St. Louis: House of Savoy

After cocktails in the Cascade lobby at HoteLumière, dinner was served at the New Age Italian Tuscan Grill, House of Savoy. Despite being gluten-free this restaurant had more than enough options to keep everyone happy.

A tasting menu that tested the boundaries of culinary gluttony, it was difficult to leave even a morsel on our plates after dish after dish of tasty Italian fare was served. Chicago reporter Lisa Davis and Recommend's Adria Valdes were also on hand to try it out.

Our own private sommelier joined us with an exquisite selection of wines to accompany each course while Executive Chef Mark French was on hand for any culinary queries. Some standouts in the appetizer department included the beef carpaccio with mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, capers and shaved parmigiano, the savoy raw bar of fresh shucked oysters and jumbo chilled shrimp, and tasty antipasto plate with imported cheeses, Italian cured meats, roasted peppers and olives.


For the main course, options ranging from seafood risotto to dry aged porterhouse keep even the pickiest eaters happy. Competitively priced, with a relaxed atmosphere and great service, it's well worth a try.

St. Louis: Four Seasons Style

A sports bag was awaiting me when I checked into my room at The Four Seasons St. Louis. At first glance it looked like someone had accidently left it there. Housekeeping? A forgetful sports player? I looked around the spotless room, obviously it was already made up, so one would assume the bag was meant for me but as my Dad likes to say, "to ass-u-me makes an ass out of u and me."

Ever curious, I approached with caution. Surely the contents would be the deciding factor. I peered in to find a set of golf balls, a photo frame and a number of other objects. I made a note to ask my contact when we met later that evening and dared not pry anymore just in case... Instead I went to take a quick tour of my room.

Situated on the eighteenth floor in the gorgeous Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, my room overlooked the towering St. Louis Arches. A home-away-from-home for the rich and famous, the hotel is situated minutes from the CBD, a part of the Lumière Place entertanment complex. With all the amenities one would expect from the Four Seasons it was the perfect place to rest my weary head. A gigantic bathroom with a bath tub made for soaking away the aches and pains of the travel weary, I quickly hung a few things on my silk padded hangers and headed out for dinner at the House of Savoy.

St Louis: Rediscovering America

A funny thing occurred to me on the way to the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis—traveling by yourself in a limo isn't very fun. Another interesting revelation hit me while contemplating the first—nobody answers their cell phone anymore. In a recent newspaper article, the number of cell phones has risen dramatically, the number of minutes used talking has declined. This I would experience first hand on route to my destination. Fortunately, this relative silence gave way to some sight seeing and a quick catch up on the history of St. Louis as we traveled to the banks of the Mississippi river.

In my travels, overseas destinations often trump those within the U.S. so why St Louis? With volcanic smoke and long delays, security nightmares and interrogating customs it would seem this is the best time to rediscover America and a place such as St. Louis seemed like the perfect place to start.

Before European settlement, St. Louis was home to the Mississippians(this word should definitely be a spelling bee tie breaker) a mighty Indian civilization of more than 20 000 who used the fertile river valley to settle. When that culture disappeared during Europe's Middle Ages only their huge, mysterious earthen structures were left, earning St. Louis one of its earliest nicknames, "Mound City." Since then, it was been owned by both the French and the Spanish with Napoleon selling St. Louis to President Thomas Jefferson (whose home in Virginia is worth a visit) in 1803.

The "gateway to the west," boats still travel the great Mississippi with cargo bound for places near and far.