By Alexi Zentner
Photograph by Katherine Bish
Although the name and some of the cool and surprisingly fine art on the walls will make you think of a certain band, the Grateful Inn is actually an "I used to be a hippie but now I'm a lawyer" kind of place, with a clean look, loud music and really good food coming from a limited kitchen. The five-spiced grilled chicken wings tossed in a soy-ginger glaze are addictive and tasty—you'll be fighting your tablemates for the last drummie. There isn't a huge range of food (many dishes echo at least one other item on the menu), but what's there can be described as slightly original takes on American classics, such as the tie-dyed grilled cheese or the tostada alota nachos. In homage to the haze of smoke that tended to surround Grateful Dead concerts (the Grateful Inn is smoke-free, by the way), you can also find hemp oil making a cameo in many of the items on the menu, something charmingly counter to the current St. Louis restaurant culture. It's a fun joint.
7336 Manchester, 314-647-3323, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 a.m. for food, 1:30 a.m. for drinks, Wed–Sat.
