im going to be visiting a friend of mine who lives within walking distance of old town st. charles, and i was wondering what drinking establishments are recommended. i prefer dive bars with cheap beer but with a good selection as well. i like brew pubs, but i'm a college student so i can't spend all night in trailhead due to $$$.
Check out Baja Rock Club. Its on Main a couple blocks down from Trailhead. It would fit my definition of a "dive bar". They have a good size bar and live bands most nights.
As a former resident and drunk living in downtown saint chuck there are truly only two "dives" on mainstreet worth considering.
One is near the corner of first capitol and main. I forget the name of the damn place but it has a stag beer sign out front. It is a TRUE dive. Wells are still 1 dollar during happy hour. It is not unusual to hear a story of heartbreak and dispair from some old guy that will go on the entire time you are there. There will be at least one old guy asleep on the bar.
The other is a "hippy" joint that sells imports - it is next door to the Trailhead Brewery. You have to walk down the steps to a veranda that is next to the creek that has the mill on it. The mill itself is attached to Trailhead Brewery. The drinks aren't really cheap, but you will always find the most colorful and creative natives there.
The first bar you are referring to at First Capitol and Main St. is called "City Club". I didn't know the name of it for years either, we called it the "Stag on Draft" bar since that is what the sign said. Only now that sign has been replaced by a Budweiser one. Guess they are gentrifying
the bar on the other end of Main St. is called the MillStream Inn. It was closed for for a year and a half after a fire did some major damage to the upstairs area that was being rehabbed as a dining room. The building is one of the oldest in St. Charles. The owner is named Troy-- he is a bit of a hippy and they do have what must be the best beer selection in St. Chuck County. I really do like this bar. The beer garden is great for the warm weather months and the interior bar is very cozy like a ski lodge or something so it's a great place to go no matter the season. The beers ain't cheap, but the clientele is really interesting and not at all chain-ey like you often find west of the Missouri.
Yeah, I just realized the other day that they were open again. I will have to arrange a night of drink there in the future. Sucks being old and responsible and actually considering arranging things like that before you do them. But sometimes wisdom sucks.
Do you remember when that guy Mike that retired from Ozark airlines owned the place?
I think he sold it to Troy around 1997 or so?
I have a terrible story involving Troy. One of Troy's best pals is one of my best pals. Troy had opening day Cardinal tickets for the game that Bush threw out the first pitch. I think this was around 2002 or 2003.
My friend invited me along. For some reason my friend and I used the event as an excuse to drink like hillbilly children. I have no idea why. Eventually my pal and I were kicked from Busch stadium because my pal was a total Bush hater and was carrying on and on about it - so I dared him to prove his hatred by throwing a missile made of several plastic beer cups at him as he entered the field. My pal did so and we were both promptly led out of the stadium by some very serious looking people. I don't remember too much after that except having to call a buddy to pick me up and losing my friend somewhere. He ended up at Mange some how. I think he hailed a cab for more drink. Me, I was going to take the metro home until I realized I had lost my wallet somewhere.
Indeed, extravagant drinking usually leads to some configuration of idiocy.
Strangely - today I was informed by the same friend that we are to enjoy a 60 year old bottle of Scotch at the Millstream while watching the Kentucky Derby. I have promised to behave and enjoy the goodness slowly and gentlemanly.
Don't ask me what brand of scotch because I do not know. It was apparently purchased at an estate sale for a completely ridiculous low cost. That is all I know.
Now that it's been a decade I feel I can talk about this without being embarrassed, but for some reason me and a couple of friends who happened to be off work the day Pope John Paul II came to STL in 1999 wound up spending most of the afternoon and evening at the Millstream getting blitzed beyond recognition. Luckily we all lived within walking distance of the bar then.
We were just one of thousands who had originally planned to go to the route that JP 2 was traveling but decided it would be too crowded.
