BBS Trip Advisor

Holy crap, I really need to visit that lonesome mound! Thanks.

The erasure and genocide of indigenous peoples here, there and everywhere is one of the saddest, stupidest things humans have done to other humans.

I learned some new stuff in this UC-Berkeley article:

Of course, there are a few larger quasi-intact mounds across the Mississippi.
They get a lot more publicity than wee lonesome mound in St. Louis, MO.

Cahokia [Mounds], while being a UNESCO World Heritage Site and state park and all seemsā€¦ lackingā€¦ somehow. Their interpretation center tries hard. But it feels really sterile and doesnā€™t push hard on the indigenous side of history. The docent who talked to me 10 years ago repeated ā€œthereā€™s a lot we donā€™t knowā€ and when I asked if the staff of this super important site had reached out to indigenous peoples in the area, I was basically told that there are not that many to contact.

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Guns. Germs. Steel.

Liquor. Treachery. Greed.

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If youā€™re heading to that area, consider taking a day trip to Victoria BC which you can get to by ferry from Port Angeles (which is about an hour west from PT, and then another hour to Victoria on the ferry). If youā€™ve never been there before itā€™s quite charming and thereā€™s some neat tourist attractions in the area like Butchart Gardens if youā€™re into that kind of thing.

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And if you do go to Victoria, donā€™t forget the excellent chocolate:

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And High Tea. The Empress Hotelā€™s is pretty amazing, but hard to get reservations some times. The White Heather Tea Room has a really amazing Tea for less and it should be easier to get into.

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General shout out to DobrĆ” Tea Houses. I loved the one in Burlington. I have a friend who has been to three of them in the eastern U.S. and he loved each one of them. We are picky!

https://www.dobratea.com/locations/

Their tea list is fairly long, varied, well-curated, and they have someone on-staff at each location who fully knows each teaā€™s characteristics, origins, history, and of course flavor.

I did not know this but tea sommelier is a real thing and yes DobrĆ” has them there to help you:

ETA:

In Austin, Texas a tea house that also is several cuts above:

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Hah! I was wondering why a tea place would have such a Czech name, so I went to their website and found a wonderful origin story!

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OK, Iā€™ve scrolled back through the St. Louis-related posts, but am still going to ask:

I have one night - Monday - in St. Louis next week. One dinner. Any recommendations for good/interesting beer near the Hilton Ballpark? I was thinking of

or

http://www.squareonebrewery.com/

or even (from the family that made great beer, but also gifted us Phyllis Schlafly):

Other suggestions?

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4 Hands is an excellent choice, although there are many other good options in STL.

Urban Chestnut has a huge beer hall with lots of food options, and is located in an up-and-coming entertainment area.

I havenā€™t yet been to Bluewood Brewing in the Cherokee neighborhood, but thereā€™s an amazing burger stand right out front called Macā€™s Local Eats.

Earthbound Beer, also in Cherokee, is really good but very small.

Ooh, I forgot about Civil Life in Tower Grove South.

One more Iā€™ve really enjoyed is Alpha Brewing, also in Tower Grove South. Women-owned, great eats too.

ETA I just noticed youā€™re looking for something close to Busch Stadium. 4 Hands will be your best bet. Itā€™s not in the most congenial location (industrial area near I-44), though. If youā€™re looking for lively atmosphere in a fun area, Urban Chestnut in the Grove might be a good choice. There are some excellent eats both in the venue itself, and nearby (e.g. Gramophone, Beast BBQ)

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Iā€™ve been to 4 hands. It was a cozy place from what I recall. Looks like I rated their milk stout fairly high.

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This is great, as is @NukeMLā€™s note. Urban Chestnut looks like the kind of place Iā€™d want to make a trip to. But . . . a couple people in our group are now insisting on a wine selection, of all things.

Are either of your familiar with:

It doesnā€™t look like a place Iā€™d normally go to, but group dynamics and all . . . .

ETA: It looks like the Tuesday night dinner is taken care of by the gathering, at:

Screenshot 2023-03-22 at 3.21.26 PM

Just a few blocks from Urban Chestnut, so that works perfectly.

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Wine? In St Louis? GTFO!

Beast BBQ is a good choice.

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Iā€™ve also heard that 2nd Shift is a good spot. Do you know that one?

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I donā€™t know those other two breweries you mentioned. By sheer coincidence, I will also be in St Louis Monday and Tuesday nights (Magnetic Fields shows at the Foundry, hooray!), and might check those places out while Iā€™m there.

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Tuesday night after 9 Iā€™m almost certain to be at 2nd Shift on Manchester. I dunno if any of my group will be following along. If alone, Iā€™ll be the guy at the bar with an iPad open in front of me.

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Ooh, itā€™s right next to the River Des Peres (aka ā€œRiver Despairā€) Drainage Channel ā€“ St. Louisā€™ version of the LA River!

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Awesome. Familiar with this place?

https://squareonebrewery.com/

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I havenā€™t been there, but itā€™s a nice area. Old residential, not far from Soulard.

St. Louis is a big beer town (not even counting A-B), and almost any place you pick will have decent beers and food. Itā€™s hard to go wrong.

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You have to know about this to find it in Victoria:

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Note to anybody traveling in the Middle East during Ramadan: BYOB

In case you wanted to know what being on one of those man made islands along the Persian Gulf looks like, there you go.

(Doha, Qatar)

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Has anyone done the train cross country? Iā€™m thinking of one way training it between Seattle and Philly- flying the other.

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