No doubt about it, St. Louis loves its sports – and its sports heroes, even off the field. After all, what other city can boast so many bars and restaurants owned by or named for local sports personalities? J. Buck’s, Ozzie’s, Dierdorf & Hart’s, Mike Shannon’s, Al Hrabosky’s Ballpark Saloon, Pujols Five, and Jim Edmonds’ Fifteen …
Brendan and Duncan, bless ’em, don’t know who any of those guys are. Yet. Celebrity is a foreign concept to them. They know Bob the Builder, not Bob Costas. And to them, sports are played by teams, not people.
So when we recently hit Skybox for a night out, the coolness factor of going to a restaurant owned by former Rams star Marshall Faulk, NBA players Larry Hughes and Darius Miles, and rapper (and die-hard STL fan) Nelly meant nothing to the boys. No biggie; they grabbed every other bit of coolness in the place and made it theirs.
And there was much, much coolness.
We first went down on a Sunday afternoon, thinking it might be a little quieter – always good when you’re taking the kids somewhere new. Quieter was an understatement; we practically had the joint to ourselves, which gave us a good chance to look around. The décor is stylish – very modern, but with deft touches and nods to a number of sports with jerseys, balls and other items neatly displayed. This is no frat-boy sports bar; it’s classy and clean. And part of that class included the way the staff catered to the boys.
No sooner were we seated than our server suggested a couple of drinks for them – pink lemonade for Duncan and Sprite with a shot of grenadine for Brendan. Both drinks came in sleek glasses from the bar and really dazzled them. The boys knew what they wanted almost immediately and called out their orders before Kathy and I had decided. After we put our own orders in, we kicked back to figure out which one of the 17,000 flat-screen TVs to watch. Over Kathy’s head: the Cardinals game, for me and Brendan to watch. Over my head: Hey, it’s Animal Planet! Perfect for Duncan.
Our food came quickly, but with one big problem: no kids’ food. Somewhere there was a miscommunication, and their orders were never put in. Our server retreated to the kitchen to rush their food through while I dutifully sacrificed my chicken nachos to the guys. It was no great loss; the nachos were only a small step up from ballpark level, with a Velveeta-like sauce and ho-hum chicken. The boys gobbled it up. Across the table, though, Kathy had some outstanding crawfish étouffée and a meaty gumbo that packed significant heat.
The boys got their food in time to take a few bites, but they’d already gorged on my plate. Giddy with nacho cheese and frou-frou drinks, they bolted down the hall. Next thing you know, we’re trying to tug a giggling Duncan out of Skybox’s cigar alcove, where a couple of guys heavy with bling (A couple of St. Lunatics? Coulda been …) were kicking back, watching the game. We smiled and apologized, but they started laughing right along with our little blond dervish. “Hey, that’s what being a kid’s about,” said one of the guys.
Our follow-up was even better. In on a weeknight, there were a few more people scattered throughout the place, but when we walked through the dining room, the bartender shot us a “Hey, welcome back!” This time our server gave us one of the raised circular booths in the far corner of the room. No lie, you sit there and look out, and you feel like the room is yours. The boys felt like kings.
We started off with a great fried catfish appetizer. Neither of the boys is big on fish, but they gobbled up the cornmeal-coated fillets, dunking them in a Cajun mustard sauce. Our entrées arrived just as Duncan polished off the last of the fish. The boys both tore into their turkey-Swiss wraps – which were huge – and I was impressed that not only did Brendan eat his, but Duncan nearly did so as well. I can only imagine what their appetites are going to be like when they’re teenagers. Throughout the meal, our server came around to check up on things and to banter with the boys.
Kathy’s tuna tacos looked delicious, but I had my hands full with a huge burger, so I opted out of trying a bite. Her verdict: The tuna was seared perfectly, but she wished it had been cut a little thicker so the flavor of the sear could have come through better. No such problem with my burger, a gargantuan portion that I’ll split with someone next time. The flavor of it was delicious, but it was far bigger than I needed.
Skybox’s relatively short time on the scene is probably what’s keeping the crowds down so far; word of mouth takes time. The advantage to that is right now it’s super easy to get the family in to sample the eclectic menu and cool décor, and to enjoy the extremely friendly staff that treat even Little Leaguers like superstars.
This article appears in Jun 1-30, 2008.