There are a lot of great things about the St. Louis food scene; we’re spoiled by delicious local staples such as toasted ravioli, Ted Drewes, The Hill, gooey butter cake, and the list goes on. That being said, there are still a few gaping holes in the vast culinary spread offered by our beloved ‘Lou.

I noticed the first glaring absence shortly after I moved here from Chicago. I had a craving for what I thought was pretty standard fare in any city – a jumbo Vienna Beef hot dog with everything on it. While this isn’t something I consume on a regular basis, sometimes the moment (and my taste buds) just call for it. Unfortunately for me (and my taste buds), I quickly discovered that while living in St. Louis, my occasional love for a good hot dog would most likely go unrequited. As far as I can tell, there are literally only two hot dog places in all of the St. Louis metropolitan area. Two! I could find that many just walking five blocks from my old apartment in Chicago. It seems the only places you can get an authentic Vienna Beef hot dog are Woofies in Overland and Pam’s Chicago Style Dogs in the Delmar Loop. Both places are great, but the fact that some St. Louisans might have to drive 20 minutes or more just to get a good hot dog is simply unfair. Bottom line: St. Louis needs more hot dogs! I haven’t yet started circulating a petition… but stay tuned.

In addition to the severe hot dog shortage, there are several other food staples that it seems St. Louisans are missing out on:

Bagels

Remember the last time you bit into a delicious steamed bagel sandwich? If you live in St. Louis, you probably don’t, that’s because if you’re looking for a bagel shop in this town, Einstein Bros. is basically your only choice. I don’t have anything against them, but they are a chain with mediocre sandwiches at best, and that doesn’t quite cut it for me.

Tea

Being that I do a little freelance writing in my spare time, I know from personal experience that St. Louis has a lot of great coffee shops (or “offices” as they are known to many a freelancer and student). Most of these establishments offer chai and several other varieties of hot tea, but if you are looking for places like this that specialize in tea, there are pretty much none to be found.

Brunch

Sure, we have Nadoz at the Coronado and even the delicious daily breakfast offerings at First Watch, but in reality, St. Louis is not a city known for its brunch. There are only a handful of restaurants that really go beyond standard breakfast into the brunch realm of omelet stations, unlimited mimosas and decadent bloody marys with enough stuffed olives and salami to constitute a meal.

BYOB

I honestly cannot say that I’m aware of a single BYOB restaurant in St. Louis. The closest thing I’ve found is the Bistro at Starrs on Big Bend in Richmond Heights. There, you can buy your alcoholic beverage of choice at Starrs Market and bring it over to the Bistro. Other than that, I haven’t found any restaurants where I would feel comfortable bringing my own bottle of wine. This is unfortunate since BYOB is usually a great way to save money and gives you an infinitely greater selection.

So add in hot dogs, bagels, tea, brunch and BYOB and St. Louis is a city made for eaters! Until that happens, if you know of any local restaurants I’ve overlooked that have these foods or services, please enlighten me!

Carlie is the Food and Drink Editor for Girls Guide, and also blogs at carliecrash.com. By day she is an educational textbook editor, and she moonlights as a foodie and barfly.  You can email her at carlie [at] girlsguidetothegalaxy [dot] com, and you can follow her on Twitter – @carbirwin.