Ode to Toasted Ravioli

This July, my hometown of St. Louis will host the 100th anniversary meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries. St. Louis is known for many things: the Gateway Arch, the world's largest brewery, a world-famous Zoo, Botanical Garden, and Art Museum. But few things are more beloved to St. Louisans than our greatest contribution to world cuisine: toasted ravioli.

Ode to Toasted Ravioli

O Ravioli, golden, hot,
They call thee “toasted”—yet, thou’rt not!
But boiled, dipped in bread crumbs, fried,
With marinara on the side,

And grated cheese from Parma’s hill,
Thou temptest me to eat my fill.
With choice red wine, or Busch’s brew,
I cannot stop at one or two.

Fetch here a plateful—friends, partake!
The King of Beers thy thirst will slake.

Ignore the envious jibes and barbs
Of those who shun both fats and carbs,
For life is short and full of woe.
We will enjoy thy crispy dough.

Of appetizers, nachos, wings,
O ravioli, thou art king!
Thy meaty fill and golden crust
Leave all pretenders in the dust.

O Ravioli, golden, hot,
Thy sav’ry joys be ne’er forgot!

by James Milles

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

Crossposted at BWTR.