Road Game: St. Louis
A Wedding, Gooey Butter Cake, Frozen Custard, Brewery Cats, Hot Salami Sandwiches...
I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to read my recent article, “The Hidden Hospitality Hazards When You’re Too Big for the Bar,” first published on VinePair last week. So many people have shared very heartfelt and thoughtful comments here and on Instagram, via DMs, texts, and email. The response has been incredible, and I thank you for your support.
—BTP
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Road Game: St. Louis
Last Wednesday night after watching the Knicks win Game 2 against the Pacers in the Lombardi Room at Long Island Bar, I walked back home down the block and packed my bag for the flight to St. Louis the next morning. Still wound up from the Knicks’ win and nervous about flying for the first time in more than a year, I didn’t fall asleep until 1:30 a.m. and woke up at 4 a.m.
I was flying to St. Louis for the wedding of two of my dearest friends, Mike and Ali, who moved back to Ali’s hometown (just a few blocks from her childhood home) over a year and a half ago. And I was not only attending their nuptials, but also had the honor of officiating their very special day.
I had only been to St. Louis once, specifically on May 16, 2010, when I was driving cross-country from Seattle to Brooklyn with my best friend and roommate Louis riding shotgun. It was Day 4 of our six-day odyssey. In Boise, Idaho, and Lincoln, Nebraska, it had been easy to simply pull over at the end of each day and locate a nearby hotel that wouldn’t blink at checking in with a wide-eyed, handsome tabby cat rolling along next to me in his oversized dog cage on a luggage cart. But St. Louis and Columbus (the next stop) were trickier with their big city hotels and a firm “No Cats” policies.
So it took us a while to find lodging and after checking in clandestinely navigating Louis through the lobby to our room. But once I had him settled in with fresh water and food I left the TV on for him and made my way to Ted Drewes Frozen Custard for one of their famous concretes. I remember it was absolutely packed with Little League baseball teams celebrating the end of a local tournament. Then we were back on the road the next morning.
Ted Drewes was definitely on my St. Louis itinerary for last week’s trip along with a few other venues. And in the name of exploring a new city, I made room for unexpected detours. Read on for a play by play of my St. Louis road game’s eating and drinking highlights.
I was back at Long Island Bar Wednesday night for Game 5 and thrilled to see the Knicks, with the support of the Garden crowd, take a 3-2 series lead. While I’ve been well versed in the heartbreak of being a lifelong Knicks fan, and I take it day by day with each game, I want to believe. I’m not sure if I’ll be watching tonight’s road game at home or out on the town (maybe Dante or Emmett’s on Grove could roll in a television set?), but here’s hoping for Knicks in 6!
Thursday
I’m an arrive-at-the-airport-well-in-advance-of-boarding kind of guy, and since I had a couple of hours to kill I posted up at the LGA outpost of Tribeca’s famed Bubby’s for breakfast. A serpentine bar wound through the clean and well-lighted venue and everything was ordered via QR code, though no substitutions were allowed (so a hard pass on the onion-spiked hash browns). I settled on two eggs sunny side up, bacon, and a single Bubby’s pancake. Concerning breakfast I’ve never been a fan of intermingling sweet with savory on the same plate and, in retrospect, I should’ve asked for a side of scrambled eggs on a small plate as the maple syrup and runny egg yolk quickly became one. But it hit the spot nonetheless.
It was a relatively quick flight to St. Louis and as there was no seatback TV monitors and it proved impossible to connect with inflight WiFi, I just shuffled through my BTP Day Moves playlist while intermittently resting my eyes and staring at the passing clouds outside my window.
Ali and Mike kindly scooped me up outside of Baggage Claim and we drove to their new home in University City, just outside St. Louis proper. It was a lovely house and a lot bigger than than their old 1-bedroom apartment in Gramercy. It was nice to actually see, rather than imagine, where they lived and worked and hung out and watched their programs. And Mike was particularly proud of their new garage, built (raised?) by some local Amish contractors.
They dropped me off at my hotel in St. Louis’ Forest Park and Central West End area to settle in while they ran some errands nearby. Our friend Peter arrived to the hotel soon thereafter and the four of us all went for a quick lunch at Gioia’s Deli before they closed shop for the day.
Gioia’s Deli
Gioia’s was at the top of my must-visit list. Mike raved about it and it was also featured on the Season 4 “St. Louis” episode of True South (which also featured my late friend Jack Sonni jamming on his guitar out front, right near the iconic Gioia’s painted billboard).