Please guide us. Might there be any special DON'T MISS restaurants in St. Louis? We prefer novelty, ambiance, or a unique experience - not high price point . We have never been in St. Louis before and we plan to spend this coming weekend enjoying local color. Any ideas? ( Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25,26)
THANK YOU! Sandy

What is a high price point to you? Will you have a car? Where are you staying? How far are you willing to go from where you are located? What activities do you plan on doing and do you need restaurant recommendations for someplace near an activity?

And finally, what kind of food do you enjoy eating?

I'm happy to help you, and there are several other posters on the forum also from St. Louis, but we could use a bit more information from you.

Little Italy area has pretty good Italian food. I think they call it Italy Hill or something like that. It's been a few years since I have been to SL. Of course, the arch is a "must see". A lot of people like St. Louis style ribs.

The Hill area in St. Louis is an neighborhood that 19th century Italian immigrants settled in originally. There are many Italian restaurants located there, and some nice Italian grocery stores and specialty Italian sausage shops.

http://www.shopviviano.com/
http://www.digregoriofoods.com/
http://www.volpifoods.com/


but my 2 favorite Italian restaurants are not located on the Hill.
Acero, located in Mamplewood http://www.fialafood.com/Jim_Fialas_...CERO_MENU.html

and Trattoria Marcella located just a bit west of the Hill. http://www.trattoriamarcella.com/home.html

If you want something on the Hill, try Amighetti's for lunch. http://www.amighettis.com/

"St. Louis ribs" is just a cut of meat. It is the spare rib with the "spare" cut off. I'm sure some St. Louis butcher invented it at some time, but it is not a style of cooking.

Having said that, we do have one very good barbecue restaurant.
Pappy's, located in midtown not far from St. Louis University.
It can get very busy, and they only sell what they cook for the day, so they can be out of items if you go too late.
http://pappyssmokehouse.com/

In the "loop" area, near Washinton U, there are fun shops and restaurants. Try Blueberry Hill for a funky ambiance-- and Chuck Berry performs there often.

Also, the Central West End has good places to eat. My favorite is Duff's for its creative menu and great service and neighborhood vibe.

I would second Pappy's Barbeque, it was the best barbeque I have ever had!! I would also suggest the Boathouse restaurant in Forest Park, cute place by a little lake and great food! I don't know if it was because it was midwest beef or not, but everything we tried in St. Louis that was beef, from hamburgers to barbeque to steak was absolutely fantastic!