St. Louis--Top three picks for must-eat-at restaurants?
 

When we come to St. Louis for our trip in August we will only have three nights that we will be eating dinner out (another one we will be having at the ballpark :-) So keeping in mind this is our first time to St. Louis what would be your top three picks for must-eat-at restaurants?

What part of town will you be staying in?
Is there a budget?
Favorite kind of food?

A lot of my favs are in Clayton.

I ate at Pomme this evening. It is French style bistro/wine bar. Terrific food, nice wine list and great desserts. There is some dining out side as well.
http://www.pommerestaurants.com/

Tani - a great Sushi Bistro and Japense cuisine - it has a very New york feel to it - unbeleivable rolls -
Try the "OH MY GOD" roll!
http://tanisushi.com/

Almonds - family owned, small restaurant/ classic choices / very good. Maryland Ave. near cute boutiques.

St Louis - Soulard area:
Niche
It has won several nationalawards. Amazing meals.
http://www.nichestlouis.com/taste/discover.html

Brasserie by Niche -
same owner - a very Authentic French Bistro. great ambiance, great cocktails. One of my fav's!!
http://www.brasseriebyniche.com/

If you want STL BBQ choices or some something else let me know!

If someone suggests Tony's as people often do - I would avoid it. It is so old school, dated, everything soaked in butter and just not good any more. Just my opinion - plus it is so Expensive.

The restaurants above are not expensive.good food and good price points -imo.

Sorry I didn't see this or your other post earlier.

Although it may be too late, the third base side seats get some shade. The first base side gets full sun.........

In your other post, you were looking for some BBQ joints. That tells me your A-1 folks!! I'm a BBQ'aholic with no intention of taking a 12 step program. I've been to over 200 Q joints thruout the country and that includes many here in StL. We've got a pretty decent selection now. That wasn't true 5 years ago, IMHO. Anyway, my favs here are Pappy's Smokehouse, The Plush Pig (just went there for the first time last weekend; BTW, it has a new location), Charlotte's Rib, and Rib City. And Bandana's is actully very good, too, even though there are a bunch of them here. Super Smokers used to have a bunch of places until about 3 years ago when they closed all but their original location in Eureka, MO which is about 40 minutes from downtown. Haven't been there in years but they used to be very good.

For good, moderately priced Italian, it's very hard to beat Trattoria Marcella on Watson Rd near The Hill section of town where there are lots of good restaurants. I also agree with Anne's recommendations. Another place that is very good but pricey is Sidney Street Cafe in Soulard, not far from the Stadium. You'll want to make reservations at any of these places.

Have a great trip!

I agree with Pappys and Bandana's - never disppoined at either!! Those are the BBQ joints!
dcd - any good BBQ places you can reccomend in Dallas? We go there a lot - one of our kids lives there.

I'm planning a trip back home to St. Louis next month and this thread is making me think I need to schedule in some BBQ time. I second Charlotte's Rib and Bandanas. Hope you have a great trip!

Hey Anne,

We were fairly disappointed in the Dallas/Ft Worth BBQ offerings. Sonny Bryan's used to be the biggee there, but we weren't overly impressed. That said, we did that trip maybe 8 years ago so the scene may have changed as it has in St L during that time. There's great Q south of the Dallas area in Lockhart, Elgin and apparently Austin although we didn't get there.

I had yet another fabulous meal at Niche last night. It is by far the best restaurant in St. Louis at the moment (JMHO). They have a 3 course for $35 deal that is an excellent value. Brasserie by Niche is their 2nd restaurant, more casual and less expensive, but no less delicious. I totally agree with Anne about Tony's. I think people have moved on from that kind of old-fashioned dining.

Anne may like Pomme (I do too), but I really like the Pomme Wine bar two doors north as a less expensive choice. Open late, great wine and friendly atmosphere.
http://www.pommerestaurants.com/cafe/

I'll 2nd Trattoria Marcella as the best Italian restaurant almost on the Hill. http://www.trattoriamarcella.com/home.html

The best place for BBQ in St. Louis is Pappy's. I have heard that the Plush Pig, which just moved from Clayton to Rock Hill, is also good.

And, the best hot dogs at Busch Stadium are the Hebrew National Kosher hot dog stands (separate from the regular food lines) with grilled onions! They have kraut there too, I'm just not a kraut fan.

Have a great time and try to stay cool, it should be very hot and humid here in August.

Sorry, just realized that no one had posted Pappy's website:

http://www.pappyssmokehouse.com/

If you want Spanish Tapas and Sangria, try Modesto at 5257 Shaw Avenue, also technically on "the Hill" but very tasty.

If you want good Italian on the Hill, I "third" Trattoria Marcella for a great meal.

For more eclectic American cuisine, try 1111 Mississippi (name of the restaurant and the address).

All very good suggestions. Ditto for Niche! Pappy's is also a lot of fun for lunch...just go early, as the line sometimes snakes out the door(moves fast, though) and when they run out of food, that's it.

Another upscale, delish restaurant would be Monarch in the inner suburb of Maplewood. Wonderful service and amazing food.

Brasserie is in the Central West End neighborhood and there is more people watching and activity at night there. If you go a little north from there up beyond Delmar, there are a lot of great places to get a drink or coffee afterward -- Subzero, vodka bar, is really cool.

Thank you for all your suggestions! I was wondering if Niche was kind of fancy?, as we are not the real fancy kind of restaurant people. Sounds like the Trattoria Marcella is a must and Pappy's! Thanks again.
KB

Also, someone asked what part of town we would staying and our favorite foods. We will be staying right near the Stadium at the Drury Inn. Some of our favorite foods would be BBQ, Italian, a great Steak and Mexican(only me for mexican but hubby can take it for one meal :-) Thanks for all your help.
KB

Hi Palmtree...I wouldn't call Niche fancy, though I'd say people do get a bit more dressed up for it. But I really wouldn't worry about it. In St. Louis, most anything goes at even the more expensive places. I've seen folks in flip flops next to tables bedazzled with pumps and pearls. Just a follow-up: we went to Brasserie last night (owned by the same Chef as Niche) and really enjoyed it. Festive, great food...amazing frites. Even though we didn't have the appetite for so much food, the chef's tasting menu seemed like a fine deal...$30 for appetizer, salad, entree and dessert. Have a great trip!

Any suggestions on a good steakhouse while we are there?
Thank you,
KB

There are several very good steakhouses in the downtown area, but they're pricey. Al's is very good. Carmine's, Ruth Chris, and Shannon's all have their fans. Perhaps the most reasonably priced is Tucker's Place (http://www.tuckersplacestl.com/menu.htm). You may want to check our town's Sauce Magazine for reviews of all area restaurants: http://www.saucemagazine.com/

Ditto on the recs for Trattoria Marcellla and Niche. I would not call Niche "fancy" - you do not need a sportcoat or tie but it is one of the nicer places in town to dine - food is generally terrific. I have to stick up for Tony's .... it is a St. Louis classic and the service is wonderful. However it is "fancy" so might not be what you are looking for in this trip. I would try to get to the Central West End while you are here, for the ambiance and experience. One of our favorite evenings is a night at either Bar Italia (especially if the weather is nice and you can sit out on the patio) or the Sub Zero burger bar (very casual - great burgers and sushi) followed by either gelato at Gelato de Riso or a cupcake at the Cupcakery. That area of the CWE is fun in the summer. Another fun summer spot is the Boathouse in Forest Park - food is fine but the setting is great - and while you are waiting for your table you can take a paddle boat ride or have a beer in a rocking chair.

Well...you said a top pick, you didn't say it had to be non-fancy:)

If your definition of "fancy" is required coat and tie, then Niche is not that at all, I've seen everything from very dressed-up to very casual there. "Good" jeans and a nice top will certainly work but I wouldn't go from Busch Stadium to Niche without changing first.

But the Brasserie by Niche in the Central West End (CWE) is also wonderful, and more casual. Reservations are an absolute must at both and both are on Open Table. lynnalan's idea of spending an evening in the CWE is a good one for you.