At a certain point you have to say what’s a pizza and what’s not. You could argue whether, in sandwiches, a wrap, a pita pocket, a burrito that is Mexican in shape only, 2 pancakes with something between them, etc., are actually sandwiches. Yes, technically–but (especially for the last 2) not really. No.

In that same way, Imo’s is kind of tasty if you’re not comparing it too closely with actual pizza.
It’s good in a class by itself, sort of in the same way that Kraft Dinner is “cheesy” and Velveeta and other “processed cheese foods” are authentic to themselves, and (to some people) yummy in their own right–but in no way do they resemble the real thing. They don’t need to; in fact it’s when you compare that they look nasty. Do pizza-flavored potato chips taste like pizza? Yes and no. I really love Kraft dinner as a total comforting junk childhood-memory indulgence, but when I think of cooking some macaroni and cheese, it never crosses my mind. Different category!

Imo’s IS a cracker with topping–what else IS an ultra-thin, baked or toasted, dry, crunchy, brittle, grain-flour-based non-risen bread product, but the very definition of “cracker”? The topping is very thin, so it could be argued it is just a flavoring, a condiment to the cracker…The too-salty, gooey Italian-style “Velveeta” is tasty, too, if you think of it as just that: Provel, though it contains real cheese, is very pricey “processed multi-cheese food”, rather than actual cheese. Thought of that way, it becomes nicely smokey-tasting, non-stretchy, non-chewy ” cheese food”—although in a quantity I’d consider, again, only a condiment.

So, the ingredients are (honestly) pretty good, if you’re not expecting : bread, cheese, any quantity of sauce, or vegetables other than condiments. (They do pile on the olives sometimes–a variable bonus.) There’s enough meat for the meat-eaters, but not the meat-lovers, and the vegetables are mere shreds, thinly scattered and cooked to the shriveled what-is-that-meant-to-be? stage. It wouldn’t matter if they were fresh or not–there are too few and they’re too tiny to taste the difference. What they do add that is often lacking in St. Louis pizza is seasoning in the (too-scanty) sauce–it really helps.

Talayna’s would be great, but the pizza is all but lacking sauce, it’s so thinly applied, and watery. The fresh yeasty bread is a nice thickness, and the ingredients are tasty, fresh, and accompanied by real cheese. I’ve thought of taking in some decent sauce or even tomato paste and asking them to use it instead. The St. Louis Pizza company on South Hampton in the city would be tasty if its sauce had a trace of seasoning. And so on….sighhhh.

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I am a very big fan of Dewey’s Pizza in U City and La Pizza in U City. I’ve been to Pi a couple of times, but I guess I prefer NY style crusts to deep dish.

Nice article.

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Also like her, I can’t do IMO’s. A previous employer always used to get it for lunch meetings and I would skip lunch those days rather than eat it. I just can’t get past the consistency of the Provel.

Another STL pizza that’s worth trying – Fortel’s Pizza Den. They have a few locations in the area, so surely one is near you.

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Black Thorn is deep dish, but not Chicago style…but I do love it! We’ll have to try Pi next time we’re in town. Also, I do think Talayna’s is about the closest I’ve ever had to true, good Chicago-style in the StL. Are they still open?

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