Farmers markets are great places to pick up quality produce and specialty foods straight from the source, I also like the fact that you’re giving back to the farmers, growers, bakers, butchers, cheese makers and others who labor to supply us with tasty and (usually) healthy things to eat.

So when I ended up in St. Louis on a travel assignment, I made it a point to visit the Soulard Farmers Market, which has been in business in one form or another since—believe it or not—1779. 

The market is in Soulard, a riverside neighborhood just south of downtown. The area, with its old redbrick buildings, is a bit on the gritty side, but the location is convenient for a big-league market that serves as a vital link for regional farmers to get their products to the people. ... Read More

Perhaps no single other point in the United States can claim to be more the crossroads of America than the confluence of two of its greatest rivers, the actual spot where the 2,541-mile Missouri River flows into the 2,320-mile Mississippi River (see note below*). Although not in the exact center of the country, the confluence is the moment when the two longest rivers in the country meet, and it is where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark moved away from what might in 1804 be accurately described as the very extent of the “known” world on their 8,000-mile-plus trek to reach the Pacific Ocean.

Standing at the edge of the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area in Missouri, watching the two waters combine and imaging this history and geographical uniqueness, is one of the nation’s finest things to do. St. Louis is fewer than 10 miles to the south. ... Read More

    
 One thing that struck me on a recent trip to St. Louis was how many different communities make up the metro area. Brentwood, Maplewood, Kirkwood, Des Peres, Creve Coeur … the list goes on. Then there are the city neighborhoods, like Soulard and the Central West End. It’s a real patchwork quilt, and it took me a while to get my bearings. But there was one place I knew I was going to check out—the Hill.  Anyone who knows me knows I’m into food. I’m not necessarily a foodie; I’m just into eating. And The Hill, St. Louis’ Italian neighborhood, is prized for its groceries, meat markets, bakeries and—big surprise—Italian restaurants.... Read More

The City Museum in St. Louis defies description…but I’m going to try. Imagine a museum built from the city itself, with a twist of the fantastic, a whopping dose of creativity and plenty of oddities thrown in for good measure. Comic strip artist Jennie Breeden described it as looking “like someone gave Peter Pan a blowtorch”. I’d have to agree. ... Read More

From the outside, the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis looks like a pretty, but unremarkable Byzantine style church. Weathered gray stone and a lack of ornate stained glass don’t set it apart from other St. Louis area churches. Inside, however, is a visual experience. Every inch is covered in tiny glass tiles arranged into mosaics depicting everything from the life of Saint Louis to the history of the Archdiocese. ... Read More

 
As St. Louis hangouts go, the Delmar Loop is near the top of the list. The heart of this cultural, entertainment and restaurant district stretches for six blocks along Delmar Boulevard, and one of the establishments that caught my eye on a first spin through the Loop was Blueberry Hill.

The place certainly has a pedigree. The Two Diamond rated restaurant has been around since 1972, and it’s... Read More

 
It’s almost a law that if you visit St. Louis, you go to the Arch (or to be more official, “The Gateway Arch”). National Park monument, unmistakable city landmark and indelible symbolic icon, it’s a necessary sightseeing pilgrimage.

I made the pilgrimage on a steamy, hazy August Friday morning. The Arch stands overlooking the Mississippi River on the leafy grounds of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial park. In downtown St. Louis the... Read More

 
     I must give a shout-out to AAA Missouri’s Lori Moshkowsky for cluing me in to Crown Candy Kitchen. It was one of several suggestions she gave me for cool, under-the-radar things to check out on my first visit to St. Louis. Busch Stadium, the Arch, Forest Park—yep, I’m familiar with them. Most people are. I had never heard of Crown Candy Kitchen, but Lori assured me it would make a great blog.

     To be honest, I expected some kind of candy store. My head was filled with visions of shelves lined with big glass jars of gumballs,... Read More

I’m devouring a Ted Drewes chocolate concrete at 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday. Why am I doing this? For one thing, it’s a decidedly hot morning in the Gateway to the West. For another thing, my hectic business travel schedule did not allow time for me to grab breakfast, and I’m starving. And let’s also just say that, like the proverbial moth to the flame, I was inexorably drawn to what has been a local institution since 1931.

Who is Ted Drewes? Well, his father opened an ice cream store in Florida in 1929 and a second one in St. Louis two years later. In addition to managing these... Read More

     'Grand Ole Music' is the theme of today's featured AAA Drive Trip - just one of over 100 available. Click here for a printable itinerary of this 1,071-mile trip, which is broken into four segments as it goes from Nashville to Memphis to Little Rock to St. Louis. You might well get 50 different answers if you asked the question, "Which state is most closely identified with music?"  This five-state jaunt can be traveled on one grand journey or broken into shorter trips that suit your musical tastes.... Read More