|
|
 |
|
Readers' Choice Poll 2003 Winners: Best Boys' and Girls' Night Out
• by Sean Hixson
|
 |
|
|
Best Boys' Night Out:
St. Louis Sports Zone
113 Kenrick Plaza, Shrewsbury / 314.961.3366
Mon. and Tue. 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., Wed. to Sat. 11 to 1:30 a.m., Sun. 11 a.m. to midnight.
TV has the cliché down: All that guys want are sports, beer and beautiful women. Gather the boys for a night out, and they’ll watch football, suck down pitchers and ogle the help.
Is it true? At the Bada Bing, yes. At Moe’s, yes. At the Regal Beagle, yep. But in real life? Apparently. St. Louis Sports Zone nails the concept to a tee. Patrons come to watch Albert Pujols hit .390, pound cheap draft pitchers and flirt with the comely waitresses.
In the corner of a Shrewsbury strip mall, SZ maxes out the senses in a sort of sports hanger even the bathroom is showing the Cards game. More than 35 TVs (20-inchers to huge screens), two Golden Tees, two Megatouches, two foosball tables, a pull-tab machine, bar trivia and a cigarette machine (next to a candy machine) entertain all comers.
The décor is limited to neon beer signs and other booze trappings. Sit at the stools in the main bar, the booth/table combinations throughout or the larger tables in front of the huge screens. Heck, if you want to get organized, rent one of the four small private rooms with leather couches and big screens ($40). In addition to a comfortable seat, renters get a personal waitress and free appetizer plate.
Crowds peak during the NFL season or big-time college football or basketball contests. Kansas, Illinois and Mizzou alumni groups all make SZ their HQ. Males dominate the scene, but women are common. As one tipsy Pronger-jersey-clad patron put it, “There’s hotties here. Even more than the waitresses, man.” Dress is casual, unless the fan is coming straight from work. (Kill the tie, please, buddy.) People simply come to watch sports and play games.
The five-page menu two pages of beer and liquor offers what a sports bar should, on the cheap: 20 appetizers (fries, wings, skins, poppers, etc.), four salads (who cares?), half-pound burgers, more than ten sandwiches (Philly, chicken club, Rueben) and nine- and 14-inch pizzas.
The bar is stocked like your fantasy basement pub: bottles of AB products, Rolling Rock, Sam Adams, Corona and Heineken along with multiple drafts of AB products, Schlalfy, Boulevard, Guinness, Redhook and Fat Tire. SZ, likewise, carries all the proper boozes and mixers.
So, get drunk and cheer a Super Bowl XXXVIII run with your boys at the SZ.
Best Girls' Night Out
Remy’s Kitchen and Wine Bar
222 S. Bemiston Ave., Clayton / 314.726.5757
Lunch: Mon to Fri. 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Dinner: Mon. to Thu. 5:30 to 10 p.m., Fri. and Sat 5:30 p.m. to midnight, Closed Sun.
Girls need comfortable seats with light meals and good wine to loosen up and really dish the latest gossip. Remy’s Kitchen and Wine Bar: comfortable seats, check. Light meals, check. Wine, check. Gossip, check.
With Beminston, south of Bonhomme, now a dead end, the intimacy of Remy’s is apparent before you even park your car.
Just like the name would imply, pots and pans and grapevines hang from the low ceiling. The walls alternately painted blue, green and dark orange are randomly scattered with art, music and winery posters. Cushy booth seats with pillows line the north and south walls. Smashed between are a bar and white linen-topped tables.
The kitchen is slightly visible in the background, giving a comfortable feel. Lighting is dim, but there’s enough to show pictures of your kids to the girls. Call it unconstrained fine dining.
Females outnumber the men, with many large groups of girls yakking it up. Smokers leech to the bar to take drags and play with the assortment of toys an Etch A Sketch and a Magic 8-Ball, among others. Remy’s is also a hot date spot; romantic couples coo all over. Dress up girls, you’ll fit right in.
Broken into small plates (hot and chilled), large plates and specialties and sides, the moderately priced menu dubs itself “cross cultural … influenced by the Mediterranean.”
Basically, it’s top-notch, multi-adjective dishes with “withs” and “ands” and “ins.” Example: shrimp and kalamata olive red pepper fettuccine with spinach and feta cheese in a spicy tomato sauce.
The award-winning wine list, with over 35 wines by the glass, daily wine flights and over 65 bottles is hand picked by Remy’s certified sommelier. Sophisticates and rookies will have no problem delving into Remy’s wine with the incredibly helpful staff. Highly recommended are Remy’s wine flights three half-glasses of wine, grouped together by variety, growing area or theme and served with an information card.
Sip wine, munch and gossip with the girls at Remy’s.
St. Louis Scene Archive
View Complete Archive
|
|
|
|
