Celebrity Chefs

Loving Las Vegas and MSG: A Q & A with Qui Tran of Mai Lee

This is part two of Gut Check's Chef's Choice profile of Qui Tran of Mai Lee. Read part one, a profile of Tran, here. Part three, a recipe from Tran, will be available on Friday. Mai Lee (8396 Music Memorial Drive, Brentwood; 314-645-2835) isn't simply a job for chef Qui Tran. It's his legacy. His ... More >>

Hwy 61 Roadhouse Owner Talks Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Episode, Meeting Guy Fieri

In December 2012 Hwy 61 Roadhouse & Kitchen (34 South Old Orchard Avenue, Webster Groves; 314-968-0061) appeared on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Since its initial airing, the episode has replayed a handful of times each month, with four airings slated for April, including tonight at 8:30 ... More >>

Hwy 61 Roadhouse & Kitchen on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Tonight

Guy Fieri has not had a good month. As you might have heard, Pete Wells of the New York Times visited the spiky-haired one's new Times Square restaurant and dropped one of the most astonishing negative reviews you'll ever read. Guy Fieri Inc. continues unabated, however. And on tonight's first-run ... More >>

Espinos Mexican Bar and Grill on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Tonight

Guy Fieri didn't visit every restaurant in St. Louis when he was in town this past June. It only feels like it. Yes, the spiky-haired one's march through the metro area continues on tonight's first-run episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives ("Turn on Traditional"), which features a visit to Espinos ... More >>

Dressel's Was on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Last Night (Whoops)

Despite spending way too much time on the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives page of the Food Network website, charting the path that Guy Fieri cut through St. Louis earlier this year, I somehow missed that last night's new episode -- "Pubs and Grub" -- included Dressel's (419 North Euclid Avenue; 314-361- ... More >>

The Shaved Duck on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Tonight; Date for Hwy 61 Roadhouse Set

The Guy Fieri parade through St. Louis marches on. Tonight's episode of the spiky-haired one's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives ("Food Done Right") features south city's The Shaved Duck (2900 Virginia Avenue; 314-776-1407). The episode airs at 9 p.m. local time on the Food Network. The Shaved Duck will ... More >>

Reminder: Anthonino's Taverna on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Tonight

Guy Fieri's spotlight shines again on St. Louis: Anthonino's Taverna (2225 Macklind Avenue; 314-773-4455) will appear on tonight's episode of the spiky-haired one's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. The episode, entitled "All Family, All the Time," airs at 9 p.m. local time. See Also ... More >>

The Class War Between Food Culture and Music Culture

Art and life co-habitate, informing, imitating, and enriching each other constantly. Each week in Better Living Through Music, RFT Music writer Ryan Wasoba explores this symbiotic relationship I'm a sucker for the Food Network. Chopped is my jam, I have strong opinions about specific Iron Chefs, an ... More >>

Guerrilla Street Food on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Tonight; Dates Set for Shaved Duck, Espino's [Updated]

Reminder: Guerrilla Street Food (@GuerrillaStreet; 314-529-1328), RFT's "Best Food Truck" for 2012, will appear tonight on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The episode, titled "Burgers, Noodles and Quahogs," airs at 9 p.m. local time. This is the first St. Louis establishment to appe ... More >>

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Dates Set for Guerrilla Street Food, Anthonino's

Guy Fieri visited St. Louis for several days this June, filming for the upcoming season of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. To the best of Gut Check's knowledge -- which included seeing the spiky-haired one himself slammin' a coffee in the Delmar Loop -- he visited six area establishments: Anthonino's ... More >>

Tidbits: Balaban's Expands, Craft Chophouse in Edwardsville

- Balaban's Wine Cellar & Tapas Bar (1772 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield; 636-449-6700) has announced a 2,046-square-foot expansion. The new space will include a private-event space and a wine room. Business at the existing restaurant-slash-wine shop-slash-deli will go on as usual during work on the ex ... More >>

Guy Fieri Reminds Us He's Guy Fieri

Gut Check is no great fan of Guy Fieri, but even we had to admit that the spiky-haired one picked some winners during his recent visit to St. Louis, including Anthonino's Taverna (2225 Macklind Avenue; 314-773-4455), Guerrilla Street Food (@GuerrillaStreet; 314-529-1328) and Dressel's (419 North Euc ... More >>

The Final Guy Fieri Round-Up: Dressel's, Highway 61 Roadhouse and (Maybe) Espinos

Since last week, we've been stalking tracking the visits that Guy Fieri made while in town filming for Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Yesterday, we added The Shaved Duck (2900 Virginia Avenue; 314-776-1407) to a list that already included Anthonino's Taverna (2225 Macklind Avenue; 314-773-4455) and fo ... More >>

Guy Fieri Also Visited the Shaved Duck

As you might have heard, Guy Fieri was in St. Louis over the past week or so, filming segments for future episodes of his Diners, Drive-ins and Dives program. Among the restaurants that he visited were Anthonino's Taverna (222 Macklind Avenue; 314-773-4455) and food truck Guerrilla Street Food (@Gue ... More >>

Forbes: Kobe Beef Is "Food's Biggest Scam"

Forbes has published a damning indictment of what the article's headline calls "Food's Biggest Scam": Kobe beef. Author Larry Olmstead doesn't pull his punches: You cannot buy Japanese Kobe beef in this country. Not in stores, not by mail, and certainly not in restaurants. No matter how much you ha ... More >>

Jason Tilford of Milagro Modern Mexican, Part 2

This is part two of Stacy Anderson's Chef's Choice profile of Jason Tilford of Milagro Modern Mexican. Part one can be found here. Part three, a recipe from Johnson, is published here. Did your family cook when you were a child? My mother cooked every night. She was a great cook and still is. Eve ... More >>

Update: Six Buttery Recipes for the Holidays

http://commons.wikimedia.org​Update: A Norwegian blogger named Tommy recently posted a vlog where he expressed disgust at Americans who've been taking the crisis lightly. We're also pretty sure he calls us fat, and he mentions something about Norwegians eating cats. Check out the video after t ... More >>

"A Krampus Carol": What You Won't See on Anthony Bourdain's Holiday Special

Krampus, as imagined by Anthony Bourdain​Tonight the Travel Channel will air the annual holiday special episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. No doubt it will contain all manner of holiday-themed debauchery. However, it won't contain "A Krampus Carol," Bourdain's twisted animated telling ... More >>

Your Weekly St. Louis Bestseller List

Here's your weekly St. Louis bestseller list for the week ending November 20, as compiled by the St. Louis Independent Booksellers Alliance and based on sales at Left Bank Books, Main Street Books, Pudd'nhead Books, Subterranean Books and Sue's News. It took a month, but The Year of the St. Louis C ... More >>

The Simpsons Tackle the Food World

​I was in sixth grade when The Simpsons aired its first episode, so I can't say I've always longed for an episode about out our culture's current obsession with food and food-related TV. But for a long time I've awaited the day I could write this: The Simpsons are starting a food blog.This wee ... More >>

Stellar Week for Chefs on Late Night Television

​ Subversiveness rules on late night TV with lots of celeb chef visits. Last night Momofuku Milk Bar pastry chef Christina Tosi introduced Conan O'Brien to her most popular dessert, Cereal Milk. That's milk flavored with Lucky Charms, which leads to O'Brien having a sexual experience before h ... More >>

Shocking Photo of Guy Fieri Emerges

This gesture is OK.​So we've been a little obsessed with Guy Fieri the past couple of weeks, thanks to the feature story about former Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives producer David Page in our sister paper City Pages. The latest embarrassing revelation about the spiky-haired superstar chef isn't ... More >>

Has "Ruth Bourdain" Been Unmasked?

​(Warning: This post contains spoilers. Food-media inside baseball, too. You've been warned.)For more than a year now, the parody Twitter account of Ruth Bourdain has delighted -- and grossed out -- the food world with his/her mash-up of the haiku-like tweets of former New York Times restaurant cr ... More >>

St. Louis Food Blog Digest, 9.19 - 9.25

​Gut Check dishes on our favorite St. Louis food blogs. Rhubarb and Honey: Kimberly made her own version of pork and beans. Veg St. Louis: Lois compiled a list of her favorite veggie burgers in St. Louis. A Veggie Venture: Alanna made a beet salad with yogurt and pita.

They Dumped All My Children For This?

The Chew is a new weekday talk show about food. It features celebrity chefs Mario Batali and Michael Symon with Carla Hall from Top Chef, something called a Daphne Oz and something called a Clinton Kelly. It will replace long-running soap opera All My Children on ABC's weekday schedule this fall.Bas ... More >>

Wanna Be the Next Food Network Star?

​Are you the next Bobby Flay? The next Rachael Ray? The next Paula Deen? We hope not -- one of each of them is more than enough. But if you've always dreamed of televised culinary superstardom, your big break might have arrived.Food Network Star (formerly known as the Next Food Network Star) has a ... More >>

Farmhaus' Trip to Aspen's Food and Wine Classic, in Tweets

Food & WineBest New Chefs, 2011​Last week Farmhaus (3257 Ivanhoe Avenue; 314-647-3800 or www.farmhausrestaurant.com) owner/chef Kevin Willmann and manager Eric Scholle took their crew to the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, where Willmann was selected as one of 2011's Best New Chefs by Food & Wine m ... More >>

Bobby Flay as Michael Scott? Chef Makes His Version of The Office.

You know what we don't see nearly enough on television? Bobby Flay running his mouth. We also don't get nearly enough episodes of The Office, between NBC's summer reruns, several syndicated episodes every night, and three-hour "Office Blocks" on TBS several nights a week. Hey! What if Bobby Flay ... More >>

Seether's Dale Stewart Rocks the Wings at the Silver Ballroom

MTV.comSeether bassist Dale Stewart dreams of hot wings at work.​Yeah, he's come to snuff the rooster. Wait...wrong band, right poultry. Although Alice in Chains sang about snuffing roosters, Seether bassist Dale Stewart is going to be doing it for real on Thursday at the Silver Ballroom. So ... More >>

Paula Deen Butter Joke Pinnacle Has Been Reached

Because Paula Deen and butter parodies never get old... Except the jokes are starting to repeat. After Funny or Die's new Paula Deen "Butter Intervention" clip and the recent Saturday Night Live commercial parody for Paula Deen's Paper Towels, we're having some comedy deja vu. Watch and compare.

Your Weekly St. Louis Bestseller List

Look, Dad, you actually can get ahead in life if you have stupid-looking hair.​Here's your weekly St. Louis bestseller list for the week ending May 29, as compiled by the St. Louis Independent Booksellers Alliance and based on sales at Left Bank Books, Main Street Books, Pudd'nhead Books, Subt ... More >>

Chef Gordon Ramsay Makes Film Debut in Love's Kitchen

It's Kitchen Nightmare on Elm Street! Okay, not really. Reality TV star/chef Gordon Ramsay makes his film debut in British film Love's Kitchen. It's scheduled to make its U.S. premiere on Tuesday, June 7. The film, a rom-com about a chef who loses his kitchen mojo after his wife's death, then fal ... More >>

35 Things to Do Instead of Attending the Guy Fieri Food Tour

​Sunday Food Network "personality" and "chef" Guy Fieri brings his Guy Fieri Food Tour to the Touhill Performing Arts Center at UMSL. The event is a rock & roll celebration of all things Guy, and each evening culminates with the spiky-haired, backwards-sunglasses-wearing, sold-out-to-the-Natio ... More >>

Ten Best Food Events this Weekend: May 27-30

Photo by Steve Mitchell/Festival Partners LLC​Summer's so close, we can taste it. Find out exactly what flavors lead into the season at events such as Rib America Festival and the Third Annual Rib-Off at Iron Barley during the extended holiday weekend. Friday (May 27): Rib America Festival @ ... More >>

Oprah's Seven Best Food Moments

persephonemagazine.com​ Today the world bids farewell to "The Oprah Winfrey Show". Twenty-five years of gab, angst, couch-jumping, jailhouse interviews, favorite things, crazy giveaways, fad diets, weight loss, weight gains and lots of chow. No, we're not making any fluctuating weight jokes ... More >>

Goodbye, "Good Eats": Alton Brown's Ten Best Moments

Wikimedia CommonsAlton Brown's leaving the studio kitchen.​ After twelve years and 249 episodes, Alton Brown is ending "Good Eats", according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The final half-hour episode aired last week. The Food Network will air three final hour-long episodes this year. ... More >>

Oh, God, the New Rachael Ray-Guy Fieri Show Sounds Even Worse Than We Thought

​Last month, we learned about several new shows coming to the Food Network. The most ominous of the many ominous new titles was something called Guy vs. Rachael's Celebrity Smackdown.Well, Guy Fieri went on The Rachael Ray Show yesterday, and the two announced the new show. It's even worse you pro ... More >>

Ten (Imaginary) Shows We'd Watch Instead of the Food Network's Latest Garbage

Guy Fieri, starring in exactly none of our proposed Food Network shows​The Food Network this week announced several new series to debut this year and next. Frankly, even by the Food Network's ever-lower standards, the list is unappetizing.Among these new shows is an unholy marriage of Guy Fieri an ... More >>

Sandra Lee's Blenders and Six Celeb Chef Products That Should Exist

couchpotatocook.comSandra Lee, surrounded by a bunch of Kmart crap.​Coming soon to a Kmart near you next year -- Sandra Lee's line of "cookware, small appliances and other kitchen products." OK, so that doesn't sound dissimilar from the line of goods Martha Stewart hocked at the lagging disc ... More >>

Girl Scout Cookies Make Us Want to Puke -- Episode 3: Shortbread (a.k.a. Trefoils)

Doesn't that face just scream shortbread cookie!?​If Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa of Food Network fame, baked up a batch of shortbread cookies for a Girl Scout troop in her neck of the Hamptons, here is what the ingredient list might look like: ​ If, on the other hand, you bought ... More >>

Lumière Place Replacing Sleek with Stadium Sports Bar and Grill

Courtesy Lumiere Place​Lumière Place couldn't sustain a high-end steakhouse with a celebrity chef's imprimatur. Now, the downtown casino is banking on a tried-and-true concept to replace Hubert Keller's Sleek -- a sports bar.Stadium Sports Bar and Grill will open this spring in the former Sleek s ... More >>

January 2011 Openings and Closings

Marjorie Poore ProductionsHubert Keller isn't smiling about Sleek's closing.​Sadly, the first month of the new year saw a spate of high-profile closings: Sleek, the Lumière Place steakhouse from celebrity chef Hubert Keller; Lafayette Square Mexican restaurant Arcelia's, after 20 years; and Pratz ... More >>

SLeeK to Close: Bleak Day for St. Louis Steak Hair Lovers

Hey, wait a minute! That's not Hubert Keller! Never mind.​Credit the Post-Dispatch's Evan Benn with the scoop: SLeeK, the eye-buggingly pricey steak joint inside the Lumière Gambling Industrial Complex, is no more. Well, technically it still is, but if you want to order up the seven-course "B ... More >>

Kanye West's New Food Lyrics

Screenshot: noonemanshouldhaveallthatflour.tumblr.com​For several weeks now, Kanye West's new album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, has been playing nonstop at Gut Check International Headquarters. So we were excited to discover, via Grub Street, No One Man Should Have All That Flour, which po ... More >>

The Only Diet Aid You'll Need in 2011

Here, via a colleague, is a video of Guy Fieri eating. And eating. And eating some more.

Heart Attack Grill Gives Free Bypass Burgers to Obese Customers

Fat? Eat for free! The aptly-named Heart Attack Grill in Arizona is giving free food to people who weigh over 350 pounds. The New York Daily News reports that the medically-themed restaurant features burgers named after heart surgeries, waitresses in sexy nurse uniforms, no diet soda, and fries cook ... More >>

Vegan Meals Not Accecptable Substitute for Kosher Fair in Indiana Prisons

Court tells Indiana prison to keep it kosher. The Jewish Chronicle reports that an Orthodox Jewish inmate at Indiana's Miami Correctional Facility has successfully sued the state to bring back kosher meals. The prison stopped serving kosher meals last year, instead providing a vegan option to cut co ... More >>

The Truest Thing Ever Said About Guy Fieri

Guy Fieri, captured in a rare moment out of the spotlight​Official Friend of Gut Check Mike Seely, a former RFT staff writer and currently the managing editor of our sister paper Seattle Weekly, drops this keen wisdom on the spiky-haired dude many of us love to hate, Guy Fieri:...his food-celeb ju ... More >>

Local chef Christina Machamer grows a pair of bollocks and wins Hell's Kitchen

Side Dish

Paint your plate at two new art-museum eateries