Exploring The Hill: An Afternoon in St. Louis' Italian Neighborhood

One of the iconic intersections found on The Hill with the striped crosswalks in the colors of the Italian flag, The Hill sign above the speed limit sign, and American and Italian flags displayed on buildings.

Last week I was back in the driver’s seat for another excursion as part of our Day Trip Diaries series. Not interested in going solo, I was happy to have a group of three friends – Heather, Kathy and Laurie – along for the ride, lunch and activities.

This time we didn’t go too far – just about 15 miles from my house in the St. Louis suburbs to The Hill neighborhood in the city. This area, which is about 1 square mile in size, is located on high ground not far from the city center. The origin of its name comes from the fact the highest point of the city, formerly called St. Louis Hill, sits just outside the neighborhood’s boundaries.

Nowadays, The Hill is home to about 2,500 residents of multiple ethnicities, but it is most known as an Italian neighborhood from the period of the 1880s through mid-1920s when the Italians outnumbered all other immigrant groups. You’ll still find several remnants of that Italian influence in many restaurants, shops, and cultural activities throughout the year.

As The Hill Neighborhood Center proclaims on their home page: Benvenuto in Collina! (Translation: Welcome to The Hill.)

First Stop: Shopping at The Hill Antiques Market

Photo 1: Entrance to The Hill Antique Market in a renovated brick warehouse building. / Photo 2: Retro Italian-style delivery truck outside the entrance to The Hill Antique Market. / Photos 3 and 4: Booths full of antique treasures.

Looking for interesting, unusual and nostalgic items? If so, you don’t want to miss browsing through the more than 75 booths at The Hill Antiques Market. I was a first-time visitor there, but my friends had shopped there previously. This market is located in a renovated brick warehouse building where you can also find the Oliva Café (Heather and Kathy have enjoyed lunch here on previous visits), enjoy Wine Down Wednesdays or other social gatherings at Oliva on the Hill and La Verona, and even book an overnight stay at Oliva Lofts. (Check out The Marketplace page for more information about all that’s on offer.)

We each took our time roaming through the booths. It’s a bit humbling to see items on display as “antiques” that we remember from our childhoods and parents’ and grandparents’ homes – dinnerware and glassware, furniture, clothing, knickknacks, and more. Although several items caught our attention, the only item we each bought was a scented candle from a display near the checkout counter. But I know we will all be ready to pursue the wares again in the future.

Second Stop: Lunch at Anthonino’s Taverna

Anthonino's Taverna restaurant offers a menu of Italian and Greek specialties that celebrate the owners' family ethnicities.

There are many great restaurant options on The Hill, but we all agreed on Anthonino’s Taverna for our lunch that day. Its menu features both Italian and Greek dishes. Might seem a bit odd until you learn the owners and brothers Anthony and Rosario Scarato come from both cultures with an Italian father and Greek mother.

Our group was just as culturally diverse in our lunch selections with Kathy and Laurie munching on huge gyro sandwiches (and taking leftovers home), Heather choosing the Italian salad with grilled chicken, and me enjoying cheese-stuffed ravioli in marinara sauce. Normally, we split a couple desserts, but we had a sweet stop planned next on our day trip itinerary.

Other food-related favorites we recommend include Zia’s, the Missouri Baking Company, and the iconic Charlie Gitto's on the Hill.

Third Stop: Tour and Tasting at Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company

Photos 1 and 2: Signage for and entrance to the Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company factory near The Hill neighborhood in St. Louis. The company now owns Bissinger's Handcrafted Chocolatier.

We had the perfect activity planned next to both satisfy our sweet tooth (teeth?) and learn something new. We visited the nearby Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company for its free factory tour. You just need to reserve your 30-minute time slot in advance.

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate is a family-run business that started in St. Louis in 1981 by Dan and Rosalie Abel after he apprenticed for many years to become a master candy maker. Now their three children work with the company, which has expanded, moved locations, introduced new products, and acquired the Mavrakos Candies and Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier.

Photo 1: The production lines in the Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company factory, as seen during the factory tour. / Photo 2: An employee sprinkles sea salt on chocoloate-covered caramels moving along the production line's conveyor belt. / Photo 3: The production of s'more candies as the marshmallow-topped, chocolate-coated graham cracker pieces are ready to be covered again by melted chocolate. / Photo 4: Tour guide describes some of the vintage candy-making equipment on display during the factory tour. / Photo 5: A vintage chocolate melting pot machine that was used in chocolate candy production. / Photo 6: After the tour, visitors can purchase a variety of chocolate candies in the showroom. / Photo 7: A glass display case showcases some of the flavored chocolate candies for sale. / Photo 8: A display of chocolate productions inspired by St. Louis and the state of Missouri.

The tour is run by one of the candy shop employees. Our guide led us down a ramp to the factory floor located in the back of the building. She explained the different steps in the process for making the different chocolate candies. We watched s’more candies being produced along a long conveyer belt. Each piece of candy is inspected at the end of the process before being packed in boxes or prepped to be sold in the on-site candy showroom. The factory makes 85,000 pieces of candy per day.

During the tour, we were offered a sample of the candy to taste. It was, of course, delicious, and I suspect it primed our taste buds and brains to want to buy more chocolate at the end of the tour. The four of us were happy to comply. The hardest part was deciding which of the many wonderful types of chocolate candies to purchase. My favorite was the sea salt caramels covered in milk chocolate, so I bought a half-pound box.

Final Stop: Stocking Up at Di Gregorio’s Italian Market

Photo 1: The corner entrance to Di Gregorio's Italian Market. / Photo 2: Shelves full of packaged Italian crackers and breadsticks. / Photo 3: Aisle featuring a big selection of canned and jarred vegetables and sauces from Italy. / Photo 4: The store carries a large assortment of dried pasta varieties -- even a few you might not be familiar with.

No trip to The Hill seems complete without picking up some authentic food products from Italy, so we headed over to Di Gregorio’s Italian Market. This smallish corner shop offers a variety of products from aisles full of different shaped pastas, cans of different tomato-based products and fresh breads to a long deli case for cheeses, meets and prepared food dishes. I scored a bottle of limoncello liqueur (to try out some spritz recipes this summer), a bag of ditali rigati pasta (short, small-diameter tubes) for soups, a package of gnocchi with cheese, and a prepared caprese salad of mozzarella, tomato, basil and dressing (which I enjoyed as part of my dinner that night).

Suggestion: Laurie was well prepared for this last stop. She brought an insulated shopping bag to keep perishable foods cool since the day was extremely warm. It also worked great for the gyro sandwich doggie bags and our chocolate purchases.

Whether you have an hour to catch a quick meal or a whole day to explore the area or experience one of the speical neighborhood events, The Hill is a fun destination to visit over and over again.

If you’re a St. Louis resident, what other activities do you like to do when visiting The Hill? For others outside St. Louis, what are the neighborhoods or nearby towns that you recommend visiting and why? A day trip can be the perfect way to explore what’s practically in your backyard and celebrate the people and culture along the way.

Ciao, i miei amici! (Translation: So long, my friends!)

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