ddfry3's Profile
Shamrocks-St. Peters, MO
Only been there once, but found it solid. Much more pleasant inside than Ponderosa, or whatever it was. Good service, and above-average food. Even bigger fan of Lil Mickey's BBQ nearby.
Quick trip to Indy on Friday
Hi,
Staying in the new Marriott complex downtown this Friday, meeting a friend at the Eiteljorg for the afternoon. Have read some good things about the restaurant there. Looking for some dining recs. Vegetarian friendly for dinner on Friday would be nice, some proximity to the museum would be great.
I wouldn't mind a nice wine bar for later in that evening. I'll probably just do breakfast at the hotel unless there's someplace really recommended near the hotel, heading to the state museum after breakfast and back to St. Louis after lunch.
Any Sat. am breakfast/lunch recs (no restrictions in particular)? Places on my radar include Shapiros for sure. Last nice dinner I ate there was Palomino after the symphony, which was good, but is a chain and I'd like to support local places.
Thanks!
saugatuck
Haven't been in a few years, but Everyday People was top notch (and very crowded), and I assume the same is still true.
STL right this minute
Sorry we were too late the first time around. I would suggest walking over to Washington and heading west, once you get past the Convention Center there are many dining choices. I am guessing not all are open Sunday, but likely a number are. I'd recommend Mango (Peruvian), Mosaic (mostly small plates), Lucas Park Grill (American), Prime 1000 (steakhouse).
We will be in STL April 27-29 and need suggestions for food
Very good burgers, nice vibe, and food several cuts above saloon fare at Royale.
We will be in STL April 27-29 and need suggestions for food
Only been to Five once, for lunch, but it was very good. Amazing burger. That's on The Hill proper. Despite the bunch of Italian places, many touristy and piles of sauce and cheese. my favorites there are Five, Modesto (very good tapas place) and Adriana's (wonderful Sicilian sandwiches/pizza/pastas, very near Five).
Good Tacs in STL?
Wow, fabulous quesadilla, and tacos al pastor and with carne asada. I really like their flavored fruit drinks too, and great salsas. Only bone was that it wasn't super crowded inside and it took at least 10 minutes, maybe more like 15, before anyone came by to help me. The guy who finally did was great. Don't miss the guac. The inside is really quite nice, and a great patio. The area had tons of foot traffic, and parking enforcement plying their trade. It looks about as I remember it, still a little rough and ready for sure. Not sure I'd want to hang out late at night, nor park too far off Cherokee in that part of Benton Park. The part around Niche is lovely. I need to spend an afternoon exploring the antique shops, I like the vibe of Cherokee on the other side of Jefferson quite a bit more. But, best Mexican I've had since eating in the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago, or maybe Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill. I drove by Casa Loma...looks like quite a place.
Good Tacs in STL?
All this talk has inspired me to head to Cherokee today for some Mexican food. I have been there before, but it's been a while, and I am looking forward to seeing what Cherokee is looking like these days.
St. Louis--Downtown Convention Center/Union Station Area
I'm sorry you got a sort of passive response to your query...there are a number of good, sometimes very good choices in the downtown St. Louis. Mango is one of them. Too bad you didn't get to Niche, which is not too far away, but in the Lafayette Square neighborhood. City Museum is indeed a gem. And you are correct, St. Louis' food scene is improving.
Other places near the America's Center: Prime 1000 (though they closed before their posted lunch hours ended both times I have tried to go lately), Copia, Mosaic, Lucas Park Grill. The best place, imho is Farmhaus, which is quite a cab ride out to the I-44 and Arsenal neighborhood in Lindenwood Park.
Couple of quick Qs about St. Louis - hotel location, etc
Since you're nearby, I'd do Pappy's, but while the onwership is related, I think the food and especially sides are better at Bogart's, and it's in a more attractive neighborhood.
I was just at Good Pie and it is, um, good. Neaoplitan pizza cooked in high temp oven with San Marzano tomatoes and the like. Locally sourced mozzarella that is especially good.
Agree with previously mentioned "takes" on the vibes in the CWE and Loop. More, and more eclectic shops in the Loop. Generally bigger $ for the stores in the CWE, it's the high rent district and has been for well over a century.
Hotel Ignacio is highly thought of, I've toured it but never stayed there. Also, not too far from Midtown is a great area called Lafayette Sqaure, great bed and breakfast there called Napoleon's Retreat, at which I have stayed. Some of the best restaurants in the city are nearby in that area and in Benton Park (Niche especially). I should add that there is nothing wrong with staying downtown, the new Embassy Suites is in a nice part of downtown, very convenient to the light rail system (Metrolink) and Washington Ave has many places to choose from and is one of the only areas that's pretty much active 24/7.
The high end brunches would be at the Ritz Carton and Cielo at the Four Seasons, expect to pay $60-75 pp for those. I would look at Nadoz in the Hotel Coronado in Midtown.
Dining in O'Fallon and Nearby
Oh no, re Louisiana Cafe. Looks like it was open as recently as last month from the website updates, if it indeed is closed.
Dining in O'Fallon and Nearby
O'Fallon is part of the St. Louis sprawl now. Pretty much every chain known to humankind along the I-70 and 1-64 exits. Some more interesting places:
Thai Gourmet: http://www.thaigourmetfood.com/
Louisiana Cafe: http://www.yelp.com/biz/louisiana-cafe-o-fallon
BC's Kitchen, in nearby Lake St. Louis, and more upscale than the 2 above:
http://www.billcardwell.com/bcs.html
St. Louis Downtown Dining Alone Options
The good news is that you are in the loft district, which has activity well into the wee hours and many dining choices. I have dined solo at Mosaic and Mango both recently, and of the two I think I like Mango (Peruvian) a little better. Never made to feel hurried and both pleasant spaces with good food. Both within a short walk west on Washington from your hotel. Both of these places have bars but are otherwise restaurants, I should add. For a more bar -like atmosphere,, maybe try Dubliner or Over/Under.
St. Louis: Graduation Dinner in May - Central West End. Not too $$$$$ and not too loud
True, but, as I was reminded by looking at the OP, they asked for something within walking distance. I gave a few initial recs which were and some which are not, and Atlas is not. It is a good 6-7 block walk to Atlas from the Skinker- DeBalaviere station to Atlas, and depending upon mobility, that may be an issue. Maybe not the best walk later at night either depending upon individual comfort levels.
Back to St Louis for shopping trip.
If you are into Volpi I suggest even more highly Salume Beddu, one of the best salumerias around. Lauded nationally. You'll thank me later...
Also, sandwiches at Adriana's on the Hill are not to be missed.
http://www.salumebeddu.com/
St. Louis: Graduation Dinner in May - Central West End. Not too $$$$$ and not too loud
I think you will enjoy Atlas, it's a nice compromise between formal and casual, with a menu that doesn't push the envelope but has some nice touches. Have always had good meals and service there...nothing revelatory, but that's not likely what your occasion demands anyway.
One note...it is NOT walking distance from the Parkway. It's a good mile at least.
Let us know how it goes!
St. Louis: Graduation Dinner in May - Central West End. Not too $$$$$ and not too loud
No, I intended it that way...the logic being that the Midtown places will be crowded around SLU's festivities and the CWE ones around Wash U's.
St. Louis: Graduation Dinner in May - Central West End. Not too $$$$$ and not too loud
Agree with hillfood, need more specific price parameters. Is this a SLU or Wash U grad (or neither?)...reason I ask is if this is in close proximity to either campus' graduation festivities, I might suggest going to Midtown (if it's Wash U's graduation), or the CWE (if SLU's). Does all that make sense?
Anyway: Without knowing what you consider reasonable:
Parkway Hotel has Applebees (NOT!)
Within walking distance, I'd suggest: Wildflower or Brasserie by Niche
Not in walking distance, but in a nice nearby residential area, Atlas is a nice space and has always been quiet.
In Midtown, about 1.5 miles east on Forest Park Parkway, I'd suggest Triumph Grill or Kota Grill.
Hope this helps!
Champaign-Urbana dining in the 1970s
Don't know of the Edsel (other than an ill-fated Ford!) Greater CU Bev is where Nitaya is, and boy if Great Impasta wasn't better when it was in that tiny space next to Art Theater! Bombay was out along Kenyon Rd. in Urbana and that site is vacant to this day. Mountain Jack's...another place vacant forever...and boy if that Neil St. entry off 74 into Champaign isn't ugly, with the failed hotel on one side and failed commercial enterprises on the other.
Did you ever get to Jean Louis in Urbana, or Maggio's in downtown Champaign? Both gone by the mid 90s.
Yes, I knew Terry died. A real loss.
Champaign-Urbana dining in the 1970s
How long ago did you work at White Horse? I liked that pit seating area, and good sandwiches. It closed for a while, reopened, and as far as I know is closed again. Several incarnations ago the Gully's space used to have very good sandwiches and a pleasant vibe overlooking the creek.
Ah yes, the Homestretch, and that no-tell Prospect Motel next to it. Bloomington Rd. was a bit rough back then.
I too was never impressed with Katsinas. Treno's had great Irish nachos, and Nature's Table had great bread and sandwiches and the most counterculture vibe you could ever hope to find in Illinois outside of Chicago.
Always liked Dom's...a neighborhood hole in the wall feeling, but always got good service. Liked Chicken a la Dom, and they had a great creamy dressing I was a big fan of. Not a place to take a date needing to be impressed...which I remember doing at Top of the Inn in 1991, as a UIUC freshman. Blew the budget on a swanky dinner with dessert and Steak Diane prepared tableside. I think for the two of us we dropped $75 or so, a lot for those days in CU. It was very good, and I remember going to a number of Top of the Inn banquets for UIUC groups. Liked the mafia-esque old location of Kennedy's at Sunnycrest, and of course the Stone Creek one recently folded (never was impressed with that). Not that crazy about Village Inn pizza, but they used to have an excellent steak sandwich, used to get that often when I worked at Centennial HS 1996-2000.
Ah yes...Chin's Wok n Roll cafe., Coslow's, Mi Pueblo (excellent desserts especially, was in Johnstown Center), Greater CU Beverage Co., Deluxe (ah, those fish sandwiches, though Derald's are just as I good), and my fave cheapo lunch buffet, Land of Mexico, where a Green St. apt. high-rise is now.
On the other hand, the restaurants of recent years are mostly better I think....and Black Dog...can't beat that. I think the place is a license to print $$$!
St. Louis to KC
+2 for the Firefly. Farmhaus near I-44 in Arsenal in St. Louis is not to be missed.
Champaign-Urbana dining in the 1970s
Agreed. I think the 80s/early 90s were their peak years, they had maybe 6 locations in CU and a couple more in the region. Papa Del's is still very good!
Champaign-Urbana dining in the 1970s
An article about this appeared in the local paper today with a link to this list of places:
http://www.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/pdf/2012/02/17/75goodeateries.pdf
Most were gone by the time I got there in 1990. Anyone have any memories? Ah, how I miss the Deluxe!
Restaurant near St Louis airport
There have been several recent threads on this (last 6 months or less I think) if you search the archives.
Lombardo's is not bad. I think Bandana's is not worth going to.
India Palace is very good Indian in a time-warp tiki bar on the top floor of a Best Western (go figure, a lot of the best places in St. Louis are in strip malls or random locales).
Spiro's (Greek-American) on Natural Bridge is not bad.
For a very pleasant ambiance and small plates, head to Cork Wine Bar in Ferguson (just east of Lambert, exit Florissant Rd. off I-70 and head north about 1.5 miles or so.) Across the street from that is a microbrew place, Ferguson Brewing Co. which has above average pub fare and good in-house brews.
http://www.spiros-restaurant.com/
http://indiapalaceairport.com/
http://www.corkwinebarstl.com/Cork_Wine_Bar/Cork.html
http://fergusonbrewing.com/
Need Great Cannolis in St Louis
+1 for MO Baking company. The cash or check only thing is a little annoying though!
Barbecue in St. Charles, MO
Hmm, never had that experience at Steve's. That's no good! Stumpy's in St. Peters is pretty good,
Edwardsville - Cleveland-Heath is damn good!
Good to hear, I will try to get there at some point. Spend most of my time working on the other side of the stream! You should definitely try both Niche (in Benton Park neighborhood of St. Louis, is moving to Clayton, sadly) and Farmhaus (I-44 and Arsenal area), the chef was previously at Erato in E'ville which received much acclaim when he opened it.
Barbecue in St. Charles, MO
Not a fan of Mel's. In Saint Peters near Cave Springs Blvd. is Lil Mickeys new location, and I much prefer it (even the food) to the old location. Rib City on Mid Rivers drive in Cottleville is not bad for a chain. Bandanas is awful. Also, good, on Duchesne in the Pundmann Ford auto body lot, is Steve-O's, sold out of an elaborate smoker trailer. Very flaky hours, but good stuff, and dirt cheap.
