We recently took a trip to Cunetto's House of Pasta on The Hill. It was a spur of the moment dinner and I'd never been there before, but we'd almost gone many, many times, so my expectations were pretty high. I was disappointed, more from the dashing of my over-hyped anticipation than any defect on their part. It was a rainy day and the joint was full of humid St. Louisans and tourists. It looked a little more Garavelli's than a good Italian restaurant on The Hill.
But that mediocre experience is now completely erased. For years, Pietros was our go-to Italian joint, simple, decent, good prices and fairly swift and courteous service. And that it's mere city blocks from our house, a triple threat. But we've always had this bastardized attitude about going there, like it was substandard just because it was nearby and easy. We never dressed up to go there; we never looked forward to it with bated breath like we do with Onesto's. But rest assured, Pietros, our eyes have been opened to your unassuming magnificence. Thank you.
Last night, we showed up at eight o'clock, most of us in shorts and t-shirts, ready to carb load before the Moonlight Ramble. We were continuously surprised and pleased by the above and beyond expedience of the wait staff, the absurd abundance of *delicious* italian bread (wasn't Marconi, wasn't Amighetti's, wasn't Missouri Baking Co, GOOD stuff, though), and the perfectly fresh iced tea at 8:00 at night. Then the food showed up, and everyone agreed it was exponentially better than usual, but I'm not sure that's the case. I think it may have always been that good, and we were just taking old Pietros for granted becaues it's usually full of senior citizens. But now that it's got outdoor seating and bitchin' doggie boxes, we're ready to give it its due.
Thank you, Pietros. For the salads without surreptitious meat, the piping hot baked lasagna, the moist, flaky grouper special, the too-soon consumed canelloni, the generous pile of rich fettucini, and the memories. We'll never bother with Italian on The Hill again.
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