Consumer Products and Services

Farmhaus Hosting Shane Wine Cellars Dinner on May 8

Seats remain for the first wine dinner at Kevin Willmann's acclaimed Farmhaus (3257 Ivanhoe Avenue; 314-647-3800) next Wednesday, May 8. The dinner will pair four courses with wines from Shane Wine Cellars. Shane owner and winemaker Shane Finley will attend the event. In an e-mail to Gut Check, Far ... More >>

Today is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's!

With temperatures predicted to crest 80 degrees today in St. Louis, Gut Check could use some ice cream -- but then, couldn't we always? Today is Ben & Jerry's annual Free Cone Day, with area locations slinging free scoops of ice cream from Noon to 8 p.m. Find out where to get your free sugar fix af ... More >>

The Six Best Craft Beer Makers in St. Louis

Gut Check has been looking back on the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis 2012, but we're also keeping an eye on the Best of St. Louis 2013 by nominating finalists for our awards this fall. With the craft beer scene exploding across the Midwest and the recent opening of the beer emporium Flying Sauc ... More >>

21 Holiday Food and Restaurant Specials, Deals and Freebies

For Gut Check there's no better way to say "Season's Eatings" than with restaurant specials and deals. Much is made about overeating and weight gain during the holiday season, but really you'd be a fool not to eat free food when it's shoveled at you in the form of restaurant gift cards, BOGO special ... More >>

Wine and Dine and Wind Around

Poll: Should Anheuser-Busch InBev Keep Funding Lance Armstrong's Cancer "Charity"?

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is now considered so toxic in the wake of recent doping accusations that big sponsors such as Nike and Trek are running for the hills. So too is Anheuser-Busch InBev. The beer giant used to pay Armstrong to promote Mic Ultra, but n ... More >>

Searchable Database Released Today Lists 50,000 Bands Owed $31 Million in Royalties

SoundExchange is a not-for-profit entrusted by the Library of Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for bands. That includes SIRIUS, Pandora and more. So far, it's found the rightful owner of some $1 billion in royalties, but paying up has proven a challenge. The organizat ... More >>

St. Louis-Based American Patriot Beer Makes Its Local Debut

Lifelong St. Louisan John Beal's favorite beer growing up was Budweiser. "I always wanted the Budweiser car to win," he says. When its parent company Anheuser-Busch was purchased by Belgian brewing behemoths InBev in 2008, the career roofer was "bothered" by the takeover, and decided to take matters ... More >>

Eleven Things Every Independent Artist Should Work On

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

This Week in Anheuser-Busch InBev World Domination

Oh, yawn, just another week in Anheuser-Busch InBev's Borg-like growth across the world. First came news that A-B has agreed with the St. Louis Cardinals and developer Cordish Companies to be a tenant for the first phase of the long-delayed Ballpark Village project. A-B will open a restaurant feat ... More >>

Brave is the rare family film about courage that actually has some

Fudging The Numbers With Last.Fm

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 was thrilled five-ish years ago when I found out about Last.fm, the music recommendation service that d ... More >>

Bagged Salad Recall Expands Nationwide

OK, so maybe you shrugged your shoulders at yesterday's news about the FDA's warning on Korean shellfish. Fair enough. Not exactly an everyday purchase around these parts. Bagged salad, on the other hand... The FDA has announced that River Ranch Fresh Foods of Salinas, California, has expanded its ... More >>

Ellen Back Again: Arnie Robbins steps down as editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and RFT checks in with his predecessor

Amazon Agrees to Pay Sales Tax in Texas; What About in Missouri?

On Monday, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and Amazon jointly announced they had struck a deal for the internet retailer to begin paying sales tax in the Lone Star state. Amazon has a distribution center in Irving, Texas, but has never paid sales tax for products shipped from the facility b ... More >>

A Comprehensive Guide to Record Store Day 2012

This just in: Vinyl is BACK! Now in its fifth year, Record Store Day has made its international mark, recognized by labels, bands, and collectors worldwide. Celebrating the cultural impact of the independent record store, RSD offers everything from live performances to special discounts to limited e ... More >>

Damn the Man - Save the Empire

The Seven Best Brewpubs in St. Louis

Gut Check has been looking back on the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis 2011, but we're also keeping an eye on the Best of St. Louis 2012 by nominating finalists for our awards this fall. To see hundreds more winners and finalists, suggest your own contenders and download the Riverfront Times Best ... More >>

It's Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's!

Today marks Ben & Jerry's annual Free Cone Day, with area locations slinging free scoops of ice cream from Noon to 8 p.m. Though many of its St. Louis stores have shuttered in the last few years, three shops still stand, and two are participating in Free Cone Day: Ben & Jerry's U. City (6380 Delmar ... More >>

The Big (Tobacco-Related) Threat to Missouri's Budget You've Probably Never Heard Of

​Is anybody in America more hospitable to small tobacco companies than the Show-Me State? Not only do we levy the lowest cigarette tax in the entire nation (a paltry 17 cents per pack).  Our legislature is the only one that forces Big Tobacco to cough up payments for smoking-related health co ... More >>

Megaupload Goes Down: Five Lost Music-Stealing Technologies

It's true: Megaupload has been gone an entire week, and for the millions of people who used the site because they like their totally legal for-pay cloud storage to come equipped with fake download links and massive flash banner ads I'm sure things have been difficult. For copyright holders, massiv ... More >>

Spy Games and Celebrity Sightings at St. Louis-Area Bookstores

image viaWatch out, she may be packing an iPhone.​As everybody knows, the Christmas-shopping season is the most hectic time to be in retail -- as both a seller and as a consumer -- and this year, there's an extra frisson of excitement in St. Louis bookstores, thanks to some corporate espionage ... More >>

CDC Identifies Source of E. Coli Outbreak

​Romaine lettuce sold at an area grocery chain and sourced from a specific farm was the source of the E. coli outbreak that sickened dozens in Missouri and several other states earlier this fall, according to a report published yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The report ... More >>

William K Busch Brewing Company Launches Kräftig Lager and Kräftig Light

​Last week, the World Series trophy came back to St. Louis. This week sees the return of another tradition in the Gateway City: the Busch family brewing lager beer.William K. Busch, son of August A. "Gussie" Busch Jr. and great-grandson of Adolphus Busch, this summer announced the founding of the ... More >>

Report: Shooting in Wellston Leaves One Dead, Six Injured

Wellston Food Market in the 6200 block of Page.​KTVI reports that one person is dead and six other people injured this afternoon in a mass shooting, at least part of which occurred at the Wellston Food Market on Page Avenue. Developing...

Music That Sticks to Your Ribs

1,050-Calorie "Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo"? Michelle Obama Says Yes, We Can!

​Gut Check ain't exactly nostalgic for the good ol' days of the George W. Bush administration. Still, a phrase that Dubya once used has stuck with us over the years: "the soft bigotry of low expectations." He was talking about education, but you can apply it to all sorts of things.Like, say, the h ... More >>

Formerly AB-Owned Purus Vodka Expands Distribution

Image viaThis sexy bottle is "designed to emulate the shape of a water droplet off of the Italian Alps!" Recognize!​In 2008, InBev bought Anheuser-Busch, creating ABInBev, now the world's largest brewer. Of course, you know that! The story dominated the news for a large chunk of that summer. ... More >>

Anheuser-Busch Wants to Trademark Your Area Code

Image viaAnheuser-Busch may not want to use this trademark -- but they definitely want to own it.​If brewing giant Anheuser-Busch gets its way, we won't just be living in the 314.We'll be living in the 314 (TM).The St. Louis-based brewery, now owned by Belgian conglomerate InBev, has applied for a ... More >>

August Busch IV Saga Tackled by BusinessWeek

August Busch IV gets the BusinessWeek treatment.​Cocaine! Oxycodone! A former Hooters waitress, dead in a darkened bedroom!A very bad beer baron!A BusinessWeek feature story that hit the Internets today, "Fall of the House of Busch," details the 2010 death of the girlfriend of August Busch IV, Adr ... More >>

Just When You Thought You Were Free of Zhu Zhu Pets...

image viaDespite appearances, it's not a horror movie.​Warning to anyone who has a small child or has to spend a lot of time in the presence of a small child: Zhu Zhu pets, the scourge of a couple of Christmases past, are back! Well, they were never actually gone -- except for the 2009 holida ... More >>

Beyond Schlafly: Three microbreweries for the St. Louis summer

Hospitals Lose in Big Tobacco Money Grab in St. Louis Court

Just because you light up doesn't mean Big Tobacco has to share the cost of your subsequent hospital care, a St. Louis jury decided today.​After thirteen years of litigation, three months of trial and just over six days of jury deliberations, a group of 37 area hospitals have struck out in their a ... More >>

Get Ready, Arrogant Bastards! Stone Week Starts Tomorrow.

Stone Brewing Co.​ Few craft brewers have arrived in St. Louis with the anticipation and fanfare of Escondido, California's Stone Brewing. But they're here this week, bringing all the Arrogant Bastard Ale and Stone Ruination IPA we've been longing for. The beer hits store shelves and bar tap ... More >>

Six-Pack City: Six Row Brewing Company adds food to the equation

Six Row Brewing Company: Review Slideshow

Jennifer SilverbergA pint of the "Whale" beer at Six Row Brewing Company​One of the many new craft brewers gracing the St. Louis scene over the past couple of years. My review of Six Row Brewing Company (3690 Forest Park Avenue; 314-531-5600) is now available online, and be sure to check out Jenni ... More >>

Review Preview: Six Row Brewing Company

Jennifer SilverbergBeer flights at Six Row Brewing Company​I took a break from writing reviews last week. What did I do instead? I drank beer. Specifically, I drank beer at Six Row Brewing Company (3690 Forest Park Avenue; 314-531-5600). I also tried some of the fare from the brewpub's relatively ... More >>

Record Store Day Announce 2011 Releases, Ozzy Osbourne Commands Your Attendance

​Record Store Day is a relatively new and relatively awesome Holiday. It's like Christmas for music nerds, only better -- rather than forcible family-togetherness and buying gifts for other people, record collectors are lured with live music, beer and shiny new wax into spending the day with t ... More >>

Missouri Latest State to Push for Online Sales Tax

Local retailers want to wipe that smug smile off those Amazon.com boxes. ​Two state representatives held a press conference today in the University City Loop, calling attention to legislation that would add sales tax to purchases Missouri residents make over the Internet. State representativ ... More >>

Repudiated upon its 1961 release by the tough-talking clergyman who inspired it, The Hoodlum Priest remains as obscure and intriguing as ever

The Cover of the March 10 Print Edition

Last Collector Standing: Kate Eddens on Working at Thrill Jockey and Vintage Vinyl, and Her Musical Education (and Evolution)

Jon Scorfina​As major record labels have struggled to adjust to the new digital landscape, independent labels have thrived by sticking to the tried and true demand for vinyl. We caught up with Kate Eddens, a former employee of both Thrill Jockey records and Vintage Vinyl, at her south city hom ... More >>

Neither Baller Nor Shot Caller

Left Bank, Subterranean Books Now Selling Google eBooks

​As of this morning, two of St. Louis's proudly independent bookstores have joined in the digital revolution: Subterranean Books in the Delmar Loop and Left Bank Books in the Central West End and downtown are now offering Google eBooks on their respective websites. Both stores have been selli ... More >>

Fermenting Ferguson: Cork Wine Bar and Hill Brewing Company are the new kids on Ferguson's block

Brew, Baby, Brew: The ranks of St. Louis' craft brewers are swelling as we swill

Speaking of Butt Heads... Cigarette Litter Annoys People Across Nation

Wikimedia CommonsThe New York Times reports today that "dozens of municipalities across the nation" have passed laws banning smoking on beaches and playgrounds, because citizens are sick of not only stepping on cigarette butts, but paying millions of dollars a year to clean them up.From the Times:

Deathwatch

A documentary on the Ronald L. Jones Funeral Home premieres at Webster University

Really Strange Bedfellows

With good guys like this, who needs bad guys?

Daycare Nightmares

In response to growing demand, the number of daycare facilities in Missouri is increasing each year. So are the problems.