The History of Toasted Ravioli

Toasted ravioli is a St. Louis icon born in the Italian-American neighborhood The Hill, located a few miles west of downtown St. Louis. In recent years, the dish has become increasingly popular across the country and is even included on the menu of chains like Olive Garden. In the classic St. Louis version, small ravioli are filled with a blend of spinach, cheese, and finely ground meat, then breaded, deep-fried, and sprinkled with Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese and served with marinara or meat sauce for dipping. But how did toasted ravioli get its start as a dish? There’s quite a bit of debate. One story holds that the chef at Charlie Gitto’s (then called Angelo’s) accidentally dropped a ravioli in hot oil instead of water. The result was so delicious that the owners added the dish to the menu. Another claim comes from Mama’s on The Hill, then called Oldani’s. The story goes that in the 1940s, a chef named Fritz accidentally fried an order of ravioli in hot oil instead of boiling it in water. The owners decided to dust the result with Parmesan and sent the ravioli out to a group of regulars at the bar. The dish was a hit and was quickly added to the menu. Some retellings of the story claim that Mickey Garagiola, the brother of baseball catcher and broadcaster Joe Garagiola, was one of the people at the bar that night and even Garagiola himself claimed he was there for the invention of toasted ravioli, even going so far as to say he would “bet [his] house on it.” Another claim comes from the co-owner of Lombardo’s, who in 2015 stated that he had restaurant menus from the 1930s that listed toasted ravioli as an offering. While we may never know for certain just who invented toasted ravioli, or T-ravs, as they are affectionately called by St. Louis locals, but one thing is for sure — the dish is deeply intwined with Italian-American food culture in St. Louis and is becoming increasingly popular in other parts of the country today.