Matt Sorrell has provided a St Louis “travel” book of eclectic and St Louisan eateries, purveyors and drinking places. He has covered multiple areas of the region and all types of food and drink. Along with his own spin and experiences he shares some of the history of many of these places. St Louis is a nice sized metro area but holds the small town feel in most of its neighborhoods. Whether you are a lifetime St Louisan or just traveling through here is a wonderful book to find some novel places to eat, drink, or buy food to fix at home.
While I have not been to the bars in his book, he gives wonderful descriptions of the venue, the experience he had and some of the special drinks or history for each. If I was to go out drinking, here are the ones I want to try based on his recommendation: Platypus, Robust Wine Bar, John D. McGurk’s Irish Pub (my spouse is Irish and Matt mentions their food too), and The Scottish Arms (which I always saw when going to the Fox and wondered).
Moving on to the next section is the Restaurants of St Louis. Now some of the restaurants we have also enjoyed or have heard other reviews of so let us start. I am going to start with The Foundry Food Hall, which is only a few years old. IF you want a place to start trying assorted flavors, types of foods here is one of the best places in St Louis. You can go around and try multiple flavors in one sitting or come back separate times and try something different each time. The vendors are in the middle of this large open Foundry building which still has some of the original foundry pieces. We have tried several different vendors and enjoyed most of them. So, the next one to try would be Crown Candy Kitchen for their sandwiches and large creamy milkshakes. When you walk into Crown Candy you first see different chocolates, gummies, and other candies. While checking out the candies you want after lunch, the restaurant is further down the way to place your order. There is only one drawback to Crown Candy Kitchen; it is a St Louis icon and most of the time there is a line waiting to get in. Pappy’s Smokehouse is another St Louis restaurant that is eclectic for BBQ. This is a place where you want to be there early. Again, there may be a line waiting to get in but they prepare only so much meat a day and when they sell out of a particular cut/type it is gone for the day. Once they have sold out of all the meat for the day, they close. That also lets you know how good it is because everyone that goes there eats all they order. These are only a few of the restaurants Matt has reviewed so check them all out and see which speaks to you.
Besides the bars and restaurants, Matt brings in some local Food Markets like Soulard Farmer’s Market, Global Foods, World Market and Olive Supermarket. Each of these has their own special foods or items that you only find there. Some of them have different vendors selling special items too. If you want a day of food shopping and testing check out the different markets in St Louis starting with Soulard Farmer’s Market. These markets are not the only markets or shops that stand out in St Louis. One of these shops is Clementine’s Naughty and Nice Creamery which is a certified micro creamery. They also have alcohol infused ice cream. There are a farm school and a business that started because of bees but not the honey they provided which has now become a business across the city. Check out this book for a variety of bars, restaurants, shops, and markets to bring you the eclectic St Louis Food Scene.
Paper Phoenix ink 