Louis, and surely you'll find they're like something out of Kenny Rogers's ''The Gambler" (minus the Reba McEntire cameo). A handful of glitzy casinos are in or just outside St. For $8, you get a 30-mile view of some of the city's landmarks, such as Busch Stadium and the Old Courthouse, and the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.įrom the arch, head down to the riverboats, for either a tour of the Mississippi or a leaner pocketbook. Tramcars, which hold five people and depart every 10 minutes, shoot you to the top in four minutes, where sprawling vistas await.
14th St., 31) is worthwhile, as is the queasy tummy you're likely to have when swaying ever so gently in a tiny observation area perched 630 feet in the air. Essential reading: It's a tourist trap, all right, but a trip to the Gateway Arch (11 N. (6605 Delmar Blvd., 31) is a microbrewery with tasty root beer floats. Cicero's (6691 Delmar Blvd., 31) always has the cutest servers and best selection of beers, and nearby Fitz's Bottling Co. Be sure to check out the gorgeous, renovated Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar Blvd., 31) for the latest in GLBT and independent cinema. Younger crowds - and there are loads of them since the area has more than a dozen universities and colleges - and hipsters often hang out in the Loop neighborhood, a six-block stretch of restaurants, boutiques, book and music stores, galleries, and clubs. It's no coincidence that the city's gay pride festival, which runs June 26-27 next year, happens in Tower Grove Park across from MoKaBe's. When the weather's nice, get here early for a seat outside and marvel at the men, their eyes forever rolling, sizing up the eye candy. You're bound to hear anyone from Ani DiFranco to Lhasa on the sound system as a steady flow of women and men gather for strong lattes (soy, of course), sandwiches, and homemade baked goods. To launch your big night on the town, MoKaBe's Coffee House (3606 Arsenal St., 31) is often a good starting point. For the ladies, check out Novak's Bar & Grill (4146 Manchester Road, 314-531-FOXX). Vandeventer Ave., 31), which features a late-night diner. For more, um, cosmopolitan adventures in night life, try the ever-popular The Complex (3515 Chouteau Ave., 31), the piano bar Drake (3502 Papin St., 31), and Magnolia's (5 S. Grand Blvd., 31), or dine on upscale French cuisine at the new Chez Leon (4580 Laclede Ave., 31).
Those bars which are doing well have niche markets." Bossaller has his own picks for the city: For a mean martini, visit the Absolutli Goosed martini bar (3196 S. ''I know a few are teetering on the verge of closing. Louis bars' survival these days, says Tony Bossaller, who runs the helpful website ''The problem is all the bars are hurting right now," he says. I was fascinated, but Cher guzzled her vodka tonic at record speed just as I was revved up to see the dance moves to Anita Ward's ''Ring My Bell."Īs it turns out, Attitudes has been catering to a particular crowd, which has been key to most St. We stood awestruck, as if witnessing a train wreck. 'MMMBop' by Hanson?," I screeched to my cousin. We weren't fazed by the men and women clad in Western shirts and line dancing in perfect little rows it was the music. (Note: This is where we rewind to that ''Hee Haw" bit.) Regardless of our upbringings with continuous Loretta Lynn on the hi-fi, Cher and I weren't prepared for the scene at Attitudes. Louis, and our first stop was Attitudes (4100 Manchester Road, 31), a popular lesbian bar. We began our night at 10 p.m., which is standard for St.
So what do the locals do around here, anyway? I found out over the summer when I visited the city's haunts with my lesbian cousin, Cheryl (who goes by Cher, for a closer connection to Chastity Bono, no doubt). Metro, the city's public transport system of buses and trains, is efficient, but seriously consider a car rental to pack in all the attractions, which are certainly spread out. Folks land here all the time for weekend conventions, weddings, layovers, a Cardinals game at Busch Stadium, or, for gay men into ''bear" types, an annual soiree called Hibearnation. Louis - famous for its arch and known as the gateway to the West -is a city everyone visits at some point.