CHIReview
photo credit: Christina Slaton
Saint Lou's Backyard
Included In
The 1950′s were a golden age. We walked fifteen miles uphill both ways to school. Bozo the Clown haunted children’s dreams. And the Sears Christmas catalog was basically the original Snapchat. Saint Lou’s Assembly wants to bring you back to the nostalgia of those days, specifically with a meat and three cafeteria.
Here’s the thing about the good ol’ days - they’re impossible to perfectly recreate. A cafeteria format was tested out in the beginning, but it was quickly scraped for regular table service with a more concentrated menu. And ultimately, it was the small move that Saint Lou’s needed to let the food and space shine.
Even though the cafeteria format is gone, the style is still there - brick walls, red tile floors, and old pictures of people and classic cars that today are only seen in movies or present day Cuba. The concept of a meat and three means you pair a meat like chicken or meatloaf with a couple of sides, maybe mac and cheese, mased potatoes, or baked beans. It’s old school, but there are enough interesting fillers like elote, watermelon salad, and buffalo fried okra to keep it interesting. And while it’s not cheap eats, you can’t get a more complete meal for $20.
And then there’s the backyard.
This backyard is as hot as an original Elizabeth Taylor pinup. There’s a covered area with picnic benches, round tables on mulch, some stadium seating benches, bocce ball, and a bar back there so you never have to go inside. All of this combined makes Saint Lou’s ideal for any casual lunch, dinner, weekend brunch, or drinking situation with friends.
There’s no need to go back to the good old days when you can have yourself a great day at Saint Lou’s.