Stroll the streets of The Hill in St. Louis, Missouri, and you'll find several dozen restaurants and markets touting traditional Italian fare attracting epicureans from near and far. Founded by Italian immigrants in the early 1800s, the Little Italy status eventually stuck thanks to neighbors like Challie Gioia.

He founded his Italian Market on The Hill in 1918, where current co-owner Alex Donley told the James Beard Foundation they've continued Challie's legacy in that exact same space. On any given day, you'll find diehards lined out the door of Gioia's Deli for good reason — the hot salami sandwich.