One Night in St. Louis

Ok, so last night was off the chain! We had such a good time in St. Louis. The wedding started at 5:00 and dinner wasn't until 8:30, so we were worried we'd get hungry before dinner was served. We got up to STL with about an hour to spare before the wedding, so we headed to a Panera close by.

I had a free pick two on my Panera card (love that thing - saved us $8!) so David and I split it. I took the bowl of garden vegetable soup with whole grain baguette and David took the Greek salad.

I was so cold that I was holding my soup bowl for warmth!

Waiting for me to finish my soup. I like to enjoy my food, not inhale it!

After the wedding we headed over to the Hilton at the Ballpark. The cocktails didn't start until 7:00, so we had a little time to kill. I saw online that this Hilton has a rooftop bar on the 26th floor, so I thought it would be fun to check it out.

I cannot describe how amazing this place was! Great views everywhere, amazing smells coming from the kitchen (they had a huge pizza oven), and such a warm, cozy environment. The menu sounded so delicious, but we were about to eat dinner at 8:30 and had just eaten at Panera not too long before. We sat right by the kitchen where we could see a couple of chefs putting the final touches on dishes before they went out, and I couldn't help myself. We had to try something! We ended up getting the house fries with meyer lemon aioli for dipping. Yum! (It was pretty dark in there so none of my pictures turned out. Bummer.)

After we enjoyed the fries, we went outside to check out the view. It was very cold and windy so we didn't stay out there long, but it was so cool. The arch was just to our left and we could see right down into the ballpark!

 

The reception was absolutely amazing. Before dinner, they had the foyer set up with all sorts of great cheeses and dried fruits and nuts. Dinner was great as well, even though by that point we weren't hungry at all (but we somehow made room). First, we had a spinach salad with pickled red onions, spiced walnuts, and goat cheese. Main course was surf & turf - sea bass in a white cream sauce, petite filet in a red wine demiglace, and roasted potatoes and vegetables. I took the vegetarian entree which was a couscous pilaf with grilled asparagus, mushrooms, and zucchini. Of course wedding cake was for dessert, but they also served us a cute little ice cream bon bon! 

It was freezing walking back to the car so I stole David's suit coat :)

All in all, a really great night. Got to experience something new and different. We drove home after dinner so we got home pretty late, but it was worth it. Can't wait to go back to that rooftop bar!

~Tammy