Fruits and Vegetables

The Secret to Fighting the Flu This Season? Eat Yer Fruits and Veggies! (Gut Check Tells You Where)

Lately, it seems like everyone Gut Check knows either has a cold, is recovering from a cold or is awaiting the arrival of a cold. Now, Gut Check's general recommendation for fighting off a cold is to dose a bowl of pho with twice as much Sriracha as you can stand and then chase it with half a bottle ... More >>

Five Star Burgers Makes Eater National's 25 Hottest Burgers List

Congrats to Steve Gontram and St. Louis' own Five Star Burgers (8125 Maryland Avenue; 314-720-4350) for serving one of the "25 Hottest Hamburgers in America Right Now," according to Eater National. Five Star's "Dad's Green Chile Cheeseburger" was singled out as a must-eat item, joining stellar burge ... More >>

Best of Missouri Market Preview -- Including Seven Show-Me State Products to Taste Test

If you're looking for the the cream of the crop from the Show-Me State, head down to the Missouri Botanical Garden (4344 Shaw Boulevard; 314-577-9400) this weekend. The annual Best of Missouri Market will take place Saturday, October 6, and Sunday, October, 7, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The market will a ... More >>

New Mexican: La Cantina seeks to carve a unique niche in Webster Groves

Mexican Metamorphosis: If you thought Half & Half's name refers to breakfast and lunch, you don't know the half of it

Adobe Reds brings a taste of New Mexico to Midtown

Chef's Choice Recipe: Jennifer Pensoneau's Cochon de Lait and Cherry Cobbler

This is part two of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice profile of Jennifer Pensoneau of JFires' Market Bistro. Part one can be accessed here. Part three, a Q&A with Pensoneau, is here. Robin WheelerThis little piggy looks delicious!​The cochon de lait at J.Fires' Market Bistro reflects the Louisia ... More >>

Jennifer Pensoneau of JFires' Market Bistro, a Q&A

This the Q&A portion of Robin Wheeler's profile of Jennifer Pensoneau of JFires' Market Bistro. Part one can be accessed here. Pensoneau's recipes for sucking pig and cherry cobbler are available here. Robin Wheeler​Did your family cook when you were a child? If so, what meals stand out? Oh y ... More >>

Chef's Choice Recipe: Clara Moore's Curried Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

This is part three of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice interview with chef Clara Moore of Local Harvest Cafe and Catering; part one is available here; part two is here. Robin Wheeler​While overseeing the kitchen at Local Harvest Cafe and Catering, Clara Moore has also ventured into teaching. She ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 3.30

The morning brew's a little sluggish this morning -- but hey, it's still morning! Why's everyone hatin' on canned and frozen vegetables? Slate's Daniel Engber takes foodies to the woodshed. "I know it sounds weird," Engber writes. "A crisp salad of watercress and red onions must be more wholesome t ... More >>

Farmers' Market Share: Community-Sponsored Agriculture Might Be Your Kind of Crop Circle

Unless you're a gardener, you might not be aware that many people who grow stuff have already started seedlings or, at the very least, put in their seed orders for this year's backyard crop. If you never even got around to yanking last fall's desiccated tomato plants from the frozen tundra, raise ... More >>

Farmers' Market Share Visits a Mercado in Peru

I spent the first half of January -- the crappy half, as you all know -- south of the equator, in Peru. About half of our stay was in the smallish city of Cusco, which sits about 3,000 meters above sea level. A significant portion of the city still uses streets first constructed by the Incas in the ... More >>

Tenticular Fortitude: Ian counts down the top 10 dishes of '09 (hint: he loves him some octopus!)

Farmers' Market Share: Brussels Sprouts, Battle Axes and Baby Sloths

Alissa Nelson​In previous posts, I've talked a lot about how I like cute things: dogs eating green beans, dogs falling asleep in weird positions, dogs in general.Oh, and food. There's plenty of cute food, like cupcakes and other various expressions of twee craft-show fare. Brussels sprouts fit in ... More >>

Farmers' Market Share: Autumn Latkes

Alissa Nelson​Last week, while browsing the wares at Local Harvest Grocery, I encountered the biggest beets I'd ever seen. They were like cow hearts. I considered staging the Harrison Ford sacrifice scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, just for dramatic effect. Then I saw a sweet pota ... More >>

The Novice Foodie: Bacon, Shakin' and Bikin'

Kelli Best-Oliver​When I signed up for my friend's annual bike ride/pub crawl around St. Louis, the infamous Tour de Moose, I was worried more about how my body would hold up than what I would be drinking and eating along the route. After my retirement from collegiate sports, my only regular exer ... More >>

Sneak with a Thousand Faces

I was raised a Christian sneak, which may have repercussions in my evangelical fervor for spreading the gospel of eating what you want, when you want. One thing that always disappointed me about the Bible as child, though, was that Moses and David and Jesus were hard to understand. I liked Jesus be ... More >>

Chef's Choice Recipes: Vito Racanelli's Calabrese Chicken and Rice

Robin WheelerVito Racanelli of Onesto Pizza and Trattoria​As I wrote in my profile of Vito Racanelli, the chef's food passion lies in the home cooking of his 71-year-old mother, who still cans her own tomatoes every summer. Don't skimp on the fresh flat-leaf parsley. The herb's the predominant sea ... More >>

Farmers' Market Share: Haricots Verts Salad

Alissa Nelson​I'm such a superficial produce buyer. If something is even remotely colorful or eye-catching or cute, I go nuts. (No, seriously, don't even get me started on cute.) So when I walked up to the Deep Mud Farm stand at the Maplewood Farmers' Market this past week, I was a goner. I mean, ... More >>

Farmer's Market Share: Chilled and Grilled Okra

Alissa Nelson​Okra is one of the most beautiful plants in a summer garden. Its flowers make it look like an exotic plant imported from a gorgeous tropical isle where the summers are mild and the humidity is bearable -- kind of like St. Louis this summer. Red okra is so pretty that I've even seen i ... More >>

Introducing Farmers' Market Share: Be Thankful for Tomatoes

Alissa Nelson​Alissa Nelson is a graduate student and compulsive buyer of cookbooks. She enjoys scouring seed catalogs and thrift stores alike. Beginning this week, she will seek the bounty of local farmers' markets for Gut Check -- and then cook it.St. Louis, I have a message for you: Be gratefu ... More >>

FoodWire: Farmers Dinner at Monarch

Got a Tweet from executive chef Josh Galliano about a "Farmers Dinner" at Monarch (7401 Manchester Road; Web site) on Wednesday, June 10. The dinner will feature five-courses from Galliano highlighting produce from Claverach Farm and Root Cellar. The cost is $65 per person, which includes wine pairi ... More >>

Gut Check's Schwag Bag: Greg's Hemp Oil Salad Dressing

This product comes from Greg Perez, the ex-chef and owner at the now-shuttered Grateful Inn, formerly located on Manchester Road in Maplewood. Since the restaurant, which featured several hemp-based dishes on the menu, closed in March of last year, Perez has focused on expanding his salad dressing ... More >>

FoodWire: New Year's Eve at Moxy

As many special New Year's Eve menus as Gut Check can find.Eric Brenner's Moxy (4584 Laclede Avenue) is hosting a New Year's Eve prix-fixe dinner: three courses plus an amuse bouche and a dessert bar.The cost is $75 per person. Reservations are available during three periods: 6-6:30 p.m., 8-8:30 p ... More >>

Young agrarians at Wash. U. hope to bring us back to the garden

Fig-get Me Not

Love of food improves the world

Can they package a Whopper into a potato chip? Yes, they can! But something's missing...

Agave gives Mexican cuisine the white-tablecloth treatment.

It just might be able to find its niche in the Grove.

Study in Scarlet

Decadence colors the Washington Avenue loft district Red.

Schnitzel and Other Random Musings

Hyderabad to the Bone

Ruchi will delight fans of northern and southern Indian cuisine alike.

A Tale of Two Curries

Liluma

Cherokee Pastoral

Ian hastens to tasty Cherokee Street but can only waddle back home.

Feast on St. Louis Farmers' Markets

You'll find everything there for a fantastic gourmet dinner party.

KoKo's pan-Latin menu is at its best when it's all over the map.

This south-city spot tackles big flavors head-on.

Off the Rack

If The Tuxedo Room's food and service don't improve, it'll be curtains.

Lemon Soul

We're plenty happy to try out new Lifestyles

Bewitched, Bewildered

The food at Café Ivanhoe is a treat, even if the concept is confusing

Cheap Eats

A guide to grub for the skinflint gourmand

Eat More Beaver

Missourians have a healthy appetite for wild game meat. Some say raccoon tastes better than roast beef.

Low Tide

Watercolors Café is far from being a masterpiece

Man Overboard

Don't be thrown by the strip-mall setting -- Wholly Mackerel is seafood heaven

Best Smoothie

Sushi and Smoothies

Best Crêpes

City Coffeehouse & Creperie

Best Pizza (Thick Crust)

Black Thorn Pub

Best Ceviche

Mirasol

Best Mexican Market

Tienda El Ranchito

Best Takeout Counter (Gourmet Division)

I Fratellini

Best Farmer's Market

Clayton Farmer's Market