Fountain on Locust is one of my favorite places to indulge my sweet tooth. A sweetly sophisticated art-deco style restaurant in the burgeoning Midtown Alley district, it offers a multitude of delicious ice cream flavors, delicious soups (dill pickle soup sounds weird but it *so* isn’t), and hearty sandwiches and salads (you must try the Cadillac Salad with chicken or the Birdseed Salad). Its most buzzed-about creations are the Ice Cream Cocktails (the Mudslide Martini is my personal favorite) . If you’re not much for mixing ice cream with your liquor, they make superb retro drinks such as a classic Cuba Libre, Sloe Gin Fizz, or Gimlet. The Fountain is also home to Burlesque Bingo—keep an eye (or two!) for when the lovely ladies will be making their appearance.
Locals don’t know why St. Louis is never mentioned as a hotbed of blues music. After all, W.C. Handy immortalized our city in his composition “St. Louis Blues” in 1914, we have a hockey team that shares a name with the song, and (much to the dismay of Memphis and Chicago) we will be home to the National Blues Museum in 2014. Let’s give us our due! If you travel to downtown St. Louis on South Broadway Ave, you will find local blues hangouts Beale on Broadway, Broadway Oyster Bar, and BB’s Jazz Blues and Soups. This “Broadway Blues Triangle”, as it is affectionately known, offers live music from local and national acts, good Creole/Cajun food, and plenty of lively libations. St. Louis gives you ‘the blues’ in the best way possible! Fall in St. Louis is a great time of year. The weather finally cools down enough that being outside doesn’t mean sweating buckets, but it is still warm enough to enjoy some outdoor activities. As fall fades away and winter takes hold, one has to be more creative about getting out of the house and fighting against the hibernation instinct that seems to take occur when the mercury drops. If your pockets are a little light, but you still want to make a great impression, here are some date ideas for the cold weather months! (blog posts under dating tab) This town has had karaoke fever for years! Many restaurants and clubs offer at least one night of amateur warbling and the list is growing every day. If you go in with a willing attitude (and maybe a little liquid courage), you and your friends should have a great time. Karaoke stalwarts include Double D’s and the infamous Mike Talayna’s Jukebox, but new karaoke nights are gaining in popularity, including Drunken Fish on Mondays, O’ Shay’s Pub on Thursdays, Tom’s Bar and Grill on the weekends, and even local VFW Posts. Get your repressed Simon Cowell on and critique performances together or simply have goofy fun watching people and soaking up the atmosphere. And you MUST sing a duet—the cheesier the better! Start out the day at the historic Soulard Farmer’s Market, which has been around for over 150 years and is open year-round Wednesday through Saturday. Pick up some fresh produce, visit the bakery, have a Bloody Mary or margarita (we won’t tell anyone how early you indulge and browse through the wares on sale—everything from raccoon meat to perfume oils to artwork to bedsheets. Afterward, mosey down to the Anheuser Busch Brewery to learn how “America’s Beer” is made. Free tours are available hourly and include a photo op with the world-famous Clydesdales and samples of Budweiser products in the tasting room at the end of the tour. Bowl the old-fashioned way at Sarotoga Lanes by keeping score by hand. Challenge each other to a game of pool or darts while snacking on classic bowling alley munchies. Go a couple of doors down to Orbit Pinball to become a veritable Pinball Wizard. Bring your jar full of quarters (and if you forget, there is a change machine) and play classic pinball games or relive your childhood by challenging each other to some skee ball. Full bar is available ($10-$15 gets you a bucket of beer) and you may bring in outside food. In between pinball sets, play a board game like Jenga and impress your date with your mad skills. St. Louisans love trivia! Impress your date with the size of your noggin by going to a local bar for free trivia, many offering cool prizes ranging from bar cash for use on a future visit to free appetizers or a t-shirt. Follow Tenacious Trivia on Facebook to find out where they will be next to test your mental dexterity. We’re very fortunate here in The Lou to have several free cultural institutions. With the cooler weather, the park will be less crowded and you will be able to take the day at your own pace. Check out the penguins and other cold-weather animals at the St. Louis Zoo. Pack a picnic lunch and (if the weather allows) have a picnic in the park with a thermos of hot chocolate and plenty of blankets. Take things inside and stroll through the St. Louis Art Museum, including the new East Building expansion. On Fridays, special exhibitions are free and the museum stays open late. If you two are more history buffs than art fans, go over to the Missouri History Museum, which also has late hours and special exhibits on Tuesdays. For big-time bonding and if you want to get your inner Brian Boitano/Kristi Yamaguchi on, head over to Steinberg Skating Rink, and strap on some ice skates. It doesn’t matter if you can barely stand up in skates—you both will have fun trying and you can snuggle up by the bonfire. |
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