Just wanted to share two spots that made the past weekend a little 'cooler' in St Louis.

Pappy's Smokehouse serves up great Memphis-style BBQ on picnic tables. Queue and order up your favorite - pulled pork sandwiches and ribs were favorites at our table --- they also serve a wicked baked potato loaded w/pulled pork, beans, etc.(!) The owner makes sure to greet everyone -- great casual, convivial atmosphere. Near Saint Louis U. campus. Good stuff.

www.pappyssmokehouse.com

The St Louis Basilica boasts the most incredible mosaics created thru the years! Catholic or not, this is amazing art. A very cool (and free and easy) stop on Lindell near enough to both downtown to the East and Forest Park attractions to the West.

www.cathedralstl.org

Glad we tried something new last weekend. Just wanted to share the info.

Thanks.

I'll have to remember the BBQ recommendation if we ever move back home to St. Louis (from Memphis). That could come in handy.

But mostly to say I'm glad you're recommending the mosaics. Hardly anyone knows about them and they're the largest collection other than Ravenna, Italy - which is where St. Louis got it's materials.

Hello 5OHS

Wow, I have just been blown away by the website pictures of the cathedral! Truly beautiful.

I immediately went to my Michelin USA East guide to see how many stars it was given. Only one dismal star for the blue interior. "The simple Neoclassical elegance of the mauve and blue interior* strongly reflects the church's French roots." Not one mention of all the mosaics.

This is a definite must-see for me. Worthy of a trip all by itself, IMO.

And good BBQ is always high on my list, too!

Thanks for the post.

Thanks for the nice St. Louis comments and glad you had a good time.

Pappy's is great, but get there early, they only cook for the day, and if they run out, they close.

The Basilica has, I think, the most mosaics of anywhere in the US. I'll have to see if I can find out where I read that and post the link. But it is beautiful, and always on my list to show visitors to St. Louis.

Hello 50HS, thank you for the video of the Basilica. I love mosaics and have visited Ravenna, Italy many times but have never made it to St. Louis. The mosaics in the Basilica is the main reason I have always wanted to do so. Clifton, I have a friend from a small town outside of St. Louis and when I asked her about the mosaics she didn't even know what I was talking about. That shocked me. I hope you are able to get to St. Louis swisshiker.

I'll second the mosaics at the St. Louis Basilica. Gorgeous, and one of the best things to see in the city -- a must.

That doesn't surprise me LI. Seems like they're not very well known even locally.

Thanks for reminding me of the mosaics and posting a site. My high school was across the street from the cathedral, and our graduation was held there. Also lots of Masses attended there. (In our art class, we learned to line-draw the exterior of the Cathedral! Quite the exercise.)

swisshiker, the mauve and blue French style is the Old Cathedral by the Arch, not the gorgeous "New" Cathedral Basilica on Lindell Blvd. Both are lovely, I think. I actually love the old soothing one better, but the new is tons more spectacular and one of the sights of our city.

Ahhh, stokebailey, I stand corrected! I read your note and had to go check out that Michelin guide again. Thank you for that clarification. The two similar names are confusing, and I guess I just didn't bother to look at the next page.

It actually makes more sense now. How could that beautiful cathedral (the website pictures are gorgeous!) be only one star in Michelin?

Turns out the one the OP mentioned (Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis) is rated two stars. Much more in line with what I would expect.

So now I've got two churches to see in St. Louis. All the better!

And the bbq doesn't sound so bad either. Being a Texan, we pride ourselves on our bbq. But I imagine it's pretty good up there, too.

Most of St.Louis BBQ happens in back yards. It's not nearly so much a restaurant thing. I used to work in the inner city, and driving around on a weekend there it's one intoxicating aroma after another.

Just came back and we stopped by the Basilica on Saturday and decided to come back Sunday for mass at noon. It is beautiful. No tours were given that day,so I don't know details, but it is a beautiful thing to see! Glad I saw this thread.

50hs - I just came across your post! I am so excited to try this BBQ! I live in STL and have never heard of it.

I ate at a BBQ place in clayton yesterday that was so disappointing. I know my DH would love to try this too - thanks for the link!

In the Sping, the Basillica has a Fete that is a lot of fun and certainly touring the Cathedral is a treat - Like I say on many threads here -...it rivals any Cathedral I have seen in Europe.

Hey anne - I thought that's where you lived! Now I really have reason to visit!

Do you have any details on when the Fete would be? April, May perhaps? Just a weekend? hmmmm.....

(Note to self: Clean out the car trunk before leaving home )

HI Shirley - I would love if you came to STL!!! I will have to check on the dates and post back!

ps - DH and I tried to find that BBQ restaurant referenced in OP's post - we could not find it - we are such dorks.

We definitely need to plan another GTG!

Anne,

We went right past it the first time too and only saw it when we turned around and headed west again. The entrance is in the back, off of a parking lot, off of a side street named Cardinal.

These are the directions on the website (someone listed it above) "Take Highway 44 or Highway 40 or the Forest Park Parkway to Grand Avenue. Exit and go north on Grand to Lindell, turn right. Take Lindell east just past Compton (LINDELL merges with and becomes OLIVE) to Cardinal and turn right and park".

There is a street view map on the website that will help you.

Pappy's is awesome. It is located behind a brewpub, so you can't see the entrance from Lindell/Olive Boulevard. It's very popular at lunchtime during the weekdays. Expect to wait on line...but it moves fast and it's really, really worth it. The owner/chef usually takes top honors in Memphis. As for the "New" Cathedral, it's spectacular and one of the many unsung gems in St. Louis. I'd also recommend City Museum downtown off Washington Avenue, especially if you have antsy, active kids -- sometimes it's in the travel guides, sometimes it's not. The word "museum" is really not accurate. Expect to do a lot of climbing and sliding and general speculation about how the artist who created this place actually got the permits to do it. It's in a former shoe factory and warehouse. Look for the giant preying mantis on the roof...

Liz and nanecam - thanks for directions - we must have driven right by it! darn it - We ate at Vito's - a big disappointment.
I think SLU had graduation and there was something at Powell Hall so it was congested down there and we were getting grumpy about it, so we ate at the first place we saw.

OK, Pappys is on the short list for the next week or so!!!

Anne,

Report back. Don't forget that they only cook what they think will sell for the day, so don't go late, they may have run out of certain items.

Vito's is OK, especially when you go out with non-adventurous people before a show (which is the only reason I've ever eaten there). But it's not OK when you were thinking BBQ!

Tried Pappy's last night!! We really enjoyed it and will defintiely go back. As we were leaving they put a sign on the door - "We are out of food" - we timed it just right!