The cuisine of St. Louis is influenced by the cityâÂÂs history as a home for German, Irish, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Bosnian immigrants and African Americans who migrated from the rural South.
While the cuisine is especially prevalent in St. Louis, it extends to other areas in Missouri and Illinois, forming a distinctive part of the cuisine of the Midwestern United States.
A number of dishes are particularly distinctive to St. Louis.