St. Louis places to visit (and eat)

Bob in St. Louis · « **on:** 3 Apr 2007, 07:38 pm »

Hey guys!

A forum member emailed me about spending a long weekend in May or June with his wife site seeing in STL. He needed some recommendations on places to see, and places to eat. (He knows about the arch)
Does anybody have any ideas for him, I've got a few suggestions:

Anheuser Busch Brewery tour:
http://www.budweisertours.com/docs/stltour.htm

St Louis Zoo (recommended):
http://www.stlzoo.org/

Missouri Botanical Garden Butteryfly house: (yea, it's actually pretty neat. The wife will love it)
http://www.butterflyhouse.org/

Fast Eddie's Bon Aire: (Bar and Grill)
The place is a dive BUT has: Great food, live music, cheap prices
http://www.fasteddiesbonair.com/index.cfm

St. Louis Science Center: (great for kids and adults too. The laser show is badass!)
http://www.slsc.org/

St. Louis Art Museum:
http://www.stlouis.art.museum/

Forest Park: (which contains a few of the above places)
http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/forestpark/

White Castle (fast food) Interesting, everybodies gotta do it once in thier life.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard (Famous in the area. Potential for a very long wait time!)
http://www.teddrewes.com/Drewes.asp

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (I've never been here, too pricey for me. Have heard many folks rave about it)
http://www.ruthschris.com/locations/stlouissteakhouse.html

Of course we have all the sporting event stuff, but since it sounds like the plans are for a nice quiet weekend, just the two of them, these may have a low WAF.

Any idea guys?

Bob

gooberdude · « **Reply #1 on:** 3 Apr 2007, 08:05 pm »

Go to BB's for lunch & then catch a ball game @ Busch. Awesome food & soup & tunes...

The Arch!

Fast Eddie's for Food on a Stick is a GREAT suggestion...their shrimps are excellent. Not much else to do in Alton though, except gamble...

Tratoria Marsala: for the $ not much can beat it...

ANY place on the Hill. Lunch at Zia's is my fav.

ANY strip bar in Sauget...$1 goes REAL far.

Ok, that last one may not work!

Scott F. · « **Reply #2 on:** 3 Apr 2007, 11:29 pm »

Heres a few more

I'll second dining down on The Hill . Gian-Tony's is one of my favs but you really can't go wrong with any of the places down there. Fabulous Italian food. Get there early on weeknights and if you are going on a weekend GET A RESERVATION, trust me.

Another MUST is a trip to The Loop in U City. Its a great place to people watch and get some decent food. Blueberry Hill has to be on the list while you are there. If burgers and beers don't do it for you, there are plenty of other fine eating establishments for choose from.

If they are coming while the season is still on, Powell Hall the St Louis Symphony Orchestra is another great thing to do. We are lucky enough to have a world class orchestra here in town. That or you may want to walk across the street and catch a play or concert at the Fabulous Fox Theater .

Heres a link to quite a few local music venues.

Heres a link for Dine St Louis . Clayton also has some VERY good restaurants. The Landing, Soulard and the Central West End are all decent places to hang out in if you are looking for some nightlife.

Well, thats all I can think of for the moment.

HEY BOB or STEVE K. You should probably make this a Sticky. That way, anyone making the trek can check out our suggestions

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #3 on:** 5 Apr 2007, 10:49 am »

I'm sure there are more things to do in STL.... Come on fella's, what else we got??

Bob

Thelonious Monk · « **Reply #4 on:** 14 Apr 2007, 11:16 pm »

i never knew there were other audiophiles in st louis! too late now, moved to kentucky... curses.

all great places; anyone ever been to racanelli's pizza? great pizza. they're gigantic with gigantic slices and probably not the most healthy, but i haven't had better pizza since.

also, some shameless plugging: lindbergh highschool has free student concerts randomly throughout the year. their band program is top-notch, performed at the rose bowl not too long ago, if you're in the area it's worth it.

st louis is such a great city, i'm sad that i moved. here we've got... uhhh... hmmm... kfc?

kirch · « **Reply #5 on:** 26 Apr 2007, 09:58 pm »

Central West End - Tons of shops and restaurants

Clayton - tons of restaurants and one of the best Art Fairs in the nation - not to mention the Taste of Clayton food thingy

I second The Loop - St. Louis' version of the Village with a lot more college students

City Museum - an outstanding place for kids AND adults

Magic House in Kirkwood - another great place for kids (and adults)

Scott Faller's Basement - Adults only, please.

The Tap Room and The Bottleworks (Maplewood) Absolutely some of the best craft beers in the country.

The Machester Strip in Maplewood - great food, nice shops. It's coming along nicely

What about the Tower Grove/Grand area near Tower Grove Park?

Lafayette Square

Soulard

Moolah Theatre and Bowling Alley (both with nice bars) The biggest freakin' movie screen I've ever seen.

(Funny how no one's mentioned Laclede's Landing or the Bowling Hall of Fame.)

The list of great places to eat in St. Louis is just too big. I have family that lives in Brooklyn Heights and they're hugely impressed with the number of excellent restaurants in Clayton/UCity/The Hill/Central West End, etc. We really do have a ton of stuff here.

Sorry for the late post on this one fellas.

Scott F. · « **Reply #6 on:** 27 Apr 2007, 03:21 am »

Quote from: kirch on 26 Apr 2007, 09:58 pm

Scott Faller's Basement - Adults only, please.

...admission is absolutely free as long as you bring single malt Scotch(s)

Quote from: kirch on 26 Apr 2007, 09:58 pm

What about the Tower Grove/Grand area near Tower Grove Park?

During the summer, visitors can hear our own Mark Blackmore and his lovely wife Lisa play trumpet in the Compton Heights Concert Band at the gazebo in Tower Grove Park.

pjchappy · « **Reply #7 on:** 10 May 2007, 05:47 am »

If your up for drinks/food/music. . .spend the day in Soulard!!! (I lived there for 2+ years). Also, a great place to go to b/4 games. . .many bars have free shuttles (w/ free beer on the short treck). Also, a great place to go out b/4 going out to some other places nearby to catch some blues, like BB's or Broadway Oyster Bar (someone had mentioned BB's)

It's a mile from downtown.

The Pageant, on Delmar (by Washington University) is a great place to catch concerts. . .because it's nice and personal (sound isn't always top notch, however. . .plus, it's mostly a venue for rock/alternative/etc.) But, there are great restaurants and such on Delmar. (as Scott F. mentioned, Blueberry Hill). . .this area, like the Central West End, may seem a bit 'alternative' to many. . . .I don't feel like explaining that. They're good places to go to, period.

The Fox Theatre is a great place to catch some plays/comedy acts/concerts. Great venue all around. Great sound. In an article in Rolling Stone, Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd) said that The Fox was one of his favorite venues to play at. B/4 the concert, you can catch some good food at Vito's pizza on Lindell (my favorite pizza of all time). . . or, maybe take a stroll through the campus of my alma mater, Saint Louis University. Beautiful campus!!!

If you're up for a bit more trendy stuff in the city, there are plenty of bas/restaurants on Washington Ave for you, by the loft district. Wasabi has damn good sushi!

If you're a bit west of the city, Clayton is a good area to go out at, too. . .kinda like a bigger version of Washington Avenue.

In general, I don't like The Landing for some reason. . .somewhat touristy. . . .and somewhat a haunt for college peeps who live in STL, but don't go to school in STL. Not a horrible place, but usually last on my (and friends') list to go out at, etc. ALTHOUGH, The Big Bang is an exception. . .a fun piano bar, where the people know SOOOO many songs. . .you yell it out, they'll play it. Can be a fun time, for sure!

p

dburna · « **Reply #8 on:** 29 May 2007, 07:27 pm »

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. Bob was kind enough to start this thread on my behalf. I've just been too busy to respond, but I really appreciate your help and input. We'll be heading to St. Louis this Friday through Sunday.

There's the St. Louis Jazz & Heritage Festival being held this weekend (http://www.saintlouisjazzfest.com/), but I'm figuring that we will be too busy trying to cram a week's worth of activities into 2.5 days.

We're staying down by the Landing, so I imagine we'll go to see the Arch -- isn't there some sort of legal requirement that we do so?

Will definitely visit the Zoo and the Art Museum. High likelihood we'll get to the Hill and the Loop. Ted Drewes is calling also -- I am curious about the whole 'custard' thing. If we can squeeze it in, the butterflies are on our (cramped) agenda a well.

Sunday morning we'll be attending services at the Cathedral Basilica, most likely. I'm not Catholic, but the Missus is, and I don't mind a good show in a fancy venue.

Haven't settled on dining options yet, but thanks to you folks I have good, viable alternatives in every part of the city.

So much to see and do.....we'll just have to make a second trip later on to catch most of it.

Thanks again,

-dB (a unit measure of noise)

gooberdude · « **Reply #9 on:** 29 May 2007, 08:26 pm »

Ted Drewes should be real high on the list. If they have it avail, the Apple Pie concrete is awesome.
there's a whole piece of pie in it...

I remember as a kid reading newspaper articles about how Mr. Drewe found & obtained all the ingredients for the treats. the guy is as obsessed about quality ingredients as we are about our rigs.

There's good people watching in the parking lot too.

http://visitstlouis.com/

dburna · « **Reply #10 on:** 4 Jun 2007, 03:16 am »

Thanks to everyone for their recommendations. We had a lovely time in St. Louis. Pretty amazing how clean the whole place is. Mighty friendly folks, too. We managed to pack a few things into a 2.5 day weekend, including:
1. Blueberry Hill: I really enjoyed seeing Chuck Berry's guitar. Perhaps next time I'll catch one of his monthly shows there.
2. Ted Drewes: really enjoyed my Big Apple (Pie) Concrete. My wife ordered something like a tieremisu (sp?) custard that was somewhat tasty but a little weird. I'm glad I stuck with the (winner) apple pie desert.
3. St. Louis Zoo: what a treat. Great, great zoo. That it was free made it a total blast. BTW, who funds that so that they can forgo the admission charge? My wife really enjoyed the prairie dogs. We also had a great bonding experience with a chimp who used a provided mirror to chek his dental work (photos available upon request).
4. St. Louis Art Museum: about a 2 minute walk from the zoo and also impressive. After almost all day at the zoo, we were worn out by room after room after room of exhibits -- this place is huge!
5. Gian-Tonys: nice Italian food.
6. Basilica of St. Louis. Wow. Just wow.
7. The Arch. I thought this would be hokey, but it's a true engineering marvel, and the view from the top is impressive. Fun.
8. Several runs in the park around the arch with my faithful running partner, Fenway (Lab/Dane mix).
9. Lafayette Square: we went there for lunch today (Sunday). What a gorgeous little area. 5 minutes from downtown and all of those adorable not-so-little Victorian townhouses at affordable prices. Move that area to Chicago and those houses would go for 4-5x the asking price (around $250k). Lovely. Also, if you stop by the area, go to Sqwires and get a killer oatmeal raisin cookie ice cream sandwich. Just great.

Didn't get to see a Cards game which was my only lament. Drove by the stadium a couple times, however, and it really looks (from the outside) that they have done it up right and then some. I'm going to try to talk my buddy Jay (who lives in Milwaukee) to take a road trip back there to see a game.

Also, kudos to the Renaissance Hotel staff, who couldn't have been more accommodating to us who had a big dog in tow. Everyone was friendly and helpful and didn't seem to mind all that much when Fenway would protect our home (aka: the entire 15th floor) from intruders by letting out the "bark of thunder"(TM).

Also, this was the first time he saw a horse-drawn carriage, with predictable results. However, by the end of the weekend, he was whining out the car window because he wanted to play with the "big dog".

All in all, a wonderful time was had. Congrats to you St. Louis residents -- you have a lovely city there. Now about that humidity..... aa

Best, -dB (a unit measure of noise)

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #11 on:** 8 Jun 2007, 09:17 pm »

Well, I'm very happy you and the Mrs. had a good time. I'm embarrassed to say the I have not been to most of the places you've been.

Regarding the funding of the Zoo; Large, LARGE amount of donations from private individuals and corporations. You can "adopt" an animal for a monthly/yearly fee. Although any particular animal may be "adopted" by hundreds of people. I don't know if local taxes are involved or not, but I wouldn't mind if they were. We are very proud to have the countries last free zoo. ("last" from my understanding).

And we still haven't figured out the whole humidity thing either.

Bob

gooberdude · « **Reply #12 on:** 8 Jun 2007, 09:32 pm »

I know a thing or 2 as to 'why' the humidity is why it is...and also why, at times, it gets crazy late at night.

i'm from the East side, by all the corn. In addition to the mad amount of water in the area (the drink as we call it, the Mississippi) the corn stalks open up late at night and let out nearly a cup of water per stalk. In August when the crop is way bigger than knee-high, they can spit out nearly 2 cups...

The last summer I was home, '99 i think, if you walked outside at midnight it was even hotter and muggier than at high noon, or when the Sun was doin' its thing. For this, Chi-town is a breath of fresh of air.

Glad to hear St. L is clean these days...that's an accolade I don't hear very often. While i was young the downtown area was desolate and darn near forgotten. I just wish i coulda bought up Washington St for pennies on the dollar way back when, i'd have a sweet stereo and be retired at 31!

innov8ion · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 Jan 2009, 06:49 pm »

There's a pretty good list here from St. Louis Magazine: http://www.stlmag.com/media/St-Louis-Magazine/May-2008/101-Things-Every-St-Louisan-Must-Do/

no1maestro · « **Reply #14 on:** 5 Apr 2009, 11:24 pm »

I am a new member of this circle and, as such, don't have the possibility to create a new thread. Therefore I must jump on this thread to appeal to the classical music lovers in the St. Louis area to investigate the possible, and maybe probable, sale of Classic99, our only classical FM station in the region.
There was a story in last week's Post Dispatch covering this. I am hoping one of the older members will post this information on this site in order to drum up some opposition to the Lutheran Church selling this valuable station to a company that will surely broadcast sports, news or who knows what. I appeal to you folks to use this room to try to at least slow down this unheralded sale of a great station on the "sly".
Sorry for gloming this post. I apologize!

electricbear · « **Reply #15 on:** 6 Apr 2009, 03:20 am »

This is major. Although I don't listen to this station on a daily basis it is a St Louis institution and must be protected. We have more than enough crap talk stations. I'm going to do my best to put the word around and see what can be stirred up.

electricbear · « **Reply #16 on:** 6 Apr 2009, 05:28 pm »

I was talking to a friend about this proposed sale. He told me that this is not the first time that the station has been put up for sale. The last time it came up the Mormon Church was looking in to buying it. One would hope that if the Mormons buy it then the classical format would remain.

no1maestro · « **Reply #17 on:** 6 Apr 2009, 06:13 pm »

My thanks to electric bear for his concern. I am trying to contact the Luteran Synod and lodge my complaint that this sale is even being suggested. As I understand it the Mormon church is a no show at this time. A David Strand at the synod seems to be in charge of this issue. They can be reached at 314-965-9000. All calls will probably be directed toward him. I have also been in touch with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and they are also concerned. When I have more contact information, I will be back to you.

Again thanks for your help!!

no1maestro · « **Reply #18 on:** 6 Apr 2009, 07:16 pm »

My thanks to electric bear for his concern. I am trying to contact the Luteran Synod and lodge my complaint that this sale is even being suggested. As I understand it the Mormon church is a no show at this time. A David Strand at the synod seems to be in charge of this issue. They can be reached at 314-965-9000. All calls will probably be directed toward him. I have also been in touch with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and they are also concerned. When I have more contact information, I will be back to you.

Again thanks for your help!!

KnowTalent · « **Reply #19 on:** 6 Apr 2009, 08:19 pm »

Quote from: no1maestro on 5 Apr 2009, 11:24 pm

I am a new member of this circle and, as such, don't have the possibility to create a new thread. Therefore I must jump on this thread to appeal to the classical music lovers in the St. Louis area to investigate the possible, and maybe probable, sale of Classic99, our only classical FM station in the region.
There was a story in last week's Post Dispatch covering this. I am hoping one of the older members will post this information on this site in order to drum up some opposition to the Lutheran Church selling this valuable station to a company that will surely broadcast sports, news or who knows what. I appeal to you folks to use this room to try to at least slow down this unheralded sale of a great station on the "sly".
Sorry for gloming this post. I apologize!

R.I.P. Classical Music....what do you wanna bet they go country!!!