By Candice Coleman
This takes the steak: The spectacular Ruth’s Chris Steak House is opening up a new location in Chesterfield and is expected to welcome diners in mid-November. The new location offers 16,600 of space and seating for up to 460 guests, including three outdoor dining areas, three bars, six private dining rooms, wine lockers and a double-sided fireplace. Slated to open to the public on Nov. 16, the restaurant, which is located in the new upscale WildHorse development at 16493 Wild Horse Creek Road, will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. ruthschris.com
’Tis the season to eat, drink and be scary, right? And do we have a lot of happy haunts for you to check out:
We begin with the bar wizards at Three Sixty in downtown St. Louis, The Soda Fountain and The Train Shed at St. Louis Union Station, and Westport Social in Maryland Heights, who have the hookup for horrific cocktails and mocktails, designed specifically for the spooky season.
Go to Three Sixty for the great boos – rather, the great views. Located on the 26th floor of the St. Louis Hilton at the Ballpark downtown, the rooftop bar offers sweeping views of the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium and Kiener Plaza from patios 400 feet above St. Louis. Three Sixty opens at 4 p.m. daily, and is serving a variety of creepy cocktails including a How to Kill a Zombie and a Bloody Corpse Reviver. 360-stl.com
At the retro-style Soda Fountain, the Halloween Freak Shake is served in a take-home mug shaped like a crystal skull. Pair a shake with a visit to the Halloween Experience at Union Station – a not-so-scary haunted walking tour through a maze, barnyard and historic train cars – which is open daily through Oct. 31. The restaurant is open at 11 a.m. daily. sodafountain-stl.com
Union Station’s gastropub, The Train Shed, is open for lunch and dinner daily, beginning at 11 a.m. Located near the entrance to the St. Louis Aquarium, the Shed is serving a special Screamsicle Float through Halloween, made with Clementine’s Black Sesame and Toasted Coconut gelato, orange soda, house-made whipped cream and topped with a tiny pitchfork. trainshed-stl.com
At Westport Social, try a Frozen Pumpkin Spiced White Russian or a Black Widow paired with free games, including hoops, shuffleboard, ping pong and darts. The restaurant opens Saturdays at 11 a.m., and Sundays through Fridays at 4 p.m. westportsocial-stl.com
Don’t we all scream for ice cream? Clementine’s Naughty and Nice Creamery is offering limited-edition “skull” ice cream scoops made with Black Tahini ice cream – only a few will be sold at each store, per day, for $4 each, through Oct. 31. And that’s not all. The new Orange Ghoulius flavor is made with 100% natural orange juice and orange blossom water, and swirled with cream and dark chocolate sandwich cookies! Also new for fall: Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake and Sweet Potato Pie scoops, as well as the new Dark & Stormy (a spiced dark rum flavor for those 21 and older). clementinescreamery.com
Want to attend one of the most fabulous fiestas of the year? Why not check out Hacienda Mexican Restaurant’s Dia de los Muertos celebration? The annual extravaganza is this Saturday, Oct. 31, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. There will be a costume contest, live music, muchos margaritas and so much more! Plus, we love the fact it’s been family-owned and -operated since 1968! Olé! haciendastl.com
Big things sure do come in small packages! Volpi Foods, the locally based, fourth-generation family-owned and -operated producer of specialty cured meats since 1902, has rolled out its new product line, Small Bites – single-serve packages with 1.5-ounce portions of the brand’s expertly sliced, artisan-made, dry-cured meats. With plans for smaller holiday gatherings and more time at home this year, the new Small Bites line is perfectly convenient! Small Bites is launching with Volpi’s most popular dry-cured meats: Prosciutto, Coppa, Sopressata and Spicy Sopressata, and can be found locally at Schnucks and Dierbergs.
Ready to talk turkey? The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis is reshaping its Thanksgiving holiday tradition this year with a festive take-home feast. The Thanksgiving Brunch package offers area residents the ability to enjoy the hotel’s beloved annual brunch in the comfort of their own homes and holiday tables. The family-style meal serves up to six guests with all the traditional staples and is priced at $420, plus tax.
The menu includes: Chilled Seafood Shrimp Cocktail, Caesar Salad, Pecorino Butternut Squash Bisque, Whole Roasted Free-Range Turkey with Kumquat-Cranberry Sauce, Natural Jus Prime Rib, Red Wine Jus with Horseradish Sauce, Roasted Garlic Potato Puree, Turkey and Sage Brioche Bread Pudding, Spiced Whipped Sweet Potato with Georgia Pecans, Green Bean Casserole, Chocolate Pecan and Pumpkin pies, and more. Place your order by calling (314) 719-1433. Orders must be placed by Nov. 20 at 5 p.m., with a non-refundable, full pre-payment. All orders will be available for curbside pickup at The Ritz-Carlton in Clayton on Nov. 26 between 10 a.m. and 12 noon. ritzcarlton.com/stlouis
Here’s something that can help travelers with the holiday hustle and bustle: Lion’s Choice, the St. Louis-based family of restaurants known for its famous roast beef sandwiches, crave-worthy fries and frozen custard, introduces Pride Packs, branded, insulated bags filled with 10 Original Roast Beef Sandwiches for $25 each. The portable Pride Packs make it easy for out-of-towners to bring bulk sandwiches home this holiday season. Guests can purchase the Pride Packs now through the holiday season at any Lion’s Choice drive-thru.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has been tough for the local restaurant industry, it’s not stopping Scott Ellinger, owner of The Brass Rail Steakhouse in O’Fallon, Missouri, from delivering on a beloved tradition. For the past seven years, The Brass Rail has been preparing, donating and delivering Thanksgiving meals with all the trimmings to thousands of people in need. Last year alone, with the help of volunteers, more than 10,000 meals were delivered to families within a 60-mile radius of the restaurant and more than 1,000 were served in-house. This year, Ellinger had hoped to surpass 2019’s totals, but it was not to be.
On his restaurant’s Facebook page, Ellinger wrote: “It’s time to kick off Thanksgiving 2020. Although our incredible goal of 15,000 meals had to be adjusted, thanks to the virus, WE ARE STILL MOVING FORWARD. We are now accepting names of families that need Thanksgiving dinner delivered to them. As always, there is no qualification process. If a family says they are in need, we will deliver.”
In light of COVID-19 restrictions, Ellinger and his restaurant had to be limited this Thanksgiving to serving 3,500 meals to St. Charles County residents only. This year will also be the first time since 2014 that the restaurant’s popular walk-in Thanksgiving buffet will not be offered. Volunteer opportunities will be limited this year, as well, but the restaurant is offering other opportunities for people to be involved. Call The Brass Rail Steakhouse at (636) 329-1349 for more information about volunteer opportunities, donations or to request a meal.
