St Louis, Swamp Crotch, and the Moonrise Hotel

As explorers and finding ourselves precariously in the middle of nowhere to see a graduation, which we were told was someplace in Missouri, we instinctively make the two hour trip to the launching pad and return point of possibly two of the most famed travelers of all time -- Louis and Clark.

With a sense of flair they waited for a few hours there on the banks of the Mississippi in September of 1803.  The riverbanks look very different now visible below the very sexy top floor bar lounge I am sitting at. After four years of trekking through uncharted wilderness, the last two years of which sustaining themselves on domesticated dog, they wanted to make sure the timing was just right.

 

"[…] about 12 o'clock we arrived in site of St. Louis… fired three rounds as we approached the town […] the people gathered on the shore and huzza-ed three cheers[…] in the evening a dinner & ball". -- Lewis Diary Entry

After a few more huzza's they and the entire town ended up at William Christy's tavern and got hammered.  

This is a modern-day explorer's dream (not the hangover part) and we went to St. Louis to relive it.

We stay at the Moonrise hotel in the Delmar street or Delmar Loop which gets its name from the trolley that used to run there.  In the 1950's there were two or three movie theaters and every teenager in town must have hung out at on a Friday or Saturday night. It became an area for the music culture and spawned the likes of Chuck Barry, Miles Davis, and Tina Turner.  

The Moonrise is a boutique hotel owned by this guy Joe Edwards who got out of college and started Blueberry Hill in 1972 a few blocks down that Chuck Barry still plays at.  Yes, Chuck is still alive -- I didn't know that.  There is a photo of Joe with Obama and every other celebrity you can think of on the walls of that place.  He even has an honorary Doctorate from nearby Washington University.  I am a bit jealous.  Blueberry Hill is just a burger joint damn it…  a doctorate?

We check in after 10 pm and make our way to the roof top bar that is very cool and eclectic.  Our very beautiful waitress with a ring through the middle of her nose and tattoos over a majority of her body pointed to the fifty something nun in full habit enjoying a gin and tonic and answering a text on her iPhone.  

"I went to Catholic school and I didn't think nuns were allowed to text," she said, as she placed our drinks down on the table and walked away.

We enjoyed watching the young and older crowd on the rooftop and on the Loop below and only having a few hours sleep the night before made our way to our room.

The next morning we had breakfast at the retro Eclipse restaurant that is part of the Moonrise with a George Jetson motif and a wait staff of twenty-something bearded and bluejeans Seattle barista transplants.  We have the breakfast burrito with chorizo which was very good along with a few bloody marys.

After breakfast we make our way to Washington University to check out the campus and the Kemper Art

The museum is designed by the award winning architect Fumihiko Maki.  It's interesting, but to be honest, I don't get it.  There is a Jackson Pollock next to a 19th century portrait of Daniel Boone next to a video screen of a strip mall filmed out of a car window that I'm sure was a graduate project of some Washington University student who would have broken up the Beatles if she had the chance.  Still I am dripping with sweat by the time we get there and I am purring like a kitten in front of a saucer of cream here in the very chic air conditioning.

Washington University where more than a few famous intellectuals and artists attended including Tennessee Williams.

Next we walk back and tour the Loop along Delmar Blvd.  We visit Blueberry Hill, the Tivoli theater, Pin Up Bowl and Martini Lounge, and the walk of fame.

My travel companion was eying this baby for her next gig but she couldn't figure out how to get it on the plane and with still yet no band manager or crazed groupies to carry it for her she opted out.

Music store on Delmar St. in Saint Louis

I am hot.  And by hot I mean malaria infested South Asian jungle hot. 

Back in Dallas I took a yoga class and the 90 pound good looking instructor in spandex was trying to correct my preying mantua pose which consisted of standing with both legs splayed out and hands over my head.  

"Pretend you have swamp crotch," she said.  "No, no!  swamp crotch," as she pulled my legs further apart in complete disregard for the tendons that held my legs to my torso.  

I had no idea what she was talking about until now walking around in Saint Louis in May.  Dear Lord almighty.    

We go indoors to the Three Kings Pub.  On the wall overlooking the bar are the three kings, King Kong, Elvis, and Henry VIII.  It was a great place and we talked to some of the locals to get a sense of where to go next.  One of the places they suggested was the City Museum which is this huge adult (and kid) jungle gym in a block-sized warehouse.  Both our new friend next to us and the bartender became animated at the thought of this place.  We had our drinks and a homemade hot sauce that was unbelievable.   They wouldn't give me the recipe.

Saint Louis is spread out and unlike San Francisco, Chicago, or New York, you need transportation to move from neighborhood to neighborhood.  It is too hot for the Botanical Garden which is also supposed to be very nice according to the locals.  The Anheuser-Bush plant is also supposed to be a local point of interest and I am told provide you free beer. Instead we opt to take our car to West End.

West End, along Forest Park Parkway, is an affluent neighborhood with shops and small restaurants and cafes.  Tennessee Williams grew up in this neighborhood. And its now surprise I'm sure that T.S. Eliot had a house there.  It reminds me a little of The Village in New York.  We weren't hungry yet so we also checked out Soulard neighborhood that is in the industrial part of town and becoming revived.  There is the farmer's market and a must goto restaurant called Franco that has a gorgeous view of a welding shop and rusted train tracks.

This is my first time to Saint Louis and I wanted to see the arch. You know… THE arch.   

We make our way into downtown and go to Three Sixty.  This is a very cool hotspot on top of the Hilton 35 floors up.  It over looks much of the city and river including the Cardinal Stadium that people were already tailgating at 3 o'clock for a night game four hours later.

I have the Midnight Bloom with Four Roses Bourbon, fresh blackberries and mint.  Kathi has the Red Berry Sangria with infused Absolute.  For an early dinner or late lunch we have fresh oysters which were extremely good with a ginger granita, Korean BBQ Pork Tacos again fantastic, the smoked pork belly (of course), and the House Smoked Salmon Chips which were a crowd favorite but for me it seems like tuna fish salad on a Lays potato-chip. 

It is still hot but our flight leaves at 9pm and we had to get to the airport.  I would have loved to have stayed longer.  I never really got to know Saint Louis and it is much much more than the small mid-west town I anticipated.  There is a young vibe that mixes easily with the old and traditional.  There is a sense of culture and community in a very cosmopolitan and diverse setting.  There is art, food, and architecture.  The tallest man in medical history lived here at 8 feet 11.1 inches; the ice cream cone was invented here; Chuck Barry is still alive and still playing on Delmar for God's sake.

And all for good reason.  I am looking forward to coming again.