St. Louis Hotel recommendation for a concert at The Pageant?
July 6, 2010 8:21 PM   Subscribe

Need a StL hotel recommendation for a weekend in early August around the Wash U/(North Side) of Forest Park area (or easily accessible to there via MetroLink/Taxi). Primary target that Friday night is The Pageant, prefer Saturday night options in walking/reasonable taxi distance.

A friend and I are headed up to StL. th6-8e weekend of Aug 6-8 to see Gogol Bordello at The Pageant. We don't need any fancy accommodations, but don't want to stay in a roach motel. We're driving, but would prefer to be able to walk/take public transport/taxi that Friday and Saturday nights. Any reccos, AskMe? Bonus points: restaurants in the area that are veggie/seafood friendly, decent divey bars that aren't douchey or loud, or breakfast joints?

I've been to St. Louis a few times, and it's a pretty easy city to get around in, but the last time was circa 2003, so the MetroLink was very minimal. I'm not terribly concerned about getting lost/whatever, just would like some rec's for that specific area and things that have changed in the last seven years. Thanks.
posted by Ufez Jones to Travel & Transportation (12 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
There's actually a hotel right next to the Pageant now—the Moonrise—owned by the same guy who owns that, Blueberry Hill, Pin-Up Bowl, Flamingo Bowl, etc. Cool rooftop bar, great food, themed rooms, and very reasonable rates for all that.
posted by limeonaire at 8:28 PM on July 6, 2010


Response by poster: Man, that looks like a pretty badass place, limeonaire, but we're not eligible for the gov't/military rate, so I think the Moonrise is a bit out of our price range. Are there other places in the area that may be a little more reasonable?
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:47 PM on July 6, 2010


The Sheraton Clayton Plaza and the Crowne Plaza in Clayton are both pretty close to the Metro. They're on a different line than the Loop Metro stop, so you'd have to change trains, but it's a short detour. Slightly further afield (both in terms of the distance to the Metro stop and the distance traveled on the Metro) would be the SpringHill Suites in Brentwood.

Rates at those places can be a little high, but perhaps the discounted rates will be reasonable. You might check Priceline rates as well.
posted by jedicus at 8:56 PM on July 6, 2010


restaurants in the area that are veggie/seafood friendly, decent divey bars that aren't douchey or loud, or breakfast joints?

There are a couple of Thai restaurants on the Loop not far from the Pageant, Thai Pizza and Thai Gai Yang. There is a third, Thai Country, but it may be closed right now, I'm not sure. Anyway, they're all owned by the same folks but the menus are a bit different at each place. They're very affordable and you can get most things with tofu or shrimp.

Elsewhere in town, Everest Cafe and Bar
has several vegetarian entrees. More specifically vegetarian (and extremely affordable) is Raj's Rasoi, which is really great, though maybe a bit out of your way, location-wise.

I like First Watch and The City Coffee House & Crêperie for breakfast. Both are in Clayton, though First Watch has a couple of locations in the greater St. Louis area. Blueberry Hill (on the Loop) has a breakfast menu available all day, but it's pretty basic.

I'll let other people speak to bars.
posted by jedicus at 9:06 PM on July 6, 2010


Best answer: Yeah, I saw a room or two at the Moonrise for $110/night over the time period you'll be in town, but you have to click through a little to find 'em. Everything else there seems to scale up pretty quick.

In any case, maybe the Cheshire might be a good bet? It's just a straight shot down Skinker from the Pageant, basically, and they seem to have several packages for just over $100 a night.

And if you go for Thai on the Loop, just go across the street from the Pageant to Thai Café, which is the original one of the "Thai cartel" owned by the family jedicus mentions. It's better than the others.
posted by limeonaire at 9:10 PM on July 6, 2010


Response by poster: Ooh, yeah, the Cheshire is definitely more in our price range, I think, and it looks like a pretty decent location.

And yes, thank you all much for Thai food recs. We're both huge fans of the Thai.

I ♥ AskMe. By the by, if any of you StLoopers are going to the Gogol show, feel free to me-mail me and maybe we can say hello.
posted by Ufez Jones at 9:21 PM on July 6, 2010


If you're going to be on The Loop, you should probably eat at Pi. Veggie friendly, awesome pizza.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:29 PM on July 6, 2010


Aah, I knew I was leaving STL at a bad time. Seriously, Gogol Bordello?

My folks stayed at the Cheshire Lodge whenever they were visiting me (I went to Wash U) - that's the only hotel I'm particularly familiar with, though I agree that Moonrise looks pretty sweet!

On the Loop, Riddle's Penultimate has good drinks and interesting, locally sourced menu, though it leans towards expensive. Chuck Berry's restaurant, Blueberry Hill, has my favorite veggie burgers in St. Louis. Meshuggah's is a nice coffee place, and good breakfast in the area can be had at Boosters Cafe and Kayak's. All of these are on the Loop or right next to it. Beale on Broadway (way further downtown) and Atomic Cowboy (also further downtown) are the two bars I spent the most time at. Unfortunately, you won't be in town for Kim Massie (she plays at Beale on Thursday) but you'll probably be able to catch good blues at Beale one of those nights, if that's your thing at all.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:04 AM on July 7, 2010


I just came in to say that I stayed at the Moonrise two weeks ago and it was great, the rooftop bar is fun and the rooms are nice.
posted by rmless at 7:17 AM on July 7, 2010


Also consider The Chase Park Plaza.

I also recommend Riddle's and Meshuggah.
posted by jeffamaphone at 7:26 AM on July 7, 2010


I love Thai food but I have to recommend Miss Saigon over all the Thai restaurants in the Loop. Miss Saigon is, like, a block away from The Pageant & has my favorite yellow curry EVER!!

Also, jacquilynne is right about Pi. So good.

Non-Loop options: Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood (on Southwest & Bellevue) has a lot of good veg options. Also a lot of good restaurants on South Grand -- including my favorite Thai place (King & I).

Breakfast -- Uncle Bill's Pancake House (the one on Kingshighway -- maybe 15 minutes from The Pageant, but if you're driving it's not a big deal), Chris' Pancake House (on Hampton), or, my favorite, Tiffany's (which is a tiny diner in Maplewood -- on the corner of Manchester & Sutton). Oh, & Mokabe's (a coffeehouse on Grand & Arsenal) has a great vegan brunch on Sundays (if a little pricey).


Can't answer your question about bars b/c I find a lot of that vaguely douchey, but I have friends who work at Pin-Up on Delmar near The Pageant so maybe it's not totally douchey? There are a couple 3am bars on South Grand if that's your thing. I guess Atomic Cowboy isn't totally douchey, either.


Oh, also, parking by The Pageant is actually not bad at all -- you can park for free in the Metrolink lot behind the venue, so it might be less annoying to just drive there.
posted by oh really at 7:55 AM on July 7, 2010


The Matzo and Eggs at Kopperman's is pretty good too.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:38 AM on July 7, 2010


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