Explore St. Louis

There's nothing better than a fall food festival. Crisp sunny days and the best bites from the top chefs in St. Louis combine to create the perfect day. That's exactly what we've got on tap for this weekend -- it's the annual Taste of St. Louis and all that's missing is you.

The festival kicks off Friday night, September 29 (4 - 10:30 p.m.) and continues Saturday, September 30 (11 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.) and Sunday, October 1 (11 a.m. - 10 p.m.) in Kiener Plaza and along the Gateway Mall downtown.

More than 30 of St. Louis' top restaurants are serving "tastes" from their menus, plus you can watch the Taste of St. Louis Culinary competition and enjoy a Michelob beer garden, artist village, marketplace, family fun & sports zone, an art car exhibit, and much more.

National musical acts include Murphy Lee, Son Volt, Erin Bode and many others performing throughout the festival.

This weekend also marks the return of Gateway Classic Football. Head to the Edward Jones Dome at America's Center on Saturday, September 30, to watch the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff take on Tuskeegee University in some great gridiron action. A not-to-be-missed Battle of the Bands takes place at half time and a 9 a.m. downtown parade kicks off the day.

Stompin’ at Cabaret in The Savoy Room

Want to spend an elegant evening with a Broadway legend? Head to Grand Center’s Sheldon Concert Hall’s new Savoy Room for an amazing performance by Kitty Carlisle Hart. The intimate performance space, now the home of the popular Cabaret Series, welcome the amazing 96-year-old Broadway Baby for a limited five-show engagement from October 19 through 22.

Kitty Carlisle Hart’s show, Here’s to Life, comes to St. Louis after sold-out runs in New York and San Francisco. The charming performer began her Broadway stage career in 1933, co-starred in motion pictures with the likes of the Marx Brothers and Bing Crosby and became a household name with her lively appearances on the classic TV game show “What’s My Line.”

Having been married to the late American theatre genius Moss Hart, Kitty has engaging stories to tell about what happened behind the scenes of some of American musical theatres’ greatest shows. Her repertoire includes some of the best-loved songs of Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Rodgers & Hammerstein and more.

The Savoy Room is an intimate venue that harkens back to the days when men wore suits and women donned hats, gloves and pearls when stepping out on the town. It provides the perfect setting for this elegant performer.

Tickets go on sale Saturday, September 30 at 10 a.m. at the Fox Theatre box office and MetroTix. Charge via phone at 314-534-1111 or purchase online at www.metrotix.com.

The bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark expedition's historic 1804 - 1806 journey from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back to St. Louis ends this weekend, September 22 - 24, on the Mississippi River under the Gateway Arch.

Native American tribes will explain their history and culture and the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery reenactors who have traveled the trail for the past two years will return in a stirring ceremony. (Learn more)

KMOX Radio's Jazz & Wine Festival takes place at Chesterfield's Faust Park on Saturday, September 23. Festivities begin at 2 p.m. and continue until 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door. Jazz artists on stage during the event include Denise Thimes, the Erin Bode Group, Kim Massie and other favorites. The first 2,200 guests will receive a commemorative wine glass. Wines featured during the event come from national and regional wineries. (Get details)

Speaking of Jazz, the Old Webster Jazz Festival is on tap for Saturday, September 23 at the intersection of Gore & Lockwood. Enjoy music from 10 bands on two stages from noon until 11 p.m. A Taste of Old Webster food festival, kids' play areas, and music workshops at Webster University add to the fun.

Is there anything cuter than a fuzzy Otter? The St. Louis Metro Ford Dealers Ottertoberfest starts this weekend at the Saint Louis Zoo. Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., families can enjoy otter-related kids' activities, a biergarten for adults, live German music, an international marketplace and much more. Call 314-781-0900 for details.

Grab your shoulder parrot, shiver your timbers and head for Rotary Park September 16-17 & 23-24 where you will step back to the year 1755 for the St. Louis Pirate Festival.

The park, which also is home to the Greater St. Louis Renaissance Faire in the spring, will be transformed into the Caribbean town of Fort Royal for the two weekends. Reenactors will portray everyone's favorite (or most-feared) historical pirates including Blackbeard, Bart Roberts, Ann Bonny and Mary Read. Others will portray Martinique's French governor, townspeople and and the military.

The swashbuckling pirate music and entertainment, food and crafts and children's activities take place from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. each day. Admission is $12 for adults; $9 for seniors and students; $6 for children under 12; and kids five and under are free (because pirates just love children).

More information, directions, and a discount coupon worth $2 off your admission, are available at the festival web site.

"Ars Gratia Artis." The Latin phrase meaning "Art for Art's Sake" may be the motto of the roaring lion at MGM Studios, but this weekend it could just as easily be referring to St. Louis' special event scene.

Check out the 13th Annual St. Louis Art Fair, located in the heart of downtown Clayton, today through Sunday, September 10. Hours are 5 - 10 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m. - 10 p.m., Saturday; and 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Sunday. Admission is free.

In addition to works of art from165 artists and craft artisans from the U.S., Canada and Europe, the fair offers free entertainment on multiple stages and food from some of the area's finest restaurants and crafts for kids. The fair is rated among the top in the nation. Works for purchase include paintings, jewelry, glass objects, photography, sculpture, wood and metal works and pieces in mixed media.

The Third Annual Art Outside event, located at the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood, runs Friday night from 5 - 10 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Fifty artists will display and sell their works at the festival which also features food from area restaurants, entertainment and do-it-yourself projects.

Sunday, from noon until 4 p.m., the Saint Louis Art Museum stages a European Extravaganza to celebrate the reinstallation of the museum's Early European Galleries. Guests from the Greater St. Louis Renaissance Festival join museum visitors for Ford Family Sunday.

Andy Warhol's ethereal Silver Clouds will be installed at Saint Louis University's Museum of Contemporary Religious Art beginning Sunday, September 10. The floating mylar balloons will be on display until December 17 in celebration of the exhibition's original opening 40 years ago in 1966. Admission is free.

And don't forget that the wildly popular Chihuly: Glass in the Garden exhibition continues at the Missouri Botanical Garden through October 31.

Are you ready for some football?

The NFL season starts this week and season ticket holders are in for a nice surprise. The designs for the 2006 tickets pair some of the Rams most popular players and their new coach, Scott Linehan, with some of St. Louis' top visitor attractions.

Attractions selected to adorn the team's tickets include the Edward Jones Dome -- home of the Rams; the Gateway Arch -- America's tallest man-made monument; the hand-built cabin of President Ulysses S. Grant at Grant's Farm; the beautiful Missouri Botanical Garden; the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park; the historic Old Courthouse; the Saint Louis Zoo -- recently named the top zoo in the nation by Zagat guides and Parenting magazine; the Saint Louis Art Museum -- dedicated to art and free to all; the amazing St. Louis Science Center; and St. Louis Union Station -- once the largest station in the nation and now a marketplace, entertainment district and National Historic Landmark.

For information on Rams' ticket availability for the season, click on www.stlouisrams.com or contact the team's ticket office at 314-425-8830, 800-246-7367 or by e-mail at info@ramstix.stlouisrams.com.

Visitors report that shopping is their number one activity while on vacation. That's no surprise to us in St. Louis where charming boutiques and terrific home-grown retailers abound in the neighborhoods and shopping districts throughout the City and County.

That said, visitors and locals alike will adore what giant retailer Macy's has done for downtown since its aquisition of the St. Louis-based May Company department stores.

May's former Famous-Barr flagship store -- located in the historic Railway Exchange Building on Olive Street -- has been brought back to life courtesy of a Macy's makeover that you have to see to believe. New paint, new carpet, new merchandise and -- best of all -- new attitude are adding up to a stellar shopping experience within a stroll of the downtown hotels, the Gateway Arch and the America's Center convention complex.

Check out the changes during the Macy's Block Party on Friday, September 8 from 11:30 until 1:30. The street celebration will feature music, food, prizes and a chance to see Downtown's renewed retail hub. Charge!

Did you know that St. Louisans are the nation's top consumers of barbecue sauce? At home we grill pork steaks -- a marbled cut of meat from the pork shoulder found only in St. Louis --on our Weber Kettles and smother them with Sweet 'n Smoky Maull's sauce (made locally in St. Louis).

But, if you're visiting and can't get an invitation to someone's back yard, don't fret. There are some terrific places to get a taste of The Lou's top BBQ. And no matter how you choose to spell it -- Q, 'Cue or 'Que -- barbecue is a tasty St. Louis tradition, Don't leave town without trying our take on America's favorite food at these recommended restaurants:

Bite into the barbequed Salciccia at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups. Charbroiled with Q Sauce and Served with grilled Green Peppers and Onions, the sandwich comes along with a side of St. Louis Fries and some of the best live music in town. Nearby in the Soulard neighborhood -- best know for its blues music clubs and friendly restaurants -- Hammerstone's serves a Barbecued Pork Steak that is smoked and then grilled in their special sauce. Soulard's Restaurant barbecues ham and tops the tasty sandwiches with cole slaw for its happy customers. A barbecued shrimp appetizer is served with petit biscuits. Cajun BBQ Shrimp makes an appearance on the menu at the Broadway Oyster Bar where visitors will find bands playing on the popular patio most evenings.

At Blueberry Hill in The Loop neighborhood, you can savor a Barbecue Beef sandwich and enjoy the Rock 'n Roll memorabilia that fills the popular restaurant and club where St. Louis-born superstar Chuck Berry plays to the crowds. Smoked Baby Back Ribs and a BBQ Burger are served across the street at Fitz's, a root beer microbrewery and restaurant in The Loop. The neighborhood's Mirasol Restaurant offers Antichchos -- skewered and grilled appetizers of chicken and chorizo with a guava barbecue sauce. At Riddles Penultimate Cafe & Wine Bar whole pork butts come from happy pigs that are raised hormone and antibiotic-free by family farm owners in Missouri's Ozark Mountains. The meat is dry-rubbed two times then slow-smoked over hickory wood in the restaurant's kitchen for nine hours before being served with Blackstrap Bar-Be-Que Sauce and fresh cut Homegrown Cabbage Slaw.

Boogaloo, located in the Maplewood neighborhood, gives barbecue a Caribbean spin with Cajun Barbecued Shrimp on the tapas menu and Jamaican Jerk Chicken among the restaurant's popular entrees. Maplewood's Schlafly Bottleworks smothers Pulled Pork in a Chipotle-Pale Ale Sauce and pairs hickory smoked and glazed Baby Back Ribs with White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes.

At the two locations -- Downtown and Westport -- of Dierdorf & Hart's barbecued shrimp are served covered in a Cajun butter by the former St. Louis Cardinals' football stars Dan Dierdorf and Jim Hart. Another sports celebrity, Cardinals baseball broadcaster Mike Shannon, prepares a barbecued chicken breast at his establishment overlooking the new Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. The Baby Back Ribs at J.Buck's four locations come with an Sweet Apple Jalapeno Glaze, onion rings and cole slaw. Barbecued chicken also graces a pizza with sour cream and cilantro at the restaurant named for the late, great Cardinals baseball broadcaster Jack Buck and his family.

Downtown in the Washington Avenue loft district near the convention center, Copia Urban Winery offers a House Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich served with a Roasted Green Chile Mango BBQ sauce and covered with cheddar cheese on the lunch menu and a House Smoked Rack of Ribs for dinner.

In the Laclede's Landing entertainment district, Hannegan's Restaurant was built as a replica of the U.S. Senate dining room. Their Jack Daniels Bar-B-Qued Chicken, which is marinated, hickory smoked, flame grilled and basted with Jack Daniels BBQ sauce is the real thing. A full slab of Baby Back Ribs gets the JD treatment too and comes with a side of garlic roasted mashed potatoes. Also on the Landing, Jake's Steaks pairs BBQ pork with nachos for a wild west appetizer. Smoked Beef Brisket soaked in a red barbeque sauce and covered with cheddar cheese and bacon also make the grade at Jake's. BBQ Chicken and Smoked Pork Ribs come with an Apricot Jalapeno Glaze at Jake's and Grilled chicken Breasts are also served with a white barbecue sauce. Any entree can be ordered St. Louis Blues style with a layer of Blue Cheese. At the neighborhood's Morgan Street Brewery, the Barbecued Shrimp are simmered in Cajun spices and the brewery's own Red Lager. Show Me's on the Landing serves their St. Louis-style ribs in five-bone, 10-bone or 20-bone servings. Smoked pork ribs, BBQ pulled pork and chicken and ribs are on the menu at Skeeter's Eatery on the Landing.

The Hard Rock Cafe, located in St. Louis Union Station, serves a Pulled Pork Sandwich that is hickory smoked and hand-pulled before being basted with a vinegar-style sauce. A Hamburger becomes a stand-out menu item with the addition of hickory sauce, bacon and melted cheddar cheese. A full rack of Baby Back Ribs and a Chicken & Ribs combo round out the barbecue menu.
Nearby, Harry's updates the sandwich with house-smoked pulled pork served on an asiago bun, with pepperjack cheese and caramelized onions.

The menu changes seasonally at Harvest where the chef prides himself on using locally produced foods. Barbequed Shrimp n’ Grits pairs the shellfish with Vermont White Cheddar Grits and a Housemade Barbeque Sauce. Pulled Smoked Pork with Caramelized Onions and BBQ Sauce heads the lunch menu at 1111 Mississippi, a wine country bistro in the historic Lafayette Square neighborhood.

Recess is calling and so is the barbecue at Dave & Buster's. You can enjoy their famous Barbecued Chicken and slowed-cooked and tender St. Louis-style Pork Ribs while playing on the arcade games at their suburban Earth City location during lunch or dinner.

Max & Erma's serves the classic ribs and chicken combination with onion rings and cole slaw from their downtown St. Louis restaurant and Tanner B's downtown delivers St. Louis Ribs - pork ribs dry rubbed and slow smoked cooked with a hickory BBQ Sauce -- to the table. For lighter tastes, the menu offers a BBQ Pork Loin Sandwich - a Grilled Pork Loin topped with Caribbean BBQ Sauce.

For more on St. Louis' dining scene, check out all the restaurants on Explore St. Louis.