Setting the Bar

Written By Michael Wense

For its tenth year, Esquire put together a Best Bars in America list, and imagine my surprise when I saw that they awarded the honor to the place where I'm sitting, writing this post right now: St. Louis.

Scanning through the list, I was surprised because a lot of these places I'd never even heard of before. There are a few places that I was happy got the recognition I think they deserve. Sanctuaria, for example, is a great tapas bar and place to hang out. Dressel's is amazing. And Urban Chestnut can be a blast.

It's popular to rag on St. Louis, especially when you live here. It's easy to forget how diverse and interesting this city can be. Like anywhere else, St. Louis has got its charms, a few aces up its sleeve.

And now, when people start to lament this city, I have some new places to point out.

Michael Wense
A St. Louis native, Michael Wense is a writer, editor, technology goon, and kitchen connoisseur. When he’s not hunting down misplaced modifiers or common misspellings, he’s tinkering with a short story or obsessively collecting recipes. Sometimes he’ll just sit and watch cooking shows on Netflix for hours. Like a zombie. When it comes to fiction, he prefers potent pieces with a cutting emotional edge. Novels are good, but the punch of a perfect short story will bring him to his knees.
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