St Louis

[Horn87]

going there with the wife and kids in July--already got tix to Cardinals game--need advice on other attractions besides zoo, Anheiser-Busch museum, Gateway Arch, etc--also, good location as to where to stay and good restaurants, too--thanks for any help

 

[l00p]

You want to rent a station wagon, American. I suggest green with wood paneling. You will be warmly greeted by the locals in all parts of the city, especially at night.

Make sure that any amusement parks you wish to attend are not closed for repairs. Don't follow any Ferarri's and be careful eating sandwiches.

 

[YoLaDu]

The Link
The Link

The Link

City Museum.

Awesome Place. Not sure how old your kids are, but 2 to 14 will love it. As an adult you would probably love it. Teenagers being teenagers, maybe not so much, but they still might.

I highly recommend it.

Pretty good zoo, if you like zoos.

Be warned it can get hot as hell in St. Louis in the summer. As hot as Austin.

 

[Horn87]

thanks for the help, YLD--my kids are aged 11 and 13--we were already planning on the zoo, but the museum looks good, too

 

[hellbunny]

Ted Drewes for frozen custard, at least that's what my midwestern friends say.

 

[YoLaDu]

In reply to:

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[Horn87]

also heard about Pappy's Smokehouse for bbq--guess Metro rail is the way to go?? (vs renting a car)

 

[BPIVODA]

I would look into Citizen Kane's for dinner depending on where you stay. Very good steakhouse that is reasonably priced. Also, try to check out Schlafly Brewery. Crown Candy Kitchen, you might have seen it on the Man vs. Food, is a great stop for the kids. It's near downtown.

 

[swTXSU]

Grant's Farm is pretty cool.

The Link

 

[STLHornFan]

I personally would recommend renting a car. The Metro lines really only cover downtown.

The Delmar Loop is a pretty cool place for St Louis, its a bit like Guadalupe along Campus. Cicero's and Blueberry Hill are good places to eat and you might even catch some live music there. Fitz's Rootbeer is more family friendly of course. The Tivoli is an indie film theater. The Loop is just a few blocks north of Washington University ("Wash U") and Forest Park. The main MetroLink line runs through the area.

For really good Italian food, "The Hill" district in St Louis City is unbeatable.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is also good if you're up for that kind of thing.

Grant's Farm is another St Louis staple. You've probably heard about it already.

Downtown St Charles out in the western suburbs might be an idea too. A lot of the buildings there are preserved in the 1700s historical style. Lots of antique shopping etc. You can rent bikes to ride on the Katy Trail that runs along the Missouri River. The best restaurant there is Lewis and Clark's.

 

[lost in mizzou]

Only go to Crown Candy Kitchen in the daytime-- the neighborhood is iffy, but it'll be worth it for the ice cream sundaes in a really old-fashioned setting. Ted Drewes is better for the experience than the custard, at least in my opinion and that of my StL-raised wife and in-laws...but like Crown Candy, it's kind of a time-warp...as is a lot of StL. The Hill has the kind of Italian food I ate as a kid, and I'm in my late 50s. But two boys with big appetites might love a place like Cunetto's, where the portions are ginormous. The neighborhood itself is precious, a lot of little, meticulously tended houses, corner bars (some with bocce bowling out back), luscious ethnic grocery stores (our favorite), and Italian flags everywhere.

If you haven't pre-ordered tickets for the elevator in the Arch, do that asap. There's a good museum at ground level there. There are several good restaurants around Busch Stadium-- we like Mike Shannon's (he's the semi-legendary Cards radio broadcaster who usually sounds like he's two sheets to the wind when he calls the game). J Buck's is another option. Neither are cheap. For cheap food, there are lots of diners that are real diners-- they've been there for years and years. Goody Goody on Natural Bridge and Eat-Rite (home of the slinger, a heart attack on a plate) on Lindbergh come to mind. South City Diner is fine but not old. O'Connell's does the best burger in town and is yet another time warp.

I really like the Central West End, an urban neighborhood that reminds me of greenwich Village-- 20-25 years ago. But it's another place you don't want to wander around in after dark. Forest Park is where the zoo and some of those other museums are (the art museum is pretty good and is in a spectacular old building, one of the buildings from the 1904 world's fair), but guess what? don't be there at night either.

 

[YoLaDu]

New Motto -

St Louis - you'll love it in the day time!

 

[Horn87]

thanks for all of your help--wife is getting tix to arch, all other stuff now since your advice

 

[Horn87]

ok, just got back from our trip to St Louis--went to Crown Candy, did it at around 1pm and still waited 30 min or so to get in, but worth it, especially for the malts--but if you go to Pappy's Smokehouse, which I definitely recommend, wear something related to UT or Austin--the owner, Mike "Smokey" Emerson, and his crew treat you like royalty--he saw me with a UT shirt on and said something to the effect of "I have my work cut out for you, since you know Texas and Austin bbq"--kept bringing my crew samples of his brisket, etc--was VERY hospitable, made sure we were well taken care of, and it was very crowded--he recommended the ribs, which were allsome, as well as the pulled pork!! sides not near as good as Cooper's, etc, especially since they don't serve onions or jalapenos (aw, a bbq staple in TX), but we were very impressed, needless to say---tons of things to do in ST Louis for all ages, and would go back in a heartbeat!!! The Hill was great also, for Italian food, reminded me of Italian places in NYC--had a great time all around, but hotter than hell there, as a previous poster predicted--Busch Stadium is a great place to watch a b-ball game too, and the place is easy to get around--thanks again for all of you guys and gals recommendations--GO CARDS!!

 

[Horn87]

oh yeah, Delmar Loop is kinda like the Drag in Austin, 'cept the food wasn't nearly as good--went to BlueBerry Hill, but they did have SHINER there!! would definitely recommend renting a car, but there are plenty of places to see if you take the Metro, too...