Chef Patrick Connolly's St. Louis
The brewing at Bottleworks.
by Mollie Chen
I've never been a huge beer drinker (unless I'm at a baseball game), but after three days in St. Louis, I may have seen the light. My sister, Annie, and I were on a mission to check out the city's best gastropubs and breweries. Before we left, we got some tips from chef Patrick Connolly, a James Beard award winner who recently decamped from Boston to New York. The STL native gave us a run-down of his favorite local spots and we tried our best to hit them all, though we missed out on the toasted ravioli at Imo's and the signature sandwich ("something I crave constantly") at Amighetti's. Connolly's favorites, plus some of ours:
Schlafly: As far from Anheuser-Busch as you can get, the favorite local beer has a gastropub downtown and a brewery in nearby Maplewood. We loved the tour of Bottleworks, in part because our super-friendly (and cute) guide was a vast reservoir of beer trivia. Over sips of the brand's oatmeal stout and pale ale, we learned the difference between an APA and and IPA, and about the convoluted laws that came out of Prohibition.
Dressel's Pub: Starved after our Schlafly tour, we grabbed a booth at this civilized Welsh pub. Connolly used to run the kitchen here and had instructed us to get the Bavarian chips with rarebit. (Note: I am now convinced that my favorite way to consume beer is in a messy cheesy dip.) We followed up with cornmeal-fried oysters, thick French fries, and a huge half-pound burger. In between bites, I read Annie snippets of owner Jon Dressel's poetry from the posters on the walls.
Crawling the City Museum.
Crown Candy Kitchen: White and green linoleum tile, vintage Coca-Cola trays, and gently whirring ceiling fans make this soda shop feel straight out of 1950. I was worried that the Crown Sundae would be boring, but was happily mistaken: the combination of vanilla ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauces, and toasted salted pecans was absolutely perfect. We snagged some heavenly hash (not that kind) on the way out.
Niche: With clean white walls, butcher-paper covered tables, and chatty servers, it's hard to tell that this is the city's hottest spot. We got kudos from the waiters for ordering a roster of ultra-rich dishes (pork belly with foie gras and peaches, chicken liver terrine, scallops with sautéed mushrooms and brown butter) and then cleaned all of our plates. The desserts--including an upside-down cherry cake with toasted almond ice cream--put us over the top.
City Museum: Founded by artist Bob Cassilly, this is hands down the craziest museum I've ever seen. From the school bus hanging precariously off the roof to the mazes, slides, and rope climbs on the inside, there are nonstop surprises. If I'm ever back in the city I'm definitely going to swing by on a Friday or Saturday night, when it turns into a hipster party fueled by Schlafly beers.
Ted Drewes Frozen Custard: In Connolly's words, "an absolute must." I got a mint and Oreo concrete and was in sugar heaven.
RSS Feeds
Comments