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Decoding The Gurus
Decoding The Gurus

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Matt is visiting St. Louis

Matt will be in St. Louis (Missouri) for a couple of days (roughly Nov 14-18th).

If you want to give him suggestions, try to tempt him into meetups, or plot where to ambush him, please do so in the comment thread below.

Matt will take a look at the comments when he gets some time and working WiFi.

Matt is visiting St. Louis

Comments

Let us know if you're still swinging through Pittsburgh!

Kerena

Please post when you hit Chicago! (I’m assuming that’s coming up soon)

chuckboy

Thanks for a great night everyone! What a cool live performance and an awesome venue. Hope everyone pulled up OK!

Guruspod 2

Hey Mike! It was so nice chatting with you tonight! Do you or anyone have the group pic by chance? I would love to see 💚 (this be Sarah lol)

ketracel-white

Am running on Chris time…

Guruspod 2

I’ll be there soon!

Guruspod 2

Right on man well we are going to be here at the hawthorn if ya have a change of plans. Opener is Australian actually I forgot oops. Name is still on the guest list just in case, no worries if you're doing something else. Have fun!

Billy Brouse

There will always be more essays!

Guruspod 2

So just seeing that Jazz St Louis *opens* at 6pm. So perhaps 6pm is an un-cool-y early time to go? In any case I won’t change the time because it might cause confusion

Guruspod 2

Cheers!

Guruspod 2

That’s also playing in my head

Guruspod 2

Sorry Billy I already confirmed Jazz St Louis for Fri! No idea about the music there but I hope you have a good set!

Guruspod 2

Yep that’s it - Jazz St Louis 6pm!

Guruspod 2

Confirmed for JSL 6pm

Guruspod 2

Confirmed for 6pm at JSL

Guruspod 2

My brothers friend works there so we had a private showing of some art and then looked at the rest! And I tramped all over the botanical gardens and saw the bears and penguins at the zoo. A great day!

Guruspod 2

Man, that sounds like a lot more fun than grading student essays.

Linda Sears

Sweet! Friend of my brothers is a curator at the art gallery / museum so we got a private viewing there, and I saw the bears and penguins at the zoo and I walked all around the botanic gardens. Great day today and looking forward to tomorrow night!

Guruspod 2

It’s confirmed!

Guruspod 2

Jazz St Louis 6pm Friday!

Guruspod 2

OK so I’m confirming Jazz St Louis 6pm Friday night! Just look for the guy with the frizzy Gandalf hair

Guruspod 2

We’ll definitely go to that museum

Guruspod 2

Pappy’s smokehouse — very nice

Guruspod 2

6pm

Guruspod 2

ugh, i can't read. so jazz stl on wash ave? at 6pm? WOOO

ketracel-white

that sounds awesome! love jazz.. where tho? or is that still TBD? I CAN'T WAITTTTT

ketracel-white

i live in st louis!! where are we meeting?!

ketracel-white

Good call! I spoke to a work colleague who played in the high school band with Anthony Wiggins and she said he is amazing. He's had a good career and played with a lot of the greats. I'm very excited to see him.

Mike

Shall we say 6pm?

Guruspod 2

Looking like we’re confirmed for Jazz St Louis for Friday night!

Guruspod 2

Sounds great. What time?

Pavlo Kostetskyy

Thank you Nicolle!

Guruspod 2

Aiming for Jazz St Louis for Friday night!

Guruspod 2

OK with Jazz St Louis for Friday night?

Guruspod 2

I’m down with Jazz St Louis if no one has strong objections. Looks like I’m tied up with something tonight so confirming for Friday night.

Guruspod 2

Absolutely recommend the City Museum!! Aussie here with StL husband. We have taken the kids here for many years and it's a must every time we visit. Just a few weeks ago I was with a group of teens who promptly disappeared into the crazy tunnels not to be seen till hours later. I wondered and explored with news eyes. “In 1993, artist Bob Cassilly purchased what would become City Museum, an eccentric, and inimitable, St. Louis gem. Originally, the Washington Avenue warehouse was home to the International Shoe Co. Later, Washington University used it. Cassilly saw potential in the 600,000-square-foot building and embarked on an ambitious plan: to build a museum that never stopped construction. He first opened its doors 25 years ago but continued to work with a team of 15 people known as the “Cassilly Crew” to bring his dream to life even as the museum’s reputation grew. Cassilly and his crew masterfully turned salvaged materials, like a vault from the former First National Bank and abandoned airplanes, into attractions for kids and adults alike to climb in, on and over. Over the years, Cassilly collected nearly 30,000 pieces of old machinery and other bits to include in the museum. The word “museum” sometimes throws people off, because City Museum more closely resembles a giant jungle gym. But, for former Cassilly crew member Dave Blum, it makes perfect sense. City Museum is like a house of inspiration made out of parts of a city — and that's the reason he called it a museum.” The place is crazy unsafe and that’s part of the appeal. Injuries and panic are part of the experience. The endless tunnels, crawling spaces and suspended metal tubes appear everywhere and disappear to levels and places unknown. They weave inside and out, go deep into dark places and soar stories above the ground. There are no safety nets. Children get lost. Adults get stuck. There are tears. There is pure joy and happiness. There is relief when you make it out of a tunnel. There’s a school bus suspended off the roof. It’s total chaos. Yet in the quiet corners there is still so much to discover. The seasoned visitors wear knee pads and headlight torches. There's erotic art hidden in dark spaces. I have no idea how this place is allowed to operate but I’m glad it does. We need more City Museums. And because we were lucky enough to visit close to Halloween, the City Museum totally took its macabre to even greater heights. Its open till 9pm Friday and Saturday (closed Monday and Tuesday) has a bar and is truly a one off experience. As for the rest of StL, It's sadly a city without a city. Most other worthwhile places have already been mentioned. CWE has awesome architecture, recommend just wandering. If you do find yourself in the CWE stop by the Cathedral Basilica. The mosaics are insane and rival any church in the world. I'm not religious but the art is testimony to man's creativity https://cathedralstl.org/about-basilica/museum-and-tours. Finally for a good pic of the Arch, I recommend crossing the river to East StL... Mississippi River Overlook in Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park. Finally head to Cherokee St for good mexican. Seek out Birria taco's on the menu. Good luck

Nicolle Germano

Friday is OK too.

Mike

Count me in. I explained to my wife what I was doing tomorrow and surprisingly she didn’t laugh in my face. She’s a keeper! 😀

Mike

Good stuff! This Patreon thing is confusing but I’ll figure out a place and a time and let everyone know

Guruspod 2

count me in!

Johnny Marengo

And now I’m thinking Friday night might be better? Give us a little time to organise. Also little brother has some bohemian art friends who have invited us to a thing tomorrow night (Thursday). So, Friday?

Guruspod 2

Oh, and my mobile # isn’t a state secret or anything. If you try +61 412 561 993 it should work. Don’t hesitate to message for ze rendezvous

Guruspod 2

If you reply to my note here, I ought to get a notification. Important: YOU MUST MEET THESE CRITERIA TO ATTEND: (1) Not be my brother or father (2) That’s it Location to be confirmed tomorrow morning-ish. Is 6pm a reasonable time to meet up?

Guruspod 2

I’ll check around to see who’s playing where and let you know if anything looks good. There is a relatively new Blues Museum downtown that also has live performances sometimes. The Scott Joplin House occasionally hosts concerts.

Mike

Yeah, I noticed that too when I checked the calendar. Jazz St. Louis is a very nice room - highly recommend. The next few nights is a local act rather than touring, so ticket price is less but quality is still usually quite good.

Mike

For everyone else — no need to supply academic credentials ;P I’ll just be glad to get some human contact that isn’t my brother or father! Take some of the load off Chris lol

Guruspod 2

Hi all! Great to see we have some St Louis people in DTG-world! The place we’d booked and paid for turned out to have vanished in a puff of smoke! So booking.com gave us 50% off our emergency booking so we thought “screw it, let’s get the Hilton”. So I’m here decompressing after the long drive. Tomorrow night seems very promising for catching up for anyone who’s interested. I think we already have two takers — Mike and Pavlo. Christy also perhaps? Should I look at those suggestions and just make a captain’s call on the place and time? Just reply here to confirm if you’re in!

Guruspod 2

Ah I see BB’s is closed for renovations…

Guruspod 2

After!

Guruspod 2

Haha no I don’t think I’ll get any “Australian” cuisine here (kind of an oxymoron anyway!)

Guruspod 2

Sounds good Pavlo! So, I’ll just collate who’s interested and maybe nominate a place for tomorrow night

Guruspod 2

Sounds good Mike! I’m keen to hit the jazz/blues bars in any case

Guruspod 2

Jazz St. Louis is a good spot for music. Also BB's or Broadway Oyster Bar depending on who's playing. Missouri Botanical Garden is enjoyable. Forest Park has a lot to do. Soulard/Benton Park, Central West End, the Loop and the Hill are all good neighborhoods to visit. One of the breweries like Urban Chestnut, Rockwell, or 4 Hands might be a good spot for a meetup since they have lots of tables and you just order from the bar so no figuring out tabs.

Mike

Pappys smokehouse is always good. I will be in town for the weekend, if you want to get drinks with a fellow (failed) academic. Proof: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eoaIbBoAAAAJ&hl=en

Pavlo Kostetskyy

El Burro Loco for Mexican, Pappy's for BBQ, Small Batch for whiskey. And everyone needs to quit recommending STL-style pizza! The boys think little enough of the US already!

Christy Kilgore

We have an excellent city park called Forest Park that he should at least drive through. It has free Zoo and free art museum. He should check out one of the breweries, I second Schlafly Tap Room, or maybe the Anheiser Bucsh tour. He should try IMOs pizza. We are one of the only cities with our own pizza style. Salt + Smoke and Sugarfire are our main BBQ chains. Going up the arch would also be cool. Finally, he basically wants to avoid the entire northern half of the city. It's more complicated than that, but as a tourist, that's roughly the case.

N0WHER3 MAN

Skip it?

KBDaxio

My band Papadosio is playing at a venue called the Hawthorn on Friday the 15th. I'll put your name on the guest list +1 right now and if you feel like showing up go for it! If not all good no worries man. We're pretty psychedelic and have a wild light and video show, it's usually a good time. I get in on Thursday, hope you have a great time in STL

Billy Brouse

I can’t add anything helpful but can I just mention “Meet me in St Louis” just to get it out of my head? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meet_Me_in_St._Louis)

Justine Powell

I’d say definitely try some STL style pizza, if for nothing else because it is so controversial. Also a great spot for food and drinks is Polite Society Restaurant and Bar. I’ve seen it recommended already so I would second checking out the Delmar loop, among many other things suggested here!

Nathan Smith

If you're in the CBD, Three Sixty for a fancy drink and nice view of the city, Small Batch Whiskey and Fare nice place to visit, Schlafly Tap Room for a great beer. Salt n Smoke for a BBQ fix. Tick Busch Stadium and the Gateway Arch if you must. Lafayette Square is nice to visit. Yes the Italian restaurants on "The Hill" are a thing - perhaps a little overrated. Great craft beer culture everywhere though...

Matt Klaebe

The City Museum of St. Louis is great if you’re looking for some offbeat fun and unusual artistic expression. Edit: just don’t get St. Louis pizza, lol.

Daniel Reed Miller

The City Museum of St. Louis is great if you’re looking for some offbeat fun and unusual artistic expression. Edit: just don’t get St. Louis pizza, lol.

Daniel Reed Miller

Side Project Brewing Cellar for fancy beer / whiskey

Mike Hodgson

There's also several Outback Steakhouses in St. Louis county if you would love to indulge in the cuisine of your people whilst in town.

Patsy Baloney

The Delmar Loop is an eclectic strip near Wash U that has a good variety of shops, restaurants, bars, and entertainment. Pappy's Smokehouse downtown for premier St. Louis style BBQ. Crown Candy for the BLT and milkshake.

Patsy Baloney

Have some toasted ravioli, AKA t-rav, a dish St. Louis is famous for. Most Italian restaurants have it and there are a lot of good ones in STL: Trattoria Marcella, Anthonino's Taverna, Cafe Napoli are a few I can vouch for. The Hill neighborhood has a bunch of them. The Arch has a nice museum (renovated in 2018) and you can ride to the top. It's cool if you like engineering, history, architecture, and crowds (sometimes). Ted Drewes has good, inexpensive frozen custard and crowded parking. Not a St. Louisan so a proper St. Louisan can give better suggestions I'm sure...

Daniel

The zoo/art museum in Forest Park are free and both very worth it!

Gungy

1. Toasted ravioli 2. (Controversial) Imo's Pizza 3. The arch.

Stella Leicht

Holy shit. They weren’t lying when they said Matt was going on an expedition!

Titus Hein

Chicago after or before??

apetrash


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