Young, single, professional...where do I go? (St. Louis, Oran: transplants, living in)

[ShadowCaver]

atl_to_stl - there is a http://www.city-data.com/forum/sprin...art-ii-26.html thread for those in the outlaying areas of Missouri, mainly the Springfield region, where members of CDF get together... just a thought, but maybe if anyone is brave enough, start a thread for the StL folks to meet and bum about, some convenient/agreeable location & time?

As to grits/breakfast, I've not had opportunity to eat there, but have heard positive of Goody Goody Diner, St. Louis, MO . Might also try Chris' Pancakes & Dining Breakfast Menu and/or Uncle Bill's Pancake House; 3427 S Kingshighway Blvd; St Louis, MO 63139-1201; Phone: (314) 832-1973 and/or Reynolds Roadhouse Restaurant; 11488 Dorsett Road; Maryland Heights, MO 63043; (314) 291-6119

[Brickmama]

downtown unfortunately is dang-near a ghost town after 5pm

I live downtown and this is simply not true.

[atl_to_stl]

I also live downtown (in the loft district on wash. ave.)....it's not necessarily a ghost town but it's quieter than a downtown area in an urban area should be. I'm sure in the warmer months the activity will double so I'm looking forward to that.

[Brickmama]

Try Rooster, Cummels, and Crepes in the City which are all downtown. However I am not sure if they serve grits.

Yes it may be quieter than expected for a DT but it is nowhere near as desolate or in such bad shape as it was in earlier this decade.

[atl_to_stl]

Where's a fun place to watch the Super Bowl next weekend? I'm also a big College Basketball fan and I'll want to be around a tv during March Madness 24/7, any good sports bars around?

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by atl_to_stl

Where's a fun place to watch the Super Bowl next weekend? I'm also a big College Basketball fan and I'll want to be around a tv during March Madness 24/7, any good sports bars around?

College Hoops: Be careful of places that advertise themselves as "Sports Bars," but in actuality they aren't, because they do not buy different sports packages for college and pro sports. At best they get the NFL Sunday Ticket for pro football. Otherwise they show the basic cable televised games. "Real" Sports bars in Stl include but are not limited to:

Lester's in Ladue and another location in Town and Country. Food is overrated imo, the NYC Deli stuff is their better food. It's more of sleek modern setting. They will get all kinds of sports packages.

Ozzie's in Westport Plaza, older, dated interior, inexpensive, gets all the sports packages. Food is average bar stuff at best.

Sports Zone, on Watson in Shrewsbury, older, dated interior. Food, similar to Ozzie's not their strong suit, typical average at best bar food.

Flannery's on Washington Ave, will get the sports packages, I've never eaten the food there, but I've been told it's decent. I'm not a fan of the tv layout for games, but a solid choice.

Skybox, on the Landing, gets all the games, modern sleek in decor similar to Lester's. I've never eaten there.

These would be some I'd try depending on the part of town, especially if you are seeking non-basic cable games, or sports packages of different varieties.

You will see lots of college sports fans at these sports bars on a regular basis, and many host alumni watching events and parties of colleges all across the country for their St. Louis alumni chapters.

Super Bowl: That'll be on anywhere. So that will greatly increase your opportunity for watching the game almost anywhere.

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by atl_to_stl

Sounds good, different strokes for different folks I guess. Atlanta is definitely more suburban and I've been accustomed to seeing everything "bright, shiny, and new". :-) Also understand my perspective as a young black female may be a little different than yours. I'm coming from an area with a highly educated black middle class and I'm so sad to see the lack of progress in St. Louis within the black community. St. Louis has definitely been an eye opener but no different than any other midwestern or "rust belt" urban city I've lived in for work. As soon as I landed in St. Louis and stepped walked into the terminal, I thought, this is just like Cleveland. I spent eight months there on my last assignment....thankfully, I've found St. Louis to be MUCH better, lol. One thing's for sure, I'll take St. Louis traffic anyday over Atlanta's, goodness gracious. And that blizzard we had in Cleveland last April? NEVER again...I've had more than my share of snow. I was trying to get out of town that weekend, came down with the flu, I was hauling my luggage around by myself in waist deep snow and trying to get to the airport before they shut it down for 48 hours....tons of men everywhere and no one even offered a hand. That was the worst day of my life, lol. Made me appreciate southern hospitality even more.

Mardi Gras sounds fun, I'll definitely have to research it and put in on my calendar. I'm not into anything wild and I'm not a drinker (only wine) but I'm sure it'll be an experience. I have no friends or family here so I'm researching ways to meet new people. My co-workers (who are from St. Louis) say it's a hard city to meet new people because they don't really welcome "outsiders"...is there any truth to this?

Another thing....where can I get some good breakfast, preferrably with a nice hot bowl of grits. I was able to find a Waffle House not too far from the airport and their grits were lumpy and cold...such a disappointment.

You simply won't find many other metro areas like Atlanta in terms of being a destination of sorts for young urban and suburban black professionals. And, you will not find St. Louis to be that place. However, if you make an effort and get out to see and do the things that make St. Louis unique to itself, you will do well.

Clayton MO, would be the clean, sort of shiny new, similar in distance as say Midtown Atlanta from downtown. It's very near the U.City Loop. Outside of your district, based on your posts, that is an area I'd recommend, as well as the Central West End, which has been previously mentioned, as areas that seem to fit your background and interests, outside of your area of living in the Loft district.

St. Louis and Atlanta are both suburban sprawl metros, Atlanta's being much more so, and almost double the population size of St. Louis as a metro when you consider all of those far out burbs of Atl. There are many urban and suburban places and people and things that would be up your alley in St. Louis. It just isn't all connected and the areas themselves will be smaller than what they were in Atlanta in some cases.

Make sure to take some people's advice on seeing the area's unique to St. Louis combined with ones of what you are used to, to get a feel for multiple things.

[joe stixpuck]

I may be wrong, but surely there will be vendors or places serving wine during Mardi Gras? Just moved back from the SF Bay area, and I forget that it may not be served everywhere like out West. Not that one needs to drink to enjoy the MG parades or festivities...but it does kinda go hand in hand, ha ha.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Here's the Mardi Gras website:
Mardi Gras, Inc. - 2009 St. Louis Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras, Inc. - 2009 St. Louis Mardi Gras: Do's & Don'ts

[AJohnston_STL]

Isn't the Mardi Gras in St Louis the second largest next to N'awlins?