a union in order to "loaf."

Besides the creative name, their pizza made with high hydration, naturally leavened bread, baked dark, makes for a very tasty pizza. Their cafe is minimalistic, yet modern. Edison light bulbs hang from the ceiling. The indoors seats a total of 50 people with a dimly lit bar that seats 16 people.

Their most popular pizzas on the menu are the pepperoni pizza and the spinach and bacon pizza.

A COUPLE TIPS:  Arrive with your dinner guests in agreement on their pizza selection. Union Loafers does not do half-and-half pizzas. Also, take advantage of the Nowait app to save some time.

Union Loafers is located at 1629 Tower Grove Ave. St. Louis Mo. 63110

SHOUT OUTS: I want to give a special shout out to the New Wentzvillian on Facebook who supported Stlpizzaguy in January by sharing his Imo's Pizza Post, propelling it to almost 10,000 views.