St. Louis Girls Weekend

Looking for a fun filled weekend with the girls? No worries, I’ve done all of the work for you! Take my itinerary from this time last summer when all the gals in my family got together for a weekend of quality time. Some family members were coming from Iowa, Chicago, and Southern Illinois so we started our weekend with Friday dinner and knew we needed to end the festivities by mid-afternoon on Sunday so everyone could get back to reality.

Friday

Dinner: Grace Meat + Three - check out my restaurant review and you’ll see that Grace is one of my favorite places. I chose it for Friday dinner since family members were arriving at various times and Grace is fast casual, meaning you order at the counter and seat yourself, so I didn’t have to stress about making a reservation somewhere. Plus, there is a lot to offer with this modern twist on Southern food. I gravitate toward their fish offerings like the staple catfish or a house special. You can’t go wrong with any of their well thought out sides or salads like their seasonal Za’atar spiced carrots and turnips or salad with crispy leeks and charred onion vinaigrette.

Evening activity: Broadway-style musical at The Muny, which - fun fact - is the largest outdoor musical theatre in North America! It’s located inside of St. Louis’ amazing Forest Park. Tickets range from $15-100 dollars and is recommended to purchase as a group well ahead of time. Keep in mind, The Muny is seasonal and runs through the summer months. If you are visiting St. Louis during other parts of the year, may I recommend The Fox Theatre for your Broadway play fix.

Saturday

Breakfast: Half & Half - a popular breakfast spot with two locations in St. Louis. We went with the Downtown Webster Groves location known as Old Webster because our morning activity was nearby. At Half & Half, I would recommend the ham biscuit starter, the BLT omelette, and the Clara Cakes. They also have weekend specials. 

Morning activities: Since breakfast was within walking distance to shopping downtown Webster Groves, we decided to walk off breakfast and pop into a few boutiques - Paisley Boutique and Kind Soap are two favorites. 

The main event was a terrarium workshop at Maypop Coffee & Garden Shop held outside in their greenhouse. My family and I enjoy doing crafts together - none of us are particularly crafty, we just enjoy being creative and laughing together. Maypop was new when we went so the owners were very accommodating with organizing our private workshop as they were just starting with their workshop program. 

Currently, they have a schedule of events and workshops to choose from - and you can also rent the space for private parties. The staff at Maypop were so friendly and informative. We paid for the terrarium container itself (you could pick from various shapes and sizes at different price points) and the fillings and plants were included. They taught us how to take care of them and provided us with herbal iced tea. It was an absolutely lovely and relaxing  morning! Most importantly, we could chat while doing something enjoyable. 

Lunch: Our lunch plans were a bit out of the ordinary as we spent that time treating ourselves to Afternoon Tea at La Patisserie Choquette. This experience was too delightful for words. It was good amount of food and we all tried to rank our favorite items, but couldn’t because they were all fantastic. The tea shortbread and faux bagel were standouts to me. The menu does change but always has savory and sweet selections.

Afternoon activity: To get some steps in, we decided to take in the sights of the Missouri Botanical Gardens which was nearby La Patisserie Choquette. Afterward, we cleaned up and got ready for our dinner reservation. 

Dinner: Choosing a dinner spot was not difficult as I knew Vicia had to be incorporated into the weekend. They are known for “vegetable forward cuisine”. Take for example the kohlrabi (type of turnip) shell tacos (pictured below) which were equally creative as they were delicious.

Sunday

Brunch: Katie’s Pizza and Pasta Osteria - this modern Italian inspired restaurant is one of my favorites because of the consistently good hospitality and of course, memorable food. (Note: when we come here with our daughter, they give egg-less dough balls to kids for them to enjoy like play doh! So fun!) Do not be deterred by the shopping complex location, the restaurant itself is nicely decorated and they have spacious patio. On this particular day I ordered the seasonal squash blossom frittata (pictured below left) and it was delightful. Typically, I order the artichoke salad (pictured below center) which seems to be menu staple, as well as the pistachio cinnamon roll that is large and in charge.

Early afternoon activity: boutique shopping downtown Kirkwood - this walkable community is only a couple miles from Katie’s Pizza and Pasta and is nice to meander around the shops and farmers market. My favorite shop is Sammy Soap for it’s huge variety of hand made soaps and tons of unique gifts.

Looking for more? (Wish we would’ve had more hours in the weekend!)

Eats: 

Activities: 

Since moving back to the area from California almost 5 years ago, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the growing food scene in St. Louis. It delights me to bring family and friends into town to experience. Enjoy!

TravelCourtney ClarkSt. Louis, St. Louis restaurant, restaurant review, Travel