D.E.A.L.: Dining, Entertainment, Attractions & Lodging St. Louis
by Jeanne Brei, Chiara Peretti & Explore St. Louis
Music lovers who visit St. Louis should head to the Delmar Loop, a buzzing entertainment and dining hub with an eclectic mix of noodle bars, BBQ restaurants, Korean and Mexican eateries, cocktail lounges, pubs and music venues lining Delmar Boulevard. Patrons can have a drink at the famous Blueberry Hill Restaurant & Music Club, the diner where the “Father of Rock & Roll,” Chuck Berry, performed 209 consecutive monthly concerts in the 340-capacity Duck Room (pictured right). It still includes a great deal of his memorabilia, as well as that of other blues legends. Blueberry Hill, a St. Louis landmark filled with pop culture memorabilia, is famous for burgers, trout almondine, vegetarian specials, house-made soups and salads. Its jukebox of 30,000 songs has been spinning since 1972 and was named the #1 Jukebox in the U.S. by Billboard and Esquire and the #1 in the World by the BBC. Owners Joe and Linda Edwards opened the Elvis Room in 1985, the intimate Duck Room in 1997, the world-renowned Pageant concert venue in 2000 and the Delmar Hall concert club, an 800-capacity music hall, in 2016. The Loop’s reputation as the live music center of St. Louis was solidified.
The Edwards made it their personal mission to revitalize the Delmar Loop area and over the course of nearly 50 years, they have renovated numerous historic buildings in The Loop, including the beautiful 1920s-era Tivoli Movie Theatre and started the non-profit St. Louis Walk of Fame in 1988 which now has 
more than 150 brass stars and biographical plaques of famous St. Louisans lining the sidewalks. They opened the Pin-Up Bowl bowling alley/martini lounge with pin-up memorabilia and house-made pizzas and the Peacock 
Diner—whose 11-ft animated neon sign won Best New Sign in the World. They built the four-diamond Moonrise Hotel (pictured right) filled with whimsical and rare space-related items in its display cases and with the world’s largest man-made rotating moon on its rooftop bar.
The interactive and immersive National Blues Museum celebrates the genre as the foundation of all modern American music, and guests can even create their own blues riff. In 2015, Grammy Award-winning musician Jack White donated a six-figure contribution to the museum, to fund the “MIX IT UP” creative blues experience within the state-of-the-art museum. Check out Vintage Vinyl, considered one of the 10 best records store in the U.S. and make a visit to the Blues Triangle—BB’s Jazz Blues & Soups, Beale On Broadway and Broadway Oyster Bar form a melodious triangular area of blues music and Cajun/Creole dining spots that have become known in St. Louis as the Blues Triangle —fortunately, unlike the Bermuda Triangle, no one has gone missing!
Well-known locals with stars on the St. Louis Walk of Fame include Maya Angelou and Betty Grable, as well as Chuck Berry, whose statue is nearby. Broadway Oyster Bar is a down-home hangout featuring Cajun classics plus nightly live music & a hopping outdoor patio. “There is, quite simply, nothing in St. Louis quite like the Oyster Bar,” says St. Louis denizens with its New Orleans-style atmosphere, award-winning restaurant for best 
Cajun-Creole and fresh seafood and best restaurant with live music seven nights a week. Broadway Oyster Bar has a delicious menu that features a large selection of sandwiches, oysters, pasta dishes, soups, and salads and they will even cater to the convention center. Live music at BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups includes jazz, blues, big band and swing shows with cabaret-style seating and a Southern menu.
