Went to a Ram’s Game

Went to a St. Louis Ram’s Game Saturday to help James celebrate his 9th birthday.  Other than the Colts losing (and James switching to a Rams fan) a great time was had by all.

Of course, since the blog is about Smokes and Booze…..here is the other half of the story.

Staying at the Hyatt in downtown St. Louis is the only way to go.  An excellent hotel, that realizes friendliness and customer service are job one.  Immediately next to the Arch and a convenient location to either Busch Stadium or Edward Jones Stadium, the Hyatt proved almost a “One Stop Shop” for all St. Louis needs, especially when you consider they have a Ruth’s Chris Restaurant (sadly we didn’t have time) and the Brewhouse Historical Sports Bar (more on that in a minute). Clean, quiet and plush…what more could you ask for.  Great job to the Hyatt Staff.

The walk from the hotel to the Edward Jones Dome was fun and interesting at the same time.    

It seemed everywhere we went, people were either going to the Cardinals or the Rams games…..and they were walking down the street with open containers and (in many cases) full cases of beer.

This has prompted me to look up the law-

No person shall drink any nonintoxicating beer or intoxicating liquor in any park, public building, street, sidewalk, alley, highway, parking lot, thoroughfare, or other public place unless consumption of intoxicating liquor or nonintoxicating beer in such place has been expressly authorized in writing by the Excise Commissioner.

Apparently the Excise Commissioner either “expressly authorized” Game Days….or he was out of town.  This being said, everyone on the streets before (and most after) were very friendly and jovial.  Coming back from the Rams game, there were a few that wanted to jeer a 9 year old for his Colts shirt….but nothing major.

In the Stadium itself, selections were mostly limited to InBev products (what can you expect in StL), and prices were pretty steep.  A Bud Light is $8 Beer from the Beerman, if you are lucky enough to get him in your section (especially if you in the Nose Bleeds).  I’m not complaining….this is the norm for stadiums, but at some point, someone has to look at the insane markup.

 

 

          What I did enjoy however was the “Make Your Own” Bloody Mary Stands.  Here you had three different levels of spicy mix, and  all the trimmings to make a really decent Bloody Mary, including Horseradish.  I will warn you however- even though it says Absolute, the default pour is Smirnoff.  I have no idea how much these drinks cost as Debi paid and she also upgraded to Grey Goose.  Very Good Service and an excellent change of pace.

After the game, we went back to the hotel, and decided to take a carriage ride around downtown.  There are two carriage companies (Brookdale Farms and St. Louis Carriage Company) that operate downtown.  I will amend this later to give proper credit, because our driver was excellent.  She was engaging and fun and made the ride an enjoyable event for everyone….including James.  What makes her even more mentionable here, she let us bring beer on the ride. 

The beer was from the Brewhouse, and of course we went with Guinness.  Pricing was good and I wish we had more time downtown as I would have liked to have tried their Pick 6 for $25 Plan, especially as they are the first I have seen to have He’Brew Messiah Bold on tap.

Overall, the weekend was awesome.  Special thanks to Debi for Coordinating everything and again….a big shout out to the Hyatt for the excellent facilities.  Considering the aftermath of my recent stay at the DoubleTree/Hilton in CT (even though I reviewed the bar well), I think the Hyatt Regency chain has really stepped in my book….and I would highly recommend staying HERE to anyone.

Cheers -

Additional Pictures are on the Smokes and Booze FB page