Pennies BBQ

Gone forever. Closed. My most favorite place to commit a deadly sin.

*******Penny’s is permanently CLOSED, and will not reopen. *******
The restaurant closed w/​o any prior notice to the staff on 1÷26÷14.: (

I have to say that this place seems to be going slightly downhill these days. I remember coming here and the food being great and the place clean (well, as clean as it could be) but the last time I came here it just looked dingy and the prices seem to be going up without the taste staying the same. I ordered the hamburger and while it was huge it just didn’t taste the same as I’ve always had. Such a pity, this used to be a place that I wanted to come to when I needed a burger fix, most espically since it would feed me for 2 days with as big as they are!

I see two distinct types of BBQ in St. Louis. There’s the bourgie, fancy, sweet potato fries, we put truffles and saffron in our potato salad, we sell cane sugar soda, we spent a million dollars to look country BBQ (I call this BBBQ– Bourgie Barbeque).
Then there’s the cheapest meat possible, sauce from a bottle, give you enough to feed an army, hidden gem, BBQ that would lose in any BBQ competition BBQ. This second type of BBQ is what most of the real STL BBQ scene is, except it exists outside of the «scene» of «BBQ» in St. Louis.
I don’t know why people think of BBQ when they think of St. Louis. I think they are getting BBQ and slavery mixed up.
This place is a very standard St. Louis BBQ joint (not a BBBQ joint). It wins on ambiance and vibe, and coasts by on mediocre, yet somehow solid, food. The charm is kicked up about five notches. The giant room dips and rises into different parts of the dining room, some up a few stairs, some down a few stairs. Booths with backs that rise high above you like horse stalls are created in wood against the walls, and a sea of tables fill the airy, barn-​like room.
Seat yourself. There’s just something about a seat yourself kind of place. Ya know what I mean?
Not long after that, I’m greeted by a waitress. Not mean, just busy. Not customer servicey. She waits tables like she’s building a house or doing your taxes. She’s getting the job done, ya know? This is not a bad thing. She reminds me of a teacher. Or my mom. Eventually we bonded. When I think about it, she was actually an amazing people person. She wasn’t the schmoozy type where you know you’re being schmoozed. She was undercover-​schmooze. I want to learn from her. I think she must have read a Dale Carnegie book or something.
She only half sighs when I order my sauce on the side. I only half sigh when I find out the meat comes pre-​sauced. I’m BBBQ brainwashed.
Pulled pork– sort of a sweaty mess, slightly dry, not great flavor, definitely meant to be served pre-​sauced. Comes on a GIANT french hoagie. I meant giant. Seriously, enough food for two people. The sandwich grew on me. The sauce in the bowl on the side was served warm, and I thought that was a really nice touch. That right there shows you that even if they order lower quality food, at least they care and do the best they can with what they got. It was excellent sauce. The potato salad was your standard eggs, mayo, and potatoes, tiny bit of pepper, potato salad. No celery. No paprika. No flavor. No apologies. Comforting, familiar, it’s what we all loved about potato salad before BBBQ came into our lives.
Pennies? More like dollars, and this place will set you back more than a few. Justified by the amount of food? No. Don’t force me to order in bulk so you can charge me in bulk.
I will definitely be back here. A lot. No, it’s not the kind of place that you’re gonna brag about. But you’d bring a guy here on a 5^th date, once he knows you fart, and once conversation moves into the real stuff, when you really want that quality time and you’re not just trying to impress him. This is where you go with your real friends, not your work buddies. This is where you go with your kids, not your in-​laws. This is the place you go when you have the day off and you’re on your own for lunch. This is the place you go when you don’t want to be bothered, but you need a little love.

I had a craving for some barbecue and decided to give Pennie’s a try since it’s so conveniently located right off the highway on my way home from work. This Bar-​B-​Que house has an old school feel with checkered tablecloths and a roll of paper towels on each table. I was kind of surprised at how big this place is. I was expecting a hole in the wall with two or three tables, but there must be 30 – 40 tables. The place was quite crowded and the friendly bartender seemed to know all the regulars on a first name basis. I felt more like an outcast in this South County crowd with a few gazes coming my way, but overall it was friendly and it’s a great way to experience local culture.
I placed an order for take-​away which consisted of the 18oz. Jumbo Pork Steak with baked beans and cucumber & onions for $ 13.99…and a full slab of baby back ribs with a side of potato salad and slaw for $ 23.99. The half slab and sides was $ 18.99, so I figured I’d pay the extra 5 bucks for the full slab. Once home, we «tuckered up» to the table and dug in. My favorite was the ribs. The bones were loaded with tender and juicy meat with a nice sauce that had been slathered on. I would have preferred more seasoning or rub on the meat, but I thoroughly enjoyed gnawing on these ribs. The pork steak was a big disappointment for me. This Fred Flintstone sized chunk of meat was too thick for my liking and not as juicy as the usual ones you find in the backyard of a true blooded St. Louis’n. The side dishes were all average in my book. Nothing bad, but nothing memorable about the sides.
I probably won’t be back anytime soon, but I wouldn’t rule out another visit. As I waited for my carry out order, I saw several tasty looking plates including burgers, chicken and I think fried fish. 3 stars for mixed results on the food, but the friendly lady at the bar deserves a star of her own.

I’ve been here twice… once out of morbid curiosity regarding their pork steak, the other after a co-worker’s suggestion we split an order of ribs… I thought that a second visit might improve my thoughts on this place… I was wrong.
The pork steak was bearable… not great, not the worst I’ve had… it’s nearly 2 pounds of meat, for what…$ 13? What do you expect? The vinegary baked beans though? Not what I expected, and I’d have omitted them if I could’ve gotten a price break. These two things are something that have everything to do with my personal preference, and some people are going to enjoy.
The ribs, though? Inexcusably bad. Large portion, subpar quality/​flavor/​execution. No smoke flavor, the meat had obviously been boiled, and the membrane on the back side of the ribs was still attached. The sauce didn’t cling to the meat, it just kinda sloughed off, and just added to the overall poor experience.

Wow, first things first let me start off by saying that the only problem with Pennies is that the staff has a serious problem with portion control. Now this is actually a good thing when you consider that you will probably be eating left overs for another meal, or perhaps two.
The food at Pennies is good, I typically order the 28oz Pork Kabob, which is actually misnamed. Its not really a kabob in the typical sense, its nearly 30 oz or pork on a kabob stick. Prices are very reasonable considering the sizes of the plates. Overall Pennies offeres great food at a great value.

The reviews of Pennie’s I had read were mostly pretty polarizing. It seemed a lot of people either love the place and kept their reviews short and sweet, rating five of five stars or complained about rude service and dirty conditions, vowing to never come back. Restaurants with good food and shitty service can thrive over the years, but you never hear much other than fading yawns over a joint with fantastic service and mediocre food, so I wasn’t too worried.
Several neon beer signs hung in the windows and I figured if nothing else, the place was somebody’s prized watering hole, a distinction that could only be taken away by court ordered AA or the city liquor control and certainly not some uppity Unilocal user. Immediately upon entering I felt at ease. The atmosphere is wholly unpretentious. Down home. Country. Adorably shitty. I liked it immensely. I took a small table tucked away in a corner and started in on a menu that had been tucked in between bottles of off-​brand ketchup and A1 steak sauce.
After my re-​telling my disappointing adventure in beef at Pappy’s to my vegetarian Saint Louis native roomate, Jeff had offered some advice.
«Pork. For whatever reason pork is what Saint Louis is all about. I always remember pork steak being a pretty big deal.»
I took that to heart and the menu at Pennie’s certainly directs one to the pork. On the front page in a bold line bordered box is the apparent headliner of the show, Pork Ribs. Below that in a slightly smaller box lied the «Jumbo 18 oz Pork Steak.» The dinner special on the board outside was the Pork Kebabs. My mind was made up rather quick on the pork steak thanks to Jeff. The rest of the menu was pretty down home with steaks, burgers, sandwiches and the like.
My server appeared and took my order of the Pork Steak with potato salad and beans as my sides. My waiter had the air of not a waiter, but of some dude that waited tables at a divey BBQ place while he did other things with his life. He wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows but neither is waiting tables in a dive (trust me, I know. Oh God, I know). I went to the men’s room to wash up. It was pretty wrecked. Whatever. There was a sink and soap, what else do you need? I went back to my table and took a sip on my Amberbock. I hadn’t ordered but 4 minutes prior and my dinner suddenly arrived in front of me.
The 18 oz Pork Steak was huuuuuuge, and covered in dark sauce. As the food runner was setting down the heavy plastic dish in front of me, the steak was about the size and color of a dark leather men’s size 13 dress shoe. Beans, potato salad and more sauce came in three small bowls of the same plastic, each one nearly over flowing. Also there was a chunk of generic french bread, served in a basket, sitting directly on top of the butter packets that took the place of some sort of sanitary paper liner. This is the type of thing some people get real uppity and freaked out by. It’s the type of thing someone like me shrugs at. Shut up and eat your dinner.
And I did. The steak had obviously been sitting around a while. How else could it have come out of the kitchen so quickly? It wasn’t cold by any means, but it would have definitely been better if it had that fresh off the grill heat to it. The sauce was at first a little off putting. Very very sweet with just a hint of tanginess, which is something I had been warned about St. Louis BBQ in the past. About a quarter way into the steak though it did start to grow on me. I was glad I hadn’t ordered the beef, for it had been smothered in this sweet sauce I don’t think I would have cared for it all, but it paired quite well with the fatty pork and made a quite a decadent feast.
The sides were decent too. The potato salad was classic American style. The beans were a tasty, classic tomato-​y /​brown sugar recipe which were not too sweet, with some pork fat floatin’ around in there. As there should be. Even though I was quite full of pork and potsal, I had no trouble finishing off the beans.
The reviews I had read pointed unequivocally to one truth about Pennie’s: BIG PORTIONS. They aren’t playin’. Come hungry, you get your money’s worth… or should I say your pennies’ worth??? The jumbo Pork Steak runs $ 13.99 with two sides and bread. You could easily share this monster between two reasonable people who understand the virtues of eating a civilized amount of food at one sitting. I can put some meat down in there, but I couldn’t eat this entire monster. I took home about a quarter of it, feeling quite full.
It wasn’t a mind blowing experience, but I would like to go back sometime. I bet the ribs really are as good as everyone claims. Though, if I do return, I’d like to do what the table next to me was doing: getting a good buzz on with friends and then sobering up with some ribs!
Cheers!

Food was ⁵⁄₅. Had pork BBQ and it was some of the best I’ve ever had. The servings are HUGE so be ready to eat a lot.
Server attitude was ¹⁄₅ and I’m being quite generous. Tact certainly isn’t their strong suit. Perhaps ALL of the servers were having a bad day, or this is their schtick and I didn’t get it! If so, my bad…
Go for the food, leave for the service. I would go back, but prepared to give some static, not just take it.

I have only been here twice and each time it was great! The portions of their food is big and you get a lot for what you pay for! They aren’t a big place so you might have to wait some, but I guarantee its worth it!

Went to this place only because Pappy’s was closed for a special event.
Always have to order the ribs when trying BBQ. These come wet with their own BBQ sauce. No choices for sauce which was disappointing as I really prefer to try different sauces along with the meat.
Ribs were tender and falling off the bone. Tasted very good. But not the dry rub style that I prefer.
Sides included potato salad and baked beans. Neither really stood out as anything special.
Overall, there was really nothing special. It was good and filling. But given choice, would head to Pappy’s instead.
If I were in the area, will go back and try the large Pork Steak.

I really don’t know if Pennie’s deserves 2 stars. I’m giving it that. I’ve been there about 10x’s in the last year & i don’t think i’ve ever had a good experience, but I don’t know if you would really call it bad either. I usually go when they have the sandwich special for lunch just to grab something quick to go, & the pulled pork really does seem to be the best thing i’ve had there BY FAR!
When you call to place an order, the bar person takes carry out orders & they always seem to be annoyed at having to do that. Not to mention when you go in, they always take their time helping you & make sure there is absolutely NOTHING else for them to do but help you before they come over to you.
The restaurant itself is unbelievably dirty. I mean I’ve honestly been in car repair garages that are cleaner then the restaurant & bar area of this place which is scarey cause you can’t see the kitchen. The people who work there arn’t much cleaner.
One time i was waiting on my food when a imo’s pizza delivery guy came in & delivered pizza & pasta & SODA’S to the staff in the kitchen! The lady behind the bar who gave me my food when I was looking oddly at this said «trust me, if you worked here, you wouldn’t eat the food either!» She smiled & walked away & that was the last time I ordered from there & I won’t be going back!

Bottom line:
Unusually fatty pork steak with good sides, reasonable price, good service (minus vacuum practices), filth «feeling» in dining area.
Overview:
I have passed by Pennie’s for what seems like years. Before Unilocal,friends had mixed reviews of the place, and that kept me away. Well, last night was the night I had my chance to try Pennie’s. And, oh yes, it was an experience.
Food:
«Jumbo» Pork Steak Platter and two sides:
The pork steak was about one inch thick. And ridiculously fatty. Maybe I just don’t know my cuts of meat, but the pork steaks I have always had in Saint Louis at either a friend’s house, or with family, were thin. That said, almost every piece of meat I slice away from this slab seemed to have fat that I had to wrestle off it. The sauce, however, was quite good. A sweet, slightly «smokey» taste. I also could not help but think of the film, «Food, Inc.», while eating this pork steak.
The sides I ordered from their long list were baked beans and cole slaw. The baked beans seemed a little vinegary, but that was OK. That sour flavor balanced out the sweet of the BBQ sauce. The cole slaw seemed fresh as the cabbage was crisp.
Dining Area:
I am a fan of Gordon Ramsey, the cook from Scotland. I watch his television show, «Kitchen Nightmares», on occasion. I must admit, I felt like I was in one of the restaurants featured on that show. Wow. Kind of unsettling. However, it is not the décor that counts to me. It is the food… AND the cleanliness. I must admit, I did not feel this place was all that clean. Apparently there have been past reviews that indicate the restrooms are not the cleanest. Well, on this occasion, my friend said the bathrooms were in decent shape. Maybe the owners do read Unilocal!
Service:
The waiter we had was fine. Middle of the road service. That said, I was annoyed by the eagerness to vacuum after each table left around us. It doesn’t make for a pleasant atmosphere to eat your food.
Bonus Note:
Since this was a school night, not many folks occupied the place from 8−9pm. It was funny how the only noise we could hear in the place was several older couples making hacking noises, along with other bodily noises. Perhaps the sound system was broken on this night? I sure hope so. I felt like I was in a nursing home, and that my friends, was no exaggeration.
Summary:
Even though the experience was not «all that» for me, I probably would come back to Pennies BBQ. There is something here, both good and bad.

There is no better BBQ in the world than St. Louis BBQ. Now, my dad, who hails from St. Louis makes the best, but now living in San Diego I’d kill to find decent ribs. Pennie’s was like heaven on earth. Oh dead meat on a bone, dripping with that sweet red orange sauce, it has been way, way too long.
We went here and 8 people (WITH the tip) ate ourselves stupid for $ 160.00. Very nice.
The ribs were delish. Could’ve been a tiny bit more tender, but that’s ok. I’d give the sauce a big thumbs up. Baked beans left something to be desired (they use too much pepper) and the baked potatoes are a bit overcooked. Still, I ate everything and was a mighty happy camper who practically needed a wheelbarrow to be rolled out of Pennies.
Service was great, just don’t expect glitz and glamour. We luckily did not encounter the line as described by some of my fellow Unilocalers, but had we, I think it would’ve been worth the wait.

This place is great… every time I’m in St Louis I make sure to come visit Pennies. The portions are friggin huge and the prices are friggin cheap.
If you have out of staters visiting take them here and they will be blown away (especially us northern boys who suffer from lack of good bbq).
I enjoy this place thoroughly. The only thing that would make it a five star is if it were a little cleaner, but eh, it adds to the ambiance.

I won’t put Pennies down for the best BBQ overall, but they do have a midwest staple that is hard to find where I’m at in Florida – PORK STEAK!
Pennies serves up a gigantic (must be 7,000 oz.) BBQ pork steak. When growing up, my fam would make these 18 hours treks from Tampa to STL to visit the grandparents, and my gramps was all about head cheese and grilled pork steaks. But you ain’t seen a pork steak until you’ve seen Pennie’s. If you’re in STL, make the trip to South County and get to chompin’ on one of these beastly pork steaks. Tell them Mark sent you. They won’t know who I am, but that’s okay. :)

I hate to update and knock Pennie’s down a notch, but I think it is losing its charm on me. Now that the smoke has cleared (literally, and Thank GOD!) I see more that this is not just a simple place but a kind of dirty place. The bathroom is gross, you can see greasy smudges on the walls, the menus are completely sticky, and the hilariously mismatched vinyl tablecloths don’t appear to be cleaned much. My food was still good and cheep, but the service was so scatterbrained and the poor guy seemed to be in a total panic the whole time. To be fair, they were very busy.
If it helps to give you an idea of the clientele, my Grandpa just adores this place. I would never take my friends here though unless they could appreciate the kitschy aspect and really love sweet delicious bbq sauce.

Sometimes when people from out of town ask me about St. Louis barbeque, I don’t know what to say. You see, in all of the misconceptions about St. Louis, one of the biggest communication gaps between in-​towners and out-​of-​towners concerns barbeque. I think people from out of town visit St. Louis expecting a particular style of BBQ, specifically «St. Louis style ribs». Now, I realize that St. Louis used to be one of the major hog producers in the country, but that was 100 years ago, and the slaughterhouses nowadays are pretty good fodder for graffiti art, but that’s about it. But somehow the entire nation has it in their mind that when St. Louisans make BBQ, they knaw on these famous «St. Louis style ribs».
Well let me tell you something. As a St. Louisan, we don’t eat ribs all that much. They’re tough, hard to prepare, and expensive for what you get. Sure if someone else makes them they’re ok, but shouldn’t people’s perception of the cuisine of an area reflect what people make in their own homes? Well, yes and no I suppose (can’t remember the last time I made toasted ravs), but I’ll tell you I’d wager that on average St. Louisans don’t eat ribs any more often than other city in the midwest or south. So how we got slapped with this ribs tag is truly confounding and somewhat frustrating.
Ok, so if we don’t make ribs, what do St. Louisans barbeque? Simple answer: Pork Steaks. That’s right, pork cut so that it resembles a steak (actually from the shoulder), and we eat the hell out of them. Easy to prepare, cheap, and uniquely St. Louis. In the summer, countless backyard BBQs will be grilling pork steaks, and everyone has a relative who can cook them the best.
So if you’re going to a restaurant that supposedly features St. Louis barbeque, ask one question: Where’s the pork steak? Because if they don’t have it, it’s not St. Louis. Sure there are great places in St. Louis that serve Memphis-​style or KC-​style BBQ (ahem, Pappy’s), but unless you see that pork steak, it’s an imposter.
I say all of this because Pennies is old school St. Louis barbeque. They started out in a bar, then upgraded to a larger space. This is real St. Louis barbeque, warts and all. Sure they still serve ribs and steak and chicken (all are passing, none spectacular), but that’s not why you should come. Come for the pork steak. I guarantee your daddy never cooked one like this. 18 ounces, mammoth, 2 inches thick. Tangy but not too spicy. Heaven on a plate.
The place has a little dirt under the fingernails. The staff is just as hoosier as the patrons (it’s in the heart of south county, what do you expect?), and looks like they clean up when they feel like it, but at least keep it respectable looking. The sides are quite unspectacular and are about as cafeteria as it comes (mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, applesauce). It’s a plastic tablecloth type of place. They used to allow smoking, but mercifully the partial smoking ban took care of that.
My advice, if you have time to go to 2 BBQ restaurants when you’re in St. Louis, go with Pappy’s and Pennie’s. Pappy’s does everything right, but it’s not uniquely St. Louis. Pennie’s only does 1 thing right, but that’s all it takes. If you get that pork steak craving in the dead of winter, it’s good to know that there’s at least one place who will take care of you when there’s snow on your grill.

I have lived in the area of Pennies for a year now and never made it in to try the food until this past week. I get my nails done next door and it is ALWAYS busy. Me and my husband decided to try it out.
Pro: The food is really good. I got the rib-​eye sandwich and my husband a pork kabob. Everything was so good. You get really big portions and have plenty for leftovers.
–The service was really good. I thought since you have to seat yourself we would have to wait to get served, we didn’t. We got served within less than a minute. Our server kept our drinks filled and always came by to check to see how we were doing. So the service was really good.
–The décor is a little off (for example Easter and Christmas table clothes) but that is the so city/​soco border way that gives the place its charm.
–We will definitely go back to try out other menu items… the BBQ sauce is soooo good.
Con-​Like everyone else said, is very smokey. We accidentally sat in smoking section but I don’t think that it would of made a difference because the smoke seemed to be everywhere. I came home and felt as though I was in a bar for a while.
Other than that it was really good!!!

I had the half-​slab ribs with green beans and potato salad. The ribs come with french bread, as well. The ribs were quite good as was the potato salad. The green beans… I could have done without. There were terrible bits of tasteless bacon mixed in with the green beans.
I’m still getting used to the fact that you can smoke everywhere in Missouri. I didn’t appreciate the lack of separation between smoking & non-​smoking seating sections. The bartender was having a too-​loud conversation with three regulars about a subject he seemed to know alot about but really didn’t.
Crap beer selection, but almost anything’s good when paired with ribs!