St Louis and what to do there archived

I'm going to St. Louis for 4 days over July 4 weekend. Thus far my itinerary consists of going to a Cards game and driving to Springfield, Ill to get my Honest Abe on. What are some must sees/must dos in the St Louis area?

I was in the area for a conference, and all I know is that you can't miss frozen custard at Ted Drewes.

I've heard that it's great to go up in the arch. Haven't done it.

Was only there once, the park which hosted the 1904 Worlds Fair is quite lovely. It really was a spectacular city, back in the day.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/travel/27hours.html?scp=1&sq=36%20hours%20St.%20Louis&st=cse

Posted By: francesI was in the area for a conference, and all I know is that you can't miss frozen custard at Ted Drewes.

I've heard that it's great to go up in the arch. Haven't done it.

Get the Concrete at Ted Drewes...pistachio is my favorite

I read about Ted Drewes as being one of the best remaining slices of Americana left over the old Route 66. You don't have to tell me twice, I'm going

Definitely do The Arch. Laclede's Landing for drinks/dinner. Go to University City next to Washington University. Go to Blueberry Hill.

http://www.blueberryhill.com/

Thanks Jeffl, I thought you'd show up! Do you have any suggestions as to where to sit in Busch Stadium? Haven't bought ticket yet.

The St. Louis Art Museum (aka SLAM) is great. If you want an excuse to climb hills go to the Cahokia Mounds across the river in Illinois.

The Union Station is now the lobby of a Hyatt. It's pretty spectacular. Yes, do the Arch - amazing. Just a warning if you're claustrophobic - the pods that take you up to the top are tiny.

The Gateway museum at the arch. And the St. Louis zoo is fun.

Yes. The SL Art Museum is wonderful...and free when I lived there 26 years ago. It's going to be easier to get Cards tix. Albert Pujols is going to be out for the next two months with a wrist fracture. No suggestions on where to sit, although if it's a day game, ask for shade! It can be horridly hot.

For a really good meal, try Eclipse restaurant in the new Moonrise Hotel, in "the Loop."
6177 Delmar, very close to and across the street from Blueberry Hill, which was fun, but food not so great. Also in the Loop is the Pageant Theatre, where Elvis Costello will be playing on Friday night July 1. Art Museum is still free!

definitely check out the botanical gardens. the garden is enormous and incredibly well done; it's consistently rated one of the best in the US.

Howdy. Maplewoodian now living in STL. Will get to you when I have more time. I answered this partly about a month or so ago, but the socalled "upgrade" has no search function to refer you to. A few random recommendations: Art Museum fine, but half closed down for construction. Without a doubt among the best in the world: MoBot Garden (commonly called "Shaw's Garden" after the founder) and the Zoo. Truly unique: City Museum (not to be confused with the Art Museum) which is open very late at night. Huge 4th activities at Da Arch, but not to my taste anymore; may be to yours, however.

Chuck Berry plays at the Blueberry Hill in the U. City part of the Delmar Loop about once a month.

The Jewel Box... The MO History Museum... St. Louis-Style RIBS!!!... Fried Ravioli...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/travel/27hours.html

-s.

Do not go west of the ballpark....very dangerous

Vacanculo, I hope you're kidding, since 99% of the city (and of the Mo. side of the metro area) is west of the ballpark.

Sorry I didn't get back to you before your trip - don't have my own computer, and I couldn't search for this (or any) thread for quite a while. What did you end up doing besides the stuff at the Arch on the 4th?

And Soda, I'm glad you appreciate St. Louis. But, although the locally famous ravioli dish is, as you said, fried (deep-fried), it is properly called "toasted ravioli." I like it fine when it's done well (cooked just right, in the goldilocks sense, served with marinara sauce, dusted with some grated cheese). However, I'm not too keen on other St. Louis specialties: pork steaks (a cut you don't find most places) are just O.K, "gooey butter cake" is lame, and St. Louis-style pizza is completely VILE. There is a small chain here, Racanelli's, run by two brothers from the Bronx, that serves decent, but basic, N.Y. style pizza. There is another place that claims to serve "Jersey-style" pizza, but I haven't tried it yet.

chopin, I've only been to St. Louis once, to visit a friend about ten years ago. We had a phenomenally good meal at an Italian restaurant in The Hill (the Italian neighborhood). Can't remember the name of the place, but I still think back to that meal sometimes. Light years better than any Italian meal I've had in NJ so far. (But I keep finding myself in red-sauce places around here. Surely there are restaurants in the area that serve other genres of Italian food.) It was an interesting neighborhood to visit as well.

We LOVED the City Museum.

Chopin, is Big Sky in Webster Groves still open and still good? I had the greatest mashed potatoes of my life there. Pretty sure I chased them with a Hawaiian with hot fudge from Ted Drewe's, which must have put the meal in the range of 3000 calories.

I understand what you're saying about STL pizza. At its worst, the crust is thin and pointless, the sauce too sweet and bland, and the cheese without flavor. There's something about the way they cut it into those tiny squares, though. When they char the bottom of the crust a bit, it can be sorta yummy.

Mmmmm, Ted Drewe's. That was another stop we made. My friend was an excellent tour guide. I really enjoyed St. Louis.

Adele, at least according to the internet it still seems open. I don't think I've been there, though.

chopin, I just learned about the accidental death of the guy behind the City Museum and his new project, Cementland (was that the name?). What a loss of an amazing vision. I wonder if Cementland will go ahead? I'd love to see it.

Yeah, quite a loss and quite ironic, given his history. I just got back to STL from SOMA to find about his death. There have evidently been stories in such national media as the New York Times and the WSJ. You might look online for the cover story in our local "Riverfront Times"("RFT") that came out today.

chopin said:

You might look online for the cover story in our local "Riverfront Times"("RFT") that came out today.

In fact, a friend is a staff writer for the RFT; I learned about the accident from a short piece that he posted to his Facebook page right after the accident. Will look for the longer article.

I just realized that I never checked back in here after my trip to STL. The recos were awesome, I had a great time and loved STL! It is a delightful city and I think it is greatly under appreciated. I will definitely be returning, and btw you can get super cheap flights from Newark via Southwest.


ETA: formerly known as Canismajor

Isn't it a nice city? Beautiful parks, great architecture, wonderful neighborhoods, lots o' culture. It really does have a bum rap. I expected more of a rust-belt wasteland.

Great city. Great zoo. Great ballpark. Great art museum. Most stuff for free. Manageable size. One of the best medical schools in the world. Great university. Oh, and my alma mater....