If you go to Kirkwood to see the FLW house, you could find a nice neighborhood restaurant in Kirkwood for lunch or dinner. It's a nice older 'suburb' of St. Louis with some history, and a nice 'downtown' area of its own.
And if you go by Forest Park, you could get a bite to eat in the Central West End, then take a pretty drive down Lindell Blvd. all the way to Washington University. It's a beautiful campus, and there's a fun area called The Loop right nextdoor to it. I didn't catch your ages, or if you have young adults with you, but you might like this neighborhood for its young lifestyle. (Hint, get a burger at Blueberry Hill and see if anyone special is playing there...)

We really need a better idea of who you are and what things you enjoy eating. And, I thought you didn't want to go downtown on Saturday night, but maybe you were thinking Tony's for Friday.

IMHO, Tony's is over-hyped. But it certainly is the most well respected restaurant in town. I could list 20 other places I would go before I would go to Tony's. But, again, what are you looking for? Funky? Trendy? Upscale? Ethnic? County-Clubby? We've got it all, just depends on what you want to eat and in what kind of atmosphere.

DH & I are in our early 30s. It's actually a b-day trip for DH. (Last year, we went to Paris & London for his b-day. We got married a few months ago, and I told DH that things go downhill after marriage, and that's why we're going to St Louis this year.)

Anyway, we love good food. I'm more willing to pay $$$ (up to $100pp) for a good meal than a nice hotel room. We like most cuisine, except Tex-Mex. We also prefer a place more modern/contemporary than the stuffy old style.

I don't want to go to downtown on Saturday during the parade, but I'm thinking that Sat night would be OK? No?

Hm... Why don't you two go for a ski trip? That'd be going downhill FAST!

((6))

yk, if you are looking for a good, memorable meal check out Kemoll's. Its a wonderful Italian restaurant with really good service. We just had dinner there for Valentines day....our bill came to about $110 for two but it was worth it. Its in the lobby of the Metropolitan Square Building, but don't be put off by that. Once you step foot in the restaurant you will forget all about that aspect. Check out www.kemolls.com for more info.

Tracy

Tracy's suggestion of Kemolls as an alternative to Tony's in downtown is a good one.

Other restaurants I would suggest for a birthday dinner, in a reasonable radius around Clayton, and in no particular order are:

Savor
An American Place
Arthur Clay's
Chez Leon (will remind you of every great bistro you went to in Paris)
Harvest
Cardwells at the Plaza (yes, it's in a mall, no that doesn't affect the atmosphere)
The Crossing (In Clayton, not to be confused with Crossings)
King Louie's
Sidney Street Cafe
I Fratellini
Pomme
Trattoria Marcella
Monarch
Atlas

Info about them all can be found at the saucecafe website I listed earlier in the thread. Take a look and come back to ask questions. I would make a reservation at any of them as soon as a decision has been made.

Just wanted to add my two cents:

I love Soulard, probably because I live there. On Saturday, if you want to do something downtown, I highly suggest the Soulard area. You can guarantee that everywhere else is going to be super busy. Compared to the Landing and Washington Ave, which are closer to where the parade takes place, Soulard probably won't be as bad. And there are a ton of bars you can visit, all within walking distance to each other. If you park at Russell and 9th, you can get to Hammerstone's, Molly's, the Shanti, and 1860's just walking.

As far as dinner, I would like to suggest Sidney Street Cafe as well. It is hard to get a reservation there because they are booked almost 2 weeks in advance. The restaurant is located in Soulard, just on the outskirts of the major bar area. Also good in the area are Lynch Street Bistro and Lagniappe's (sp?) and Soulard's.

You have a ton of choices for good dining in the St. Louis area. Just about any restaurant that has been suggested will be great.

Wow! If you can do all this in a weekend, let me know!

I wanted to chip in some info about the Frank Lloyd Wright house. We live in Kirkwood and my husband and 2 teen girls went on the tour. ( I had seen it previously on a house tour when the guy still lived there.) Even my TEENS LOVED the tour. Said it was very interesting. So even St. Louisans should go see it. They take small groups because of parking and tickets are $10. The tours last only about an hour I think. My family went over Thanksgiving and they were doing tours about every hour and a half.
It's a very small house and very minimalist. But very interesting.

Lots of great restaurants in Kirkwood, too. Cafe Provencal is a wonderful authentic French restaurant. Dewey's has great pizza. And for dessert, try the first gelato store in St. Louis, Cafe di Riso for some very authentic gelato. (In Warson Woods, next to Dierbergs grocery.)
r

Thanks again for everyone's advice.

After some more research and planning, I have come up with a decent plan.

I won a bid on Priceline for the Crowne Plaza in Clayton for $65/night. I've reserved a rental car at the airport.

For dinners, we'll eat at Puck's (inside SLAM) on Friday, and at Trattoria Marcella on Saturday. I also made a afternoon tea reservation at Ritz-Carlton on Saturday.

Unfortunately, when I called the FLW house, the message says it's closed until March 15th (because the road is closed). We'll be visiting before March 15th.

I think I'm quite well-prepared at this point. I'll write a trip report after we return!

Check http://www.trip-information.com for some info regarding St Louis Airport

I can personally verify that Kemolls has a terrific early bird special for $20. You get an excellent meal worth $50. It has to be ordered by 6:30PM and is good every day they are open. You need to ASK for the early bird special menu. Go to Kemolls.com for info.

I didn't even remember it was I who started this thread last year until I clicked on it!

Anyway, <b>thndrstm</b>, our trip took place a year ago. We had a great time, though it's gonna be quite a long time before we return to St Louis.

I think thndrstm was recently looking for early downtown dining when attending a bridge tournament. I guess this post means the trip has happened and Kemoll's was a good choice.

thndrstm...why don't you write up a brief trip report?