Food and Cooking

An Updated Guide to Restaurants in University City: Delmar Boulevard, from Big Bend to 170

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 West Delmar in a larger map The ... More >>

The Ten Best Food Events in St. Louis This Weekend: May 10 to 12

We hope you're thirsty this weekend. Read on for ways to quench that drinking curiosity with a wine festival, wine walk, beer-lesque, and bloody mary bar. Besides that, plenty of other drinking and dining options await. Read on for our suggestions. Friday (May 10): Rhythm & Ribs @ St. Charles Com ... More >>

The 7 Best Indian Restaurants 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. To see hundreds more winners and finalists, suggest your own contenders and download the Riverfront Times Best ... More >>

Tidbits: Sage Now Open for Lunch Only; Bici Cafe Closing Next Month

- A reader tipped Gut Check off that the Soulard restaurant Sage Urban American Grill (1031 Lynch Street; 314-256-1203) was no longer open for dinner -- or perhaps no longer open, period. At any rate, our tipster said he and other diners who arrived at Sage around the time he did, intending to eat d ... More >>

Mission Accomplished: Mission Taco Joint spices things up in the Loop

See photos: Inside Mission Taco in the Delmar Loop

8 Great St. Louis Brunch Spots For Mother's Day This Weekend

Of all the greeting-card company holidays manufactured over the years, Mother's Day remains one we're perennially endeared toward...cause let's face it, moms deserves their own holiday. Make Mom's day with a meal at any of these eight St. Louis restaurants, which offer outstanding brunch selections ... More >>

First Look: Gringo Offers Taco Options Like Al Pastor, Octopus and Grasshopper in the Central West End [Photos]

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 >>

Chew City

Bar Les Frères' Lobster Bisque: One of 100 St. Louis Dishes You Must Eat Right Now

You could easily spend your entire time at Bar Les Frères (7637 Wydown Boulevard, Clayton; 314-725-8880), the new venture from restaurateur Zoë Robinson Pidgeon and her go-to chef Ny Vongsaly, discussing and (in my case, at least) admiring its quirky décor. Yet to do so would ignore the most impo ... More >>

Tidbits: Sultan Palace, Hong An Open; Chopstix Asian Kitchen Closed

- Last month Gut Check heard from readers -- and saw for ourselves -- that the relatively new Middle-Eastern restaurant Sultan Palace Bakery and Cafe (4144 South Grand Boulevard; 314-875-9653). Calls to the restaurant led to a full voice-mailbox. Now we've heard from at least one reader that the re ... More >>

It's Not Delivery, It's Plastic Fragments: DiGiorno, California Pizza Kitchen Pizzas Recalled

Gut Check was just talking to ourselves the other day: "Self," we said, "it's been a while since we reported on any foods being recalled because of plastic contamination." So we ambled on over (virtually speaking) to the FDA's recall, withdrawal and safety alert website and, lo and behold!, there's ... More >>

Jilly's Cupcake Bar & Cafe Wins Cupcake Wars A Second Time

Congrats to Jilly's Cupcake Bar & Cafe (8509 Delmar Boulevard, Ladue; 314-993-5455), two time winner of Food Network's Cupcake Wars! Back in February, Jilly's cupcake chef, Casey Shiller, and its executive chef, Dana Holland, duked it out against other past competitors for a chance at redemption. Th ... More >>

Taste's "Barbacoa": One of the 100 St. Louis Dishes You Must Eat Right Now

The Gut Check One Hundred is our accounting of the 100 dishes in St. Louis that you must eat right now. These are the best dishes at the newest restaurants and the newest dishes at the best restaurants. These are the 100 dishes that define St. Louis dining in 2013. Our list culminates this fall when ... More >>

Is Tonight the Night for Gerard Craft at the James Beard Awards?

This evening the James Beard Foundation will announce the winners of its annual Restaurant and Chef Awards at a gala event in New York City. For the fourth time in the past five years, Gerard Craft of Niche (7734 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton; 314-773-7755), et al., is one of five finalists in the "Bes ... More >>

Vegetarians Get the Royal Treatment at Three Kings Public House in the Delmar Loop

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 >>

The Ten Best Food Events in St. Louis This Weekend: May 4 to 6

Cinco de Mayo, Derby Day and First Friday are only a few of the excuses to get out and get your drink on this weekend. Besides that, rejoice over the bounty of a new farmers' market season in Tower Grove Park, celebrate Big Sky Cafe's 21st anniversary or take a tour or class this weekend. Details on ... More >>

Green Bean's "Pueblito" Salad: One of 100 St. Louis Dishes You Must Eat Right Now

The Gut Check One Hundred is our accounting of the 100 dishes in St. Louis that you must eat right now. These are the best dishes at the newest restaurants and the newest dishes at the best restaurants. These are the 100 dishes that define St. Louis dining in 2013. Our list culminates this fall when ... More >>

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 >>

Milagro Modern Mexican's Craig Bielke: Featured Bartender of the Week

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 >>

A New Bromance: Bar Les Frères is a welcome addition to the Zoë restaurant family

Slideshow: Inside Bar Les Frères in Clayton

Taste's Grilled Asparagus with Crisp Poached Egg: One of 100 St. Louis Dishes You Must Eat Right Now

The Gut Check One Hundred is our accounting of the 100 dishes in St. Louis that you must eat right now. These are the best dishes at the newest restaurants and the newest dishes at the best restaurants. These are the 100 dishes that define St. Louis dining in 2013. Our list culminates this fall when ... More >>

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 >>

Gut Check's Guide to Drinko Cinco de Mayo in St. Louis: 26 Food and Drink Specials

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 >>

Happy Hour at Mango Peruvian Cuisine: Imbibing, Incan Style

Mango Peruvian Cuisine (1101 Lucas Avenue, 314-621-9993) The Hours: Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m., and late-night happy hour Monday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. The Deal: $5 margaritas, martinis and wines, $3 premium drafts, $16 pitchers of sangria and $5 select small-plate d ... More >>

First Look: Central Table Food Hall Offers Artisan Eats in the Central West End [Photos]

The highly anticipated Central Table Food Hall (23 South Euclid Avenue; 314-932-5595) takes up an entire city block. So you can imagine how silly we felt when we unknowingly drove past the 10,000-square-foot space during our first visit before doors opened on May 1. To the unassuming eye, nothing mo ... More >>

Guerrilla Street Food's Filipino Fried Chicken: One of 100 St. Louis Dishes You Must Eat Right Now

The Gut Check One Hundred is our accounting of the 100 dishes in St. Louis that you must eat right now. These are the best dishes at the newest restaurants and the newest dishes at the best restaurants. These are the 100 dishes that define St. Louis dining in 2013. Our list culminates this fall when ... More >>

Sanctuaria's Mint Julep: Gut Check's Hump-Day Cocktail Suggestion

Wednesday. Hump Day. Congrats, you've made it halfway through the work week! Unfortunately, you still have two days to go. Dunno about you, but in order to survive the midweek blues, we're going to need a drink. Which brings us to our Wednesday Gut Check feature: "Gut Check's Hump-Day Cocktail S ... More >>

Qui Tran Lives the American Dream and Continues His Mother's Legacy at Mai Lee

This is part one of Gut Check's Chef's Choice profile of Qui Tran of Mai Lee. Part two, a Q & A with Tran, will appear tomorrow. Part three, a recipe from Tran, will be available on Friday. Qui Tran can't discuss his childhood without mentioning Mai Lee (8396 Music Memorial Drive, Brentwood; 314-64 ... More >>

Spice-n-Grill's Beef Nihari: One of 100 St. Louis Dishes You Must Eat Right Now

The Gut Check One Hundred is our accounting of the 100 dishes in St. Louis that you must eat right now. These are the best dishes at the newest restaurants and the newest dishes at the best restaurants. These are the 100 dishes that define St. Louis dining in 2013. Our list culminates this fall when ... More >>

St. Louis Restaurant Openings & Closings: April 2013

April has seen several openings, including the return to St. Louis of chef Eric Brenner, an "eco-chic" outfit from Chicago, two new food trucks, a new bakery for the Loop and a new home in Soulard for another bakery. Closings were few but did include one of our favorite new Vietnamese restaurants, ... More >>

Rack Clutch: St. Louis "Fashion Truck" Has Dispute With Mayor Francis Slay Over Licensing

It's like a food truck -- only instead of selling food, Rack Clutch sells jewelry, accessories and clothing on the streets of St. Louis. Only challenge for this brand new "fashion truck," which seems to be the first of its kind in the region, is that there's no established license process in St. ... More >>

Cinco de Cherokee: An Updated Guide to Restaurants on Cherokee Street

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 >>

Kim Cheese's "Kim Cheese Burger": One of 100 St. Louis Dishes You Must Eat Right Now

The Gut Check One Hundred is our accounting of the 100 dishes in St. Louis that you must eat right now. These are the best dishes at the newest restaurants and the newest dishes at the best restaurants. These are the 100 dishes that define St. Louis dining in 2013. Our list culminates this fall when ... More >>

Gut Check Tags Along on First Dishcrawl Down Wash. Ave.

We're not sure where it started or when exactly it became a thing, but lately restaurant crawls seem to be all the rage in St. Louis. Pub crawls we understand. But restaurant crawls? Aren't those just glorified progressive dinners? We've been over progressive dinners for a few years now, so what's t ... More >>

The Royale Serves Up Classics with a Vegetarian Twist

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 >>

Chipotle Adds Patrón Margaritas to Menus Today [RECIPE]

Gut Check's inbox runneth over with press releases: local restaurant news, bizarre and enticing fast-food and junk-food, area food events...just to name a few. Last week we received a press release announcing a chain restaurant would be introducing a new Patrón margarita to St. Louis locations. T ... More >>

The Ten Best Food Events in St. Louis This Weekend: April 26 to 28

It's been a long week. Treat yourself. Two beer fests, a centennial wine tasting and a sangria tasting provide plenty of ways to wet that whistle. Read on for some recommendations of where to eat and (most importantly) drink this weekend. See also: -Sniff and Sip at Centennial Wine Expo Friday -Hop ... More >>

The Shack Pubgrub's "Shack-Which": One of 100 St. Louis Dishes You Must Eat Right Now

The Gut Check One Hundred is our accounting of the 100 dishes in St. Louis that you must eat right now. These are the best dishes at the newest restaurants and the newest dishes at the best restaurants. These are the 100 dishes that define St. Louis dining in 2013. Our list culminates this fall when ... More >>

First Look: Prasino Brings Self-Proclaimed "Eco-Chic" Contemporary American Cuisine to St. Charles [Photos]

What exactly is "eco chic?" Walk into the newly opened Prasino (1520 South Fifth Street, St. Charles; 636-277-0202), an upscale, Chicago-based chain of restaurants that just opened its first location outside of Illinois in St. Charles, and your well-informed wait staff will begin to tell you all abo ... More >>

Stellina's Saratoga Rib-Eye Steak with Morels: What to Eat This Weekend and Where to Eat It

Gut Check tells you what's new and tasty at our favorite restaurants. When I first visited Stellina (3342 Watson Road; 314-256-1600) several years ago, it was known as Stellina Pasta Cafe, and the restaurant's fresh pasta was the main attraction. See Also: - Chef's Choice Profile: Jamey Tochtrop o ... More >>

BBWU: Chubbies aims to live off the fat of the Loop's new infusion of Wash. U. kids

Slideshow: Inside Chubbies in the Delmar Loop

Happy Hour at the Scottish Arms: Walking in a Whiskey Wonderland

The Scottish Arms (8 South Sarah Street, 314-535-0551) The Hours: All day specials Monday through Thursday, late-night happy hour Monday and Sunday. The Deal: $2 off drafts on Mondays, $2 off cocktails on Tuesdays, $1 off wine on Wednesdays, discounts on single malt whiskeys and drams for shot pri ... More >>

Sameem Afghan Restaurant's Muntoo: One of 100 St. Louis Dishes You Must Eat Right Now

The Gut Check One Hundred is our accounting of the 100 dishes in St. Louis that you must eat right now. These are the best dishes at the newest restaurants and the newest dishes at the best restaurants. These are the 100 dishes that define St. Louis dining in 2013. Our list culminates this fall when ... More >>

Tidbits: Craft and Nashan Cooking in NYC, Central Table Food Hall Sets Opening Date, Balaban's Adds Brunch

- Gerard Craft of Niche (7734 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton; 314-773-7755) will find out in a little over a week whether he is the James Beard Foundation's "Best Chef: Midwest" for 2013. Ahead of the gala awards ceremony in New York City on Monday, May 6, Craft and Kevin Nashan of Sidney Street Café ( ... More >>

Dine Out For Life and Help Fight AIDS [GIVEAWAY]

Update: We still have gift certificates to participating restaurants to give away! Find out how to win them after the jump! --------------------- In 1991, ActionAIDS, a Philadelphia-based agency to help those suffering from AIDS, organized the first Dining Out For Life event. ActionAIDS encouraged l ... More >>

Local Harvest Cafe & Catering's "Organic Banh Mi": One of 100 St. Louis Dishes You Must Eat Right Now

The Gut Check One Hundred is our accounting of the 100 dishes in St. Louis that you must eat right now. These are the best dishes at the newest restaurants and the newest dishes at the best restaurants. These are the 100 dishes that define St. Louis dining in 2013. Our list culminates this fall when ... More >>

From Michael Ruhlman to Mom: The Favorite Cookbooks of St. Louis Chefs

Chef's Choice is Gut Check's regular profile and interview, with recipe, of a St. Louis chef. From time to time we'll present several chefs' answers to one of our regular questions. This week: What is your favorite cookbook? Shopped for a cookbook lately? So many beautiful choices. So many expensiv ... More >>

Recent Openings: Piccione Pastry on the Delmar Loop, Prasino in St. Charles

Geez. I leave town for a few days, and everything at Gut Check International Headquarters goes bonkers. Specifically, Gut Check might have given you a malware warning when you visited late last week. If so, 1) our sincere apologies; 2) you missed some good stories, including the news that Piccione P ... More >>

Sugarfire Smoke House's Beef Brisket: One of 100 St. Louis Dishes You Must Eat Right Now

The Gut Check One Hundred is our accounting of the 100 dishes in St. Louis that you must eat right now. These are the best dishes at the newest restaurants and the newest dishes at the best restaurants. These are the 100 dishes that define St. Louis dining in 2013. Our list culminates this fall when ... More >>

Sugo's Spaghetteria in Frontenac Serves Rustic, Hearty Vegetarian Italian Eats

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 a ... More >>