About Melissa DeCicco

Melissa is a wiz at crazy facial expressions, often suffers from singing tourettes, and loves super uncomfortable shoes. A dedicated Dolly Parton fan, she purchased Dollywood season passes several years in a row (it’s 500 miles away) and finally met her in 2004 – she ROCKS!
Author Archive | Melissa DeCicco

Food and Basketball in St. Louis

By on March 26, 2012 in Events, Featured, Good Eats, St. Louis City

St. Louis was buzzing this weekend with college basketball fans from around the country…well North Carolina, Ohio, and Kansas – close enough.  I was lucky enough to attend both days of games and had a fantastic time.  More exciting was to see downtown so full of people experiencing our city for the first time.  It made me wonder, how do they view St. Louis before they visit and after?  Is our city lovable to outsiders visiting the first time or are we an acquired taste?  Either way, amazing games, especially for any KU fans out there.

A crucial part of going to college basketball games is where to go to pre-party given that in general admission seats at NCAA games they don’t serve alcohol. And more importantly where to get some tasty food before you order traditional stadium food, which is also a necessity.  So I visited two new establishments and really loved them both.

Friday destination: Three Sixty rooftop bar at the Hilton downtown.  Everyone should check this place out at least once.  If nothing else, just for the view.  It would be a great place to go before or even during a Cardinal game with it’s clear view of the stadium!  Second reason to go there is the food.  They have an amazing menu that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a bar.  The sliders are incredible.  The drinks are a little pricey, but worth it.

Sunday destination: Epic Pizza and Subs in Soulard.  Really enjoyed this place.  It is really laid back and has a pretty cool menu.  I actually didn’t try the pizza or the subs but LOVED the EPIC burger.  The sauce and the sauteed onions on the burger are AmaZing and they have a tasty seasoning on the fries.  In addition, a very special treat are the cupcakes which I wasn’t expecting.  The owner’s wife actually makes the cupcakes herself and I have heard from people with expertise in cupcake cuisine that they are fantastic.  The cupcakes on Sunday were buttermilk banana pancake muffins with maple cinnamon bacon creme cheese icing and a lovely bacon topper (see photo –>).  I think the flavors vary by day so you always get a fun surprise.  You can also take your food or cupcake over to iTap which is literally attached.  Which brings me to the alcohol.  They have a few beers on tap (and actually recommend an accompaniment on their menu which is helpful) and a great wine selection or you can always take 5 steps and get a different crazy beer at iTap.  I can’t wait to go back and try other things on the menu, that is if I can pry myself away from getting the burger again.

Overall, a great weekend of eating and basketball in St. Louis!

Brought to you by Mills Properties
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Zima and Jolly Ranchers

By on March 12, 2012 in Good Eats, Pop Culture

Oh, the memories! I have been seeing articles, most recently on stltoday.com citing the return of the ‘Malternative’ beverage. I admit, I had to look up what the heck they were talking about. I now know, it is another word for alternative beverages, malt beverages, or just in general an alternative to real beer with a taste more in line with liquor.  I happen to be a beer lover…maybe not in the die-hard sense but I like to try different beers and brewers. I do, however, always fall back on Bud Light so take it for what it’s worth.

I am intrigued by the return of these types of beverages even though they are generally too sweet to drink in excess for me. These are the beverages like hard lemonade, woodchuck, hard iced tea, and mojito flavored drinks. Does anyone else remember when it was all the rage to put a jolly rancher in their Zima…that was really tasty!  Either way, with beer sales slipping I am sure new trends will begin to arise.  A-B is planning a Bud Light Lime-A-Rita next month which is a spin off of Bud Light Lime and margaritas.  Maybe we can line the tops of the bottles with salt (maybe that needs more work).  In addition, A-B plans an Arnold Palmer type drink and a Michelob Ultra light Cider.  Coors in the meantime is rolling out Twisted Tea.

In my opinion, this is similar to the other trends like flavored vodka that will likely be short lived.  Or it will live on in the drinking stories of underage people who simply need a stepping stone to harder alcohol in order to get drunk.  I am certainly not condoning underage drinking but this seems to be similar to the Joe Camel of alcohol or at least the potential precursor (maybe I am overreacting).   I am really tired of seeing the shelves lined with a million options of sugary alcoholic drinks.  It has become unnecessarily overwhelming.  I think beer and traditional hard liquor are the only classics that will survive the ages.

Do you plan to jump on the ‘malternative’ drink bandwagon?  Are all these crazy new drinks necessary?

Brought to you by Mills Properties
Photo courtesy of the Chicagoist
 
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A Haunted House in March?

By on March 9, 2012 in Events, Featured, St. Louis City, The Weekender

It’s nuts right…  But, the National Halloween and Haunted Attractions Convention is at the America Center this weekend and they are sharing the fun with the public!  If you love gory video games or haunted houses, this is the perfect event for you.  Quarantine at 17th is one of the first interactive haunted houses where you will be equipped with a movie quality stunt machine gun (the new electronic weapon line) to fight off real live zombies in an epic battle.  Hopefully you get them before they get you.  It is like laser tag on scary steroids!  After you have conquered all the zombies, they will offer beverages from local distillers and brewers and other goodies.  It is happening tonight (3-9) and Saturday (3-10) from 7pm to midnight or you can opt for the guided Lights On Tour on Sunday.  Here is a video for more information:

 

Quarantine At 17th is located:
1717 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63103

Get your tickets here or by calling (314) 725.6415.

Video courtesy of Fox 2
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Sips and Splatters

By on March 9, 2012 in Arts, The Weekender

I was recently invited to an evening of painting and beverages in Belleville Illinois at Sips and Splatters.  I was hesitant because I am a terrible artist and certainly didn’t want to be flaunting my awful work of art in front of dozens of people.  I chose to go hoping everyone would be too full of ‘sips’ to notice my work.

First things first, it is located next to Seven in Belleville on South High Street.  It is a super cute space (a little crowded) and the owner is very personable and fun.  His name is David Brandt.  You can find his art sold at Target stores or at art smoothie.  He actually started this business out of his own home where he would host these parties before deciding to move to a larger space.  It costs $40 and includes the canvas and all the paint.  The canvas has an already sketched design on it that you will use as your guide.  The shtick is you get to bring your own drinks (alcohol or non) and tasty treats.  You can either schedule your own private party or join one that is open.  They only offer certain paintings at the open parties so you will want to pick one that you are interested in painting.

We were painting a fleur di lis.  My piece of advice is to go in with a plan.  Mainly, figure out what you want to do with the painting so that picking colors is not stressful.  I went in with no plan and ended up liking my painting, but it won’t match any room in my house…so I still need to figure out where it will go.  The best part was at the end when you get to grab watered down paint and literally splatter it on your painting, very strategically of course!  I would also recommend some food and beverage accompaniments…our group chose Grappa Growlers, another fun new place in Belleville (more to come on them later) and pretzel chips and cheese.  Most people brought wine and other snack food items.

All in all, it was a great evening after getting over the initial hesitation about your personal level of artistry.  Since I have trouble with markers and children’s coloring books and my painting turned out acceptable, anyone can do it.  It is the perfect destination for a fun night out with friends!  They actually also mentioned that they are expanding and opening a shop in the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area, so if you are in that area, you are in luck.

 
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Spring Drinking in St. Louis

By on March 2, 2012 in Events, Featured, St. Louis City

St. Louis has three fabulous events going on this weekend for those who love crazy alcohol concoctions and the beer lovers and each supports a great cause.  I think St. Louis might be the new capital of ‘Drinking Events’…I kid.

Friday:

Need something to do tonight, why not check out the St. Patrick’s Irish Party?  This event benefits The St. Patrick Center and starts tonight (3-2) from 7:00 – 11:00 at the Schlafly Tap Room at 2100 Locust downtown.  Tickets are $35 and can be purchased by contacting Christian Niswonger at 314.802.5489 or cniswonger@stpatrickcenter.org.  Don’t’ forget to wear green and enjoy music, food, and a fabulous raffle.

Saturday:

Two reasons to hit this option up – 1. Great local brews and 2. You can check out a new event space downtown – Factory STL!  The new Factory STL located at 1128 Washington Ave is hosting the 4th annual FestivAle on Saturday starting at 6:00 (till 9:00).  You can taste brews from 4 Hands Brewing Company, Granite City, Kirkwood Station, Schlafly, Urban Chestnut, and more.  Tickets are $50 at the door, but the event website says sold out, so you may want to call in advance.  This event also offers light appetizers and a silent auction benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Sunday:

Sunday is the Don Q Rum Cocktail Competition.  This one benefits Stray Rescue and the United States Bartenders’ Guild (I didn’t even know there was one).  The mixology craze amongst the bartenders will begin at 2:00 on Sunday (3-4) at Blood and Sand located downtown at 1500 St. Charles Street.  You do have to RSVP to usbgstl@gmail.com and a $25 donation gets you in the door.

Drink on!

 

Brought to you by Mills Properties
Photo’s courtesy of St. Patrick Center & CBS Local
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Fish Fry Time

By on February 23, 2012 in Featured, Good Eats

It is officially Lent in the Catholic world which means prayer, penance, fasting, stations of the cross….and most importantly (to some), Fish Fry’s!  Even if you are not Catholic, you gotta love a good fish fry!  FOX2 came up with a brilliant idea and has mapped out several of the fish fry’s in the area – check out the map below.  If you are not familiar with the amazing fish fry, the spaghetti is unlike any other.  Some might say it is an acquired taste, but you’ll learn to love it.  You must drink beer with it, and usually while you are in line to get said fish.  My favorite part, if you go to a church to get it, are the spectacular home-made desserts!  Usually they are only a couple dollars and the variety and tastiness is off the charts.  Last tip, get there early or plan to stand in line – either way, it is worth it.  As if you needed another reason to love Friday’s – go get your fish on!

Anyone have a favorite?  Please share in the comments section…or find a new favorite below!

 

As an aside, one of my favorites is a fish fry in O’Fallon Illinois at the KC Hall.  Check it out if you are in the area!

Brought to you by Mills Properties
Photo courtesy of the RFT
Map courtesy of FOX2
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