Ian Froeb

An Early Look at The Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar, Dave Bailey's New Venture

Dave Bailey opened The Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar last Wednesday at 1004 Locust Street. This is Bailey's third venture, following Baileys' Chocolate Bar and Rooster.Of course, it's much too early for a review -- but not too early to stop in for a beer and a look around.Ian Froeb​The Bridge ca ... More >>

Guess Where I'm Eating These Pancakes

I know St. Louis is a Mardi Gras town, but as someone who was raised as an Episcopalian, I will always consider today Fat Tuesday, a.k.a. Shrove Tuesday, a.k.a. Pancake Day. So: Where am I eating these pancakes?Ian Froeb​As always, leave your guess as a comment. Clues will follow if no one gets it ... More >>

Guess Where I'm Eating This Barbecue Pulled Pork and Chicken [Updated with Answer!]

OK. It's a trick question because I'm eating this at my desk here at Gut Check International Headquarters. But from where does this pulled pork and chicken barbecue hail? And where is the cornbread I ordered?Ian Froeb​Leave your guesses in the comments. Hints forthcoming if no one guesses correctl ... More >>

Guess Where I'm Eating This Cupcake

You guys are one for two so far in the Guess Where I'm Eating challenge. Today, a dessert. Specifically, a lemon-drop cupcake. Besides the lemon candies atop this cupcake, know that there is a tiny bit of lemon jelly inside the cupcake as well.Ian Froeb​Leave your guesses as comments. I'll provide ... More >>

FoodWire: Pappy Birthday! BBQ Haven Pappy's Smokehouse Turns Two With a Bash

Tomorrow (Thursday, February 4) Pappy's Smokehouse (3106 Olive Street; 314-535-4340) celebrates its second birthday, and to mark this milestone Mike Emerson and company are cooking up a whole hog barbecue. The lunch special, which runs from 11 a.m. till 4 p.m., will be a pork platter with one side a ... More >>

Fight Club Sandwich, with Poll! The Tilted Kilt vs. The Brick House Tavern Tap in a Meat Smackdown

Fellow St. Louis metro-area residents, we've been blessed this year with not one, but two new restaurants where the food is secondary to the scantily clad waitresses who bring that food to your table: the Tilted Kilt in Arnold and the Brick House Tavern Tap in Chesterfield.Ian Froeb​Yes, that re ... More >>

FoodWire: October Openings and Closings

October has ended its wet, wet reign, so we look back on the soggy month's restaurant openings and closings. As always, if I missed one, please let me know in the comments. Gracias in advance.Ian FroebBeechwood Bistro by Sage fell victim to the Union Station curse.​OpeningsThe Wedge (under new man ... More >>

Drink of the Week: 2007 Farnese Trebbiano, The Terrace View

Ian FroebThe Terrace View in CityGarden​The cloud of existential funk that hangs over the jury-duty holding pen on a Monday morning is like a thick, black fog. Not one person wants to be in that room, least of all the people who work there. The sighing. The grumbling. The bitter, blank staring. T ... More >>

FoodWire: Ferguson Maid-Rite For Sale

Ian Froeb​At Off the Menu, Joe Bonwich reports that the only St. Louis Maid-Rite (250 South Florissant Road) is for sale and possibly closed. Read Bonwich's story for more.I visited this Maid-Rite late last year. The photo at left is of the chain's famous (or infamous, depending on your point of v ... More >>

Five Good Restaurants in Old Fast-Food Buildings

View Larger MapAs I posted a few days ago, a new Vietnamese restaurant is opening at 3737 South Grand Boulevard, inside a former McDonald's. I'll admit that whenever I see a locally owned business taking over a chain restaurant's location, I smile. After the jump, in no particular order, five of my ... More >>

FoodWire: August Openings and Closings

Ian FroebTumo's on Hampton Avenue closed last week.​A look back at this month's restaurant openings and closings. If we missed one, let us know in the comments.OpeningsAsian Kitchen (former In Soo)The Levee (former Skybox)Molly's in SoulardTerrace View Cafe12th Street DinerClosings after the jump. ... More >>

FoodWire: Schnucks Culinaria Opens Downtown

Culinaria - A Schnucks Market opened this morning at 315 North 9th Street. The store features a 21,000-square-foot main floor and a 6,000-square-foot mezzanine.Ian FroebCulinaria - A Schnucks Market at Olive and North 9th Street​More, including details on changes at nearby City Grocer, after the j ... More >>

Jim Beam Red Stag in Gut Check's Swag Bag

When Jim Beam e-mailed Gut Check International Headquarters to ask if I would be interested in trying its new Red Stag black cherry-infused bourbon, I said, "You had us at Jim Beam." Because, frankly, after the week I just had, I'm drinking heavily.To my surprise, what arrived was the box pictured b ... More >>

The Best of Gut Check: Ian vs. the Corn Refiners Association

Wikimedia CommonsWhile Gut Check is on vacation, enjoy highlights from the past two years.Silly me, thinking I could share my desert-island fantasies without any consequences.In last week's review of Taqueria el Jalapeño, I wrote the following:It won't surprise regular readers of this column to lea ... More >>

FoodWire: Tower Tacos Returns!

Ian Froeb Some good news for this Cinco de Mayo: Tower Tacos (3147 Cherokee Street) is back. The Mexican restaurant, which opened only last year, closed earlier this year for undisclosed reasons. When I drove by today, it was open and busy.I stopped inside to pick up a takeout menu (the same as befo ... More >>

This Week's RFT, March 5-11

Riverfront Times Volume 33, Issue 10 (a.k.a. this week's paper!) is on news stands today. Below are a few of the highlights you'll find both in print and online.Unreal chews the fat with Tracie Sanderlin, a south county woman who blogs about her amazing 200-pound weight loss. Writer Matt Kasper prof ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Friday, 1.9

In today's news: climate change, Chicago going vegetarian (?) and a new jet for Starbucks.

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 1.6

In today's news: CEO news from Tyson and Chipotle, AB ditches the free beer, and scientists give cocaine to bees.

The Morning Brew: Monday, 1.5

In today's news: calls for a "50-year" farm bill, the iconic Rainbow Room is closing and the case of smuggled monkey meat.

Suicide Food: A Food Blog You Should Read

As you know, I'm an avowed (though not thoughtless!) carnivore. However, let no one accuse me of not giving the other side a voice. Suicide Food is a blog dedicated to exposing and critiquing food labeling (mostly barbecue logos) in which animals encourage the fact that they are about to be consum ... More >>

Because Gut Check is 12 Years Old at Heart, I Give You (Snicker) the Wunder Boner

Yes, this is real. Via Fail Blog: - Ian Froeb

FoodWire: New Year's Eve Beer

Champagne is overrated. Those of you who prefer to toast the New Year with a pint of beer instead will be happy to know that several of St. Louis' best beer bars and restaurants will be hosting New Year's festivities, and -- who else? -- Mike Sweeney has the rundown at STL Hops.- Ian Froeb

And the Gut Check Thing of the Year Award Goes to...

... the Not-So-Mighty DollarA no-brainer, really. What else did we talk about, really? Through most of the year, the cost of food increased. The economy continues its course down the crapper, taking more than a few local restaurants -- that is, livelihoods -- with it. I don't have anything more t ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Monday, 12.29

In today's news: Mexico bans U.S. meat, Diet Coke Plus shouldn't be "Plus," and France isn't happy about its wine.

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 12.23

In today's news: an unlikely outbreak of food poisoning, tough drunk-driving laws in Brazil and a pricing dilemma for restaurants.

FoodWire: Trattoria Marcella Closed Until Friday After Car Crash

Trattoria Marcella (3600 Watson Road) will be closed until this Friday evening to repair damage from a car that crashed into its front entrance this weekend. No one was injured in the accident, which occurred several hours after the restaurant had closed. For more information on reservations, call ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Monday, 12.22

In today's news: Zimbabwe's strife, trouble for Ruby Tuesday and meat cologne.

The Morning Brew: Thursday, 12.18

In today's news: Michael Pollan on Tom Vilsack, the sweetener Truvia and a victim of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

The Top Ten Dishes of 2008 - #2: Pretty Much Everything at the Firefly Grill

There was so much, all of it so good, that my memory is hazy. I remember luscious foie gras paired, I think, with peaches and the verdant snap of fried green tomatoes. I remember meaty portobello mushrooms stuffed with surprisingly tender escargot, all of it swimming in a garlicky-buttery sauce so ... More >>

The Top Ten Dishes of 2008 - #1: The Barbecue at Pappy's Smokehouse

Mike Emerson does barbecue the proper way: dry. Or, as the takeout menu puts it: "Sauce is on the side 'cause there's nothing to hide." The meats are smoked up to fourteen hours over apple and cherry wood. The pulled pork and the ribs are nothing short of extraordinary. I ordered the pulled pork a ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Monday, 12.15

In today's news: Smithfield meatpackers unionize, Egyptian food rioters go to jail, and Tom Colicchio is accused of tip no-nos.

The Top Ten Dishes of 2008 - #5: Deep-Dish Pizza at Pi

The deep-dish crust is something else entirely. It's medium-thick and made, in part, with cornmeal, which imbues the texture with a faint granular quality. The exterior is crisp and a lovely, summery golden brown; the interior has a spongy softness that absorbs the flavor of the various toppings w ... More >>

The Top Ten Dishes of 2008 - #4: Duck-Fat Frites at the Shaved Duck

There is no elegant way to eat these babies. Pluck a single fry from the tangle of very thinly spiral-cut spuds with fork or fingers and you'll end up with a handful. Share an order with someone else and the two of you might re-enact the Lady and the Tramp, munching on opposite ends of the same cr ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Friday, 12.12

In today's news: the FDA on the benefits of seafood vs. the risks, eating nuts for heart health and eating camel meat for the environment's health.

The Top Ten Dishes of 2008 - #9: Burgers at Newstead Tower Public House and BC's Kitchen

The countdown of the year's best dishes continues with #9, burgers at BC's Kitchen and Newstead Tower Public House

The Morning Brew: Thursday, 12.11

In today's news: pork back on the shelf in Ireland, a genetic trait for craving junk food and three girls in a KFC, er, hot tub.

The Top Ten Dishes of 2008 - #10: Cheesesteak at 9th Street Deli

The cheese is a nuclear shade of orange, a hue that sticks a knife in the heart of cheesemongers and Slow Food acolytes, but one that yours truly still finds irresistible. The cheese is not merely melting but a luscious liquid ooze. Glorious Cheese Whiz! Is the rest of the cheesesteak "reasonably" ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Wednesday, 12.10

In today's news: the dioxin scare in Ireland expands, the economy's effect on organic food and a beer for Sudan.

FoodWire: Mosaic Expanding

The St. Louis Business Journal reports that Claus Schmitz's Loft District tapas restaurant Mosaic (1001 Washington Avenue) will expand, nearly doubling its current size.- Ian Froeb

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 12.9

In today's news: job cuts at Anheuser-Busch, Whole Foods sues and a bird-flu outbreak in Hong Kong.

FoodWire: Zaytoon Closed

Zaytoon, a Mediterranean restaurant that opened not quite one year ago at 711 Olive Street, has closed. Its space is currently for lease.- Ian Froeb

FoodWire: Thaxton Speakeasy Now Open

The Thaxton Speakeasy is now open in the basement of the Thaxton Building (1008 Olive Street) Call 314-241-3279 for opening hours and more info. I had my wedding and reception in this building: It is a supremely cool space. STLog has a slideshow of the grand opening. - Ian Froeb

The Morning Brew: Thursday, 11.20

Yes, it's that time again: the Beaujolais Nouveau is here. This year, though, producers aren't very excited. (Wall Street Journal) A new study suggests that childhood obesity rates could be cut by banning fast-food ads. (Reuters) A year of trouble for Kosher meatpackers in the U.S. has l ... More >>

What's Happening (Or Not) at Bistro Toi

Not a good sign for Bistro Toi, the Asian-fusion joint that opened at 3257 Ivanhoe Avenue only three months ago: The restaurant is dark during tonight's regular operating hours, and the phone rings and rings. Anyone know the story? The spot has already seen one closure this year, the relatively sh ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Wednesday, 11.19

A new study suggests that obese children are actually eating fewer calories than they need -- and almost none of the nutrients their bodies require. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) Nestle recalls some Lean Cuisine frozen dinners because of plastic in the food. (Los Angeles Times) Restaurants w ... More >>

In This Week's Issue: The Fountain on Locust and Colorado Bob's Ship of Fools

My review of the Fountain on Locust is now available online. Also in this week's issue: Kristie ventures to Colorado Bob's Ship of Fools for a Midnight Sun, pissed-off vets and stories of rumrunning. - Ian Froeb

We Now Resume Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

I'm back, y'all. Slightly tanned, mostly rested and ready to return to Mexico post haste resume Gut Check in all its daily splendor. So, uh, what did I miss? - Ian Froeb

The Morning Brew: Friday, 11.7

The Morning Brew: Thursday, 11.6

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 11.4