76. Companion Bakehouse And Cafe
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 721-5454
Address: 4651 Maryland Avenue
Description: Open for breakfast and lunch (until 5 p.m.), this cafe offers excellent homemade breads, pastries, cookies, coffees, and teas. Lunches include a hearty menu of sandwiches, along with house-made soups, lasagna, and salads.
77. Duff’S Restaurant
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 361-0522
Address: 392 North Euclid Avenue
Description: Duff’s is perfect if you’re looking for something a little more upscale, but still casual enough for kids. The Central West End eatery has an eclectic lunch, dinner, and brunch menu that changes seasonally, but there’s always an array of sandwiches, soups, pizzas, salads, and entrees, as well as a selection of meatless and “heart-healthy” items for calorie- or cholesterol-conscious diners. The children’s menu is available any time the kitchen is open, except during brunch. Then, the Brunch Children’s Menu is in effect. Duff’s is a popular spot for outdoor dining and weekend brunch. There’s free parking available (around the corner) in the McPherson lot and in the Euclid parking lot.
78. Fitz’S American Grill And Bottling Works
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 726-9555
Address: 6605 Delmar Boulevard
Description: This root beer microbrewery is an all-around favorite. There’s a bottling line on-site, so kids can see the bottles being filled and capped. Fitz’s root beer is some of the best you’ll ever taste—it’s even won over the taste buds of those who say they don’t like root beer. Even the diet version tastes great with no icky aftertaste. Also on tap are cream soda, orange pop, grape pop, ginger ale, and the raspberry/cola–flavored Hip Hop Pop. The menu is just as good, with great burgers (including a great veggie burger), soups, sandwiches, salads, and, of course, root beer floats.
79. Hard Rock Cafe
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 621-7625
Description: The menu here provides diners with a healthy choice of comfortable favorites, including burgers, sandwiches, salads, and an assortment of barbecued items. A great stained-glass window featuring Chuck Berry lets you know that this link in the Hard Rock chain happens to be in St. Louis, along with a 36-foot-tall replica of Berry’s 1959 Gibson ES335 guitar.
80. Lou Boccardi’S
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 647-1151
Address: 5424 Magnolia
Description: Lou Boccardi’s, in The Hill, is a tiny neighborhood eatery that greets customers with a warm St. Louis–style reception from the family members who run the place. This isn’t fancy Italian food, but it’s good and it’s fresh, and the atmosphere is nothing less than charming. Known for their St. Louis-style pizza, the cozy eatery offers a variety of pasta dishes and salads as well. Closed Sunday.
81. Maurizio’S Pizza & Sports Cafe
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 621-1997
Address: 1107 Olive Street
Description: Here you can get excellent fresh, hand-tossed pizzas; pastas; salads; and sub sandwiches. There’s also an all-you-can-eat buffet that includes a variety of pizzas, wings, and soda for one reasonable price—just the thing for picky eaters who want different toppings on their pizza. Big-screen TVs will help you keep an eye on all the sports action.
82. Max & Erma’S
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 621-5815
Description: This St. Louis sports–themed restaurant is part of the national chain, but it offers an extensive menu of traditional foods for kids and adults. There’s standard kid fare here—chicken fingers, burgers, mac and cheese, corn dogs, grilled cheese, and pasta with marinara sauce—along with a bathtub full of toppings at the build-your-own sundae bar. Kids can even order up their own specialty drinks, such as the Beetle Juice (grape juice and Sprite with gummy bears on the side) or the Volcano Blaster (Coca-Cola and a scoop of ice cream). Parental units can choose from a pretty good selection of eats, ranging from soups, salads, and sandwiches to steaks, pasta, and barbecue.
83. Pam’S Chicago Style Dogs And More
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 721-7267
Address: 6016 Delmar Boulevard
Description: Don’t let the name fool you—they serve a lot more than just Chicago-style hot dogs here. In addition to serving breakfast daily, this tiny eatery in The Loop features “the real deal” for fans of Chicago-style hot dogs. The menu also includes gyros, burgers, salads, sandwiches, tamales, veggie dogs and burgers, breakfast items, and the beloved deep-fried Twinkie. Open daily.
84. Panera/St. Louis Bread Company
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 588-0423
Address: 116 North Sixth Street
Description: With literally dozens of bakery/cafes throughout the metropolitan area, you’re always close to at least one location. The Bread Company—know elsewhere as Panera Bread—is a popular and inexpensive place for breakfast, lunch, or a light dinner. Soups, salads, and sandwiches are the specialties, along with a variety of bagels, croissants, muffins, cookies, lattes, and, of course, breads. The service is fast and the food is good, with the soup selections changing daily. There are a number of vegetarian and low-fat items on the menu, along with the ever-popular PB&J sandwich that “big kids” order almost as often as the little ones. Free Wi-Fi hot spots at all locations.
85. The Pasta House Company
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 863-8882
Description: With 19 locations throughout the metro area, the Pasta House is a popular place with area families. They have a better-than-average menu of pastas with your choice of red sauces or cream-based sauces; appetizers; sandwiches; steaks; veal, chicken, and seafood entrees; as well as salads with their “famous” special salad dressing.
86. Racanelli’S
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 727-7227
Address: 6655 Delmar Boulevard
Description: Here you can get really good New York–style pizza by the slice or a whole pie to go. This is more of a pizza stand than a restaurant, but it’s great for food on the go. There are a few plastic tables and chairs set up in the common area of this indoor mini mall, which is adjacent to the outdoor common area and market. The restrooms aren’t great, but at least they exist.
87. Rigazzi’S
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 772-4900
Address: 4945 Daggett Avenue
Description: Rigazzi’s on The Hill offers casual Italian dining and has more than 200 items on its extensive menu. Its St. Louis–style pizza (topped with Provel rather than mozzarella cheese) was rated one of the country’s best by Bon Appétit magazine. Rigazzi’s is known as the “Home of the Frozen Fishbowl,” which is an oversize frozen goblet filled with draft beer. (You can, however, order one with soda.) Kids’ dinner options include burgers, hot dogs, toasted ravioli, chicken fingers, spaghetti and other pastas, and mini pizza. Small fry’s dinners come with fries, applesauce, and a chocolate ice-cream bar. Reservations accepted. Closed Sunday.
88. Soda Fountain Square
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 241-0099
Address: 1801 Park Avenue
Description: This Lafayette Square eatery is one of the few family-friendly spots to dine in the hip and trendy neighborhood. Kids of all ages enjoy a visit here, as the retro soda fountain serves up excellent food as well as desserts. Breakfast is served all day (until midnight on Friday and Saturday), along with soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and various “home-cooked” plates. Be sure to leave room for dessert, such as old-fashioned ice-cream sodas, milk shakes, floats, splits, and sundaes. Closed Monday.
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 6726 Chippewa Street
90. Trainwreck Saloon
City: St. Louis, MO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (314) 434-7222
Description: This place looks like a saloon in an old cowboy movie, complete with swinging saloon doors, planked floors, stained glass, and brass tappers, but it offers good food in a family-friendly environment. A large model train circles the bar, and the dining room consists of antique booths and more stained glass. The menu has your choice of ostrich, bison, or “regular” burgers along with ribs, pastas, salads, and desserts. Closed Sunday.