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.