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As a commenter astutely pointed out, The Shaved Duck (2900 Virginia Avenue; 314-776-1407) is hardly an unknown restaurant. Still, it isn't simply a barbecue joint -- heck, in its original incarnation, it was a gastropub -- and so often doesn't get factored into "Best Barbecue" discussions.

No longer. It was the clear winner of our St. Louis' Most Underrated Barbecue poll. The total of all the write-in votes finished a close second.

Split into individual "Other nominations, the new Lampert's BBQ (11658 Dorsett Road, Maryland Heights; 314-291-0303) received enough write-in ballots to place second overall in a surge that was not at all suspicious.

See Also:
- The Seven Best Barbecue Joints in St. Louis 2012
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Fried Chicken Is...
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Overrated Pizza Is...

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Jennifer Silverberg

Our call for nominations for St. Louis' most underrated barbecue yielded both traditional barbecue joints as well as restaurants that happen to serve excellent 'cue (or so you say). We waived our arbitrary wand to eliminate a couple of spots because they are too new to be considered underrated or overrated.

We narrowed the list down to four spots. We're also leaving a write-in option.

See Also:
- The Seven Best Barbecue Joints in St. Louis 2012
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Fried Chicken Is...
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Overrated Pizza Is...

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Jennifer Silverberg

Here is a category ripe for nominations.

We know the big names: Pappy's Smokehouse (3106 Olive Street; 314-535-4340) and ​Bogart's Smokehouse (1627 South Ninth Street; 314-621-3107) , which between them have won the last five RFT "Best Barbecue" awards.

We of course know barbecue legend Mike Mills' ​17th Street Bar & Grill (1711 West Highway 50, O'Fallon, Illinois; 618-622-1717).

We know there are several new kids on the block, like Hendricks BBQ (1200 South Main Street, St. Charles; 636-724-8600) and Sugarfire Smoke House (9200 Olive Boulevard, Olivette; 314-997-2301)

Who don't we know? Who have we forgotten?

See Also:
- The Seven Best Barbecue Joints in St. Louis 2012
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Fried Chicken Is...
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Burger Is...

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King Edwards Fried Chicken & Fish (multiple locations) won your votes for St. Louis' most underrated fried chicken -- by a landslide. King Edwards walloped the field, beating the runner-up by almost 50%.

See Also:
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Overrated Pizza Is...
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Pizza Is...
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Burger Is...

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Jennifer Silverberg

We asked you to nominate St. Louis' most underrated fried chicken, and you delivered some really interesting selections. A special shout-out to our Metro East readers (or, at least, readers who spend time on the east side, and not just at the strip clubs) -- Illinois restaurants received several mentions.

Two restaurants nominated more than once that we didn't include are Porter's Fried Chicken (3628 South Big Bend Boulevard, Maplewood; 314-781-2097) and Young's Restaurant & Ice Creamery (206 Meramec Station Road, Valley Park; 636-225-6677). Both have won Riverfront Times' "Best Fried Chicken" honor in the past -- Young's twice.

After the jump, meet the seven semifinalists for St. Louis' most underrated fried chicken.

See Also:
- What Is St. Louis' Most Underrated Fried Chicken?
- "Best Fried Chicken" 2008: Porter's Fried Chicken
- "Best Fried Chicken" 2010: Young's Restaurant & Ice Creamery

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Scott Layne

Fried chicken from Porter's Fried Chicken in Maplewood

OK, so our attempt to identify the most underrated restaurant for "sealing the deal" was a dud. No matter. We pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and move on to a matter of more universal importance.

Who has the most underrated fried chicken in St. Louis?

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- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Overrated Pizza Is...
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Pizza Is...
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Burger Is...

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Jennifer Silverberg

It doesn't take a genius to pick a sure-thing restaurant for that special night, the one you've been waiting for since you first Facebook-stalked that friend of a friend spotted that special someone across a crowd, the evening when the fire in your heart will finally stoke the fire your loved ones' loins.

Ahem. Where were we?

Ah, yes. You want to eat a great dinner, and you want to get laid, but you know scoring a table at that slam-dunk spot will be too difficult or -- not that you'd admit it to the object of your desire, but it's OK, you're among friends -- too expensive.

Which is where this very special edition of Underrated/Overrated comes into play.

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- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Overrated Pizza Is...
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Italian Restaurant Is...
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Overrated Burger Is...

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Our quest to identify the most overrated pizza in St. Louis resulted in the most votes by far of our Underrated/Overrated polls. It also resulted in a definitive winner (or should that be "winner"?), with the top vote-getter receiving almost twice as many votes as the runner-up.

See Also:
- Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Pizza Is...
- The 15 Best Imo's Pizza Photos on Instagram

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Jennifer Silverberg

We asked you to nominate St. Louis' most overrated pizza, and you responded. More specifically, many of you -- a clear majority -- named one of two very well known local operations that, as it happens, couldn't be more different from each other. One is a favorite of generations of St. Louis. One is a favorite of many among the St. Louis food media, this publication (and yours truly) included. So overwhelming was the response that we struggled to come up with more than these two nominees.

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Jennifer Silverberg

It's back! After taking a few months off while we celebrated the Best of St. Louis and then the holidays, our search for St. Louis' most underrated and overrated foods, restaurants and more continues.

When we last polled the people, we wanted to know what's St. Louis' most underrated pizza. Now, perhaps the most contentious question we've asked: What is St. Louis' most overrated pizza.

See Also:
- "Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Pizza Is..."
- "Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Overrated Italian Restaurant Is..."
- "Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Underrated Burger Is..."

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