Best Of

The Church Key is owned by the Bellon family, who a few years back brought Bellon's Market Deli and Pizzeria (located just down the block, at Vandeventer and Chouteau) to the neighborhood known as the Grove. Boasting of "heavenly spirits" and "sinful merriment," the Key is holds up both ends of... More >>

You may not remember Ryder Murphy, or know that he has ever served you at Mangia Italiano. Maybe all you have is some vague recollection of last Friday night, one that involved double-fisting cans of Schlitz while dirty dancing to John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" with a total stranger (even though... More >>

One of the newest bars to pop up on South Grand, Urban is dark and cool, and on most nights a DJ spins down-tempo house in the back room. But we come for the cocktails. Yes, they go by cutesy names ("Purple Rain" and "Raspberry Beret," to name two Prince-inspired ones). But many of them go above... More >>

No one can say for sure who created the first martini. But what we do know is that modern martinis are nothing like their predecessors, which consisted of gin and vermouth. Much to purists' chagrin, anything that looks yummy in a V-shaped glass can now pass for one. And traditional is not what... More >>

The bartenders at most establishments start thinking about the bloody mary you order approximately one second after you request it. There's no planning, no preparation, save for having the proper ingredients on hand. Not so at Savor. The folks here anticipate your mary long before you even choose... More >>

In most Southwestern states, standard rules of decorum mandate that certain topics should not enter polite discussion. No talking about religion. No arguing about politics. And, for the love of all that is good and holy, no boasting about your margarita recipe. Here in the Midwest, we're free... More >>

Is it just a mirage, or are the wine prices at restaurants going up faster than gas at the pump? Seems like only yesterday a glass of vino'd run you four or five bucks; now you practically need a money-market account to suck down a couple of after-work cabs. In belt-tightening times like these,... More >>

Monarch is intoxicating — and that's before you imbibe a selection or two from its superlative drink menu. The gracious service, the architectural panache, the beautiful people, the sultry soundtrack: It's enough to knock you off your chair. But hold on tight and open up cocktail-master Ted... More >>

Your soul-sucking job isn't glamorous — but that's all the more reason for your happy hour to be. Park your Saturn next to a Lexus in the Busch's Grove parking lot (or pay $3 for valet) and pull open the heavy wooden doors to find a posh, largely white-collar crowd drinking drinkies at... More >>

It took a tornado (and a serious bump on the head) to make Dorothy feel like she wasn't in Kansas anymore. Lucky for you, it'll only take an elevator ride to the top of a historic building in Lafayette Square to make you feel like you're no longer in St. Louis. French-themed restaurant Vin de... More >>

"Sure, come on in, but only if you pay a surcharge. But watch where you sit and stand, and wait, let me put this ÔX' on your hand — or both of them!" While most venues have stages and even barriers and bodyguards to separate audience members from performers, the Lemp Art Center's lack of... More >>

A college cafeteria by day and a makeshift venue at night, Saint Louis University's Billiken Club doesn't appear to be much of a rock club at first blush. But its amenities (great sound, cheap beer, and — best of all — never a cover charge) more than make up for whatever ambiance it... More >>

While far too many local music clubs and venues have shuttered their doors in the past few years, no closure stung more than that of Mississippi Nights. One might argue that the club's booking had declined in quality in recent years, or that its cover-band pedigree in the 1980s was the very... More >>

Integrity isn't so much a place to dance and see a show as it is a networking tool. Sure, scene heavyweights Finsta and Tech Supreme make certain the night's performance is dope, and DJ Trackstar's playlists are always on point, but if you want to make it in the game in St. Louis, you best be... More >>

It's 1 a.m. and your standard watering hole just closed its doors. Your BAC broke double digits long ago. Standing on the curb with your posse, it's the moment of truth, the all-important decision: perseverance, or quit while you're ahead. No contest. "I'm feeling great, I'm feeling so fine," you... More >>

There are bars that offer karaoke, and then there are karaoke bars — the kind of place where it's always amateur night, where you too can be the star for three minutes at a time. Mike Talayna's Juke Box Restaurant is that kind of place, where the karaoke flows until 3 a.m. every night and... More >>

Maryland House is so cool it doesn't need a lit-up sign outside informing you of its existence — you're just supposed to know . "We get people complaining about it a lot," says Joel Clark (an "unofficial manager"). "But once people find it, they love the place so much they don't seem to... More >>

While the wave of digital jukeboxes (currently invading a bar near you) might offer thousands of titles on their screens, a good jukebox is all about expression, a bar's way of showing you what it's all about via a handful of albums. Appropriately, the discs that fill the sticker-splattered... More >>

If it feels like everyone at Novak's knows everyone else, it's probably because they do — the community atmosphere is unmistakable. The gals (and guys) at Novak's are always welcoming to newcomers — gay, straight or bar-curious. The horseshoe bar provides ample opportunities for... More >>

How can you not adore a drinking establishment that has the good sense to offer happy-hour prices from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each and every weekday? Who among us could fault a restaurant whose menu offers comfort foods like chicken pot pie and prime rib at prices so low there's no need for home... More >>

Like a peacock splaying his feathers, the Metro struts through Rue with his plumage on display. Notice how he sips a (double) gin-and-tonic with his back to the lights, the better to silhouette his thin frame and peg-leg jeans. As the clubbers dance to crowd-pleasing hits, the Metro can be found... More >>

Beware a bar that offers you the Bible-size tome of available beers. Do you have the time to search through that many choices? How confident are you that your bartender really knows the difference between, say, a dubbel and a doppelbock? The beer selection at Erato falls into that ideal range:... More >>

Question: What makes for truly fantastic bar food? Answer: A good deep fryer. By that measure, the fryer at Michael's Bar & Grill must be gold plated, a filligreed affair replete with ivory inlays, encrusted with precious gems and signed by its creator. Because this "fryer" — if indeed we... More >>

After a few months of spending Saturday nights in your jammies with only John Walsh to keep you company — this breakup was tough and watching America's Most Wanted didn't help matters — you're ready to get back in the game. You've picked Mandarin Lounge for your re-debut. (Good... More >>

For all of the love that's professed at your typical wedding, the guests aren't usually feeling it. Whether they're pissed about losing an entire Saturday, unimpressed with the reception food or annoyed with their assigned table, one thing is certain: The invitees are bitching. But complainers... More >>

The best underground shows exist in the grit and grime of the city, advertised only to close-knit supporters of alternatively attuned music via word of mouth, Web or haphazardly distributed flyers. But down in the dusty basements on Cherokee Street, this is no stingy contingent. A community of... More >>

You wanted to go somewhere for a quick one to jolt your mind away from the fact that you're a complete failure. You told yourself you'd only stay for a single, mood-altering Guinness, then wham-o! — next thing you know, you're dancing a jig with strangers. That's why patron Nick Wade has... More >>

The place stinks like beer, cigarettes and sex. The intoxicating low glow of black light and boisterously pink and purple fluorescent tubes permeate the sticky air. The music, pumped raw and hard through a bare-bones sound system, is thunderous, though it barely drowns out the sound of the... More >>

Morgan Street Brewery isn't so much a dance club as it is a dance compound, with changing vibes, beats and bars around every corner. The lower level's nothing special, but things start to change once you climb the stairs. At the top there's a sparse bar with down-tempo music that seems geared to... More >>

These days the best blues in town can be found in the so-called South Broadway triangle, the few-block stretch where Broadway angles its way southeastward to usurp Fourth Street. And BB's remains the anchor of the area, presenting a mix of touring acts and local and regional performers seven... More >>

St. Louis' best jazz club is, in fact, not a traditional club at all, but rather a not-for-profit concert series presented in a bar/restaurant setting. But with good sound and sightlines and the best lineup of touring jazz talent to be found between Chicago and New Orleans, the Bistro is not only... More >>

The Dubliner, with its soaring ceilings and aspiring gastronomy, may be the urban version of an Irish pub. But true to its roots, there's always a pair of elbows resting atop the bar. Twenty-ounce pints of Smithwick's, Harp, Guinness and Magner's Cider, plus a raft of Irish whiskeys and cocktails... More >>

For some reason, Coyote gives directions to his sci-fi lounge by noting that it has a giant chicken out front. It does have a giant chicken out front, but that ain't even the most interesting or eye-catching thing about this place. Coyote is an artist/nerd who manages the vintage arcade at the... More >>

Though the Black Derby Saloon offers more than just darts, a cursory glance at the off-kilter pool table and pinball machine-turned-plant holder shows that's not why people come. Run by a little old lady named Doris who decries plastic-tipped "wussy darts," the Black Derby exists because of the... More >>

In the seminal pool film The Hustler , Paul Newman plays Fast Eddie Felson, a pool shark on a mission to topple the greatest player in the land, Minnesota Fats, at a legendary pool hall called Ames. Along the way, playing in a backwater pool dive, Eddie gets his thumbs broken for hustling some... More >>

The bartender during happy hour at Barrister's is Kyla. Kyla Berlener. She's 32, a dark-haired whirling dervish with a personality the color of gold, as when the evening sun lights upon on the rows of dark liquors. Like her pours, Kyla's smile is generous. If there were a price of admission here... More >>

There's a fine line between "keeping it real" and "straight-up trashy." Friendly's Sports Bar and Grill sits just a smidge to the "real" side of that line. And that, in turn, is what makes Friendly's so glorious and deserving of the title "Best Neighborhood Bar." No pretension here, no fern-based... More >>

Some of you may know that Riverfront Times fields a softball team. Some of you may further be aware that our team is the Baltimore Orioles of the U. City rec league. This summer we lost a game 27-1. That score was not an aberration. We routinely get beat by double digits — especially when... More >>

A few years back someone put up south county's most pointless sign. It officially denotes the cluster of stores at Baptist Church and Tesson Ferry roads as Plaza 21. But nobody refers to it as that, ever. When describing a store within the strip mall, locals say, "Oh, it's in that plaza with... More >>

Smokey Joe's waits in the darkness of the Great River Road like a tiny smoke-filled oasis. The roadside tavern serves as both an escape for the twentysomething from Edwardsville who wants to avoid small talk with former high school classmates and a pit stop for regulars, many of them guys who... More >>

A mural of the St. Louis waterfront circa A Long Time Ago surrounds the bar of Al's Restaurant, located at First and Biddle streets, just north of Laclede's Landing. This room was designed to look like the deck of an old-time riverboat or a scene from the musical Show Boat : The ceiling and... More >>