If we all screamed at once for ice cream, the resulting sonic boom would destroy the sun, turning the entire solar system into a freezer in which we could store more ice cream. Warm up your shoutin’ muscles with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of ice cream, fresh-made diner fare, and cocktails at The Fountain on Locust.
Named purveyor of Best Nostalgic Treats and the most photographed restaurant in St. Louis by Alive magazine in 2010, The Fountain on Locust showcases a menu of from-scratch savory and sweet treats topped with handmade sauces and dressings. Amidst the eatery’s hand-painted art deco interior, patrons enjoy signature ice-cream martinis such as the Strawberry Blonde, which overflows with vanilla vodka, crème de cacao, and strawberry ice cream ($8), or the Standing Banana Split, featuring brûléed bananas, three scoops of handmade ice cream, and hot fudge as sweet as a love letter from a honey pot ($6.99). For a heartier treat, spoons dip into cups ($3.79) of 1 of 47 rotating soups, including Cajun corn chowder and polish dill pickle, made from scratch every morning. Tongues can also feast on the roasted Angus beef, white cheddar, rosemary-grilled onions, and house-made horseradish sauce of the hot roast beef melt ($9.79). Vegetarian, vegan, egg-free, and gluten-free choices are also available on request.
The Fountain On Locust
The Fountain On Locust has earned accolades such as St. Louis Magazine's award for Best Restaurant On a Budget in 2012 and an honorable mention as one of Sauce Magazine's favorite restaurants to impress out-of-towners. Described as "luscious" by Sauce Magazine reviewers, the café's ice-cream creations skew toward adults. They may be topped with hand-crafted sauces or blended into champagne floats and eclectic ice-cream martinis. On the menu, these sweets converge with a panoply of vintage cocktails and playful café dishes that include hot roast-beef melts and a turkey BLT "so good you might cry."
The retro cuisine meshes perfectly with the vintage-inspired decor, highlighted by walls of hand-painted midnight-blue murals. Black and white tile floors spread out from a wooden bar lit with art deco-style hanging lamps, much like the kind F. Scott Fitzgerald described in his unpublished novella about Gatsby's electrician. And yet the restaurant's eclectic design isn't limited to the dining space—The Fountain won Cintas' America's Best Restroom Award in 2010.