Bill Gianino's Wins South County Italian Food Fight

Even with so many nominees, your choice won a majority of the votes.

Bill Gianino's in Oakville is the winner in this week's Food Fight, in which we asked readers for their choice for best Italian food in South County and Arnold. Bill Gianino's won with 51 percent of the votes among the finalists. The results (may not equal 100 percent because of rounding) among the other finalists were: If you're a fan of any of these places, we encourage you to click and visit their directory listing on Patch and write a review. Voting in our Patch Italian Food Fight poll started Monday morning and ended at 5 p.m. Friday afternoon. Congratulations to Bill Gianino's in Oakville for winning this week's Readers' Choice battle. We look forward to hearing from you again next week with the next edition of our weekly Readers' …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (4)

Bites Nearby

Bill Gianino's Traditional Italian Cuisine

Taking Italian cuisine off "The Hill" to Oakville has made Bill Gianino's a winner with patrons since 1975.

No need to travel to The Hill to satisfy cravings for Italian food. Instead, head south to Oakville where Bill Gianino has been serving up traditional Italian cuisine since 1975. Bill Gianino’s, located in Chestnut Park Plaza at the intersection of Telegraph and Yaeger roads, has earned a reputation for providing quality Italian specialties, pastas and St. Louis-style pizzas served in friendly surroundings. The décor is understated and inviting for either family or special occasion dining, and attentive servers are knowledgeable and readily explain daily specials and menu options. Those options include 28 different pasta picks including red, white or garlic butter sauces along with stuffed classics as cannelloni, tortellini and ravioli—…

• Photos (3)

Remarkable Resident

106-Year-Old Italian-American Newspaper Still Going Strong

Il Pensiero's Antonino Lombardo has helmed the paper for the last 43 years from his home in Affton.

When the weather is warm, Antonino Lombardo and his wife load up their car with 5,000 copies of their newspaper and drive out to deliver them stack-by-stack around the city. "On a beautiful day, we enjoy going around town," Lombardo said. Then he added with a laugh: "But when it's a bad day, let's call somebody else!" Lombardo—or "Cavaliere Lombardo" as he is known, the title of knighthood being an honor bestowed by the Italian government—is the publisher of Il Pensiero, an Italian-American newspaper that has been in production in St. Louis since 1904. Lombardo is an Affton local and paragon of the area's Italian-American community. He has run the paper for the last 43 years. With topics ranging from the Vatican to the local Bocce Club, …

• Photos (6)