OMG STL

I headed to my hometown of St. Louis last week to speak at the Society of News Designers conference and got to breeze through the city for a few days.

I saw a bit of the old St. Louis.

And a bit of the new. (Dude, see that tube? That’s St. Louis Centre!)

Speaking of breezing through, the airport’s windows were still covered with plywood from the Easter weekend tornado.

Of course, the best thing do to in St. Louis is eat, which I did, at Steak ‘n’ Shake. Steakburger, fries with cheese sauce on the side, Orange Freeze.

And then I had the ultra-thin, plastic-cheese masterpiece that is Imo’s pizza, which is almost certainly the best pizza on the planet.

And for something lighter, wild persimmons I used to pick in my backyard. I foraged these from Kirkwood Park.

I was excited to see my city in a state of autumnal bliss. But it wasn’t really fall in St. Louis as much as it was playoff season.

It’s true what you’ve heard. During playoff season in St. Louis, everyone dresses in red. From my 90-year-old grandmother…

…to the very young and impressionable. And hey, the Cards are still in it, so be sure to cheer them on tonight as they knock out Philly (funnily enough, another city I was in last week). GO STL!

More photos of the Lou.