In the heart of Soulard, 1860 Saloon, Game Room and Hardshell Cafe serves up traditional, delicious fare, plus cajun and creole food. Customer favorites include our Famous Crab Cakes and Homemade Chicken Strips. The oysters, cajun pasta, pizzas and burgers are always a great choice. Enjoy a reasonably priced meal and drinks before taking the complimentary shuttle to Cardinals and Blues games. You can enjoy live Blues, Classic Rock, R&B, and Motown bands 365 days a year in the 1860 Saloon. Play foosball, pool and more in the Game Room. The third area, the Hardshell Café, also has a full bar, ample seating, and a several hundred gallon fish tank. There is lovely outside dining where fur babies are always welcome!
Bohemian meets upper crust when the Bommarito family of five-diamond Tony's fame shakes things up at suppertime. Anthony's Bar extends its power-lunch reputation beyond the dinner hour with appetizers like a pulled pork tamale and entrées like herb-stuffed salmon and a grilled porkchop with roasted tomatoes and potatoes. The menu is brief and reasonably priced, the atmosphere casual -- if frozen in a ´70s time warp. As at Tony's, expect great attention to the food and service (the two restaurants share a kitchen).
Asia reflects only a sliver of the titular continent's size and cultural variety. Instead it focuses on those countries many might think of when they hear the phrase "Asian cuisine": China, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand. Sushi is prepared well, though the fish itself is merely good, not outstanding. Entrées lean toward Chinese and Chinese-American dishes like General Tso's chicken; house specialties include Peking duck and an excellent Cornish hen dish. The Cornish hen is one of the few values on a relatively high-priced menu.
Some bars are content to offer clean glasses and booze, without gimmicks or an ounce of entertainment. Not so Bar 101; this Soulard joint "gets it all in," to borrow a term from the hip hop playbook. Outside, there's a giant sand volleyball court and about a million square feet of patio space with a large outdoor bar and fire pit. Inside, flat screens blare with in-house adverts and food porn that's bound to make your beer-filled tummy rumble, along with myriad games including basketball and a feat-of-strength boxing game. It's either a mini-Dave and Busters or an adult-friendly Chuck E. Cheese -- only instead of fake gold coins, your prize will be booze. Or maybe a stunning victory on the volleyball court. The menu features traditional bar food (cheese sticks, nachos) alongside unexpected choices (spinach-artichoke Rangoon, battered gator).
For some, this place will always be the Jade Room (the awning out front even says so). It's no longer a dim neighborhood dive, the Jade Room got an uber-mod facelift in late 2009 and was renamed Barbarella, after the iconic 1968 film. The décor of incites nostalgia and wonder -- lava lamps mingle with the orange and blue geometric curves that span the walls, with designs by local artists Joseph Raglani and Jeremy Kannapell. The dim lighting and illuminating glow of nearby flat screen TVs plays well to the sci-fi aura of Barbarella. Test your inner nerd at Geek Trivia or indulge in science fiction films, including bar-favorite Dr. Who. After hours appetizers like crab rangoon and chicken curry are served until 2 a.m., thanks to the kitchen of the adjoining Mekong Restaurant.
A tiny bar off the St. Charles Rock Road on the outskirts of Vinita Park, Block House Saloon is the very definition of a "hole in the wall". A small handful of tables are crowded together in the center of the bar's lone room, and electronic darts, Silver Strike Bowling and a jukebox line the walls. Somehow there's a single pool table in there, which patrons crowded around over Bud Lights. Two flat screen TVs behind the bar played the local sports games while the bartender dutifully handed out drinks to the thirsty crowd. I'd bet this place gets pretty rowdy from time to time -- one could almost feel it in the air.
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American, Bakery, Deli, Dessert, Salads, Sandwiches, Soul Food, Soups, Southern, Specialties, Menu
Just a few blocks from the upscale bars of the State Street neighborhood, Bubby & Sissy's is on a mission to make Alton a wee bit freakier. The tacky-chic watering hole is LGBT friendly and hosts extremely popular drag shows every weekend at JP's Showlounge upstairs. Bubby & Sissy's may be a conservative's nightmare, but the place is overwhelmingly welcoming. Its back patio features a stunning waterfall display and always-burning campfire. The owners serve free dinners to patrons twice a week, and the Christmas lights decking out the bar provide the familiar feeling of throwing back tallboys in your college dorm room. The Glenn Becks of the world are petrified of stepping foot in a place like Bubby & Sissy's - probably because they'd never want to leave.
The second outpost of Hubert Keller's Burger Bar concept (the original is in Las Vegas) is one of the acclaimed chef's two restaurants in the Lumiere casino complex. Burger Bar offers countless variations on the standard burger, with nearly four dozen different toppings -- from different cheeses, bacons and vegetables to cranberry sauce, marinated anchovies and even foie gras -- to go with several different kinds of beef, as well as bison, turkey and a vegetable patty. "American Kobe" beef is luscious, but expensive. The menu features six "Chef's Burgers" designed by the kitchen, including the $60 Rossini: American Kobe beef with foie gras, shaved black truffle and a Madeira sauce.
Time has stood still for several decades in this sixteen-seat classic burger joint, usually filled beyond capacity during peak hours. The counter staff balances taking orders by way of the pay phone with serving up spatula-smashed fresh ground beef, cooked to order within inches of those lucky enough to have snagged a stool. Custom-brewed root beer, claimed to come from the original IBC recipe, is available in frozen mugs or as part of a float.
Located in the heart of Soulard, Carsons is known mainly as a go-to karaoke stop on weekend nights. The cozy atmosphere and laid back crowd make it an easy place to grab the mic and cut loose on the small stage. When the off-tune crooning becomes unbearable, make your way to the large patio to sip that Bud Select al fresco. But this delightful dive offers great prices on cold brews all week long making it a great happy hour spot as well.
Cat's Meow carries the aura of a cozy hole-in-the-wall with cheap shots and cold beer. The inner walls reflect the bread and butter of this Soulard-based bar: Mardi Gras. The room appears small and intimate, but provides plenty of space for small group mingling. The jukebox hits the spot with classic rock, and the game, whichever game you want to watch, occupies the TV screen. This old school Soulard hole-in-the-wall is cash only. The Cat's Meow sells beads above the bar, and the walls are adorned with snapshots of bygone Fat Tuesday revelry. Bartenders serve up hometown favorite TJ's pizza and diabolical drinks that give new meaning to the words "stiff pour." Ask for the cherry shot and you'll receive a teensy plastic shot with a maraschino cherry soaked in either moonshine or lighter fluid; our tastebuds still aren't sure which.
CBGB is South Grand’s favorite dive bar. For 25 years at its current location, CBGB has been serving up cheap booze in a punkish public house just barely preserved with local love. You can play darts or shuffleboard, check out some paintings by local artists or just hang out at the bar with some of St. Louis’ friendliest bartenders. Test your wits during trivia on Wednesdays and win yourself a drink or two. If the weather is fine, grab a tallboy and head out front or back to one of the two spacious patios. Or stay inside and warm up with the house shot, the Sandanista: tequila with Rose’s lime juice and sriracha. If there’s a blizzard and the city shuts down, put on your snowshoes and tramp down to CBGB. No plastic here. Bring cold hard cash for them and they'll have a cold beer for you.
With its smoky, dark-wood interior and a 6 a.m. opening time, City Club Tavern is a perfect spot for third-shifters, day-drinkers and Keno junkies. Restaurant-style tables offer some privacy, and a back-room pool table provides a spot for hustlers and 8-ballers, but most afternoons the action is at the bar, where regulars drink draft beer and shoot the bull with a friendly barmaid. City Club has live music on Friday and Saturday and hosts the occasional karaoke night as well.
Located on the first floor of the Westin downtown and a stone's throw from Busch Stadium, Clark Street Grill offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast includes the standard options -- French toast, a build-your-own omelet -- and a "SuperFoods" menu, which highlights healthy ingredients, including blueberry orange granola pancakes. Lunch offers a simple selection of salads, sandwiches and pizzas, while dinner brings upscale options such as duck confit-and-pear salad, with entrées including pasta, Chilean sea bass and beef tenderloin. Clark Street Grill also offers a bar menu with appetizers and a small selection of casual fare.
A visually odd north-county gem, Coltranes surprises its guests with intriguing patrons and a nautical theme. (The space calls to mind the interior of
a private boat, with wood paneling and portholes throughout.) There are a plethora of pool tables and a pretty rockin' jukebox. And while anywhere else, a wall of mirrors might seem seedy or strange, at Coltranes, it's actually a fun detail that creates a mirage of additional space. If you're a lady, don't you dare miss General Ladies' Night every Wednesday; Coltranes also offers karaoke every Saturday.
CLOSED AS OF JUNE 2011. At the Complex, St. Louis' largest gay dance club, hooking up is a high priority. But even that takes a back seat during the over-the-top weekly drag shows. The mood and music can vary from room to room, but no matter which bar you choose, the all-you-can-drink specials are hard to beat.
Courtesy Diner has the look and feel of a classic diner complete with vinyl seats and checkerboard tiles. Diners can opt for a table or go for counter service to get the full effect. The fare includes diner favorites - burgers, eggs,a patty melt, a slinger and the "Devil's Delight," two eggs, hash browns, chili and toast.
The Courtesy Diner, like the Dude, abides. Whether you want a hearty breakfast to soak up last night's drinks, a late-night slinger to forestall the morning hangover, the best fast-food hamburger in town or a fix of cheap coffee and jukebox blues to stir your brooding soul, you'll find it here - just like you would have found it twenty, thirty, even forty years ago. Best of all, the Courtesy Diner is not an attic for Americana, and it isn't some kind of shrine to the working class; it's a working restaurant (and be prepared to pay with cash).
At The Crack Fox, visitors can feel free to let their freak flag fly or simply play the role of a leisurely standby. All are welcome at this eclectic downtown dive -- just don't be surprised to see anything from burlesque and drag performances one night to bondage and gotchic industrial garb the next. EDM spins, karaoke, open mics, metal shows and more also make up the list of participatory alternative entertainment offered here, and there's a huge selection of beer and handcrafted cocktails to wash it all down with. Take, for instance, the "ginger snap" made with ginger vodka, cinnamon Schnapps and lemonade. Come in to pick your poison and meet the cast of friendly fun-loving regulars, and don't forget to bring an open mind.
314-231-1860
