St. Louis Bucket List: Get First Pitch Tickets To A Cardinals Game
In the April 2013 issue of St. Louis Magazine, they covered “101 Things St. Louisans Must Do”. Even those in our office who have lived in the area their whole lives found things on the the list that still needed to be checked off. Things were also brought up that were agreed upon as “must-dos” but weren’t exactly on the list. Maybe something similar was on the list, but there was enough of a difference to warrant a separate line item.
In appreciation of this list the good folks over at SLM produced, we introduce you to our St. Louis Bucket List series. We will highlight things we consider “must-dos” in the area. Some will be straight from the list, some will be variations of something on the list, and some will be things our staff really thinks should be on the list.
In a nod to this being the first post in the series, we say Get “First Pitch Tickets” To A Cardinals Game.
Going to a Cardinals game is a given for any St. Louis visitor or resident. “Skip Work For Opening Day” was the first thing on SLM‘s list. We decided to roll several necessary activities into one on this Opening Day. (Sidenote: Why is Opening Day capitalized? Because in St. Louis, the home opener for the Cardinals might as well be an official holiday.) We decided to send Ryan out to get “First Pitch Tickets” for Opening Day. These tickets aren’t something you can buy with just a few mouse clicks. Here’s how they work:
- Line up outside the Busch Stadium Box Office before it opens at 9 am.
- Be one of the first 275 people in line.
- Pay $11.20 and get a voucher for two tickets to that day’s game.
- Be in line 10 minutes before the game’s first pitch is scheduled outside Gate 5.
- Turn in your voucher at the gate and be given an envelope with two tickets to the game.
Ryan arrived at 7:45 am on the day of the game to stand in line. The line was already long as some people at apparently been camped out in line over the weekend. Only 275 pairs of tickets are sold.
The Box Office is at the far end of the picture.
Several people went through and counted the people in the line. These numbers were in no way exact. General consensus was Ryan was somewhere around #200 in line. Things were looking good. At 8:30 am, a security guard came through and gave out little paper tickets. If more than 275 people are in line and you don’t get a ticket, you can go on about your day. Luckily enough, Ryan was #204. At 9 am, the Box Office opened and people were able to start buying tickets. This is a fairly slow process as you would imagine. Plan on at least another 45 minutes if the line is long.
Waiting in line to get into the game is a longer process. Be prepared. Whereas the Box Office has multiple windows open to sell tickets, only one person is handing out the game tickets before gametime. If you are past #20 in line to get into the game, don’t plan on actually seeing the first pitch.
For Opening Day Ryan got Standing Room Only tickets, but don’t let that discourage you. The tickets that are part of the program are taken from a pool of tickets that includes those returned by players, the visiting team and media types. If the game is an important one, odds are that you will get SRO, but that’s part of the fun in buying the tickets. The people who camped out to be first in line on that Monday morning stood just as much of a chance at getting great seats as the person that was #275 in line.
The “First Pitch Tickets” program is sponsored by KMOX 1120 AM, the flagship radio station of the St. Louis Cardinals. It is available for each Cardinals regular season home game. The Busch Stadium Box office opens at 9 am each day.
Flawdogs Adoption Adoption Fair May 19
On May 19, 2013 The Laurel Apartments will host a pet adoption fair in association with Flawdogs Adoption. The fair will be held in the lobby of The Laurel from 11a-3p. The building is located at 616 N. 7th Street in downtown St. Louis.
Flawdogs Adoption will have approximately 20 dogs available for adoption at the event. The dogs will mostly be small breeds and purebred. All dogs available for adoption will be spayed or neutered, vaccinated and wormed and freshly bathed. Adoption fees will run from $100-$250 per pet.
Flawdogs Adoption is a local organization that was originally established to rescue “puppymill dogs”, those that had been caged their entire lives. The organization now takes many dogs from other walks of life that have been abandoned and are in need of a good home. The rescued dogs live in small groups where they have generous amounts of space to be live and play. The dogs are not caged and are treated as if they were the Flawdogs’ personal pets.
Flawdogs Adoption is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to improving the lives of dogs in need. The organization is staffed completely by volunteers and all dogs are housed on a volunteer basis as well. Adoption fees go to cover the costs of housing, veterinarian fees, food and utilities. Flawdogs Adoption can be found online at Flawdogs.Petfinder.com
Click here to see a current list of dogs available for adoption.
Resident Perks Program
Residents of The Laurel Apartments will each receive a card to show at establishments in the Mercantile Exchange district that entitles them to the following perks. These perks are subject to change and are offered by participating establishments to show their appreciation to those that choose to make their home in the MX district.
Participating Establishments and Perks
- Takaya New Asian
- - 10% off your total bill
- Robust Wine Bar
- - 10% off your total bill
- Pi Pizzeria
- - 15% off your total bill
- MX Movies
- - Free medium popcorn with movie ticket purchase. (Concession Stand Only)
- Embassy Suites
- - 20% Off Best Available Rate (subject to availability)
- -To Book: Go here. On the left side, click “add special rate codes”. In the ‘corporate account’ box, type in 2761641. Continue to book your reservation as normal. The new rate will show up on the next screen.
Our Staff’s MX Favorites
Since the beginning of the year, the options for dining in the Mercantile Exchange District have exploded like a good fist bump. We offer you some of our staff’s favorite MX delicacies.
- Ryan in our office isn’t your typical salad guy. If he’s going to eat a salad, he will go to Culinaria and make one on the salad bar. You’ve seen the type: He starts with a light base of lettuce and piles on the un-healthiest of the toppings available. Luckily, Snarf’s has this salad on its menu. A generous helping of quality lettuce serves as a base for grape tomatoes, a hard-boiled egg, julienne cuts of ham and turkey, and thicker strips of cheese. All dressings are made-from-scratch in house. A salad that Ryan will eat more than once a week has to be on your must-try list.
Peanut Butter, Banana and Honey (Snarf’s)
- Why read about it when you could watch this deliciousness get made?
PB, Banana & Honey @snarfsmx in 6 seconds vine.co/v/bXeiqiK1zmL
— The Laurel MX (@LaurelMX) February 28, 2013
- According to Ryan, the Monte Cristo sandwich is the greatest sandwich ever created by mankind. He considers himself somewhat of a connoisseur on this subject. This is one of his favorite versions of it in the city. Check out the menu description:
Hickory Smoked Ham and Gruyère cheese,on Egg-battered Sourdough.Served withSpiced Pear Compote and Maple-Dijon mustard
Southwest Turkey Wrap (Robust)
- We challenge you to find a better wrap in downtown St. Louis.
Mesquite Turkey, Burger’s
Smokehouse Bacon (MO) , Cheddar Cheese, Spinach,Black Bean Relish, and Chipotle Aioli in a Tomato Tortilla Wrap [Pro Tip: Get the fries on the side because they are delicious.]The Southwest Turkey Wrap @robustwinebar#mxstlvine.co/v/bDh6IBM7ihx
— The Laurel MX (@LaurelMX) March 22, 2013
You wouldn’t expect to find a crab cake this good in the heart of the Midwest. It’s been a signature dish and best-seller since the Webster Groves location opened. We defer to a video of owner Stanley Browne making the crab cake that will go on a Ciabatta roll with Chipotle Aioli and Micro Greens.
- Bite-size deliciousness
fontina, mozzarella, volpi prosciutto and rosemary, breaded and baked with a spicy tomato sauce.
Garlic Bread (Pi)
It’s true that this is a pretty standard menu item to list here, but Miranda and Nicole swear this is the best version ever.
‘The Delmar’ (Pi)
It took us so long to list a pizza from Pi here because we were busy taste-testing all of our favorites, which basically amounted to most of the menu. The cornmeal crust deep-dish is what but them on the map so it should be on you bucket list in life. This pie features hormone-free chicken, two cheeses, peppers, cilantro and is topped with bbq sauce from local-favorite Pappy’s.
Korean Style short ribs (Takaya)
- How do you make short ribs even better than they already are? Marinate then grill and serve on a bed of greens with a side of fried rice.
Steamed Bun Pork Slider(MX Movies)
- Picking your favorites from a menu created by Josh Galliano is like picking your favorite St. Louis Cardinal of all-time behind Stan Musial. It’s not easy. Enjoy the video.
See An Apartment In Six Seconds
You’ve all heard the expression “Life’s too short for _____”
In taking that to the extreme, we decided to take Vine for a spin. According to the company website, Vine “is a mobile service that lets you create and share short looping videos”. How short? Six Seconds. When we first heard of the service, we thought “what in the world is six seconds of video good for?”
If you have checked the stats on any videos that you have posted to the internet, you will see that most people aren’t watching your entire video. Does that mean your video isn’t worth watching? Not necessarily. People have short attention spans these days. Why do you think Twitter has become so popular? Who would have thought restricting communication to 140 characters at a time would in turn increase communication at such an astonishing level? We’re sure you can find “experts” out there who will tell you that they did, but if their name isn’t Jack Dorsey, odds are they probably didn’t see it coming.
Speaking of Jack Dorsey, the Twitter co-founder was the one that pushed Twitter to acquire Vine in the first place. Safe to say that we only think six seconds of video isn’t useful because we don’t know how to use it. There were probably people that said the same thing about 140 characters back in the pre-Twitter days.
Our staff here at The Laurel Apartments loves technology and exploring ways new products can be used in our industry. We proudly support the St. Louis start-up community and count Techli has one of the sites that gets read in the office daily.
In saying that, we decided to take Vine for a spin. We have plenty of videos up on our YouTube page, but we challenged ourselves to cut an apartment tour down to six seconds. Will someone rent an apartment solely from seeing a video in six seconds? More than likely not, but we hope that it challenges those looking for an apartment home to think what really is important. We all share a belief that our time is too precious to waste. Take a look at the what we think is important to show in six seconds. These are from just our first couple of days playing with the app. Check back here later for more or check out Facebook or Twitter feeds.
Here’s our first video we did. It showcases the community amenities at The Laurel.
Check out @themxstl in 6 seconds. vine.co/v/bgVBPLBrTtn
— The Laurel MX (@LaurelMX) February 26, 2013
— The Laurel MX (@LaurelMX) February 23, 2013
Here’s the second one we did of a beautiful two-bedroom apartment home with a stunning view down Washington Avenue.
Apartment 611 vine.co/v/bgbI5zODX3V
— The Laurel MX (@LaurelMX) February 23, 2013
It’s a lot easier to film a one-bedroom apartment home in six seconds.
Apartment 830 vine.co/v/bgj32wIJJ3b
— The Laurel MX (@LaurelMX) February 25, 2013
And here’s the Mercantile Exchange District in six seconds.
Check out @themxstl in 6 seconds. vine.co/v/bgVBPLBrTtn
— The Laurel MX (@LaurelMX) February 26, 2013
The official Vine application is only available in the iTunes stores for the iPhone and the iTouch right now, but the co-founder of the company recently tweeted that they are looking to hire an Android developer.
Watch the Fat Tuesday Parade in the MX
On Tuesday, February 12, the 2013 Mardi Gras season will come to a close with the Lumiere Place ‘Light Up The Night’ Fat Tuesday Parade.
The parade will start at 7pm at the corner of Washington and Broadway. It will then proceed west on Washington Avenue to 14th street.
In year’s past, the parade route went from the Broadway and Washington corner south down Broadway to Bush Stadium. In part with the opening of businesses in the Mercantile Exchange district, the route of the parade has been changed to run through the heart of the MX
The Fat Tuesday Parade closes out the 2013 Mardi Gras season in St. Louis. The season began on January 6th with 12th Night and featured events ranging from the Snowman Softball tournament to the Beggin’ Pet Parade to the River City Casino Grand Parade.
Our neighbors in the Mercantile Exchange district will be starting the party early on Fat Tuesday with specials beginning at 4pm. Here’s a rundown of MX specials. More specials are still being worked out.
EATS
4 for 4 bucks
$4 Pi Hummus Plate
$4 Chips & Dip
$4 Pi Bites
$4 Roasted Vegetable Bruschetta
DRINKS
$3.14 Pi Common
$3.14 Schlafly Kolsch
$5 Pi Squared Cocktail
$5 The Uncommon Cocktail
$5 House Wines (red & white)
$5 Pi Sangria
Free soft drink and bag of Zapp’s New Orleans potato chips w/ a sandwich or salad purchase.
$5 Domestic bottles
$4 Chicken & Sausage gumbo
$4 Premium popcorn
More specials will be coming soon. Look for various MX establishments to have tables set up outside their doors for your pleasure. Live entertainment will also be happening in the district after the parade.
MX Movies Opens Its Doors
MX Movies officially opened its doors on January 17 for its Grand Opening, but residents of The Laurel were treated to a sneak peak of the new three-screen theater the night before.
Residents got to see the space before the general public and were also treated to a movie showing as well. The MX Movies staff and Chef Galliano were kind enough to provide complimentary beverages, food and snacks from the concession stand and kitchen.
The Grand Opening featured a reception in the theater’s lobby with complimentary food samples from Chef Galliano’s menu. Tickets for the event were sold through Brown Paper Tickets. Attendees were able to purchase tickets to one of three movies; Django Unchained, Lincoln or Les Miserables.
Laurel residents were treated to complimentary beverages and food from the kitchen and concession stand while enjoying the theater.
Some of the highlights on the menu enjoyed by residents were:
Poutine
A Midwestern version of the classic Quebec dish. Breakfast sausage gravy and Marcoot Creamery cheese curds top off sweet potato fries.
Shrimp Toast
Marinated shrimp are mixed with fresh herbs sit on buttery toast and are topped with a hard-boiled farm egg.
Breakfast Club
Sunnyside-up farm egg, thick bacon, lettuce and tomato jam on toasted rustic bread
Seared Viking Village Scallops
Olive oil-poached then seared diver scallops with oven-roasted peppers & new potatoes finished with an Argentinian chimichurri sauce
For more information on the theater and showtimes, visit MXSTLmovies.com. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
Takaya New Asian Is the Latest Piece In The MX Puzzle
Takaya New Asian opened its doors to customers last week and will have an official Grand Opening on Saturday January 12th.
The most recent restaurant to open in the Mercantile Exchange district is the newest project from Eric and Jenny Heckman and their team. Their other projects are Tani Sushi Bistro in Clayton and Area 14 Lounge & Sushi next door. Tani was named
‘Best Sushi’ by the Riverfront Times in 2o11. Area 14 is very highly-regarded as a late-night lounge spot in Clayton.
Takaya’s regular hours will be open from 11 am-10pm Monday-Thursday and 11am-11pm Friday and Saturday. Reservations can be made by calling 314-241-5721. Their Facebook page is up-and running now with a website coming soon.
Takaya will have separate menus available for lunch and dinner. On our staff visit for lunch, the menu featured a very unique blend of Asian and sushi dishes as well as standards like sliders, short ribs and chicken wings with an Asian flair.
The furniture in the restaurant was created by local company Mwanzi, which did work at most of the other restaurants in the MX. You can check out their Facebook album on the project.
The Grand Opening reception will take place on Saturday January 12 from 8pm-11pm. You can RSVP through their Facebook Event page.
Takaya New Asian is located on the corner of Washington and 7th.
To stay “in-the-know” be sure to follow Eric Heckman and Takaya on Twitter.
Snarf’s Opens Just In Time To Feed The Masses
December 26th brought a long-awaited gift to residents of The Laurel Apartments. At Noon sharp, Snarf’s opened the doors to give residents a quick delicious dining option, just across the street. Fittingly, the first two customers were Laurel residents. The sub shop opened just in time for the InterVarsity’s Urbana ’12 conference. 16,000 college students descended on the streets of St. Louis for the conference. From the looks of things, must all have tried Snarf’s at some point during the week-long conference.
This is the second St. Louis location for Snarf’s with the other located on the Delmar Loop. Both stores are owned by Maty and Jodi Aronson. The fast-casual sandwich chain opened its first location in Colorado in 1996. Jim Seidel, a former St. Louisan, is the man behind the chain. Seidel happens to be Jodi Aronson’s brother. The Aronson’s opened the Delmar Loop location in 2010. Jim Seidel’s bread recipe is baked locally by Fazio’s Bakery on the Hill for both locations. In 2011, Snarf’s was awarded the “Best Sanwiches’ designation by The Riverfront Times.
The Snarf’s location in the MX, a 614 Washington Avenue next to Pi, is open Monday to Friday from 7am-Midnight and Saturday and Sunday from 8am-Midnight. Breakfast is available all day. Staff favorites thus far are the corned beef, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, the peanut butter, banana and honey Snarflette and the Reuben.
To view the full menu, check out EatSnarfs.com. You can follow them on Twitter by checking out @Snarfsmx
Download the Snarf’s MX mobile app to order right from your phone or tablet. It is available via iTunes or the Google play store.
Robust Opens In The MX
Right around the Christmas holiday we welcomed our two newest neighbors, Robust Wine Bar and Snarf’s. Here’s a little more about Robust.
Stanley and Arlene Browne opened Robust in September of 2007. They set out to create a space where people could enjoy good wine and good food in small plates. Besides being a place to enjoy great wine, the Brownes set up to create a place where novices could learn more about wine and those further along in their wine education could learn more and teach others. Robust does this in part through the Robust Factor rating system. The system rates the wines by their body types and then offers foods that each can be paired with. While the main focus at the bar is the wine, a variety of beers and cocktails are also offered.
Robust serves both small plates as well as larger sandwiches and entrees for both lunch and dinner. Separate menus are available for each on their website.
The MX location, at the corner of 7th and Washington is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. A Saturday and Sunday RoBrunch is not available yet, but is in the works. The Shoppe features all of the wines available on the menu at the bar for purchase by the bottle. Related accessories, apparel and books are also available. A private meeting room can hold up to 50 guests. It features a wireless audiovisual system perfect for giving presentations from laptops, MacBooks, or even iPads. Outlets are easily accessible throughout the bar for easily charging any of your electronic gadgets.
