Edition: The Arts Take Center Stage

Elaine Viets' St. Louis

Author: Beth Custer

Editor's Note:  For many years Elaine Viets was practically a one-woman institution in St. Louis.  Her wryly funny newspaper columns, full of local humor that resonated deeply with city natives, were daily must-read material for many of us.  Elaine's recent work includes the Dead End Job series, in which her heroine (who hails from our town, of course) solves crimes in Florida.  Starting in 2005, fans can enjoy her new Mystery Shopper series.  It stars Josie Marcus, a hip, young woman from the Maplewood area of our city.  Ms. Viets can be heard on national Public Radio, where she gives amusing commentaries on everyday life.  She is a native St. Louisan who recently moved to Florida, but keeps in close contact with the city through friends, family, and the characters in her novel.  

 My heart is still in St. Louis, even though I live in South Florida now.  The hardest part of coming home is trying to fit in all the things I want to do in the short time I have.  There aren't enough hours in my perfect St. Louis day.  So I've given you two ways to go: One is my old neighborhood of South St. Louis and the other is a hot new rehab area, Maplewood.  Both the things I love most about St. Louis - interesting architecture, great age and good food.  In South Florida, everything was built yesterday and will be torn down tomorrow.  St. Louis builds to last, and the city has a comforting permanence.  My grandparents strolled in Tower Grove Park.  My cousin was married there.  I love to see another generation of St. Louis brides posing for their wedding photos by the lily ponds.  St. Louis also knows how to renew its treasures.  The revitalization of Maplewood is one example.  You'll find everything from good restaurants to a bowling alley in this lively area.  It's no wonder that in my mysteries, all my heroines are from St. Louis.  I hope you'll meet these St. Louis women, and explore my hometown.  

9:00 a.m.

For breakfast, I'd head to Chris' Pancake & Dining (5980 Southwest Ave., 314-645-2088), where breakfast is available any time of day, and you can get just about any combination of things you want.  One morning I ordered grilled chicken with a side of pancakes; the waitress didn't bat an eye.  If I were in Maplewood, where Josie Marcus lives, I'd go to the Maplewood Café (7356 Manchester, 314-966-5624).  It's a tiny neighborhood place, much loved by the locals, and a place of surprises.  Late one night, the clientele were singing "All My Exes Live in Texas."  It's one of those places where you can have a cup of coffee all afternoon and the waitresses won't chase you out.  

 10:00 a.m. 

I'd definitely visit the Gateway Arch (314-982-1410).  Everybody goes to the Arch, but I don't just see it.  I prefer the full-body experience - lie down under it and look up, lean against it and look up, and by all means take the train to the top.  The views and angles are incredible.

 12:00 p.m. 

There are some terrific ethnic restaurants on South Grand, so I would stop in for lunch at one of them, maybe King and I (3157 S. Grand, 314-771-1777) for Thai food or Pho Grand (S. Grand, 314-664-7435) for Vietnamese.  Then dessert at Mangrove Café and Ice Cream Parlor (4270 Manchester, 314-652-5555) would be in order.  It's well worth a special trip for one of their old-fashioned malted milks in a tall silver container.   

1:30 p.m.

I love shopping at Botanicals on the Park (3014 S. Grand, 314-772-7674), a flower shop with unusual gifts.  I have a number of their painted bowls and lamps in my home in Florida - I can't find things like they carry anywhere else.  Then a stroll through Tower Grove Park would be nice.  It's a genuine Victorian walking park, with a wonderful collection of pavilions and a lily pond where generations of St. Louis brides have posed.  Josie Marcus would probably go to Forest Park and take a paddle boat from the new Boathouse (Forest Park, 314-367-2224)to the Art Museum (Forest Park, 314-721-0072).  She might have lunch at Puck's (314-655-5490) in the Art Museum, which is run by Wolfgang Puck Catering, or at Meriwether's (314-361-7313) in the History Museum, which is operated by Patty Long Catering.  Wolfgang Puck is chic - but Patty Long is St. Louis's Wolfgang.  Both restaurants are excellent.  

3:00 p.m.

I'm a tea freak, so I'd stop at Coruncopia (107 N. Kirkwood Rd., 314-822-2240) to browse their huge variety of teas.  I inherited a collection of teapots from my mother-in-law, and I use loose tea.  I serve their cinnamon orange decaf both cold and hot and get raves on it; I've never been able to find it anywhere but St. Louis.  Josie would make a stop at Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Ave., 314-241-BEER).  St. Louis has always been a beer town, and the brewery has really done a lot to revitalize the neighborhood.  It even hosts the Maplewood Farmer's Market, which sells local Missouri produce, and Strange Brew, an offbeat film series.  

6:00 p.m.

Time for a pre-theatre pizza: a St. Louis pizza from Imo's (over 85 locations throughout the metro area; ask your concierge where the nearest one is).  A St. Louis pizza is only for the bold - it's unique, it has attitude.  It doesn't try to be healthy.  There are no grilled vegetables.  In fact, the only allowable vegetables are onion and green pepper.  Mushrooms come out of a can, as God intended.  Pepperoni, sausage, and bacon are the proper meats, and anchovies are okay.  Our pizza doesn't try to be fashionable.  Forget about lobster, shiitake mushrooms, or other designer foods.  Outsiders have trouble understanding its greasy glory; they call it orange cheese on a cracker.  But the St. Louis pizza has thin crust and that special provel cheese you find nowhere else.  It calls to me in the late hours.   

8:00 p.m.

Wonderful shows are always playing at the Fox Theatre (527 N. Grand, 314-534-1111).  Seventy-five years old this year, the 3500-seat Fox is one of the glories of St. Louis architecture - its gaudy interior is a show in itself.  The lions with their flashing eyes are spectacular, and the powder room has real 1920's glamour that you don't often find these days.

After the theatre:

St. Louisans love to eat out - they are like San Franciscans in that regard.  When we go out, we go out to eat!  Monarch (7401 Manchester Rd., 314-644-3995) is one of the most romantic restaurants in town, and when Josie finally meets Mr. Right, he'll take her there.  They serve interesting, offbeat food, such as roasted red pepper bisque and blakc bass rolled in hazelnuts.  A true St. Louisan will also remind you that Monarch used to be the old Katz Drugstore.