In a city of great sandwich shops, Gioia’s is elite. That’s in no small part due to the signature hot salami, used to great effect in sandwiches like the Spicy Daggett (toasted garlic pepper cheese bread stuffed with hot salami, hot coppa and capicolla, and spooned with intensely piquant giardiniera).
The bare bones little deli on the Hill dates to 1918, and they have grown to include locations in Creve Coeur, Valley Park and Maryland Heights. Gioia’s fame has also spread far beyond St. Louis: In 2017, they won the James Beard American Classic Award, and the Food Network named the hot salami sandwich “one of the best sandwiches in America.”
When we say, “bare bones,” we mean Gioia’s on the Hill has only what it needs and no more: a walk-up counter, a drinks machine, a few chairs outside in the sunshine, and a rack of chips. When you’ve got a tightly wrapped Daggett in your hand, and there’s a pocket park across the road, what else could possibly be lacking?
Multiple locations, gioiasdeli.com
This article appears in March 2025.