The Silver Ballroom Tweetup

Pinball Tweeps by Tojosan, on Flickr

Hearing the name The Silver Ballroom conjures images of dance floors and cheesy lighting.  Reality found us at a bar in the Bevo Mills area of St. Louis.

The Silver Ballroom is a play on words; hiding silver ball throws people off the pinball connection. Arcade? No. It’s St. Louis’ answer to pinball, punk and PBR.

It’s St. Louis classy.

MilliGFunk organized this tweetup. The ballroom opened recently and Milli wanted to get a first hand look for an article.  Of course she had to invite the local Twitter crowd.  We were not disappointed.

Entering the front door of this neighborhood bar feels much like any other. Locals huddle and chat up at the bar; the bartender looks reminds you of a neighbor; the smell of beer and cigs fills the air. If you stopped and sat down, yep, you’d be in just another street corner pub.

Walk around the end of the bar.

Lining the wall, pinball machines bing, woop, and bam, people holding on, set to a background of classic punk music. Feeling transported back in time describes it well.

This setting made for an excellent tweetup experience.  People couldn’t resist plugging quarters in classic arcade games, including Space Shuttle and Bride of Pin-Bot.

Food was spot on.  The menu had only four entrees, all of them sandwiches.  A special of steak on a stick was an even cheaper alternate but just as tasty.

Beer choices ranged from my favorite, Guinness, to the now hip again beer, Pabst Blue Ribbon. O’Fallon and Shlafly microbrewery selections were available as well. Something for everyone.

Staff makes the place.

Cook, pinball expert, bartender, they all came out and around to say hello. Passion for nostalgia was hard to miss. They talked about the fun of finding and sharing pinball machines, cooking up great bar food, and bringing classic punk rock back in style.

I got to talk resurrecting and playing pinball games. Yes, the Internet makes this much easier.

My wife hit up the cook on the how, why, and what of the menu.  Heads up, Tuesdays are taco night.

Music and beer choices spun off many conversations. Oh yeah, Schlafly in a can is better.

Final thoughts.

Stories, friends, and memories a plenty. Must visit again. Can you beat pinball, punk and PBR?