Restaurants that best represent St. Louis (Chesterfield, University City: apartments, rent, loft)

[Amylville]

I am considering a move to St. Louis in the near future and am coming for a visit next weekend. Which neighborhoods, in your opinion, best represent what is special/ uniqie about St. Louis? Also which restaurants (and for what meal) would you recommend we visit to give us a real taste of the neighborhood in which it is located? Thanks for your help

[stlcitygirl]

So many to chose from! Here is where I would start: First of all, go up in the arch, if you dont have time to go in, just stand below. Then head to: Soulard Farmers market on a Saturday, then go over to Bogarts for lunch. If you can, go to the anheuser busch brewery for a tour.

Next, head over to Lafayette Square and take a ride around the park, check out all the beautiful homes and architecture.

From Lafayette Square head South on Jefferson, take a Right on Russell, you will drive through Fox Park and the edge of Compton Heights. Take a left on Grand, you will see Tower Grove Park, grab a gelato at Gelateria Del Leaone, this area is called South Grand. This is the hub of ethnic dining, almost anything you can think of from Ethopian, to Thai to Bedouin (one of only two restaurants in the US to offer this food, the other being in Brooklyn)

Next, head back North on Grand and take a left on Arsenal, you take that several blocks until you meet Kingshighway, take a Right. You will follow this until you reach Maryland, take a right. This is the Central West End, a wonderful, vibrant neighborhood in the city. If you haven't eaten, stop in at Pi for some pizza, 400 N. Euclid @ McPherson.

Go back out to Kingshighway and go West on Lindell, this will take you along the edge of Forest Park. If you can, go in the park and drive around, its beautiful and a St Louis gem. Take Lindell until you reach Skinker and take a right.

Follow this until Delmar and take a left, this is The Loop, stop at Blueberry Hill for a drink or burger.

At night, go to The Hill for dinner. There are a ton of restaurants to choose from, but its known for it's excellent Italian food. I would then head down to Washington Avenue downtown for a drink (Mosiac Lounge, Flannerys, Dubliner, etc)

Before the end of the weekend, try to go to The Zoo, City Museum, city garden and laumeier sculpture park


This would be a whirlwood tour of the city of St Louis.

[Amylville]

Thanks stlcitygirl!

[scocar]

I would add that you should check out some of the suburbs as well. I don't know where you are coming from or where you have lived, but STL has some unique features to it. The city of St. Louis is separate from St. Louis County and has only about 300,000 residents. There are close to a million residents of St. Louis County. Many of the "inner ring" suburbs such as Clayton, University City, Kirkwood, and Webster Groves give an urban feel and are really very similar to living in the city. I moved to Webster Groves about 6 months ago and love it. I'm about 10 minutes from downtown. I'm closer to Forest Park than 1/2 the people that actually live in the city. All of the ideas that stlcitygirl gave you were in the city only except part of the Loop. I love the city, but you will not be getting a true picture of the area you are considering moving to unless you check out the entire metro area. There are also many more suburban cities the further you get from the city limits. If you are more comfortable with the shopping malls, sprawling neighborhoods, and chain restaurants of modern suburbia I would take a drive through Chesterfield, Ballwin, and Fenton.

As for favorite places to eat I love Blues City Deli which I believe is in Benton Park West. It's just east of Jefferson and just south of I-44. They have the best sandwiches I've ever tasted. I second "The Hill" for great Italian. I've only eaten at Zia's, and it was tremendous. I would also check out all the ethnic restaurants on South Grand.

We did quite a bit of research before moving here from Phoenix so if you have any questions before or after your visit don't hesitate to ask.

[stlouisan]

I'd have to say the Delmar Loop, the Central West End, Dogtown, and The Hill are where you'll find the best ST. Louis restaurants. Crown Candy Kitchen, Pappy's, and Schlafly's I'd say are both biggies as well. Soulard is another great restaurant scene, and South City also has great restaurants like Hodak's and Gino's. Ted Drew's is a big representation of STL, as is Mom's Deli.

[billiken]

This is a great post To me, the Central West End represents the more upscale side of STL. Here, places like Salt or Taste come to mind; both are upscale and trendy, which sort of encompasses the Central West End vibe in my opinion.

Soulard is a more laid back area, anchored by Anheuser-Busch's brewery. There's a ton of red brick, which is huge in STL, and a ton of bars/restaurants. I agree w/ the Soulard Market + Bogarts recommendations above in Soulard. McGurks is also probably my favorite bar in STL.

For something a little more funky, yet distrinctly STL with all the brick, I'd check out Tower Grove South. I love all the ethnic eats, along with places like Blackthorn for pizza, and The Royale for bar food.

Lafayette Square is another good pick for beautiful homes, although not as much red brick, and in my opinion seems to skew towards a little bit older of a crowd. I'm a fan of 1111 Mississipi here, with the Chocolate Bar for dessert. I really enjoy Square One Brewing for drinks, and there are some cute coffee places (Park Avenue Coffee and Rue Lafayette) that I enjoy for catching up with friends.

Downtown has made a huge comeback over the last decade, primarily along Washington Avenue. I LOVE Schlafly Tap Room from the brewery standpoint, and also because they have so many events throughout the year, but it's kind of on the edge of where things are more "happening." Rooster is probably my favorite breakfast downtown, and Bridge is awesome for drinks. Although not on Wash Ave, I love BB's by the baseball stadium. Great place for some live jazz/blues.

Benton Park is still what most people would consider up and coming. Its an interesting place...some pretty upscale restaurants (Sidney Street Cafe, Niche), one of my fav sandwich place in STL (Blues City Deli) on the eastern side; and a bunch of Mexican places on Cherokee St.

The Hill, because someone else mentioned it, is pretty old school Italian/STL; lots of restaurants with deep STL roots. I love Missouri Baking Company, all the sandwich shops, and too many Italian joints to choose from. I'd classify this as more of a family area, not very young and trendy.

[stlcitygirl]

Originally Posted by scocar

All of the ideas that stlcitygirl gave you were in the city only except part of the Loop. I love the city, but you will not be getting a true picture of the area you are considering moving to unless you check out the entire metro area. There are also many more suburban cities the further you get from the city limits. If you are more comfortable with the shopping malls, sprawling neighborhoods, and chain restaurants of modern suburbia I would take a drive through Chesterfield, Ballwin, and Fenton.

As for favorite places to eat I love Blues City Deli which I believe is in Benton Park West. It's just east of Jefferson and just south of I-44. They have the best sandwiches I've ever tasted. I second "The Hill" for great Italian. I've only eaten at Zia's, and it was tremendous. I would also check out all the ethnic restaurants on South Grand.
.

^I gave her city locations because in a previous thread she wanted more urban than suburban. Blues City Deli is actually in Benton Park, and is a very good suggestion, people love that place.

[aragx6]

Love all of stlcitygirl and billiken's suggestions!

If you do make it over to the Hill during lunch time instead, you can't go wrong with Adriana's -- their sandwiches make me happy, the crowd is local and old-school, and if they're busy you can walk down to little Berra Park and eat (not a special park, but a nice spot on a warm day)

Make sure you spend some time in Forest Park -- you could never see it all in a weekend, but you can't go wrong with the Zoo (it's free and awesome!). Or you could head over to the Boathouse and either eat in the restaurant or rent a kayak (or paddleboat if you're travelling with someone). If it's nice out, you can sit out in the beer garden, and they have live music on weekends in the warm months (their web site says May - Oct.)

Jeez, there's really so much, but as others have said some of the most unique St. Louis neighborhoods are (in no particular order):

Downtown: Particularly the rehabbed warehouses on and near Washington Ave with apartments/condos above and a vibrant street-level retail scene below (called officially the Washington Avenue Loft District and unofficially simply Wash Av). And you really should see CityGarden -- it's still a fairly new addition to downtown and won, among other things, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award.

Soulard: the Farmer's Market there is one of the oldest in the country, and the corner bars that dot the neighborhood are some of my favorite haunts in the city. McGurk's was even one of Esquire's Best Bars in America and they have live music 7 days a week. The old red brick buildings are quintessentially St. Louis. Soulard is probably best known as site of the country's second largest Mardi Gras celebration and it sure does get a bit crazy, but most days of the year the neighborhood is actually fairly quiet and neighborhood-y.

Lafayette Square: A National Historic District, stand looking at the gorgeous Victorian townhomes and you'll wonder if you're still in St. Louis at all! The park in the center is lovely and the strip of retail/restaurants along Park Ave is adorable.

Tower Grove South: The strip along Grand (called South Grand) is a great spot for all things ethnic food as stlcitygirl said. The neighborhood also has my favorite Chicago-style deep dish I've found outside of Chicago: The Black Thorn Pub on Wyoming.

The Central West End is St. Louis' toniest neighborhood and some of the homes are truly incredible. There's plenty of great spots to hit, but I know I never miss Coffee Cartel -- it's open 24-hours (and bonus: they have a liquor license if you're an Irish cofee lover!) And their outdoor patio is one of my favorite places ever if just for the people-watching possibilities alone.

And while it's a bit outside the "trendy" neighborhoods, no true visit to St. Louis is complete without a stop at Ted Drewes' Frozen Custard. Frozen Custard "concretes" aren't just a dessert; they're a way of life around these parts.

[scocar]

Originally Posted by stlcitygirl

^I gave her city locations because in a previous thread she wanted more urban than suburban. Blues City Deli is actually in Benton Park, and is a very good suggestion, people love that place.

I understand that. That's why I said that STL is unique in that many of the suburbs (the inner ring ones at least), give a similar feeling as being urban. I stated that in my reply. For someone moving here, I think it's imperative that they are aware of this. Remember that they are not from here and don't realize that.

[aragx6]

Kirkwood and Webster Groves do have walkable downtowns, but I'd be disinclined to call them inner-ring suburbs and they're neither particularly urban. Clayton and U City are totally different stories however and certainly worth exploration.