Hostess Twinkies

Punk: Meet the 2013 RFT Music Award Nominees

The 2013 Riverfront Times Music Showcase is tomorrow! Think of it as St. Louis music's own official holiday, and consider this the season. Throughout May we at RFT Music have been working hard to make our cases for all 130 bands and artists nominated for an RFT Music Award this year in 26 categories ... More >>

Hostess: It'll Cost You at Least $410 Million to Make Twinkies

Gut Check was prepared to exceed our longstanding investment ceiling of $100 -- which we usually limit to the racetrack and, truth be told, seldom reach (or risk successfully) -- to snare the rights to make Twinkies, now that Hostess Brands Inc. is going belly-up and all. Turns out we're still a te ... More >>

A Twinkie by Any Other Name Would Taste As Sweet

On a recent expedition to Shop 'n Save Gut Check was heartened by the realization that recent seismic shifts in our personal snack-cake tectonic plates are not as soul killing as we'd originally feared. What, you ask, was the sight that so warmed the Gut Check cockles? Why, the generously appointe ... More >>

Are You Azure? Without a doubt, Blue Man Group teals the show

R.I.P. St. Louis Hostess Plant; Most Delicious Field Trip EVER!

It was with a heavy heart (and a sweet tooth of nostalgia) that I read news yesterday of Hostess Brands closing its St. Louis bakery. Apparently the maker of Wonder bread and Twinkies is in bankruptcy (How is that possible? Are we not still a nation of fat asses?!) and has promised to close any bake ... More >>

Tidbits: Dog Town Opens, Selam Ethiopian Restaurant Closes

- North St. Louis County has a new hot-dog joint: Dog Town opened two weeks ago at 2182 North Highway 67 in Florissant. (The space was previously the second location of White Barn and, before that, a Rally's.)

50 Ounces of 7-Eleven Double Gulp Is Still a Lot of Double Gulp

Shocking news from the fountain-soda beat: 7-Eleven has reduced the capacity of its Double Gulp from 64 ounces to a mere 50. Is 7-Eleven taking a stand in the contentious debate about obesity in America? Nope. Seems the 64-ounce Double Gulp was just too damn big for the average vehicle's cup-holde ... More >>

Vintage, Psychedelic Ads for Hostess Twinkies

Hostess Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, the second time in eight years that the maker of Twinkies, Wonder Bread and a score of other sweet cakes and enriched breads has sought such protection. Gut Check greeted the news with the expected smirk -- aren't Twinkies supposed to last f ... More >>

Michael Pollan's Picks Three Lame New Food Rules

​Here at Gut Check, we've had our share of fun mocking Michael Pollan's food rules. However, longtime readers of this blog know that I, personally, am a big fan of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.That said, I must admit I cringed when I saw the three new food ru ... More >>

Pam's Chicago-Style Dogs vs. Audi-K's: The Chicago Dog Showdown!

image via​You can keep your filet mignon and your foie gras and your pheasant under glass -- when Gut Check feels blue, what we crave is a hot dog. ​And while we'll never argue with eating dogs Texas-style (chili and cheese) or New York-style (with mustard and sauerkrat), the hot dog that real ... 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 >>

St. Louis Police Seek Ding Dongs Who Robbed Hostess Store

​St. Louis police did not respond to my request asking to get a department official on record calling the crooks pictured here "Ding Dongs." So, I'll have to do it myself. Though I gotta say: I'm a little disappointed that they stand accused of robbery and not soliciting prostitution at the Hostes ... More >>

10 Alternatives to Rush Limbaugh's Dumpster Diving Suggestion for Impoverished Youth

Rush Limbaugh, man with an electric blue halo.​Last week conservative talk-radio stalwart Rush Limbaugh made a modest proposal on his syndicated show, suggesting that underprivileged kids who suffer from malnutrition should consider Dumpster diving. Limbaugh was responding to a story from AOL ... More >>

Serious Weight: Dealer Sentenced for Moving 8.5 Tons of Pot Over 5 Years

So, exactly how much is 8.5 tons of pot? Obligatory photograph of pot.Answer: 17,000 pounds or 7,711 kilograms or 103 Michael Phelpses or 38,555 copies of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon or 453,592 Twinkies or 131,949 White Castle Sliders. That's how much mary jane an East St. Louis drug de ... More >>

Sweet Scout: Deep-Fried Delights to Stick to Your Back

User "Jellyfish Juice," Wikimedia Commons​A special Wednesday edition of the Sweet Scout...There are sweets that aren't so bad for you, like angel-food cake and fat-free frozen yogurt. There are sweets that are actually good for you, like fruits and moderate amounts of dark chocolate. And then th ... More >>

Super Bowl Snack Idea: The Snack-Food Stadium

holytaco.com Following the Bacon Explosion and the Atomic Buffalo Turd is this remarkable creation, which comes to Gut Check from the awesomely named Web site Holy Taco (via Deadspin).Among it's many amazing constituent parts: one end zone made out of queso dip (for the Steelers), the other out of s ... More >>

J.C. Romero is Being Screwed

Hey, I'll bet you don't know who J.C. Romero is, do you? Well, that's okay, because he's not the sort of person you're likely to hear about on a daily basis. Hell, even if your job happens to consist of writing about sports, you would probably only qualify for "passing familiar" status with regards ... More >>

More News Is Good News

The U: An Update

You say goodbye, Ian says hello

Now Open: Pam's Chicago-Style Dogs & More

Chocolate-Covered Twinkie

$2.95
Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company
8566 Eager Road, Brentwood

Enviga

$1.39 (estimated)
Arrived via media kit

Rocky Waters

Annapolis salutes all the classic boxing clichés

Fair Play

Mr. Night and Ms. Day know Fair Saint Louis inside and out. Just please don't feed funnel cakes to their dog.

1987 World Series: There's No Place Like Home (1987)

Phyllis remembers a kinder, gentler Series

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Week of June 22, 2005

American Idolatry

Who says cover bands are unoriginal?

Jesus For Juniors

How do you lure disaffected suburban teens into the bosom of the church? Try this unholy trinity: rock & roll, junk food and Foosball.

What Sort of Cult or Gang Do You Belong To?

Week of April 7, 2004

Cynical Guy

Work and play are the same thing to Marshall Crenshaw

Science + Art =

Creepy and beautiful

Where's the Two-Headed Calf?

The Missouri State Fair offers surreal glimpses of Americana plus lots of tasty things on sticks

Judgment at Hookyville

The volunteer jurists running a truancy court for St. Louis get an up-close view of wayward kids, don't-care parents and war-zone schools. It's worse than they thought.

Color My World

The Look and the Feel of Sexicolor isn't breaking any new ground, but it's a delight nonetheless

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Directed by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey

Sex Starved

For the sexual anorexic, scarred by psychic trauma, a controlled, loveless existence may be easier to bear than the thought of intimacy