Restaurant Review: Imo's Pizza, Springfield, MO

Imo's is St. Louis style pizza that literally melts in your mouth. Known as "the square beyond compare", this has been one of our favorite pizza places since we met fourteen years ago. Located in Missouri and Illinois, it is the number one pizza choice in St. Louis for the last 40 years. It is also one of the top choices in Springfield, MO.

It's not quite possible to truly describe an Imo's pizza. The cheese is simply mouth-watering. It's a provel cheese that is just indescribable. The crust is almost the consistency of a Saltine cracker, but it somehow works. I am not a thin crust fan, but this is my favorite exception. Like many other meals, is best when fresh out of the oven.

When we lived in our apartment, we ordered a couple of times a month and were soon on a first name basis with the owner of the South Glenstone store. In fact, we love Imo's so much, we ordered it on our wedding night. We'd only had a cake and mint type reception and by the time the stress of the day had bled off, we were quite hungry. The owner delivered to our hotel and was quite surprised to see that it was our choice for a wedding dinner.

We moved to the other side of town and were in the delivery area of the Pickwick and Cherry location. One chilly night when I was quite pregnant with our second child, I craved this pizza. We called and were disappointed to find that they had shortened their delivery area due to the rising cost of gasoline [this was several years ago and not the post-Katrina rise]. They knew us and, when my husband told them the situation - a very hungry pregnant woman - and promised a big tip, they sent a driver our way.

In fact, this Imo's is where I chose to tell my husband we were expecting that second child on Valentine's Day 2003.

My husband and his coworkers frequent this location for lunch. The lunch special - 12" personal pizza, salad, and drink - is available for about $6. "Delicious" is the most common comment we hear from fellow diners.

We have since moved to a smaller town just outside of Springfield. The third location on west Republic Road is too far away to get delivery, but could easily be on my husband's way home from work. Unfortunately, at the moment, the bridge on Republic Road, just west of FF, is under construction and the long detour makes it very impractical at the moment. Once the bridge is reopened, we will have to celebrate with an Imo's dinner.

The first Springfield location in the Brentwood Center across from the Battlefield Mall at 2680 S. Glenstone and can be reached at 417-882-IMOS (4667).

The second location is 600 S. Pickwick, on the corner of Pickwick and Cherry. This location has limited parking and can be reached at 417-862-1222

The most recent addition to the Springfield Imo's family is 636 W. Republic Road, just west of Campbell. They can be reached at 417-886-IMOS (4667).