The last afternoon of our visit to St. Louis (Clayton), we opted for a place we’d been before a number of years ago. The kids were at their first travel swim meet then and we needed something within 1) easy walking distance and 2) that would appeal to small appetites. At the time, we were super excited to find they offered a great “kiddos” menu and that decision was made.

This year, as it was just the husband and I foraging for lunch, we remembered 5 Star Burgers fondly and so opted to head there again. Still in the same cute strip of local shops off of Maryland Ave., it was within an easy 5 minute walk from the pool/park and another 10 from our hotel.

You’ll find this info over in Taco Buddha as well but I figured I’d add it in again. In St. Louis, we stayed in the Clayton-Shaw area. I love it there and here’s why:

• So. Many. Restaurants.
• Easy walking distance from hotels to all of those options
• Public art and sculpture everywhere
• A stunning public park right downtown with paved trails, manicured gardens, water features and plenty of shaded areas to cool off in the St. Louis summer heat (yeah, it’s also where the competition pool is so that works well for us)
• Plentiful adventures for my favorite pastime: house gawking at gorgeous million dollar abodes that I will never be able to afford but love to dream of
• If you’re a shopping type, the Galleria Mall is a 5 min drive just down the street
• The [free!] St. Louis Zoo is within a 15 min drive

From our hotel on Meramec Ave., 5 Star Burgers is just about diagonally situated from City Coffeehouse and Creperie. We strolled through a few of the shops, checking out the local wares and just taking time to meander. By the time we reached 5 Star Burgers we were sufficiently less stuffed from our crepe breakfast that morning.

We visited on a Sunday around 3p and were able to be seated immediately. We had a cozy table for two immediately to the back with views of the entire seating area. Though a bay of windows lit the entrance and full side of the building, the atmosphere was dim and a little dark. Cozy maybe? Pub like, we’ll go for that. Fun and bright artwork hung around the rich red walls which helped brighten the area and dark wood tables were settled in snuggly but with ample room to move about. Had it been a full house, it would have felt homey and comfortable but in the late afternoon, it just felt a little dark. Akin to their name, a large wall dedicated to displaying five enormous metal stars banded one side.

The menu was the same as we had remembered from our visit years past and though the online menu shows a gluten-free bun available listed under the “additional toppings” I didn’t see that option on the paper menu. I ordered their Blue Ribbon Burger, a beef patty topped with smokey bacon, creamy tangy Gorgonzola and the most amazing Port-braised onions. I could have just had a bowl of those. Ok, maybe those on a salad or something but whew, a deep rich Burgundy hue, the port brought out all of the sweetness and lended a bit of acidity to the onions which paired with the cheese and salty bacon, keeping everything balanced. Bunless, they served the burger in a deconstructed way, lettuce and traditional toppings set to the side to add as I pleased. The burger itself was tender and flavorful but the toppings really made it was it was.

The husband and I shared a basket of the mixed russet and sweet potato fries. They arrived in a sweet little fryer basket, lined with parchment paper and served with regular ol’ ketchup and molasses-maple cream. Ok, I revise my above statement, just give me the port onions with a side of the molasses-maple cream. I’m not sure how to make those work together but they were the stars of the show that day.

Granted I didn’t inquire – and I should have, it’s a staple of eating out GF but… – the fries seemed to be coated in a layer of something. It could have been cornstarch, it could have been a wheat based something, I wasn’t sure but after inspecting them, I handed them over to the husband and didn’t risk it. Honestly, at the time, I didn’t want to bother our server because as our table was located near the back it was close to the restrooms. Apparently, the men’s restroom door had become locked (or stuck?) and a particular patron was either inside or not, the conversation faded in and out from the hall. Our server was trying to find help on ‘unsticking’ the door. That was ongoing as we left so fingers crossed the guy eventually made it out of the bathroom…

Looking back at the online menu, I feel I couldn’t chosen a few things differently. If there had been a GF bun option, I would have gone with that and maybe picked out the side of olive oil grilled veggies with shaved parm instead of the fries but hindsight is 20/20. Also, if I’m getting a burger, I don’t want grilled veggies as a side, I want fries.

Are you from this area? Do you have a GF fave that I need to check out? Comment below and let me know!