My third day in St. Louis consisted of more tasty eats and some craft beer. I started off the day at Southwest Diner. The casual Southwest-inspired diner is a breakfast hot spot.
One of St. Louis’ iconic dishes is the slinger and Southwest Diner makes their own version. The Southwest Slinger has two burger patties, home fries, melted longhorn cheese, two eggs, and green or red chile – I had mine with both. I also added a sopapilla (Mexican doughnut) served with honey.
It was far from a light breakfast, but oh so good.
After breakfast, I went to 4 Hands Brewing Company in LaSalle Park. It was one of the few breweries open on a Monday.
I took a seat at the bar in the tasting room and selected four beers for a flight. They offer a few year-round beers along with seasonal and barrel-aged beers. I was excited to see a seasonal beer made with coffee from El Salvador!
I was still fairly full from breakfast, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try another one of St. Louis’ famous dishes. I made my way to Pappy’s Smokehouse for a Memphis-style barbecue lunch. The smokers run nonstop and lines can form early, but it was fairly quiet that Monday afternoon.
I ordered at the counter and sat at one of the vacant tables.
You go to Pappy’s for their ribs! I ordered a half slab of their famous ribs for $16.99. I added a 1/4 lb. of brisket for $4.50. For sides, I went with sweet potato fries and slaw.
The dry-rubbed ribs are slow smoked over apple and cherry wood. They were tender and pretty damn good. The brisket was thinly sliced and pretty standard, but it’s all about those ribs!
The sweet potato fries were good and I liked the vinegar-based coleslaw.
After devouring Pappy’s ribs, I walked right next door to Center Ice Brewery. Craft beer and hockey? I’m there!
I’m all about those beer flights. I like to try a variety of their current drafts.
Walking behind the boards, you can take some time to wander around the hockey-themed brewery where you’ll see hockey artifacts and memorabilia on the walls. You’ll also spot the old penalty box that was salvaged from the demolition site of the former St. Louis arena nicknamed “The Old Barn”. The bar top and tables are built out of the arena wood itself.
It was another productive outing of exploring the city’s food scene. I headed back to the hotel for a while before dinner. I was gonna go to The Hill for an Italian dinner later that night.
Southwest Diner
6803 Southwest Ave
St. Louis, MO 63143
(314) 260-7244
Website
4 Hand Brewing Company
1220 S 8th Street
St. Louis, MO 63104
(314) 436-1559
Website
Pappy’s Smokehouse
3106 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63103
(314) 535-4340
Website
Center Ice Brewery
3126 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63103
(314) 339-5733
Website
