“The square beyond compare” was the IMO’s Pizza slogan in recent decades. IMO’s is the quintessential St. Louis style pizza and is a staple in pizza market in the St. Louis, MO and surrounding areas.
IMO’s History
IMO’s Pizza was established in 1964 by a couple, Ed and Margie Imo, who lived in the Hill Neighborhood in St. Louis. According to Imo’s website the couple were devote Catholics who would wait until midnight on Fridays during lent to order a meat pizza from their local pizza parlor, and then came up with the idea to start their own pizza business and also deliver the pizzas to their customers, which was revolutionary during that time. The couple’s first pizza parlor was on the corner of Thruman and Shaw in St. Louis, and the couple opened the business with their savings of $1,500. It took several years of hard work and multiple jobs, but they were able to eventually hire delivery, cash register workers and a chef. The chef they hired brought a very exciting entry into the pizza world, Provel Cheese.
Provel?
If you have had IMO’s pizza, you are familiar with the creamy and sweet cheese, Provel, but to an outsider who is used to Mozzarella cheese you will notice a distinct but highly welcomed difference. According to Wikipedia on Provel Cheese, the cheese is a combination of Cheddar, Swiss and Provolone Cheese. The cheese is white in color, has a low melting point and is buttery to the feel at room temperature. It is theorized that this cheese was originally created in the St. Louis market via Costa Grocery, which was located in the Hill Neighborhood in St. Louis, MO.
What is St. Louis Style Pizza?
St. Louis Style Pizza is unique due to the sauces and cheeses used in the making of the pie. Typical pizza will rely heavily on the Mozzarella cheese and traditional pizza sauces, where the St. Louis style pie uses a slightly sweeter sauce and Provel cheese to give it a much more creamy/buttery and sweet taste on the pallet. The pizza is also flat crust with the cheese and sauce laid upon a firmly crisp crust. The other interesting modification is that the pie, overall, a circle, is cut into tiny squares, giving it their slogan “the square beyond compare”.
How to get this delicious pie
IMO’s serves directly the Missouri, Illinois and Kansas markets via their 100+ franchise locations and subsequent delivery services. Each location carriers a multitude of items including their famous St. Louis style pizza as well as the very popular toasted raviolis (breaded raviolis with meat that are deep fried with delicious golden flaky crust). Here is a link to their menu.
I was a St. Louis native for over 30 years, but moved to Minnesota back in 2014. I had given up hope to get my cherished IMO’s pizza, until my sister discovered that she could order the pizzas and ship them to me. Every Christmas I am like a kid waiting for a present as the pizza is shipped in a temp controlled container and dropped at my front door. You can find the order options on the link on their website. IMO’s uses the services of Gold Belly, and they do a great job getting the frozen pizzas to your desired location.
Try It
Pizza consumers can be very picky, I get it. But if you want to try a pizza that is truly unique, very different than your typical pizzas, and is very special to so many people in the Midwest, I would definitely give it a go, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
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