Jay,

Glad you enjoyed your stay in my fair city - and no, your probably
don't want to fly in to St. Louis Downtown, especially if you just plan
to rent a car and go sightseeing. One wrong turn and you will be in a
very, very wrong part of town! East St. Louis has big metal shields on
each side of the highways that run though it, not to keep road noise
down for those that live there, but to keep stray bullets from hitting
motorists. I've lived here my entire life, and I truly wish I was
making that up.

Schlafly is a definite must-see when in town, and if you ever get a
chance to come back through I'd also recommend checking out our art
museum - despite St. Louis not being really well known for it, the
locals consider the art museum to be much more interesting that the
history museum. They litterally have gobs of stuff jammed in there.

Another place that's great for cheap eats is Reynolds Roadhouse on
Dorsett (out in the burbs'). It's been there for about 80 years or so
(my grandfather used to eat there, when it was in the middle of a corn
field, on his way to his job at a local truck farm). Regardless, its an
old-fashioned greasy spoon (emphasis on the greasy) thats cheap, fast,
good, and open for breakfast and lunch.

Glad you enjoyed your stay!

Regards,
Bryan Porter