7 Missouri Chain Orders That Give Away an Out-of-Stater

A first-time visitor at a Kansas City barbecue counter hasn’t even found the menu board before someone behind the register calls out to them, expecting an answer back.

Their pause gives them away every time.

These are the Missouri chain orders that give away an out-of-stater.

1. Imo’s Pizza

Imo’s Pizza cuts every pie into small squares by default, the St. Louis-style cut the chain has served since it opened in the 1960s.

Nobody behind the counter asks how you want it sliced.

Ask for it in triangles or wedges instead, and the confused pause that follows says plenty.

Regulars never blink.

The cheese underneath is Provel, a blend Imo’s made famous across the region.

Asking for it by a more familiar cheese name marks a first-time customer just as fast.

2. St. Louis Bread Co.

St. Louis Bread Co. is the name still painted on the sign at many standard-size Panera cafes inside St. Louis’s inner loop.

A first-time customer walks up to the counter, spots that name, and asks the cashier if this location takes Panera rewards before ordering anything.

Regulars skip that question.

They order their bagels and coffee the way they always have, since the name over the register never changed what’s on the menu.

Local news coverage has reported the split: Standard-size cafes inside the inner loop keep the St. Louis Bread Co. name, while newer, smaller to-go locations open under the Panera Bread name from the start.

Some outer-suburb cafes have swapped over to the Panera Bread name already.

The giveaway fades the farther a customer gets from the city.

3. Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

Ted Drewes hands over its custard order, called a concrete, thick enough that the counter turns the cup upside down before passing it across.

Order a milkshake instead of a concrete, and the person at the register corrects the word before ringing you up.

Nothing spills.

The upside-down move isn’t a trick reserved for tourists.

Regulars barely glance up when it happens, since the shop has proven the custard’s thickness the same way for generations.

4. Lion’s Choice

Lion’s Choice slices its roast beef thin and piles it onto a roll for every sandwich that leaves the counter.

The chain runs a self-serve sauce station near the register, stocked with a horseradish sauce and cups of au jus for dipping.

Regulars grab both without being told and carry their tray straight to a table.

A first-time customer stands at the register instead, waiting for someone to bring the sauce over.

Nobody’s coming.

The horseradish sauce has a sharper kick than the packets handed out at most drive-thru counters.

A customer who skips the self-serve station walks out with a dry sandwich and no dip for it.

Lion’s Choice runs dozens of locations across the St. Louis area, and the self-serve sauce station is standard at every one of them.

5. Pasta House Co.

The Pasta House Co. lists toasted ravioli on its menu as a starter, not a plate of pasta, and regulars just call it "t-ravs" when they order.

A first-time visitor who orders "the ravioli" expecting a bowl of boiled pasta in sauce gets a basket of breaded, deep-fried squares instead.

Toasted ravioli, breaded and deep-fried, is a St. Louis specialty with roots in the Hill's Italian restaurants.

The Pasta House Co. has kept it on the menu at its locations across the St. Louis area since the 1970s.

T-ravs come first, always.

A diner who orders it expecting a full entree is still waiting when the table's actual food shows up.

6. Arthur Bryant's

Arthur Bryant's sauces the meat before you ever ask, a counterman who squirts the default Original sauce onto the pile the moment your plate gets built.

Regulars also order a side of burnt ends without needing to explain the term, since Arthur Bryant's has served the smoked brisket trimmings as a menu item for decades.

Say nothing about a sauce preference, and Original is what lands on the tray, no questions asked.

Speak up first.

Ask for the sauce on the side after the plate's already built, and staff will tell you it's a little late for that request.

Rich and Spicy and the other bottles sit out on the tables anyway, for anyone who wants a second sauce after the fact.

7. Gates Bar-B-Q

Gates Bar-B-Q sauces every order at the counter instead of leaving bottles on the table, so regulars name a heat level the moment they reach the register.

Original, Mild, or Extra Hot: Staff ask which one before the order's even rung up.

A first-timer who doesn't have an answer ready holds up the line while the counter repeats the question.

The same counter also greets every customer loudly the instant the door opens, a habit that has followed Gates through several Kansas City locations for decades.

Silence isn't an option.