i ♥ stl: my favorite places.

I went up to St. Louis last week and finished packing up and cleaning my apartment, essentially severing my last ties with the Lou for the time being. However, that doesn't mean I haven't greatly enjoyed my time in St. Louis; it was the first city I ever called home, and I am hopeful that I will someday again.

In honor of my past four years in St. Louis, here's a quick roundup of a few of my favorite places in the city, broken up by category. (Yelp pages linked because I'm obsessed.) Man, I'm gonna miss this place...

crown candy kitchen.

When I arrived at SLU to begin my freshman year, one of the first pieces of advice that I received was "Don't go north of the Fox." SLU is located in Midtown St. Louis, an area that has been revitalized greatly over the past 20 years or so. However, the same cannot be said of the area to the immediate north of SLU. Just a few blocks north of the Fox Theatre, the neighborhood gets decidedly... sketchy.

However, for those who are willing to venture north (preferably during the day!), there's a lot to see. North city was once a thriving area of St. Louis; it has some some incredible history, and the now deteriorating Victorian architecture attests to it. Most of Old North St. Louis isn't pretty anymore, but there are a few gems.

 

One of those gems is Crown Candy Kitchen, St. Louis's resident soda shop since 1913 and home of the best chocolate malt I've ever tasted. Walking into Crown Candy is almost like stepping back into time--like a little piece of old St. Louis that has been preserved for the modern day. And did I mention that chocolate malt? Because it really is the best.