Not quite one year after a fire destroyed the apartment building in which J. Gumbo's had opened its first St. Louis-area location, the fast-casual Cajun-Creole restaurant has returned with a new home downtown. J. Gumbo's debuted yesterday at 312 North Tenth Street. The restaurant's regular hours are ... More >>
In late February, Kirkwood welcomed a new seafood-centric restaurant to town: Sushi Bistro (343 South Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood; 314-966-5545). The sushi bar and hibachi grill is run by owners Jimmy Li and Zhenkun Lin with chef Andy Chi, whose experience comes from rolling sushi on the East Coast for ... More >>
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. To see hundreds more winners and finalists, suggest your own contenders and download the Riverfront Times Best ... More >>
From the formidable forces behind the successful pizza empire that is St. Louis chain Pi Pizzeria comes a new concept called Gringo (398 North Euclid; 314-449-1212), which opened its doors in the Central West End last week with a full menu of tacos, margaritas and more. See also: - Pi Pizzeria Te ... More >>
The agave has been juiced, the limes have been purchased and the tequila has been stocked. Milagro Modern Mexican (20 Allen Avenue, Webster Groves; 314-962-4300) is ready to make hundreds of margaritas in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Milagro isn't hosting a garish Cinco party, but as the winner of ... More >>
Whether you observe Drinko de Mayo, or its less quippy counterpart Cinco de Drinko, we all unite this Sunday, May 5, to drink fishbowl margaritas in the streets of St. Louis. It might not be a real national holiday in Mexico or America, but that doesn't halt our revelry, and in the spirit of al past ... More >>
St. Louis' neighborhoods are gems in their own right: full of history, great people and, as far as Gut Check is concerned, fantastic food. Each week we'll take you into a specific neighborhood and point you in the direction of the best places to grab some bites. Cherokee Street is the epicenter of ... More >>
The mighty mud bug is the star of this month's food festival at Broadway Oyster Bar (736 South Broadway; 314-621-8811), and chef Brad Hagen is pulling out all the stops (and all the crawfish) to make this a feast worthy of the Big Easy. Gut Check spoke with Broadway Oyster Bar's Mary Moramarco to ... More >>
So here is a classic bad news-good news scenario. First, the bad: We told you last week that St. Louis Pho (3863 South Grand Boulevard; 314-664-4041) had closed temporarily and would reopen under new management. Today, I can confirm that the restaurant will not reopen as St. Louis Pho. This is a s ... More >>
St. Louis Pho (3863 South Grand Boulevard; 314-664-4041) is closed temporarily, according to a sign on its front door. The sign indicates that the Vietnamese restaurant will reopen on Monday, April 15, under new management. St. Louis Pho's phone number remains connected but went unanswered when I ca ... More >>
Last spring Farmhaus (3257 Ivanhoe Avenue; 314-647-3800) threw its first crawfish boil, and this Sunday, March 24, it's spicing things up with another one. From Noon to 6 p.m. the restaurant will serve a selection of Cajun eats, including boiled crawfish, andouille sausage and several other menu op ... More >>
St. Louis' neighborhoods are gems in their own right: full of history, great people and, as far as Gut Check is concerned, fantastic food. Each week we'll take you into a specific neighborhood and point you in the direction of the best places to grab some bites. View Olive Boulevard Asian Eateries ... More >>
Let someone else do the cooking for you over the next few days. Enjoy a special dinner prepared by a competent chef at spots like the Kitchen Conservatory, or get the full package of food plus entertainment over murder mysteries, variety shows and even glassblowing. Don't forget to enjoy Irish fare ... More >>
Since 1998, Wasem Hamed has wanted to open a Middle Eastern restaurant in Florissant. He saw a lack of the food he enjoyed growing up and learned to cook at culinary school in Jerusalem, and also the demand, from a strong Middle Eastern population in north St. Louis County. It has taken fifteen yea ... More >>
St. Louis' neighborhoods are gems in their own right: full of history, great people and, as far as Gut Check is concerned, fantastic food. Each week we'll take you into a specific neighborhood and point you in the direction of the best places to grab some bites. The Hill is the classic St. Louis ... More >>
Looks like a very short life for Noodle House (3924 South Grand Boulevard; 314-771-5197). The Vietnamese restaurant opened in late June of last year in a former Arby's restaurant along South Grand in Dutchtown. Driving past it this week, I spotted a For Lease sign posted outside the restaurant. Peer ... More >>
After six years, this gig still manages to surprise me. This week might seem like a no-brainer. On the one hand, you have the return of a beloved St. Louis restaurant: Arcelia's (1928 South 12th Street; 314-241-1378). On the other hand, you have a chain Mexican restaurant in a shopping mall: Vida ... More >>
A second location of Florissant Asian buffet restaurant Hokkaido Steak & Sushi Buffet (660 North US Highway 67, Florissant; 314-921-6666) is currently under construction in Concord Plaza Shopping Center at South Lindbergh Boulevard and Baptist Church Road in south county. Currently butcher paper co ... More >>
Feed Me Banh Mi (@FeedMeTruck), the food truck that specialized in Vietnamese-style sandwiches, announced via Twitter last week that it is quitting the business.
We learned just last week that a new Mexican restaurant was soon to open in the shopping center at the northeast corner of South Kingshway Boulevard and Chippewa Street: El Toro Mexican Restaurant (3710 South Kingshighway Boulevard; 314-772-2888). El Toro is now open. I ducked inside this morning t ... More >>
On a Sunday afternoon during its first week in business, Sultan Palace Bakery and Cafe (4144 South Grand Boulevard; 314-875-9653) has but two employees staffing the 60-seat restaurant -- which isn't a problem, of course, until a group of ten or so followed by a table of four arrive to sample the Mid ... More >>
Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina (South Brentwood Boulevard & Clayton Road, Richmond Heights; 314-863-1150) opened its doors this week at the St. Louis Galleria. Gut Check spoke with head chef Chris Swinyard to get the low-down on everything from the restaurant's "traditional guacamole" to its margari ... More >>
This week I visit Fiesta! Modern Mexican Cuisine (185 Hilltown Village Center, Chesterfield; 636-536-0002). It's not your typical Mexican restaurant -- though maybe not for the reasons its name might lead you to believe.
"Sorta close to Italy" is the legend on the back of the the staff shirts at Pastaria (7734 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton; 314-862-6603). Indeed, the newest addition to chef Gerard Craft's portfolio is a far cry from the Italian countryside. Modern touches such as floor-to-ceiling glass cover the entire ... More >>
As Sauce was first to report, a Thai restaurant called Fork & Stix will open this fall at 549 Rosedale Avenue, the east Delmar Loop storefront vacated earlier this year by the Ethiopian restaurant Selam. Opening a Thai restaurant in the Delmar Loop might seem foolish, as the neighborhood already bo ... More >>
Avocado. Avocado. Avocado. Spicy tuna? Avocado. Avocado. Avocado? I'm standing along the perimeter of the rectangular sushi station -- I'd call it the sushi bar but there's nowhere to sit -- at Tokyo Seafood Buffet (8004 Olive Boulevard, University City; 314-991-1188), watching as plates of sushi, ... More >>
Restauranteur Art Lee keeps it all in the family when it comes to food. Growing up in Thailand, his family ran an open market grocery store. He says the skills he gained then come in handy even now for the new business, Thai 202 (235 North Euclid Avenue; 314-367-2002), which he runs with his wife an ... More >>
A colleague noticed yesterday that the drive-thru hut at 8950 Manchester Road in Brentwood, which was the original home of Famous Szechuan Pavilion (8615 Olive Boulevard, Olivette; 314-685-0888), has new signage up advertising "To Go Sushi." Turns out that's not just what the new venture offers. Th ... More >>
The Veggielante has had it up to here with people bitching that St. Louis restaurants are vegetarian unfriendly. Sure, we'd like to see more restaurants offering more meatless dishes, but there are excellent choices out there if you take the trouble to look for them. We're not here to proselytize ab ... More >>
This week I visit St. Louis Pho (3863 South Grand Boulevard; 314-664-4041), a Vietnamese restaurant that opened in the Dutchtown neighborhood at the very end of last year. (Hence the leafless tree in the background of the photo I shot then.) Page through for a sneak preview of my review.
- 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 >>
- 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 >>
Tomorrow, Saturday, May 5, is Cinco de Drinko Mayo. Though at best a regional holiday in Mexico, we here in the U.S. of A. can't get enough reveling on Sabado 5 de Mayo. Don't get us wrong, we at Gut Check also enjoy indulging in margaritas on the rocks and Mexican food, and thus have compiled a lis ... More >>
Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this Gut Check series, we are chewing our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. To see hundreds more winners and finalists a ... More >>
