Ballpark Village, the mixed-use development adjacent to Busch Stadium, "isn't ready for the restaurant big leagues," according to Ian Froeb of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Froeb, a restaurant critic, reviewed Cardinals Nation, giving the sports bar one and a half stars out of a possible four. The restaurant has "figured out exactly what it should be: a slightly upscale sports bar catering to the exact demographic that gives the restaurant its name." It is "easily the best restaurant at Ballpark Village" when it "hits its aim." Froeb: "If only the restaurant were as consistently successful as the team’s recent vintages have been." The service at Cardinals Nation -- "throughout Ballpark Village, really -- tends to be distracted and, sometimes, brusque." Froeb also reviewed the Budweiser Brew House, giving it only one star out of a possible four. While Cardinals Nation has "sharpened its focus" and continues to work out the kinks in the kitchen, Budweiser Brew House "still needs to undertake that first step." There are "kinks aplenty in the kitchen of this flawed restaurant, but a ruthless paring-down of the menu would go a long way toward smoothing them out" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/25).
