1. It’s pronounced MissourY, not MissourAH. The farther west you go, the more people pronounce the “i” with an “ah” sound. To a St. Louisan, this is one of our biggest pet peeves.
2. It’s BreadCo, not Panera. No matter what the sign above the door says, it is and will forever be St. Louis Bread Company, not Panera. Whenever we’re talking to one of your friends not from St. Louis and refer to it as BreadCo, we all get the same confused look and reluctantly have to call it Panera.
3. “Where’d you go to high school?” As soon as people find out you’re St. Louis, the very first question you get is “Where did you go to high school?” I have never been to any other place and heard this question come up. Even at college I have never heard this come up in a conversation between two people unless they’re from St. Louis.
4. The Blues is not just a type of music. Whether you wear red or bleed blue, or aren’t even a sports fan, the first thing you think of when you hear “the Blues” isn’t the genre of music but rather our beloved NHL team.
5. Imos pizza, provel cheese, and Ted Drewes. Our go-to for dinner and sweets are Imos pizza, with provel cheese of course, and Ted Drewes for some sweet frozen custard. Nothing is better. And to those of you who have never experienced these; you’re missing out.
6. You’re not really from St. Louis. Anyone knows, you’re not actually from St. Louis, but rather you’re from North County, South County, or West County. North County is known as the shady one, West County is the rich one, and South County is just country. But it’s too much effort to try and explain that anyone not from around here so you just say you’re from St. Louis.
7. There is no tailgating downtown before games. Unlike Kansas City where you can hang out for hours before a Royals or Chiefs game, when you go downtown for a Cards or Blues game, or really anything going on downtown, you get from your car to inside the venue as fast as you can and you stick together in big groups of people. There’s no such thing as tailgating.
8. You instantaneously recognize Carol House, Becky’s Carpet, and Shane Co commercials. Whether it’s “Carol House: Because you like nice things,” “Shane Co: Now you have a friend in the diamond business,” or a woman in a dress standing on a flying carpet in front of the arch, these are all well-known signs of home.
9. Traditional Italian food is found on higher grounds. The Hill in downtown St. Louis is the very best place to go to get some homemade, authentic Italian food. Whether you prefer Mama’s, Giovanni’s, or Joey B’s, there’s always something to cure your craving for Italian food and adventure (and yes, it’s actually on a hill).
10. Crown Candy really does deserve a crown. Best. Candy. Ever! Crown candy is the perfect place for anyone who has a craving for sweets or wants to travel back in time for a little bit. It’s not only St. Louis’ oldest soda fountain, but also the place for many people’s holiday traditions.
11. Anheuser-Busch will never be referred to as InBev. It will always be A-B, never InBev. The most familiar sign of home, other than the arch, is seeing the eagle flying through the A on the side westbound 64.
12. “Meet me at Stan.” Whenever you go to Busch Stadium for a Cardinals game and you’re trying to meet up with someone, you always say “Meet me at Stan,” in reference to the Stan Musial statue outside of the stadium. This has been with the Cardinals home field through their move from the old stadium to the new one.
13. You’ll never see a more terrifying 2-inch bug. It looks like a fly on steroids. Growing up, they were always the sign it was time to go home for dinner. As soon as the sun would start to set during the late summer, the cicadas would start to hum and that was like every child’s alarm that it was time to start heading home. The next morning, their crunchy little exoskeleton would be stuck on the side of every tree in town.
14. It’s St. Louis Children’s Hospital, not Children’s Mercy Medical. You will never go to any other city where it’s just referred to as Children’s Hospital. Everywhere else it’s called Children’s Mercy Medical and believe it or not, some people actually get confused by this. It is all run by one place; it just has two different names.
