Suite Life in St. Louis — Baseball, Business & The Best Seats in the House
Some trips start with a plan. This one started with a pizza.
We checked into Live! by Loews at Ballpark Village — a hotel so close to Busch Stadium you can practically hear batting practice from the lobby. The design is modern, warm and distinctly St. Louis — a mural of two Cardinals legends greets you at the staircase, and everything about the place says baseball without ever trying too hard. It opened in 2020 as a partnership between Loews, The Cordish Companies and the St. Louis Cardinals, and if you are planning a trip to see a game, there is no better place to stay. You are literally steps from the front gate.
Dizzy Dean & Paul Daffy Dean 1934 World Series St. Louis
Katie's Pizza & The Morel Moment. https://www.stlballparkvillage.com/eat-and-drink/katies-pizza-and-pasta-osteria
Before the game I took a stroll through Ballpark Village and stumbled into Katie's Pizza & Pasta Osteria — owned by chef Katie Lee Collier, who was inspired by the time she spent living in Florence, Italy with her artist mother, Belinda Lee. Katie founded the restaurant in 2008 with her father Tom and her best friend Rolando Colon. The Ballpark Village location is the newest and largest of her award-winning St. Louis restaurants, opened right here in 2023 across from Gate 4. I ordered the Morel Pizza without a second of hesitation.
If you know morels you already understand. If you don't — they are one of nature's most elusive treasures, wildly seasonal and notoriously hard to find. In the Howell family we have our resident mushroom expert, David Howell — the man to know when it comes to all things morel. David is the best source in the business, when he's not "working on the boat" — which in our part of the world means working on a barge on the river. (That’s worth a blog all on it’s own) When morels appear on a menu you order them. No deliberation required. They were amazing.
Not a bad start to St. Louis at all.
The Diamond Suite — Monday Night
The Cardinals did not cooperate on Monday night — falling to the Cleveland Guardians 9-3 in the series opener. But I will be honest, it is hard to be too heartbroken when you are watching from the Diamond Suite with Miss Emma making sure your plates and glasses never run low. Our view was something else entirely — looking straight down over home plate with the Gateway Arch gleaming off to our right against the evening sky. Baseball and the Arch in the same frame. Only in St. Louis.
And about that Arch. I had seen it multiple times, but it's always awe-inspiring when you’re standing beneath it in person. Six hundred and thirty feet of stainless steel rising into the clouds — the tallest arch in the world, designed by Eero Saarinen and completed in 1965 as a monument to westward expansion. It is one of those structures that photographs beautifully but still somehow undersells itself. You have to be there. You have to look up.
Day Two — Salt & Smoke, The Log Cabin Club & A Rib Situation https://www.saltandsmokebbq.com/location/bpv/
Day number two we eased into the morning with some work calls and light prep for Scott's fireside chat later in the day. But first — we needed ribs.
We made our way to Salt & Smoke at Ballpark Village and ordered a slab of St. Louis-style ribs seasoned with their signature Fist Bump rub and smoked with cherry wood, along with the beef fat fries, the burnt end fried rav and the greenbean and tomato salad. Total Flavor Bomb. After a meal like that, I thought I would never eat again.
That afternoon, Scott had his fireside chat at the Log Cabin Club — a longstanding, very exclusive private golf and social club in Ladue at 1140 Log Cabin Lane. It dates back to the early 1900s, originally named for an actual log cabin on the property. It features a 9-hole course often paired with the adjacent Bogey Club for a full 18 holes, and has a reputation as one of the most private and prestigious spots in the area. The walls inside tell a story of their own — framed photos of presidents and dignitaries, including a signed photograph from George H.W. Bush that reads "To my friends at the Log —" The bar area is beautiful, all dark wood and polished glass, and the dining room has that timeless, unhurried elegance that places like this just seem to hold onto effortlessly.
The Redbird Roost — Tuesday Night
Fortunately, by the time we got to the Redbird Roost for Tuesday's game, I had regained my appetite.
The Redbird Roost at Busch Stadium is a premium luxury suite — often called the Owners' Suite — that offers one of the most exclusive and sought-after experiences for St. Louis Cardinals games. It sits directly behind home plate on the suite level, just beneath the broadcast booth. Our host Todd Baur was beyond gracious — the kind of host who makes everyone feel like they have been coming here for years. The suite itself is warm and inviting, with leather couches, a built-in bar, flat screens and a spread that never stopped. But the real showstopper is the view. You are centered perfectly for the action, with a panoramic sightline of the entire field — the pitcher's mound, the batter's box, and the downtown St. Louis skyline beyond the outfield with the Arch peeking over the scoreboard. Scott was in baseball heaven.
The best view in St. Louis
And so was the rest of our group. The Redbird Roost was full of wonderful people comprised of folks from the Marlin Spike event, and the experience was made even more memorable by our bartender Lewis. Lewis got his start as a beer caller down in the stands and worked his way up to the owner's suite. He's pictured below holding an autographed photo of hockey legend Gary Unger!
Then the Cards made our night! After dropping Monday's game and sitting on a three-game losing streak, St. Louis came back to beat the Guardians 6-5 in the bottom of the tenth inning. Nick Church drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly and the place absolutely erupted. Scott's fist pump from the balcony says it all!! GO CARDS!
Scott in all his glory. I’ve never seen him so happy. Well almost never.
AMAZING.
Such a great evening. We had to celebrate. What better way than with a double pour of Weller Full? Cheers!
Doesn’t that look delicious? Note the tinfoil. It’s a smashburger Scott took from the Redbird Roost as we were leaving. Waste not want not. For those that know him well….well you know…
St. Louis — you were a surprise in the best possible way. A morel pizza that stopped me in my tracks. Ribs that made me question every rib I have ever eaten. A private club with presidents on the walls. A stadium suite that felt like a living room with the best view in baseball. And a walk-off win to tie it all together.
Some trips are about the destination. This one was about the details. And every single one of them was worth remembering. Now back to Nashville.
