Convenience and Fast Foods

St. Louis Fast-Food Workers Protest for Better Pay, Right to Organize

Rasheen Aldridge had just finished working the lunch rush at the Jimmy John's in Soulard when he says his manager handed him a hand-written sign and asked that he hold it while he snapped a photo. The sign's message? "I made three wrong sandwiches."

Taste Test: Hardee's Charbroiled Atlantic Cod Fish Sandwich Challenges Wendy's Premium Cod Fillet

Last week's edition of Fight Club Sandwich pitted two fast-food chains' "premium" fish sandwiches against one another, as Wendy's Premium Cod Fillet Sandwich took on Burger King's Premium Alaskan Fish Sandwich. Having declared Wendy's the victor, Gut Check figured we'd performed our fishly obligati ... More >>

Fast-Casual Italian Restaurant Cini Opens Today

Cini, a new fast-casual Italian concept from the owners of Il Bel Lago (11631 Olive Boulevard, Creve Coeur; 314-994-1080) and the local franchisees of Buffalo Wild Wings opened this morning at 374 South Grand Boulevard. Cini is short for arancini, the classic Italian street food of fried rice balls ... More >>

Don't Play FreeBird! Frozen Chicken Nuggets, Patties Recalled

Finally, after almost six years of existence, Gut Check gets to make a "Free Bird" joke. Suzanna's Kitchen of Duluth, Georgia, has announced a precautionary recall, via the USDA, of certain packages of FreeBird-brand frozen chicken nuggets and patties because they might contain pieces of plastic. ... More >>

Guess Where I'm Eating this Cheeseburger and French Fries and Win $10 to La Tropicana Market & Cafe [Updated]!

You can win $10 to La Tropicana Market & Cafe (5001 Lindenwood Avenue; 314-353-7328) and all you have to do is guess where we ate this cheeseburger with grilled onions, tomato, lettuce and jalapenos with French fries. Hint: We chowed down at a popular burger chain known for its $5 burgers and season ... More >>

Fight Club Sandwich: Jack in the Box's Waffle Breakfast Sandwich vs. McDonald's McGriddle

In a recent morning hangover-induced jaunt to Jack in the Box, Gut Check glimpsed a new menu item: the waffle breakfast sandwich. According to Jack, the sandwich is made with the chain's new country grilled sausage, a fried egg, cheese and toasted maple waffles. Our first thought: Can we get hash br ... More >>

Tidbits from J. Gumbo's, Land of Smile, Spaghetteria Mamma Mia

- The fast-casual chain J. Gumbo's will open its first St. Louis location this Wednesday, June 27, at 3949 Lindell Boulevard. As Gut Check reported when we first learned of J. Gumbo's arrival, the chain has locations in six other states. Its menu offers Creole and Cajun fare (gumbo, po' boys, jamb ... More >>

Your Pick for St. Louis' Most Overrated Burger Is...

Our poll to determine St. Louis' most overrated burger drew many more respondents than our poll for the area's most underrated burger. I'm not sure what that says about you, dear readers, but we thank you for your enthusiastic participation. The finalists included two local institutions and one nat ... More >>

Chicken McNugget Happy Meal at McDonald's and That's My Boy

Adam Sandler's newest film about being a shitty dad hits theaters today, right in time for Father's Day -- for people who would like to treat Dad to a fate worse than patricide, we assume. No, it's not Big Daddy or Grown Ups or Click, though it will make you long for films of such caliber. It's cal ... More >>

Tidbits from J. Gumbo's, Pumpernickels

- Looks like another fast-casual chain is setting up shop in St. Louis: A trusted operative tells Gut Check that J. Gumbo's will open in the Central West End. (We have an exact address, but we're working to confirm it.) J. Gumbo's, which as its name might suggest specializes in Creole and Cajun far ... More >>

Review Preview: Crushed Red

This week I visit Crushed Red (8007 Maryland Avenue, Clayton; 314-725-8007), the new fast-casual concept whose partners include veteran restaurateur Chris LaRocca and chef Jason Tilford. Page through for a sneak preview of my review.

If Your Single-Serve Coffee Maker Isn't Trying to Burn You, It's Definitely Ripping You Off

The single-serve coffee maker: Incredible convenience, or threat to life, limb and pocketbook? If the news this week is any indication, the latter seems more likely than the former. First, the New York Times looked at how much you're actually paying when you buy those pods that these single-serve c ... More >>

Calorie Consumption Rises When Counts Are Posted? Makes Sense to Us

A Big Mac? Yes, thank you. And can you please super-size me?​So this week, we get the news that the policy of forcing fast-food restaurants to prominently post calorie counts for menu items has been a giant bust. A study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and New York City shows that cus ... More >>

[UPDATED] Starbucks Introduces Bistro Boxes. USDA Says Not So Fast.

StarbucksA Starbucks bistro box, recalled.​Last week 5,400 Starbucks stores took another baby step into the food market, introducing Bistro Boxes: savory meals like chicken and hummus, chipotle chicken wraps and sesame noodles with fewer than 500 calories. Great news, right? Well, except for ... More >>

[UPDATED] Pilgrim's Pride Recalls Over 11,000 Pounds of Cooked Chicken

Pilgrim's PrideThe pilgrims aren't too proud, thanks to listeria fears. ​Yesterday we reported that there was a recall on 204 pounds of precooked chicken in Starbucks new Bistro Boxes for possible listeria contamination. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Or the beak of the bird. Yesterday ... More >>

Summer Treats and Meats Recalled

fda.govDole Italian Blend salad recalled for possible contamination.​It's been a busy few days at the FDA and USDA, recalling lots of potentially contaminated goods. It's salad season! Unless you've got a potentially-tainted bag of salad in your fridge. Some 2,880 cases of Dole Italian Blend ... More >>

Top 5 Fast Food Frankensteins

Alllllllrighty, folks! The theme of this post: These foods shouldn't exist.​Creators of the following high-calorie, mixed-metaphor monstrosities flew a little too close to the sun (remember what happened to Prometheus?), and yet their charred and grease-soaked bastard children of Fast Food Nat ... More >>

St. Louis Avoids Ignominy of Being a "Fast-Food Capital"

Image viaJared is everywhere -- watching you.​The Daily Beast is back with yet another of its rankings of American cities. This one charts the top 40 "Fast-Food Capitals" as defined by the number of fast-food restaurants per 100,000 residents. Having driven all over the metro area as part of my re ... More >>

Food Banks Conflicted Over Junk Food Donations

Just because they're hungry doesn't mean they should have junk food. NPR covers the touchy subject of how desperate food pantries manage junk food donations. Grocery stores often donate damaged items like soda and chips, which food banks are loathe to forgo for fear of losing healthy donations from ... More >>

Are Vending Machine Bans Creating Black Markets?

Image viaCan you put a price on Funyuns?​Hank Cardello, a former food-biz executive (Coca-Cola, General Mills, Cadbury-Schweppes), has posted an op-ed piece on the website of The Atlantic (via Eater) in with an intriguing argument against banning vending machines in schools:The recently passed Hea ... More >>

Review Preview: Snarf's and Pickleman's Gourmet Café

Kayci MerritteSnarf's in the Delmar Loop​A fast-casual two-fer this week, as I visit Snarf's in the Delmar Loop and Pickleman's Gourmet Café in Midtown. Follow me after the jump for a sneak preview of my review.

Meatless Mondays Boost Restaurant Sales

Meatless Mondays have become a boon to restaurants. New York Magazine looks at how the slowest night of the restaurant week is becoming one of the hottest, thanks to the increasing trendiness of veggies and high-end restaurants doing interesting things with them for Monday dinner.Grocery stores are ... More >>

The Indestructible Happy Meal and the Filthy Restaurant High Chair

Image via​Is there something in the air? Because it seems like we here at Gut Check International Headquarters have been filing more items than usual in our WTF? category.Today, the Daily Mail provides two interesting items.First, there is the Happy Meal Project, in which New York City artist Sall ... More >>

KFC Finds Appropriate Metaphor to Advertise Double Down Sandwich

>Image via​KFC has brought back the Double Down, its infamous "sandwich" of bacon, cheese and the frightening-sounding Colonel's sauce between two fried (or grilled, if you're a wuss) chicken-breast fillets.Regular readers know that Gut Check was less than impressed when we taste-tested the Dou ... More >>

Science Groups and Food-Borne Illness Survivors Push for Legislation

With food safety legislation still in limbo, on Wednesday everyone from focus groups to food-borne illness survivors pushed to get the law passed. CNN reports that since the bill first passed the House 13 months ago, there have been 85 recalls of FDA-approved foods. Statements on the urgency of the ... More >>

Wang Gang Asian Eats brings fast-casual Chinese and Thai to St. Charles

Americans Drink at Home and Keep it Cheap

It's not that Americans are drinking less. They're just drinking at home. The Chicago Tribune said that two of the city's marketing firms found that 90 percent of drinkers drink at home, compared to 77 percent who drink at bars and restaurants. Twenty-eight percent of home drinkers have started goin ... More >>

How Street It Is! Fats Pierre Brings Street Eats to St. Louis. Finally.

Robin WheelerWhich one's Fats? Fats Pierre partners Ty De la Venta and Jonathan Jones.​Other cities have street food. Taco trucks. Noodle carts. Meat-on-a-stick, grilled in portable kitchens and served fresh and hot to night owls looking for a bedtime snack to soak up the beer. Aside from a ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 3.15

​Arabic food arrives at the U.S.'s biggest Marine base. A combination of veterans returning from the Middle East with a taste for the cuisine outweighs the fear wrought by the Fort Hood massacre, making a Lebanese-American's shawarma stand a hit. (Wall Street Journal) Lower prices on healthy ... More >>

Sammy Scott's — a surefire sandwich-shop chain in the making?

Review Preview: El Pollo Loco

User "Sdbradley86," Wikimedia Commons Emphatically not the St. Louis location​This week, for a change of pace, I visit a fast-food restaurant. But not just any fast-food joint. No, it's El Pollo Loco, which was founded in Mexico. A sneak peek at my review after the jump.

The Morning Brew: Friday, 8.21

​ Contaminated food recalls, corporate farming horrors, chemical over-saturation, antibiotic-resistant cooties ... America's in a deep food crisis. (Time)Don't bother catching your own fish for dinner, unless you like mercury. (USA Today)Fourthmeal? Fifthmeal? How many meals a day does this ... More >>

Patties Take the Cake: Five Guys brings burger glory to Town & Country

Review Slideshow: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Jennifer SilverbergMy review of Five Guys Burgers and Fries is now available online. You can find Five Guys in Town and Country as well as Ellisville. For more information, visit the Five Guys Web site.In this week's Back of the House slideshow, Jennifer Silverberg takes you behind the scenes of the ... More >>

Review Preview: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

This week I visit Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which (finally) moved into the St. Louis area last year. Friday evening I cooked steak. That should have sated my carnivorous desires for at least twenty-four hours, but I woke Saturday morning craving a burger. Not just any burger, either. I needed a b ... More >>

FoodWire: Billy Goat Chip Co. Exiting Restaurant Biz

The Billy Goat Chip Company (4993 Loughborough Avenue) has announced that it will cease its carryout food menu after Sunday, May 3, to concentrate on its signature potato chips. From the press release: The rapid growth and popularity of the potato chips has dictated our focus.We will be hosting seve ... More >>

Review Preview: Dressel's

This week I visit the Central West End institution Dressel's. How did I end up at Dressel's, chowing down on house-made potato chips and rarebit for the who-knows-how-manyeth time? Blame the headless babe.Check back here tomorrow to see what I think.

FoodWire: More on Fumanchu Space

Sauce's new blog reports that the recently closed Fumanchu (7336 Manchester Road) will become a burger joint called Franklin's.

Taco Bell Bowlz bring on a serious case of existential angst

The Morning Brew: Thursday, 2.14

Grand Buffet

7 p.m. Monday, January 7. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

The Morning Brew: Monday, 8/27

SWANSON BONELESS PORK RIB SHAPED PATTY IN BARBECUE SAUCE WITH MASHED POTATOES, CORN & A BROWNIE

$2.95
Grand Supermarket
2700 South Grand Boulevard

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