St. Louis Magazine – July 2019

ĕĐ stlmag.com July 2019 Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

TASTE SECOND HELPING

 N

O MATTER WHAT time you

come into Liliana’s Italian

Kitchen, you’ll find diners

twirling forkfuls of tomato-

sauced noodles, folding slices of piping-hot

pizza, and devouring meaty sandwiches.

You might also see a few people waiting

for to-go orders by the deli case or at the

takeout window. It’s impressive, consider-

ing that Liliana’s remains open between

traditional lunch and dinner hours. The

Italian-American restaurant hasn’t been

open a year, but neighborhood diners

know a good thing when they see it.

The 75-seat interior is painted marinara

red and decorated with black-and-white

photos of the Rat Pack. Empty double

magnums of Chianti line a wall that sep-

arates the dining room and bar area. Twin-

kle lights are strung around the windows,

and a large chalkboard lists daily specials.

Sinatra plays softly in the background.

Like everything served at Liliana’s,

starters are generous. Ethereal wisps

of fried spinach top the fried calamari.

Crispy-skinned chicken wings are coated

in a blanket of shaved Parmesan and

served with aioli. Bruschetta are laden

with goat cheese and bacon and balanced

with arugula, roasted red pep-

pers, and balsamic.

Pastas are old-school clas-

sics: meat or eggplant lasa-

gna, cannelloni, beef ravioli.

The garlic shrimp rigatoni

with roasted red peppers, fried

spinach, tender shrimp, and a

light cream sauce is particu-

larly noteworthy. The meat-

laden sauce on the enormously

portioned spaghetti and meat-

Italiano

pizza with

Volpi salami

and pastrami

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balls adds a satisfying texture

and a surprising amount of flavor.

St. Louis–style pizza crusts are

custom-made, with a chew more

substantial than that of the stan-

dard cracker crust. Liliana’s 20 avail-

able toppings, including white ancho-

vies, garlic shrimp, salami, fried spinach,

and giardiniera, go a step beyond the

average pepperoni. The restau-

rant offers six specialty pizzas,

including the Italiano, which is

dressed with pastrami, crispy

bacon, mozzarella, roasted red

peppers, and arugula.

Many of the 16-plus sand-

wiches are named after Sopra-

nos characters. The meats are

all slow-roasted in house. Lili-

ana’s motto could be “Less Is

Not More,” and that’s espe-

cially true of the sandwiches. The

Adriana, for example, combines

roasted turkey and pastrami with

bacon, Provolone, arugula, vege-

tables, and aioli. The Don is piled

with roast beef and turkey, pastrami,

bacon, giardiniera, Provolone, and aioli.

Desserts include baked goods from

McArthur’s and gelato imported from

New York, but save room for the house-

made tiramisu, rich and velvety thanks

to the mascarpone-enriched cream and

soft espresso-bathed cake. (Tip: Order it

first, because it often sells out quickly.)

Although an especially smug diner

might find the decor passé, the strip mall

location garish, and the St. Louis–style

house salad unhip, there’s nothing pedes-

trian about satisfying food prepared with

sincerity and care, which is exactly what

Liliana’s dishes up every day.

Nonna-Approved

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BY HOLLY FANN

Liliana's Italian

Kitchen

11836 Tesson Ferry

314-729-1800

lilianasitalian

kitchen.com