When you think of The Fountain on Locust, you probably start dreaming of the luscious ice cream desserts – and that’s fine, they’re pretty amazing. But there are other reasons – excellent reasons, in fact – to explore the Midtown restaurant.
1. The new Customer Chili of the Week contest is more than just a hill of beans. Every Friday and Saturday, the Fountain features a new chili that has been cooked according to a recipe submitted by one lucky customer. Just fill out the form here and you could find the restaurant serving up a steamy bowl of chili just the way you like it, with your name on the menu for bragging rights, of course. The Fountain’s inventive menu also boasts a bevy of tasty apps, sandwiches and no less than 47 rotating soups, including the famous Polish Dill Pickle (which is actually a potato-based soup).
2. The ambiance is unlike the vibe you’ll get anywhere else, thanks to the re-imagined art deco interior of the 1916 building, complete with old-fashioned floors and ceilings, and murals of jeune filles leaping across the walls (they’ve probably been offered hot fudge sundaes, and they’re just reacting). The bathrooms won the America’s Best Restroom contest last year, not because they’re opulent, but because they’re classy in a restrained, detailed fashion that emulates the art deco style that owner Joy Christiansen digs. Speaking of Christensen, she and husband Ron Stevens are longtime veterans of the St. Louis and national radio scene, and their campy, old-timey, radio serial Soap Hospital can be heard from speakers located above three of the Fountain’s booths. Just turn the knob and listen while you dine.
3. Okay, fine, let’s talk about the elephant in the room – dessert. They don’t make ice cream parlors like this anymore. The Fountain serves up ice cream, sundaes, malts, milkshakes, ice cream sodas and old-fashioned phosphate sodas and egg creams that are sure to satisfy no matter how low the temperature drops. Everything is free of preservatives and corn syrup, and each topping is made in-house, from real whipped cream to raspberry sauce, made with just raspberries and sugar. The clever and tasty ice-cream flavors include After-Dinner Mint, Zanzibar Chocolate, Butter Pecan, Irish Coffee, Coconut Almond Joy, Black Cherry and many more. If it’s date night, consider ice cream martinis in flavors like the Grasshopper, the Chocolate-Covered Cherry and the Orange Dreamsicle (as well as retro cocktails like the Sidecar, the Sloe Gin Fizz or the Pink Lady). If you feel like celebrating, go for the Champagne float, and if you just want an itty bitty taste of decadence, consider the World’s Smallest Ice Cream Cone or the World’s Smallest Hot Fudge Sundae – perfect if you just need a smidgen of the sweet stuff after your meal. Then there is the candy counter, where house-made turtles, chocolate-dipped berries and candied orange peels are served as the ideal bite-sized snack.
Does the Fountain on Locust have to tempt us with so many delicious options? Of course not. But boy are we glad they did. Now on to filling out our favorite chili recipe …
This article appears in January 2011.