Celebrate New Year’s Eve at First Night
Posted on December 31st, 2010 by Alicia McColl
Are you looking for a way to spend an alcohol-free evening with family or friends? Consider First Night New Year’s Eve celebration as Grand Center is transformed into an under-the-sea arena with fun and entertainment from 6 p.m. until midnight.
Enjoy more than 150 artists and performers as they come to life against a backdrop of under-the-sea aquarium lights and projections. The Fanta-sea celebration will include more than 25 musical entertainers, exibits such as the making of a 15-ton sand sculpture and comedian/magician Justin Kredible. The Muny kids will be performing and Buckets and Tap Shoes from Minneapolis will perform their drumming and flashlight dancing.
There will be limited indoor venues and seating and all is on a first-come, first-serve basis. A fun feature this year – a 40-foot wall made of Post-It Notes. Visitors are encouraged to post their new year’s wishes.
Opening ceremonies begin at 6 p.m. on the Boeing Stage at Grand and Lindell Blvds. and entertainment will continue until 11:30 p.m. The early fireworks show begins at 9 p.m. The countdown to the new year begins at 11:30 p.m. followed by a fireworks display at midnight.
For a detailed schedule of events and where to park go to www.grandcenter.org.
The price is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Ages 5 and younger are free. Buttons can be purchased at all area Borders and Dierbergs locations. Select Schnucks locations that will sell buttons are: Culinaria at 315 9th St., Ladue Crossing at Hwy. 170 and Ladue Rd., Lindell at 4171 Lindell Blvd., Richmond Center at Clayton Rd. and Big Bend Blvd. and Webster Groves at Big Bend and Elm St.
Tags: Downtown St. Louis, St. Louis Culture, St. Louis Holidays
Get Happy at Herbie’s Vintage 72
Posted on December 6th, 2010 by Alicia McColl
For years, Balaban’s was a staple of the Central West End. In 2008, the restaurant/bar located at 405 North Euclid Avenue was closed, leaving the many regulars with nothing but memories. But all seems well again in this pocket of the world now that Herbie’s Vintage 72 – named after the late founder of Balaban’s Café Herbie Balaban – has opened and is thriving in the old Balaban’s location.
Herbie’s is a perfect place for an after-work drink, with happy hour starting at 4:30 p.m. and running for two hours. Appetizers are half price during this time, and include exotic selections such as escargot and shrimp dumplings. Budweiser bottled products are $2 during traditional happy hour, while Guiness pints are $3. Herbies also has a late-night happy hour from 10:30 p.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays when drink and dessert specials can be had.
For more information, visit www.herbies.com.
Tags: Central West End, Downtown St. Louis, St. Louis Dining, St. Louis Nightlife
The Drunken Fish: Sushi for All Tastes
Posted on November 29th, 2010 by Alicia McColl
If you love sushi–or even if you have never tried it and you’re curious–The Drunken Fish is the place for you. The Drunken Fish has three convenient locations in St. Louis, Westport Plaza, Laclede’s Landing and the Central West End. In each, you will find the best Japanese delicacies that St. Louis has to offer, including sushi and sashimi galore.
Many people are uneasy ordering items with which they are not familiar, but the wait staff is knowledgeable and more than happy to help you make a selection. Try the supreme sashimi, which includes 18 pieces of sashimi, including tuna, salmon, white tuna, flounder, octopus, yellowtail and shrimp. You can also get a sushi & sashimi combination.
The signature makimono menu has more than 15 choices all of which are around $15. Philadelphia natives might like the fried cheese steak roll, which features the ingredients you would find in the signature Philadelphia dish, and is topped with eel sauce and garlic mayo. The signature drunken fish roll includes shrimp, tempura, may and asparagus, and is topped with red tuna, Japanese mayo, eel sauce, masago, tempura crumbs and sprouts.
For the less adventurous, there is stir-fry–try chicken-fried rice, which is a bargain at $11, as well an entrée menu that features items such as miso-marinated black cod.
For more information on The Drunken Fish, visit drunkenfish.com
Tags: Central West End, Downtown St. Louis, St. Louis Dining
A Good Bet for Lunch or Dinner
Posted on October 29th, 2010 by Alicia McColl
The Over/Under is a common sports wager on the total number of runs, points or goals that two teams will combine to score in a game. With a name like The Over/Under Bar & Grill, naturally, sports are a central theme at this Washington Avenue bar and grill. The Over/Under, located at 911 Washington Avenue in the Loft District, features 37 large LCD TVs, making it the spot to be for all Rams and Blues games.
In addition to being a great place to watch the game, it is also a good value. Most items on the lunch menu are under $10, including the Grilled Mahi Mahi Poor Boy and the Pulled Pork Sandwich. The dinner menu features such items as Portobello and Cheese Ravioli and Horseradish Encrusted Salmon.
The Over/Under is located 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 am. to midnight Sundays. Call 314-621-8881 for more information.
Tags: Downtown St. Louis, St. Louis Dining, St. Louis Nightlife
Go Bowling for Cocktails
Posted on October 10th, 2010 by Alicia McColl
Head to the bowling alley for a Pink Mojito and a night out with friends? Sure, why not?! Flamingo Bowl on Washington Avenue combines a fun pastime with an eclectic drink menu.
So it makes for a perfect place to land if you are not ready to go home after a weekend sporting event or as a destination in and of itself any day of the week. Flamingo Bowl is open noon to 3 a.m. seven days a week and features an array of tantalizing cocktails, a healthy selection of beer and aged rum plus an appetizing food menu that goes beyond the typical bowling alley fare of popcorn, nachos and rubbery pizza slices.
Come, sit a while and enjoy a Green Genie ($9), a Spiced Chocolate drink ($9) or any of the other specialty drinks. For those who don’t do bowling without a brew there’s domestic choices ($4 per bottle, $4.25 to $11 for draught) or for the more adventurous beer drinker, a Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale or a La Fin du Monde ($6 per bottle) among others.
Hungry? Appetizers include a crab dip served with baked pita bread ($6.95) tomato or Southwest chicken soup ($5.95) and a side salad choice. Sandwich choices include a veggie panini ($6.95), grilled cheese ($4.95) and a veggie or BBQ pork wrap ($7.95). The 16″ pizzas ($11.95) are fresh and include your choice of toppings for an additional $1 each.
There are eight lanes within the main room (there’s a private room with four lanes, a pool table and small bar) and bowling is offered on a walk-in basis or by reservation. A game of bowling is $3.50 from Sunday through Thursday (after 9 p.m. it’s $4) and Friday and Saturday the cost is $4 ($5 after 9 p.m.). Reserve a lane for $30 per hour during the week and $40-$50 Fridays and Saturdays. Shoe rental is $3.
Children are welcome accompanied by an adult up until 9 p.m. when it’s an over 21 crowd only.
Flamingo Bowl is located at 1117 Washington Avenue. Just look for the colorful neon sign with the flamingo and you’re there.
Tags: Downtown St. Louis, St. Louis Dining, St. Louis Nightlife
Dramatic Dinners
Posted on September 30th, 2010 by Alicia McColl
Normally when a restaurant advertises a four-course meal to DIE for, one may be a little suspect. Food poisoning? A rude staff? But when it’s a murder mystery production at a local mansion the intrigue is nothing short of inviting.
St. Louis is lucky to have two such venues and can they ever serve up some stories! The Bissell Mansion, at 4426 Randall Place in St. Louis, features the interactive murder mystery “Coldfinger” every Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m through October. As the story goes, United States and British intelligence agencies failed to capture the most dangerous criminal ever after he tried unsuccessfully to rob Fort Knox several years back. He could, however, be among the guests, who are divided up into his henchmen and those who are chosen to track him down, including James Blonde, Agent 007. Guests are given roles when they arrive; dinner is served between acts.
The Bissell Mansion, built by Captain Lewis Bissell in 1812 and thought to be one of the oldest homes left in St. Louis, sits high atop a Mississippi river bluff. Besides the cast of characters during dinner, legend has it that visitors have seen the ghost of the Captain in the parking lot, looking up at his house and that a friendly female ghost, perhaps one of his wives, graces the hallways with a smile on her face.
The murder mystery menu includes a choice of an 8 oz. New York strip, chicken parmesan, baked white fish with almondine sauce and sides of vegetables and a potato. Appetizer choices include crab rangoon, toasted ravioli, a cheese ball with zuchinni bread and fresh vegetables with dip. Guests also get a salad, two glasses of wine with dinner, coffee or iced tea and dessert. The cost for the four-course meal is $52.95 per person. For reservations call 314-533-9830.
The Lemp Mansion Restaurant & Inn has a bit more startling history behind it and is somewhat of a local “haunt” this time of year. The downtown mansion, a 33-room Victorian, was built in the 1860s and purchased by John Adam Lemp who arrived here in 1838
from Germany to start a grocery business. Lemp eventually made a fortune making lager beer at a brewery he established, and by 1870 it was the largest brewery in town holding most of the St. Louis market until Prohibition. His son William J. Lemp succeeded his father and the business grew. The empire started to crumble with the first death of William’s beloved son Frederick who died under mysterious circumstances in 1901. William then died by his own hand they say from grief over losing his son. His son William, Jr. took over.
Prohibition forced the brewery to close and William Jr.’s sister committed suicide and two years later the Lemp Brewery, which covered ten sprawling blocks, was sold at auction for a paltry $588,500, although it had once been worth $7 million. Four more deaths would occur in the mansion; William Jr. shot himself in the same bedroom where his father died and his brother Charles killed himself as well. William Lemp III and William Jr.’s brother Edwin both died of natural causes.
Lemp’s murder mystery dinner, which begins at 7 p.m., is “Haunted Hunter” and includes a soup
of the day, salad, entree, wine, coffee, tea and dessert. Call for changing menu items. The cost is $48.95 per person. For reservations call 314-664-8024.
Another option at Lemp is Supernatural Investigation’s The Hunt for Paranormal Activity featured every Tuesday and Thursday in October and Nov. 4 & 18. For $25 guests can enjoy a soft drink or cocktail, light appetizers and the use of an infrared camera to spot paranormal activity while wandering the three floors of the darkened Lemp Mansion. For another $100 guests can check into one of the suites and stay the night – if you dare!
Tags: Downtown St. Louis, St. Louis Attractions, St. Louis Dining
You Can’t Beat Free!
Posted on September 23rd, 2010 by Alicia McColl
One delightful feature about visiting St. Louis is that you don’t have to spend a fortune on some of the most endearing attractions.
Take the St. Louis Zoo, for example. You get about 18,000 animals (700 species) on 90 acres in Forest Park any day of the year (except Christmas and New Year’s days). The miniature train and admission to the smaller Children’s Zoo and Sea Lion show, but these features are just a small fraction of what makes up this roaring attraction without paying a cent at the gates. Zagat Surveys U.S. Family Travel Guide rated it as the #1 zoo.
Another gem in Forest Park is the St. Louis Art Museum, home to a comprehensive collection of 19th and 20th-century European
and American art, modern, pre-Columbian and American Indian, Oceanic, Islamic, Asian, African, photographs and much, much more. There are even a couple of mummy displays and an awesome sword collection that kids really seem to enjoy. Again, there’s no cost to get in. (Hold on to junior’s hand, though, around some exhibits so it doesn’t cost to get out either.)
The Missouri History Museum is another outstanding attraction. Also in Forest Park it offers a detailed account of the St. Louis region, how the past shaped the present with the Seeking St. Louis exhibit. History buffs will also need to see the Charles A. Lindbergh and 1904 World’s Fair continuing exhibits. And if the kids need some time to go wild for a while, there’s a neat playground practically next door.
The Saint Louis Science Center and Planetarium features more than 700 hands-on exhibits including a gallery on structures, where visitors can build a miniature Arch, life-size animated Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus rex and a bridge over Hwy. 40/64 with a couple of see-through floor patches right over the lanes. There is a c
harge for tickets for special, limited-time exhibits, the Space Show, Llego Mindstorms and IMAX movies, but the Amazing Science shows are free and there is still a whole days worth of fun to see and do without added costs. Admission, zero dollars; wow factor, priceless.
Out in the county Grant’s Farm is across between a farm and a zoo with a historic 1855 cabin that belonged to Ulysses S. Grant and his bride. Visitors get a tram ride through Deer Park and glimpse of Bison, deer and buffalo before entering the Tier Garten where there are more animal exhibits and shows. The Clydesdale Stables usually has about 25 horses on site. Standing face-to-face, or face-to-nostrils (theirs), one realizes just how regal and impressive these 2,000-pound animals are. The only catch with visiting Grant’s Farm is that there’s an $11 charge per car for parking and no drop offs or convenient side streets like the other attractions. If you do get corralled in, it’s still a bargain for a family of four or more.
Farther west in Gray Summit Purina Farms only requires that visitors call and reserve a tour time. Here, there’s a visitors center with a fairly detailed exhibit about how Purina produces their animal feed. Outside there’s a small arena where visitors are treated to a dog show, two larger canine competition areas (check web site for event and show schedules) and a barn with farm animals where if you arrive at the right time, you can help
milk a cow. This fall Purina is opening an 84,000 square-foot indoor show facility which will make this an even more popular place.
Downtown, the view from the bottom of the grand Gateway Arch is no-cost as is the Museum of Westward Expansion at its base and a tour through the architecturally significant Old Courthouse (site of two Dredd Scott trials) just up the street. A two-hour tour of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery is no cost, and they provide samples of their products at the end.
Make sure to put these attractions on your must-see list before word gets out that they are way undercharging for this stuff.
Tags: Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour, Downtown St. Louis, Forest Park, Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Attractions, St. Louis On a Budget, St. Louis Zoo
Support Your Team with Licensed Sports Team Apparel
Posted on September 20th, 2010 by Alicia McColl
Visit St. Louis any time of year and you’ll quickly learn we have some SERIOUS sports fans.
Attend a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game – especially in October – and you will find yourself immersed in what has often been described as a “Sea of Red.” Almost everyone in attendance – usually topping 45,000 in number – will be decked out in some form of Cardinal red. You will see plenty of replica jerseys, with the numbers of both current and former Cardinals players represented, as well as a variety of t-shirts, sweatshirts and jackets.
If you plan on attending a game – or you just want to blend in – the best place to find all your Cardinal gear is at the team’s Hall of Fame Team Store, which is located at Busch Stadium and open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. The store features everything Cardinals, including all the apparel items you can imagine. You can find practically any other Redbird souvenir there as well (would you believe a Cardinals’ pool table?).
The Cardinals Clubhouse Shop has several area locations including Union Station, Galleria Mall, St. Louis Mills, St. Clair Square, Mid Rivers Mall and South County Mall. The shops feature a large selection of merchandise, from novelties to licensed Cardinals team clothing from infant to adult sizes.
You can gear up for the St. Louis Rams and the NFL season – or NASCAR, the NBA, NCAA and just about every other sport – at the Sports Fan-Attic shop at West County, Mid Rivers or Chesterfield Malls. Sports Fan-Attic offers one of the largest selections of officially licensed sports memorabilia in the United States. Fan-A-Mania in the Mills, Chesterfield and St. Clair Square, features items brandishing popular local teams, plus college teams and golf.
Hockey season is also not far off. You can get ready by visiting the Blues Authentic Team Store at Scottrade Center. The store features items from St. Louis’ hockey team. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and during Blues’ home games.
So be a good sport and support your team!
Tags: Downtown St. Louis, St. Louis Shopping
End the Year With a Bang
Posted on November 18th, 2009 by Erin Callier
In the mood to hear a little Britney, Whitney or even Axl? The hyper-talented dueling piano crew at the Big Bang in St. Louis can really do it all. Many folks have tried to stump the performers, requesting anything from Nelly to Dolly Parton, and many folks have failed . . . resulting in one heck of a fine conciliation prize, with copious amounts of toe-tapping, knee-slapping and singing along. 
Open since 2001, The Big Bang on St. Louis’ Laclede’s Landing was the original incarnation of this expanding piano bar empire. With locations in Tempe, Nashville and Columbus, The Big Bang has proven to be a big hit. From the young college crowd to the more mature married folk, The Big Bang packs em’ in night after night.
Ideal for family and friends visiting over the holidays or hosting that holiday party, The Big Bang does except reservations and hosts private parties on a regular basis. With a large dining and drinks menu, there really is something for everyone, just like the music. Click here to book The Big Bang for your next event or call 314-241-2264 to make a reservation.
Open til 2:30 a.m. every night but Sun. & Mon., The Big Bang is only for the 21 and older crowd. We recommend taking the MetroLink to the Arch-Laclede’s Landing stop just a short stroll from The Big Bang steps to ensure the maximum fun/safety factor when it comes to the trip home.
And yes, the Big Bangers are very good sports, and will surely play a certain little ditty by that Billy Joel fella if asked. For more information on The Big Bang in St. Louis, visit The Big Bang Website.
Tags: Downtown St. Louis, Laclede's Landing, St. Louis Entertainment, St. Louis Nightlife, The Big Bang
Micro-Pricing at MacroSun International
Posted on November 13th, 2009 by Erin Callier
There’s nothing quite like the words “store-wide sale” to get a shopper’s blood flowing . . . especially this time of year. Add a bit of social and global consciousness into the the mix and we’re sold, or in this case, the intricately woven textile from Indonesia is sold! 
In an effort to make this holiday season as Fair Trade as possible, the Fair-Trade focused folks at MacroSun International in the Loop and Downtown, are discounting every single item at both locations. From now until November 23, the entire MacroSun inventory, which is made up of distinctive handcrafted goods from South Asian artisans, is at least 20% off, and some, slightly damaged and clearance items are even marked down by 70%.
With their newest shipment currently being uncrated, now is the time to shop MacroSun’s warm Himalayan winterwear, Napalese stone and sterling jewelry, vibrant tapestries and antique textiles from India, fine Buddhist and Hindu artwork, tribal carvings, whimsical home decor from Java and much more.
Also, in celebration of this macro-sale, MacroSun’s Loop location is offering free Henna body art on Saturday, Nov. 14 & the 21 from 2 p.m.-4 p.m.
For more information on this fair trade retailer and to shop their online store, visit the MacroSun International Website.
Tags: Downtown St. Louis, MacroSun International, St. Louis Shopping, The Loop