Accolades you can believe in.

It's that time of year again--Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis.

Dogtown wins Best Place to Live.

Our under-appreciated City Hall, a.k.a. Sooty Hall, wins Best Old Building.

It's a no-brainer, but I nearly wept to see it actually recognized. Without a doubt, Cherokee Street is the Best Mile of St. Louis.

The whole "Best Of" is one big civic hug, especially to the battered central city, inured to a lack of authentic affection.

Take this feel-good comment for example, regarding the best neighborhood bar in the City:

Choosing the best neighborhood bar in the city is sort of like picking the cutest puppy in a basketful of golden retrievers. Not. Easy. That's because, to the delight of city dwellers and the despair of their livers, there are so many great bars in so many great neighborhoods. Cozy taverns tucked into brick buildings, elegant wine bars anchoring nightlife districts, beer-and-whiskey dives popping up in between fancy restaurants — which to choose? This year we've spun the wheel and landed on Riley's, in Tower Grove East.

Thank you, RFT. Somewhere, 675 miles away, you've reminded a man to turn a temporary blind eye to Blairmont, to the Century Building's demise, the McPheeters Warehouse demolition, the loss of the Switzer, the endless corporate flight, the big boxes anchoring prominent onetime urban intersections, et cetera.


They can take our urbanism, but there will always be several dozen different watering holes to drown the sorrows in.


I love you, St. Louis.

Good night.

P.S. Oh...and a begrudging congratulations to Angry Black Bitch and Urban Review for their Best Blog titles, Editor's Choice and Readers' Choice, respectively.