I had to travel on a Sunday night to St. Louis recently. It turned out that it was opening night for the St. Louis Cardinals and I didn't want to stay downtown with all the people there. I ended up booking a room at the Hampton Inn - Forest Park. Since I got there kind of late, I went next door to Krieger's Sports Grill for dinner.
Krieger's first opened in 1991 in suburban Chesterfield by Brian Krieger and his partner, Vito Churco. Krieger ran the day-to-day operation and Churco was the business and marketing guy. A year later, they recruited Churco's cousin, Sal Alu, into the business. The three are still in charge today.
In 2002, Krieger's began to franchise locations throughout the St. Louis and southern Illinois area. There are now 9 company owned locations and 5 franchisee locations, including one in Des Moines. They're looking to expand franchises into Kansas City, Wichita, Springfield, MO and other mid-sized cities in the Midwest.
Krieger's has a pretty extensive menu. They're mainly known for their St. Louis style pizza - thin crust with fresh toppings covered with Provel cheese. But they also have good burgers, sandwiches, and appetizers, along with main entrees including pasta, steaks, chicken and ribs.
The Forest Park location next to the new Hampton Inn is the newest of the Krieger's restaurants. I don't know if it's a franchise location or not, but it appears similar to the other Krieger's I've been in. It seems to be bigger than most of the other Krieger's though. And the crowd it gathers - at least on a Sunday night - is a decidedly younger crowd.
I settled in at the bar to watch the baseball game with a packed house of younger adults. Like the other Krieger's there's tons of televisions throughout the place and there's a projection screen above the bar. I sat and ordered a beer and a menu from the very busy wait staff behind the bar.
A guy seated next to me was having a Krieger's cheeseburger, which smelled and looked very good. But a girl on the other side of me was sharing a Krieger's St. Louis style pizza with her friend. I was torn. I hadn't had a good St. Louis style pizza for quite a while, but I wasn't certain I wanted a pizza that evening.
Now, St. Louis style pizza is an acquired taste. The crust is cracker thin, and the Provel cheese is more creamy than the rich, stringy texture of mozzarella. (For my previous observations on St. Louis style pizza and other pizza places in St. Louis, click b.) I had a former colleague who I worked with in St. Louis call St. Louis style pizza as "cheese on a cracker".
But I like it and that's what I ordered.
Actually, Krieger's St. Louis style pizza is OK - not the best I've had - but it's consistently OK. And this one was no exception. The toppings - sausage, pepperoni and mushroom - were a little sparse, but the cheese was creamy and the crust was crunchy thin, just the way I like it.
With the Cardinals getting spanked by the New York Mets at the new Busch Stadium just down the road, the crowd began to dwindle out of Krieger's by about 9 p.m. I couldn't eat a whole small pizza, so I had the girl put it in a box for me to take back to my room. I ate the remaining three pieces on my way to Springfield the next day.
Krieger's is the one of the best sports bars in St. Louis. Their menu may not be as eclectic as what you find at Ozzie's, but the food is still pretty good. I've drank many a beer at various Krieger's around the St. Louis area and I'm sure I'll drink many more.
(Update - This particular Krieger's is now the Highlander Pub and Grill. See my entry on that place here. There are only two Krieger's left in the St. Louis area - one in St. Louis and what is, I believe, the original Krieger's in Chesterfield. I've been to the one in Chesterfield probably two or three times since this entry was made in 2007 and it's still pretty much the same above average food and service. It's a great place to catch a sporting event.)
I always thought Krieger's had better pizza than Imo's. But I do miss Fortel's.
Posted by: Tim Lake | April 20, 2007 at 08:39 AM