Travel to St. Louis, MO

[aeskewes]

I will be in St. Louis around Day 20 of my Whole30.  Is anyone from the area that has good suggestions on compliant food options?  I know Chipotle is a good choice but I would love to spice it up. I'm doing an AirBnB, so I could theoretically shop and cook my own meals, but I would love to go out to a restaurant that has compliant options.  I tried to Yelp Whole 30 St. Louis but nothing turned up.

 

[AKM]

Have you ever tried Panera? Here in STL, it's still St. Louis Bread Company to us, and they're pretty big on their clean-ingredient commitment so I would assume that their food is compliant.

https://www.panerabread.com/content/dam/panerabread/documents/panera-no-no-list-05-2015.pdf

[ShannonM816]

1 hour ago, AKM said:

Have you ever tried Panera? Here in STL, it's still St. Louis Bread Company to us, and they're pretty big on their clean-ingredient commitment so I would assume that their food is compliant.

https://www.panerabread.com/content/dam/panerabread/documents/panera-no-no-list-05-2015.pdf

Don't assume that, about Panera or any other restaurant.

Salad dressings can have sweeteners in them -- they may use honey or maple syrup, but that's still sweeteners and not allowed. Meats can be marinated in marinades containing soy or sweeteners. Mayo can have soy or sweeteners in it. Panera's website is pretty helpful, and if you click on individual menu items, it does show detailed ingredients, so it is possible that you could figure out what to order that would be totally compliant, but you would have to do your research, and frankly, while I enjoy Panera, I'm not sure their food is worth that kind of trouble, if there are other options.

@aeskewes, I've never been to St. Louis, so I can't give you specific restaurants, but a few general suggestions. First, google St. Louis Paleo and see if anything comes up. Not all paleo is Whole30, but it's a good start, and if they cater to a paleo crowd, they will likely be familiar with Whole30, and used to having people ask questions and make special requests. If you can't find specifically paleo restaurants, maybe look for farm to table restaurants, or steak places. Either of those might be easier to come up with compliant options than just general restaurants. Once you've found a restaurant or two that looks like it might be a good possibility, look for their website and see if they list ingredients. If they don't, but they do have a menu online, pick a few possible dishes that look like they might be compliant, and call the restaurant sometime, not during their lunch or dinner rush, and ask, so that you know before hand what to order and what to specify when you get there. You can ask the questions at the restaurant as you order, but most people prefer not to do that, so calling first saves you some time and trouble once you're there.

Here's a download with general tips on dining out.  Hopefully some other folks from the area can give you more specific feedback on restaurants before you head out there.

[aeskewes]

Thanks! I made a quick start into some St. Louis restaurants by looking up Paleo. I also found a Paleo/Primal Meetup and am hoping to find a few suggestions there.

[J9er]

On 1/2/2017 at 11:03 PM, AKM said:

Have you ever tried Panera? Here in STL, it's still St. Louis Bread Company to us, and they're pretty big on their clean-ingredient commitment so I would assume that their food is compliant.

https://www.panerabread.com/content/dam/panerabread/documents/panera-no-no-list-05-2015.pdf

The only thing I was ever able to to find at Panera was plain salad greens and a whole apple (I brought my own chicken and dressing).

[aeskewes]

Just wanted to follow up to my own thread in case anyone else is traveling to St. Louis! I stayed at an AirBnB place that had a kitchenette, so I was able to reheat breakfasty items that I brought with me.

The HotPot (or SymBowl - I think they are rebranding): this place was amazing! They have a specific menu with what is Whole30 approved.  It is a little ways out of the city in Kirkwood, but it was totally worth it.  I got pork, "raked through the garden", with poblano pesto and lemon sauce, zucchini noodles, with a fried egg on top.  There are a ton of other combinations that would make this a fun place to eat.

Lona's Lil Eats - I created my own plate.  with sauteed shrimp, chopped salad mix, smoked vinegarette (only compliant sauce), and stir fried veggies.  I would recommend getting another portion of protein because I was hungry by like 4:00 pm.

The Block, Central West End - This place butchers their own meat on site.  The hostess/manager who sat us was currently on Whole30 and she was able to recommend items that would be compliant.  I got a bunless burger and tried to mash that together with a fried egg sandwich which had a fried egg, portabello mushroom and roasted red peppers.  I would recommend asking for lettuce to go under the burger because it felt like it was missing vegetables.

I went to another place that was definitely not easy to eat Whole30 - I got a salad with Smoked Chicken.  It was good but too many other temptations in that restaurant.  

Lots of Chipotle's in St. Louis as a back up too!

[Chiara Sul]

Hi, I am a St. Louisan doing a whole30 right now, and just wanted to share about a good experience I had with a restaurant named Rosalita's. I reached out to the restaurant via their website asking about what ingredients are in certain dishes (so I could find something whole30 compliant since I am going to a family dinner there in a few days).They were very nice and answered all my questions and said if I had anymore questions when I visit to just ask for a manager when I am there and they would be happy to prepare something special for me based on my dietary restrictions. Also, thus far in my research/conversation  I found the cauliflower rice bowl is compliant as long as you ask for it without the black beans (as always check for yourself upon going though). Just a tip for any St. Louisans or St. Louis visitors.