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Non-smoking Apartments in St. Louis

jedicus — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:42:04 -0800

Can you recommend a non-smoking apartment in St. Louis or St. Louis County? The closer to Clayton, the better. We currently live in the Dorchester. We were told when we signed the lease that smoking was allowed on the balconies but not in the units. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case, and smoke now comes in through the vents on a regular basis.

Given our past experience, we need a place that has a firm non-smoking clause in the lease contract. Community norms and leasing office promises are insufficient.

Please help me avoid big slabs of meat and iceberg lettuce.

jeffamaphone — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:49:13 -0800

What is the best place fora foodie to eat in STL? I grew up in STL. Haven't lived there for close to 10 years, but I'm going back soon for a family event. In the time I've been gone, I have to believe that some wonderful, modern restaurants have opened. I would like to eat at one.

Some guidelines:
* I am looking for new, creative, modern, etc.
* Local/fresh/organic and vegetarian options a huge bonus. I pray to the alter of Micheal Pollan and Alice Waters. I'm a card-carrying member of Slow Food.
* No regional cuisine, unless it's really new. This means no BBQ and no thin-crust pizza joints.
* No Italian. I've been everywhere on the hill. I've been to Tony's. I've been to Cafe Napoli.
* Good locations are anywhere along the central corridor: Washington, the Hill, UCity Loop, CWE, Clayton, etc. West county and Bridgeton is acceptable, since I'll be there too.
* Bad locations: Fenton, Ellisville, Wentzville, North Florrisent, Alton, etc.
* Please don't mention Ted Drewes.

E.g. something like Nopa.

Thanks!

Fall fun in St Louis MO

readery — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:59:11 -0800

I am spending next weekend in St Louis with teenagers. Any suggestions on stuff to do? Also are there restaurants that are vegetarian friendly (daughters) that would also have food to please a non-vegetarian (son)? We are visiting my daughter in college and want suggestions on stuff to do and places to eat. Besides myself and the kids we may have extra kids along so looking for fairly inexpensive ideas.

Thanks!

Dear Alderwoman, I did not enjoy my drive through a construction site in your ward. Plz advise.

limeonaire — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:38:37 -0800

Engineers, construction workers, and lawyers: How can I find out what the specific site safety requirements and statutes are for an under-construction commercial urban development site? Specifically, I'm looking to find out more about site-safety requirements in the city of St. Louis, Mo. I'm especially seeking information that might shed some light on what might be required in the way of erecting barriers, fences, and signs to keep the general public safely off roads and paths leading into construction sites.

Here's the specific circumstance that prompted this question:

Headed north on a local highway in the dark, amid a light drizzle, I took a city exit I'd never taken before. I soon I figured I'd best find a way to get back on the highway. I made a quick right at the first light I reached, then turned right again at the next light after that, hoping it might take me right back around to the highway on-ramp. (A look at Google Maps when I got home suggested that that's exactly what this road originally did.)

Unfortunately, the road quickly turned into an unlit, half-paved drive, surrounded by overgrown brush. The drive narrowed as I crested a small rise—only to find myself at the edge of a vast expanse of muddy gravel. The street, it seems, currently dead-ends in a vacant lot behind an under-construction Walgreens. The only way out, since this was a one-way street, appeared to be driving toward the already-constructed parking lot. So I drove slowly across the gravel, headed for the parking lot—only to find myself stuck in the mud right next to what turned out to be a new curb. After a series of fits and starts, I finally got my car unstuck—and came down with a big crunch on the other side of the curb.

Hyperventilating, I parked next to the building, where the light was better, and got out to check the car. Nothing creaked or popped or looked obviously broken, so after moving a traffic barrel blocking the new parking lot's only entrance/exit, I made my way back to the highway and drove home.

This morning, I moved my car and checked the pavement where I'd been parked, and saw several fresh oil spots. This car is only a couple years old and has never leaked anything in the time I've had it. So I took a flashlight and peered under the car, and it looked like the plastic cowling protecting the oil-filter area had come partially dislodged. I couldn't see anything else that looked obviously damaged, but clearly I'm going to need to take this in to the shop tomorrow so they can put it on the lift and repair the cowling and/or the oil-filter cap/gasket and/or anything else that might've been damaged.

Hence my initial query. I'm trying to figure out what recourse, if any, I have in terms of recovering damages in this situation (perhaps via small-claims court?)—and making sure it never happens to anyone else. I can't believe they don't have that street blocked off.

I plan to contact that ward's alderwoman first thing Monday. But I'd like to have something concrete to cite in my conversations with her and/or anyone else I have to deal with about this explaining what's wrong with the site, especially since the builder of this development is a very large company.

I found a few sections of the Missouri Revised Statutes that look as though they may apply: 319-035, 319-040, 319-041, 537.346, 537.348.

I also uncovered slides from a PowerPoint presentation on ANSI's A10.34 standard (Google's cached html version here), which, although only a voluntary-adoption measure, still provides some sense of what the baseline standards for construction-site public safety should be. The very first requirement listed? "Restricting public access to the jobsite – a site security plan." Along those lines, best practices listed include "100 percent fencing of the project site," "Use of easy to read signs," "Daily inspection of fences, locks and gates," "Daily inspection of traffic control devices," and "Night lighting or security service." The area of the site I ended up driving into had none of those things: no fences, no gates, no roadblocks, no signage, no lighting, no security.

So...are the statutes I uncovered relevant? Is this ANSI standard relevant? Does anyone know of anything more specific I should be reading about or anyone else I should be contacting at this point? Thanks for any help anyone can give me with this!

What songs do you know about St. Louis?

AgentRocket — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:45:54 -0800

What songs are about St. Louis? Is there a list somewhere? I recently stumbled on this wikipedia list of songs about Boston, and it made me wonder if there is a list of songs about St. Louis. Assuming there is not, what songs are out there? This would make a good playlist.

By "about St. Louis," I mean ones that reference the City in some way (rather than just name check it once in a list of city names). The ones I can think of from the top of my head are:

Heavy Metal Drummer, Wilco ("...we used to go see, on The Landing in the summer")
Meet Me In St. Louis
Talkin' Baseball (St. Louis Cardinals Version)
St. Louie, Nelly (and a host of other Nelly/St. Lunatics songs)
Missing Missouri, Sara Evans (sort of: she talks about "the Cardinals playing on tv" in the bridge)

Where to go for a midwest photography trip?

hijinx — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:51:50 -0800

I want to go on a photography weekend trip next month. I'm in Chicago, and want to drive no more than 6-8 hours to a destination. With my preferences (inside) in mind, I'd like advice on where to go. Help? Already asked a few friends and got some ideas... looking for more.

The primary focus of this trip (no pun intended) is photography, and secondarily it's just time to sightsee and laze around. I'm looking to shoot nature and also urban goodness - architectural photography and people watching. When I was first researching a trip, SF and Yosemite were the ideals. But plans have scaled back and I'm not going that far, and I'll be driving instead of flying.

Bonus items:

* Walkable city, decent public transit (might use)
* Good food
* Good coffee houses

Friends recommended Nashville, St. Louis, and Detroit. I considered Minneapolis and like it a lot, but have already been there twice. Been to Madison, Milwaukee. In looking at these cities, I have yet to see anything to really tip me over and say, "Wow - I need to go there!" So, any advice on where those things are would be great.

How to coordinate a big backyard project?

tomwheeler — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:59:39 -0800

I'm planning a whole lot of work for the back patio and yard, and I could use some advice about planning how it should go down. Now that we've got the front yard and inside of the house in shape, it's getting harder to ignore the unsightly despair that is the back patio and yard. It's time to do something about it, but it's going to involve several different types of workers and I'm not sure of the optimal sequence nor how to coordinate this.

For example, I want to replace the decaying wood steps and retaining wall with stone, but the patio borders this and needs to be replaced or resurfaced first. That can't happen until our dilapidated shed (which sits on the patio) is replaced, which of course precludes any work on the patio itself. I expect that what I have planned will require a fencing company, a shed company, a mason and a general purpose landscaper.

I'd appreciate any advice about how to coordinate this sort of project and especially so if it's specific to where I live (St. Louis). My goals, in order, are: having it done right, avoiding hassle and getting the best value I can.

Could a large influx of culturally-similar refugees help save Detroit?

jjjjjjjijjjjjjj — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:58:55 -0800

St. Louis, Missouri lost over half its population from 1950-1990. Since the mid-1990s, 80,000 Bosnian immigrants (coming to represent over 20% of the city's population) have established communities that have saved large areas of housing stock from decay. In which other instances have large, permanent groups of non-migrant, non-domestically employed immigrants been settled en masse helping to shore-up a city that is losing population but otherwise has the infrastructure to accommodate more? Has there been any debate or discussion about hypothetical proposals to encourage something similar in Detroit? To clarify: I'm looking for "pull" factors, not "push" factors. (In other words: not "there are a lot of Irish in Boston because of the Irish potato famine".) Not (just) "[specific group]'s needs for X caused them to come here", but "our [individual city]'s desire to stave-off atrophy caused us to incentivize large numbers of [specific group] relocating here." And specifically: examples where a city with waning population is to be rejuvenated, not where a booming city is to be expanded

Additionally, because my curiosity is specifically in its applicability/inapplicability for the problems in Detroit, I'm less interested in things that have brought only certain types of professionals over (Southern Asian medical personnel would be one example of many), or things that've brought populations of people to fill (semi-)rural labor-intensive industries (Latin-American workers in Midwest meat-packing CAFOs, early-20th century Appalachian coal-mining, or Chinese rail workers would be examples).

Have people proposed, discussed, or debated the applicability of encouraging similar things? Where are these proposals or debates?

As always, thanks for your ideas and your expertise. I am not a professional in this field, but I am willing to read challenging things.

Where to find great playgrounds in St. Louis

greenmagnet — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:39:50 -0800

Help us find great playgrounds in southwest St. Louis for kids needing a place to unwind during vacation. We're going to St. Louis for a vacation this summer, and although I lived there as a kid, that was so long ago that I don't remember where the good playgrounds are, and I'm sure they've changed a lot since then anyway. We have our main activities planned, but we want some good ideas for playgrounds where the kids can go and finish wearing themselves out at the end of the day. :)

The kids are part monkey, so lots of climbing stuff and zip lines and such would be excellent.

We'll be staying near I-44 and I-270, so playgrounds easily accessible from that vicinity would be best, although we don't mind at all driving a ways if there's something worth driving for. We'll be here and there all over the city anyway.

Also, on the off chance that someone will remember this, as a small kid I remember playing on a playground that had large (to a kid) spaceship playground equipment to climb around on, with sand underneath. I realize that's not much detail, but if by some chance it still exists, I'd love to visit that park. Even if the old playground equipment's gone, which I assume it is, I'm curious if anyone knows what playground that was.

Thanks in advance!

Restaurant engagement in St. Louis?

kraigory — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:06:27 -0800

I am proposing to my girlfriend this summer in St. Louis and I know that it will involve a friend of ours coming out on a stage while we are having dinner and playing our favorite song. If it is an appropriate setting, we will dance to it, and after the song is over, I will propose to her. I need your help finding the right location! So, here are some additional details. My plan is to have a waiter or waitress come to our table and present her with a photo book that I am making her with Blurb. It documents all the years that we have been dating. The last page will be wrapped in wax paper so she cannot see it. When she gets to the last page I will stop her, and tell her to hold on a moment before she looks at the page. At that moment, my friend will come out on stage and play our favorite song. After he is done, I will tell her to look at the page. As she sees the large photo of the ring I brought her, I will drop to one knee and propose.

So, I am trying to find the proper location to pull this off. I thought that I had found the perfect place- a restaurant called Savor that has a small, romantic cabaret theater attached. I was going to ask them if they could just seat us alone in the theater. That would've been perfect, and we could've danced when my friend came out on stage to play the song, because no one would be around. But, I found out that the restaurant is closed.

So I need help! I can see two options:

1. A nice, romantic restaurant that has a cute little stage that we could be seated in front of. I already have one restaurant that has agreed to do this, Morgan Le Fays, but I've never been there and I'm not sure how their layout would work with my idea. So, if you know of any restaurants that fit the bill, that would be great! I'm not necessarily looking for the finest dining, but a romantic and intimate atmosphere is very important.

2. If I could find a small, romantic theater that would let me use it for an hour (early on a saturday evening, which could be a problem) or so, then I could have food catered, and my friends could help out as servers. The only problem that I see with this option is that it would probably cost more, be harder to find, and she would know what was happening as soon as we arrived. The upside is that we would be alone the whole time, and could dance when my friend played the song.

So, if you have any suggestions of great restaurants or cute little theaters in St. Louis that would work for my purposes, I would appreciate it very much!

Thanks!

-Kraig

Please help my girlfriend and I have an amazing St. Louis vaction ?

carefulmonkey — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:21:49 -0800

What should my girlfriend and I not miss on our trip to St. Louis My girlfriend and I will be in St. Louis from May 30th-June 1st. Those two days are basically wide open except at 8:00pm on the 31st, when we'll be at the concert we are setting this whole trip around. I also thought this would be the best place to get answers since my Birmingham question last summer. So here I go again with the list of our interests, thanks for any and all of the suggestions. Also were both 21 or at least will be at the time of the trip.

Likes:
Independent Films
Comic Books
Art
Clay
Metal Works
Record Stores

Florist in St. Louis

rglass — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:14:23 -0800

Wedding florist needed! Who would you recommend (or not recommend) in St. Louis? I'd like to know about really good experiences and really bad ones too.

Plan my roadtrip.

lockestockbarrel — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:40:17 -0800

PlanMyRoadtrip Filter: Driving from St. Louis, MO to Brownsville, TX in 3 days. What should we do along the way? My wife and I are driving from St. Louis, MO to Brownsville, TX, leaving on Monday, March 9th. The only constraint is that we have to arrive in Brownsville three days later. However we divide up the distance between the three days is fine.

Because we have three days to take the trip, we'd like to do some sightseeing along the way. As we've never driven through this area of the US, we'd like to see places, do things, and eat things that are representative of the region. We'll likely be through this area again, so it's not a farewell tour or anything like that. We're in our mid-20s and adventurous -- we'd like to see sights, eat local food, take photographs, walk around places, etc., but we'll have a car full of stuff so take that into account.

The default GoogleMaps route takes us through OK (a seemingly boring route) but we hit Dallas and Austin. I was thinking we could drive directly south through Memphis to New Orleans, then cut west along the gulf through Houston. It's less important for us to see Austin on this trip as we'll probably visit there later; it's less likely we'll visit New Orleans from Brownsville.

As far as the driving, we just have to arrive three days after we depart. So we could drive one day to New Orleans, stay one day, then drive the rest the second day. Or we could drive to Memphis, then drive to New Orleans, then drive the rest. Or we could drive to New Orleans, drive to Houston, then drive the rest. Or we could drive to Dallas, stay the next day, then drive the rest. You get the idea. Driving 11 or 12 hours in a day is not a big deal for us.

So:
1. How should we design our route?
2. We have to sleep twice on the trip. Where?
3. Where should we eat?
4. What should we go see/do/experience?

Thanks, MeFi!

Couples therapist in St. Louis?

Anonymous — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 09:01:00 -0800

Recommendations for a couples therapist in St. Louis? We're a couple in our 30's looking for a referral for a couples therapist in or near Clayton, MO (although we'd be willing to drive for someone special).

What did you like about him or her?

Seeking Accountant in St. Louis

tomwheeler — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:39:55 -0800

Looking for an accountant in St. Louis. I've had my personal and corporate taxes done by a local firm, but lately their price has far exceeded their quality and I've decided to find someone better.

Considerations: must be accurate, knowledgeable, professional, trustworthy and honest. In addition to just preparing my taxes, they should be able to offer advice and guidance about how to simplify things or (legally and ethically) reduce my tax obligation in the future.

They need to be big enough to handle my (relatively simple) needs, but small enough that they'll know who I am when I call. In other words, I'm looking for something smaller than Price Waterhouse and better than H&R Block.

St. Louisians: if you know of accountants matching that description, I'd love to hear about it.

Help me pull off this pseudo-last-minute V-Day present.

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:12:50 -0800

How can I send a singing telegram in St. Louis? (Anonymous to protect the surprise.)

The only performer I can find online is Johnny Rose. I'm going to call him tomorrow, but since he seems to be the big name in StL singing telegrams, I don't expect him to be available on Valentine's Day. Any body know of other services/ performers in the area?

Plan my wedding in St. Louis!

nitsuj — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:21:09 -0800

Do you know of any wedding planners in the St. Louis area in the ~$2,000 range? So, my fiancee and I are getting married in September of 2009 in St. Louis, but we currently live in Chicago, and planning remotely has proven to be quite difficult.

Do you have any personal recommendations on wedding consultants/planners in the area who can handle a lot of the planning issues that need to be done locally?

We already have a venue for the reception, but we still need things like a church, priest, rehearsal dinner space, and everything else, pretty much.

Most of the people we've found are charging between $3,500-$10,000.

Recommendation for therapist specializing in panic/anxiety in St. Louis area?

Locative — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 10:23:45 -0800

Need a therapist who specializes in anxiety and CBT in the St. Louis / West St. Louis County area. For a person who has anxiety and panic attacks associated with their job, and probably some depression in the mix as well. They've been coping with Xanax and smoking, neither of which work.

PM me if you don't want to post. Thank you!

Sex Addiction

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:43:20 -0800

Does anyone know of a pornography or sex addiction group in the St. Louis area? Looking for pornography or sex addiction group. Can be self-help group, therapy group, private, public. Just looking for resources...

Election Night

rglass — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:03:55 -0800

Where to watch the returns in St. Louis? Do you know of any places in St. Louis where pro-Obama folks will be watching the returns? Bars, restaurants, any other suggestions welcome!

Romantic restaurant in St. louis?

the druid — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:29:43 -0800

i'm looking for a romantic vegetarian friendly restaurant in st. louis i'm in a long distance relationship, and there's been some friction as of late (not the good kind either *ba-damp pssh*). I'm going to visit her in st. louis this coming weekend, and I'd like to take her someplace nice and romantic, with minimal amounts of pretension/stuffiness. She's vegetarian, so if there's some place that does higher end, veg-friendly food that would be perfect.

Right now Vin de Set is pretty much the best I've got. Any other suggestions would be much appreciated.

St. Louis > Tower Grove Park > Chin Up bar?

FortyT-wo — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:23:24 -0800

Can anybody tell me where the chin-up bar is in Tower Grove Park in St. Louis? Have seen it before, but can't find it again now that I want to do some chin-upping.

Where to camp near St. Louis?

invitapriore — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:09:48 -0800

Where can I go camping near St. Louis? There are only a few things I would prefer for any site:

1) I would be biking to the location, so it would have to be within 25 to 30 miles of my home in University City.

2) It would hopefully be free.

Thanks!

St. Louis Cognitive Behavioral Therapist Referral?

gd779 — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:18:35 -0800

St. Louis CBT Therapist Referral: I am looking for a referral to great a cognitive behavioral therapist in the St. Louis metro area to deal with depression and anxiety issues. Suggestions?

Chicken Pot Pie in St. Louis

grateful — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:11:54 -0800

Where can I find the best Chicken Pot Pie in St. Louis? I frequently travel to St. Louis, and I'm determined to eat good Chicken Pot Pie next time I'm out there. (Other meat- or veggie-based pot pies are also acceptable.) I usually stay on the North Side, but I'm willing to drive to make it worthwhile.