People & Places

St. Louis can sometimes feel like one big tug of war. Filled with huge personalities, opposing ideas and neighborhoods with identities so distinct that they can seem more like a collection of countries than simple municipal divisions, this town rattles and rumbles, constantly straining against itself. But that friction is energy, and it produces some of the most interesting characters, banging around and through some of the most compelling contexts, that you will find in the entire nation. Here’s to them, and this city.

— Doyle Murphy

Best Politician Cori Bush

Is there anything that Cori Bush can’t do? Here in Missouri, we’re not used to having politicians that actually represent us and our desires, so we’re still adjusting to having our very own Cori Bush to speak for us on the national stage. It seems like each day there’s some news about how the congresswoman is getting things done and shaking things up in Washington. In recent months, this hero to many has brought the eviction moratorium to the forefront, given testimony about her own abortion story and partnered with St. Louis libraries to provide Neighborhood Service Centers at which St. Louisans can get help with immigration casework or receive guidance on how to navigate federal agencies. In a state that’s also represented by Mike Parson, Roy Blunt, Josh Hawley, Ann Wagner, Eric Schmitt, Jay Ashcroft and others, Cori Bush is a constant breath of fresh air.

—Jaime Lees

Best Villain Mark McCloskey/ Eric Greitens/Eric Schmitt (tie)

A principled representative of the policies and politics with which we disagree would be one thing. It’s, of course, fine for well-intentioned people to disagree on how best to run a society. But when it comes to the race to replace Senator Roy Blunt, who will not seek reelection next year, this is absolutely not the situation we’re dealing with. The worst offenders, predictably, have been Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, disgraced former Governor Eric Greitens and unstable blowhard with a gun Mark McCloskey. All three, rather than concerning themselves with policy or what they might do to improve the lives of ordinary Missourians, have thrust themselves fully into the most fever-riddled aspects of the culture war in the hopes of finding themselves in the good graces of the former president and his legions of frothing fans. Schmitt has taken to suing everyone from the state’s school system to its largest cities to the People’s Republic of China for some fucking reason; Greitens has branded himself a “political outsider” in the hopes of sufficiently emulating Daddy Trump despite the fact that he was literally the governor of the goddamn state; and McCloskey has mostly been posing with firearms whenever possible so that voters know he’ll be glad to shoot some libs if that’s what the job calls for. The fact that all three of them have a reasonable shot of winning is not just depressing, it’s an outright tragedy. But, to be fair, we already got Josh Hawley holding the other Senate seat, so it’s not like tragedy isn’t something we’re used to by now.

—Daniel Hill Best Place (Not Your House) to Avoid People

Saint Louis Art Museum

The problem with people is that they’re always moving. One minute you’re walking down the sidewalk or occupying an elevator, and then, bam, there they are, breathing and sweating and all that jazz. But in the Saint Louis Art Museum (1 Fine Arts Drive; 314-721-0072), your introversion is the perfect engine for exploration: Imagine you’re perusing some Greek antiquities on the museum’s main level when some boomers in khaki shorts arrive while having FaceTime conversations on speakerphone, like monsters. Instead of freezing up, beat a tactical retreat — since that just means you’re going to run into more incredible art, history and culture. Let the crush of other people move you toward underappreciated galleries: Leave the European art in the main halls and descend to the lower level, where you encounter the stunning storytelling in the ritual garb of the indigenous cultures of Africa. Marvel at the intricate and practical craftsmanship of Native American and Oceanic cultures, their vast economies operating completely outside colonialist civilizations. In the museum, let the crowds be your signposts – and let your misanthropy be your tour guide. —Danny Wicentowski

Forest Park | ERIN MCAFEE

Best Place for a First Date Upper Limits Indoor Rock Climbing Gym

It can sure feel like the end of the world lately, so we all need to be wise about whom we take on as a partner. Your new boo might be someone you’ll need to lock down with for months or expect to guard the children while you go out to Costco and hunt for toilet paper. In situations like these, the best match for you is generally someone completely unlike you. So if you’re dumb, find someone smart. If you panic under pressure, find someone who can keep a cool head. And if you’re physically weak, find someone who can open your jar of pandemic pickles. When you find someone smart, you’ll usually know right away. But if you’re not sure if your new potential partner is strong, take them to Upper Lim-

its Indoor Rock Climbing Gym

(multiple locations, including 326 South 21st Street; 314-241-7625), strap them in and see what they can do. If they can’t support their body weight with their fingertips, cut them loose from your life. This is the Thunderdome. You’re looking for an asset to your team, not a liability. Boy, bye.

—Jaime Lees Best Place for a Last Date

Busch Stadium

Taking a date to Busch Stadium (700 Clark Avenue; 314-345-9600) is always a good move. You just really can’t go wrong with the Cardinals. If the date is great, you have a fun event that you’ve shared together. But if the date sucks, Busch Stadium is the by-far best place in St. Louis to disappear. You could just slip right into the crowd and ghost them. That’s kind of rude, but sometimes it has to be done. But if you just want to avoid them for the night without having to confront them about it or spend any actual time with them, you can do that while on your date at Busch. Tell them to stay seated and that you’ll go get the pretzels and beers. Then wander around for an inning or two, meet up with some friends and eventually return and say, “Man, that line was crazy! And then by the time I got up to the counter they were sold out. Sorry.” You know what else might take a while? A bathroom line. Before you know it, you’ve successfully avoided your date for at least half the evening. They’ll be annoyed and you’ll be thrilled, and you’ll get to go home and watch the highlights on the couch alone, just like you wanted all along.

—Jaime Lees

Best Activist Janna Añonuevo Langholz

Activism in St. Louis often takes the form of groups marching through the streets, their collective presence shaking the halls of power. But other times, there’s only a still, small voice, keeping the flame of truth alive. Such is the case of Janna Añonuevo Langholz, a Filipino American artist in St. Louis who has single-handedly created a memorial to the lost residents of the 1904 “Philippine Village,” which housed some 1,200 people imported from the Philippine Islands to populate an unapologetically racist exhibit for that year’s World’s Fair in St. Louis. Segregated in 47 acres and put on display for the cost of 25 cents, the exhibit was a testament to the white supremacy and “race science” flourishing across the imperialist world. More than a century later, Langholz has become a one-person memorial as she leads tours of the former site of the human zoo. Her work and research are just the start of a larger reckoning. After all, before there can be a protest march, there must be at least one person willing to speak out. —Danny Wicentowski

Best Journalist Marissanne Lewis-Thompson

We typically judge journalists on their impact and courage standing up to outside forces, and St. Louis Public Radio afternoon newscaster and reporter Marissane Lewis-Thompson is certainly a pro by that measure. But she also proved fearless in standing up to her own bosses, potentially putting her own job on the line, to call out racism and unfair treatment at the station. Multiple journalists at the station pushed back against management in the summer of 2020 after growing tired of years of unanswered complaints and watching their colleagues leave. Lewis-Thompson laid out a troubled history, naming names in a blistering Medium post under her own byline. In doing so, she put herself on the line to improve conditions not only for herself but colleagues. “We deserve better than what you have given us,” she wrote. Ultimately, fair and supportive working conditions for journalists will help the station and improve the work it produces. It is hard to imagine a bigger impact on journalism in St. Louis than that.

—Doyle Murphy

Best Cheap Thrill Defiance Roadhouse

Rural Missouri offers quite a few pleasures alongside its many terrors. There are rolling hills, lush green grasses, the beautiful colors of changing leaves and biker bars. Yep. The wineries aren’t the only way to get a buzz on while out in the country. Save an otherwise dull trip to the vineyards with a stop into the Defiance Roadhouse (2999 South Missouri 94, Defiance; 636-987-2075). With the bar and grill set along a severe curve in Route 94 right next to an otherwise supremely peaceful stretch of the Katy Trail, you’ll often hear it before you see it because of the frequently large amount of big, loud bikes revving up in the parking lot. But don’t be scared off by the big men in leather. The folks there will know you’re not a regular, but that isn’t an issue if you’re not a dumbass. Order a whiskey and order some food (it’s pretty good), and then, if the spirit moves you, head out to the open barn alongside the bar and get to dancin’.

—Jaime Lees

Best Attorney

Javad Khazaeli

For Dow Boyer and her family in rural St. Francois County, St. Louis attorney Javad Khazaeli was the difference between devastation and reunion. Born in Thailand and brought to the United States as a child, Boyer was never told that she wasn’t a naturalized citizen, only learning the truth through an arrest in 2013: She had been skimming cash from her employer to support her family after her husband’s legs had been crushed in a work accident. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement moved to deport her, ripping her away from her husband and young daughter, but Boyer’s rural community, including the employers she had stolen from, rallied around her to oppose the cruel separation. Yet it was Khazaeli, a former prosecutor with ICE and Homeland Security, whose calls to federal officials halted Boyer’s exile just hours before her plane was scheduled to take off. Instead of being abandoned to a country she could barely remember, she was returned to her family. Six years later, with her husband recovered and the arrest behind her, Boyer became a full citizen — a happy ending that couldn’t have happened without an attorney who cared enough to fight.

—Danny Wicentowski

Best Neighborhood to Live In The Hill

It’s quiet at night, the restaurants are amazing, the neighbors are nice, and the streets smell of freshly baked bread each morning. That’s right, there’s nothing quite like living on the Hill. The home of Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola Sr. is well known as the top place in St. Louis to stop in for a hearty Italian dinner, but living there brings a whole other world of pleasures. In addition to fabulous meals, the Hill offers gorgeous little family houses, tiny (yet packed) neighborhood grocery stores, small shops, walkable sidewalks, huge church culture, a tight sense of community and countless nonnas outside sweeping their front porches. Living on the Hill is like traveling back in time, but with the ability to bring home highquality olive oil as a souvenir. —Jaime Lees

Best Dog Snowball

The St. Louis area, and indeed the world at large, lost a giant in the canine community this past January. Snowball, truly one of the finest dogs to ever play the game, warmed the hearts of all she met, frequently staring deep into the souls of those she loved and hypnotizing them into giving her treats. A well-traveled pooch, she was most at home in the mountains, though she found the ocean

Snowball | DANIEL HILL

to be quite peaceful as well, enjoying the occasional island getaway. Whether she was nestled in her favorite spot behind the chair, slumbering belly-up on the couch, or snuggled peacefully at the foot of the bed that she allowed her people to share, she was always a calming presence and a source of deep wisdom, forever willing to lend an ear or to offer a helpful “ra-ra-roooo!” Today, Snowball is a being of infinite light, traveling throughout untold dimensions to planes of existence of which we mere mortals could never conceive, and trying as ever to persuade the creatures therein to scratch behind her ears and perhaps give her the last bite of their food. She is survived by her young friend and roommate Waffles, who tries her best, God love her. —Daniel Hill Best Place to Hide Behind Your Mask

Planned Parenthood

While some think of masks as torture devices, others think of masks as invisibility cloaks. And there’s no other spot that many people would rather be invisible than when they’re entering the Central West End location of Planned Parenthood (4251 Forest Park Avenue; 314-531-7526). As the last abortion clinic in Missouri, this Planned Parenthood location catches a lot of action from protesters who often get up in the faces of patients just trying to access exams and annual pap smears. If you want your face covered anywhere, it’s around them. In addition to keeping you safe from the cooties outside, the mask will keep you safe from COVID-19 inside as you navigate your way through whatever issue you’re facing or preventative measures you’re taking to keep yourself healthy.

—Jaime Lees

Best Place to Wash Your Hands Plaza Frontenac

As anyone who has experienced a filthy public bathroom knows, some restrooms are better than others. And in St. Louis, one of the finest public bathrooms is at Plaza Frontenac (1701 South Lindbergh Boulevard; 314-432-6760). The restrooms there are not even that fancy; they’re just perfect. It’s like they’ve never been used. Always. Each time you walk in it’s like you’re the first person who has ever been in there. Nothing is dirty, supplies are full and the experience is always chill. Unlike other public rest areas, this one always seems to be low-key and cool. It’s a place that you wouldn’t mind lingering in, really, which is the highest compliment anyone can give to a room with multiple toilets.

—Jaime Lees Best Place for Day Drinking

Illinois

St. Louis is known as a drinking town. We’re beer lovers who are also known to enjoy a cocktail from time to time, too. And though we have multiple entertainment districts that provide ample alcohol experiences in the evening, during the day the best place to go to get tipsy is just across the river in Illinois. It’s the variety of different drinking destinations offered here that impresses — from drinking along the Mississippi River at the Loading Dock, to hiding from the sunshine in Pop’s NightClub & Concert Venue, to sipping suds at Fast Eddie’s Bon Air, to slamming brews between betting on horses in Collinsville. Best of all, these locations are just a quick Uber away, so you can easily hire a car and still get home without issue if your designated driver slips up and gets you into a pickle. —Jaime Lees

Pop’s Nightclub & Concert Venue | CHRIS ANDOE

CLOVR CANNABIS