Chez Leon

Sneak Preview: The Libertine Aims to Reclaim Cool in Clayton

Opening day draws near for The Libertine (7927 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton). The married team of Audra and Nick Luedde, who moved last year from Chicago to Nick's native St. Louis with their young son, plan to debut their 60-seat restaurant, with acclaimed chef Josh Galliano leading the kitchen, on M ... More >>

Openings & Closings 2012: The Final Reckoning

Yes, 2012 has been over for a few weeks now. No, we're not done looking back at it just yet. Don't worry. This isn't another Top Ten list. No, what we have here is Gut Check's annual omnibus listing of every restaurant that opened, closed, both opened and closed, relocated or changed its name in 2 ... More >>

Owner Nick Luedde Discusses the Libertine

Gut Check learned last week that St. Louis native Nick Luedde and his wife, Audra, planned to open a new restaurant called The Libertine, with acclaimed chef Josh Galliano (An American Place, Monarch) in the kitchen. We had a chance to speak with Nick Luedde this morning about his new venture, whi ... More >>

May 2012 Openings & Closings

The month that passed was an exceptionally busy one for openings: new Mexican restaurants for Chesterfield and Webster Groves; a new bakery for south city; the long-gestating (and televised) spinoff of Sweetie Pie's (9841 West Florissant Avenue, Ferguson; 314-521-9915) and Sweetie Pie's at the Mangr ... More >>

Chez Leon Closes

Rumors started swirling online yesterday, and now Gut Check can cofirm that Chez Leon (7927 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton; 314-361-1589) has closed. "Times aren't the best," owner Leon Birnbaum tells Gut Check.

The Gut Check Valentine's Day Reservation Guide: One Day Out

Valentine's Day is TOMORROW, you guys! If you haven't made your dinner reservations yet, you must be screwed, right? (Or not screwed, as it were.) Fear not! Gut Check's perusal of OpenTable has found several tables in the 5:30-9:30 p.m. window still available -- including two very well-known resta ... More >>

The Gut Check Valentine's Day Reservation Guide: One Week Out Edition

Image via​Valentine's Day is a week from tomorrow, you guys! Last week's edition of our Valentine's Day reservation guide found some decent tables available, via OpenTable, at some of St. Louis' favorite restaurants. Seven days later, many of those prime tables are gone, and we've given one m ... More >>

The Five Most Promising Menus From Clayton Restaurant Week

As we told you yesterday, Clayton Restaurant Week runs from Monday, January 23, through Sunday, January 29. Participating restaurants have three-course prix-fixe menus for $25, tax and tip excluded. You can see the full list of those restaurants and their menus on the official Clayton Restaurant Wee ... More >>

St. Louis Chefs Are an Educated Lot

Chrissy WilmesChris Williams of Franco studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York.​Last week Eater asked chefs if they thought culinary school was worth the time and expense for aspiring chefs. The answer was a resounding "probably not." The discussion made us wonder how well-e ... More >>

Duck a l'Orange at Chez Leon

Canard a l'Orange at Clayton's Chez Leon -- worth a second bite.​ We recently found ourselves supping at Chez Leon, the posh Clayton temple to all things Frenchified. And that, of course, meant chowing down on some duck -- because if there's anything the Frogs know how to cook, it's a nice fat can ... More >>

Chez Leon reinvents itself in Clayton

Brasserie by Niche wears its honest-to-goodness heart on its sleeve

St. Louis Food Blog Digest: 1.2 - 1.8

Gut Check dishes on our favorite St. Louis food blogs.Off the Menu: Joe broke news about the closing of the CWE Companion cafe, David Bailey's upcoming venture, and upcoming openings of Babbo and Olive Street Smokehouse.STL Bites: Bill had a posting frenzy with info about his favorite dried pasta ... More >>

Restaurant Roll Call for 2009

RFT editorial coordinator Courtney Schilling and I did our best to compile as thorough a list of openings and closings as possible. Inevitably, though, some places will slip through the cracks. Please drop us a line or leave a comment with additions or deletions. - IanIan FroebMcCormick & Schmic ... More >>

FoodWire: Chez Leon Reopens in Clayton

George Mahe broke the news on Feast on New Year's Eve: Chez Leon is now open at its new location, 7927 Forsyth Boulevard in Clayton. The venerable French restaurant departed its Central West End location in October. (The space is now Brasserie by Niche.) The new Chez Leon is open for lunch 11 a.m.-2 ... More >>

2009 in Review: September

​​September is a very special month here not only at Gut Check International Headquarters but at the RFT as a whole: We release our annual Best of St. Louis issue. Check out our winners in the Restaurants and Food & Drink categories. The rest of the month, after the jump.

St. Louis Food Blog Digest: 11.21-12.4

Gut Check dishes on our favorite St. Louis food blogs.Sounding My Barbaric Gulp: Kelly celebrated Thanksgiving with creamed leeks and a proposal. She shared lots of Thanksgiving favorites, contest ideas of Menu for Hope and her future great-great grandmother-in-law's spinach recipe.Cupcake Projec ... More >>

Gut Check: Going Tapas

FoodWire: Brasserie by Niche Opens Tonight, Tuesday, 11.17

Brasserie by Niche, the latest restaurant from Gerard Craft of Niche and its still shiny-and-new sibling Taste by Niche, opens for service this evening at 5 p.m. at 4580 Laclede Avenue in the Central West End. As its name implies, Brasserie serves classic French brasserie cuisine, with chef Perry He ... More >>

Accounting for Taste: Niche gets a new next-door neighbor — think of it as mini-Niche

Chez Leon gives way to a new Niche

Introducing Sweet Scout: The Sweet Scout is Introduced to Crème Brûlée

User "Jellyfish Juice," Wikimedia Commons​Adrienne Jones is a writer, photographer and world-class eater who blogs at A Girl and Her Camera. She loves desserts and has been known to take to a frosting tub with little more than a spoon and a well-tuned sweet tooth. She will report on her lates ... More >>

St. Louis Food Blog Digest: 9.5-9.11

Gut Check dishes on our favorite St. Louis food blogs.Becky and the Beanstock: Becky finally reveals her secret dish - vegetarian hot dogs in pretzel dough blankets. Sounding My Barbaric Gulp: Kelly went wild with spiced dove breasts.Bruno's Dream: Bruno made carrot gelato for LiveSTRONG Day. One ... More >>

Can't Miss Summer Adventures

As always, we’ve found cool ways to beat the heat.

Here Fell Some Mighty Folks

Hoobellatoo celebrates the found & lost

Seize the Days

A dozen things you just can't pass up this summer

It Must Be Love

Oh, Moxy, your food puts us on cloud nine!

French Cuisine

Café De France

Thai Taste

Week of June 26, 2002

French Connection

Leon Bierbaum's renowned namesake restaurant needs some polishing

French Cuisine

Cafe Provencal

French Toast

Under new ownership, Malmaison still turns out some of St. Louis' best French food

Baron Rothschild

He can turn bricks into gold, junk into antiques, disasters into opportunities. But Pete Rothschild just can't transform his reputation.

Best Culinary Francophile

Eddie Neill

Best Maitre'd

Leon Bierbaum, Chez Leon

French Cuisine

Café de France

Side Dish

What comestibles do local chefs take on the road?

Best Restaurant District

Central West End

Best New Restaurant

Chez Leon

Best Neighborhood

Central West End

Wiping the Plate Clean

Our intrepid reviewer calls for the last check and leaves some generous tips

Eat Drink Man Woman

Taking some time to let 1999's dinners digest

BUTTER UP

Indulging a taste for decadence at the elegant Chez Leon

TABLE TALK

Tidbits from St. Louis' restaurant community

Il Fait Beau

Let Us Neill