Any good place to eat in southeast St. Louis?

[Pepsei]

I'm flying to St. Louis and then driving to Festus for... a company related project.

From looking at the map, it looks like I'll have to drive 30-40 minutes back to St. Louis for a decent meal. (When Ci Ci's pizza show up on a search for Festus, that's not a good sign).

So, anyone got any recommendation for good restaurants in southeastern St. Louis? My allowance is $80 for dinner, but if it is really good, I don't mind paying a little more out of pocket.

 

[Turfzilla]

The Macaroni Grill is good, it's over by Skinker Blvd. and Highway 40
Also the Old Spaghetti Factory on leclede's landing is excellent.

 

[newb111]

Nope.

 

[Lamont Burns]

Festus huh... watch your cornhole... and don't cross the river into IL.

 

[Lorax]

i'm told st louis style pizza is good (cracker like crust) but i haven't tried it nor know of a good place for it.

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

Originally posted by: Turfzilla
The Macaroni Grill is good, it's over by Skinker Blvd. and Highway 40
Also the Old Spaghetti Factory on leclede's landing is excellent.

Old Spaghetti Factory on the Landing!! QFMFT!!!

Also if you like Pizza, head east on the 64 towards Belleville and take the exit right at St. Clair Mall and head South.. Go up three stoplights and hook a right (going West) and stop at Imo's (thanks for the spell check LAMONT ) about 2 blocks up... Plus there's a Whitecastle there, a Steak N Shake, and some other good resturaunts around the mall all reasonably priced.

Whatever you do - Stay the hell OUT of E. St. Louis. It's like LA's Inglewood over there!

Edit: Forgot to mention.. If you want to head back West into the city and get off on the Delmar Loop (up by St. Louis University), there are plenty of good eateries there too!

My .02
JR..

 

[paulxcook]

Yes, the Old spaghetti Factory there is great. Much, much better than the one in my city.

I second the recommendation that you stay away from east St. Louis. You don't want any part of it.

 

[Lamont Burns]

Imo's pizza is what he meant. I think it's pure shit(I'm a Chicago native). It's thin wafer crust with provolone cheese. Basically no sauce, just toppings and provolone. If you think you would like that go for it. It makes me vomit when my wifey orders it for herself. I swear if someone wanted to open a NY Style or Chicago style pizza place in STL it would make a killing.

I would stay out of Delmar as well at night. 2 wrong turns and you are in peril.

Seriously, don't cross the river. DON'T DO EET

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: Lorax
i'm told st louis style pizza is good (cracker like crust) but i haven't tried it nor know of a good place for it.

That's a negative, Ghost Rider. St. Louis pizza is the worst pizza I've ever had, period. I've lived here for almost 4 years and ate it once, got sick, and will never go back (Imo's specifically).

If you want a good meal in SE St. Louis that you can't get anywhere else, The Hill is the only way to go. Very good Italian food in an authentic Italian neighborhood. There are many choices there and it's hard to go wrong. Which one would be best depends on how much $$ you want to spend. PM me if you want more specific recommendations.

 

[Lamont Burns]

I would whole-heartedly agree with the recco on The Hill. Always had great meals in this area. It's the best Saint Louis has to offer imo. :thumbsup:

Forget the pizza and toasted ravioli...

 

[cheezmunky]

The Old Spaghetti Factory is very good, but if you want authentic, quality Italian you can't do better than the restaurants on the hill. If anything, stay away from Imo's and White Castle. The only people that like those place are natives who don't know any better.

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

Originally posted by: cheezmunky
The Old Spaghetti Factory is very good, but if you want authentic, quality Italian you can't do better than the restaurants on the hill. If anything, stay away from Imo's and White Castle. The only people that like those place are natives who don't know any better.

Hey, lay off the White Castle bro - I'm serious about this! It's been 10 years since I moved from the StL area and everytime I'm home a trip to White Castle is ritual! It's like visiting Mecca for us SeMo/So IL natives!!!

OTOH, the Imo's I can kinda accept, I've had better pizza (although I do happen to like Imo's). But ooohh those Sliders! Can't get enough!! Keep knockin on White Castle and I'm gonna have to take that personally bubba!!

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: CycloWizard

Originally posted by: Lorax
i'm told st louis style pizza is good (cracker like crust) but i haven't tried it nor know of a good place for it.

That's a negative, Ghost Rider. St. Louis pizza is the worst pizza I've ever had, period. I've lived here for almost 4 years and ate it once, got sick, and will never go back (Imo's specifically).

If you want a good meal in SE St. Louis that you can't get anywhere else, The Hill is the only way to go. Very good Italian food in an authentic Italian neighborhood. There are many choices there and it's hard to go wrong. Which one would be best depends on how much $$ you want to spend. PM me if you want more specific recommendations.

I had a way more detailed post put together, but closed it by accident and don't have time to re-write it all, so here's the quick and dirty details from it:

In/near Festus, you're quite likely out of luck. I wouldn't even call Festus part of St. Louis, it's far enough out. That said:

I'll also recommend the Hill. Your best bets for Italian there are Gian-Tony's or Trattoria Marcella (Trattoria isn't exactly ON the Hill - it's just close). If you're not in the mood for Italian, also on the Hill is O'Connell's Pub.

Another good area for restaurants is Soulard, home of Saint Louis' Mardi Gras celebration and borders the Anheuser-Busch . 1860's is a good bet for decent live music. McGurk's has (relatively) authentic Irish pub food, and is always high quality. Also, the Lynch Street Bistro always has great food. My personal favorite in the area, while a little harder to find (though a feature on a Rachel Ray show) is Frazer's. We just ate there a couple nights ago to celebrate my birthday.

Someone else mentioned the Delmar area - it's not as bad as they made it sound. While 6 blocks in the wrong direction could put you in a rough part of town, three blocks in another direction would put you on the Washington University campus. The Loop has a funky vibe and is more cohesive than the Hill at being a destination. There's a newer concert venue there that gets decent acts - The Pageant. The area's called The Loop and has several great bets - Blueberry Hill (great bar atmosphere and food), Riddle's Penultimate has an excellent, constantly changing menu and a huge wine list, and Brandt's is great for a lighter dinner over a glass of wine.

None of these areas is particularly close to Festus, though. You'll be hard pressed to find something really remarkable down there. Where's your hotel?

 

[rivan]

Re-reading my post: I mentioned O'Connell's in an off-hand manner. The place is an institution; it's got great traditional American pub food - the burgers, onion rings and corned beef sandwiches are second to none.

From your location, Soulard will be the easiest to get to, around and back. It's very near the heart of downtown Saint Louis, right up 55 from you. The next most convenient for you to get to would be the Hill - up 55, then 44 - it's about 5 minutes more highway.

The most difficult to navigate to would be the Loop, since there's major construction on one of the highways involved and there's currently (I think - it's been a few months since I tried) no interchange to get from 55 north to 64 west.

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

Always Olive Garden and Red Lobster... Just watch for the 64/40 closure if you venture a little father north for some reason.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Originally posted by: Damn Dirty Ape
Always Olive Garden and Red Lobster... Just watch for the 64/40 closure if you venture a little father north for some reason.

yea, stl just closed a major chunk of their busiest interstate. fubared everyone.

Go to the HILL! It's nice.

And, Belleville in Illinois, just passed East St. Louis, is actually closer to downtown St. Louis than alot of the city. Just head over to Illinois across the Poplar Street Bridge and follow i64 for about 10-15 minutes and you'll come up on Fairview Heights. THis area is called the Metro East, (belleville, swansea, Fairview heights), and there are restaraunts all over the place. Belleville is where Jimmy Connors (tennis pro), and Scott Bakula (Quantam Leap, Star Trek) are from. wooo

 

[Pepsei]

wow, thanks for all the recommendations.... i'll check them out , i'm there for 7 days.. so that's 6 dinners at 6 different places... I'll take pictures.

my first choice for hotel was going to be the Renaissance hotel, but sadly, I wasn't going to be at that "office", instead I'm going to working in the office in Festus most of the time, and since all the choices are cheap hotels, I pick the one closest to that site.

I'm free to drive to St.louis for dinner when the time comes. I don't mind driving 40 minutes for a good meal.

any good sushi place?