A CITY OF BRIDGES. That's what you get when you build around two rivers: the Eau Claire and the Chippewa.

Our corner of the world got a little more positive ink – digital ink, at least – over the weekend thanks to a piece published Sunday on The Daily Beast.

In the article, headlined “Eau Claire Cancels All Those Quaint Wisconsin Cheese Curd Cliches,” author Iona Brannon lauds all the things that typically catch travel writers’ eyes about the city: its scenic beauty, artistic vibe, and culinary offerings.

“All around town are reminders that this is an innovation hub from creative sculptures to Vietnamese food trucks to employee-owned grocery stores and artisan markets,” she writes.

Brannon details notable elements of the city’s food scene, from the shared culinary space at Forage to the creative concoctions at The Brewing Projekt to the Scandinavian Koldtbord and brandy Old Fashioned at The Lakely. (Despite the headline, it’s unclear whether Brannon sampled any cheese curds, which remain an important part of the Wisconsin diet. Some clichés are true.)

The writer also applauds Eau Claire’s artsiness, alluding to the Sculpture Tour Eau Claire, Bon Iver, Revival Records, and the Pablo Center at the Confluence. (Weirdly enough, the main image published with the article shows a block of buildings on South Barstow Street that was demolished in 2014 to make way for part of the Confluence Project.)

FAMILIAR SCENE? The image used for The Daily Beast travel story about Eau Claire (shown here) includes a block of South Barstow Street torn down in 2014 to make way for Haymarket Landing, a phase of the redevelopment of the Confluence area. (Screen shot from The Daily Beast)

And, like countless visitors before her, Brannon falls in love with Eau Claire’s beauty, waxing poetic about the flowing rivers, the historic homes, the quirky bars, the meandering bike trails, and all those bridges: “Leaning over the edge to watch the watery reflections on the dark Chippewa River, I could almost imagine myself as the main character of a Hallmark movie, ready to move to Eau Claire to restore the family bakery.”

We suppose being compared to a Hallmark movie is a certain kind of endorsement – but we hope that Eau Claire is a little deeper and richer than that.

Read the whole piece here at The Daily Beast.