Jonathan Gold

Pastaria's Italian Ramen: 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 >>

Rick Majerus: Small Act Went a Long Way for SLU Student

Editor's note: Jonathan Gold is a third-year law student at Saint Louis University. He penned this story on Sunday after learning of the death of the man he referred to simply as "Coach." It was a little less than six years ago that I had my first encounter with Rick Majerus. I was finishing my so ... More >>

Iron Man Doesn't Know What Shawarma Is? Bull. Crap.

Ever the pop-culture sheep, I plunked down my hardly earned 26 clams and took my wife to see The Avengers this past weekend. Now, growing up, I was always more of a DC than a Marvel kid, so I appreciated the movie as popcorn entertainment, not a geek apotheosis. At any rate, I'm not to here to provi ... More >>

The Olive Garden's Tuscan Cooking "School" Is Real -- And So Is This Review

​Credit Eater with digging up this gem, a Reddit Q & A with an ex-manager at the Olive Garden. In it, the ex-manager reveals that there truly is an Olive Garden Culinary Institute of Tuscany, the existence of which has been the target of  much disbelief and derision.If you have a very gen ... More >>

Gerard Craft of Niche at James Beard Foundation Awards Tonight

​This evening, the James Beard Foundation will unveil the winners of its prestigious awards for restaurants and chefs. For the second consecutive year, Gerard Craft, owner and executive chef of Niche and its offshoots Taste by Niche and Brasserie by Niche, is a finalist in the "Best Chef: Midwest" ... More >>

Gut Check's Week in Tweets

​Don't you know? Gut Check has a Twitter account. You can follow me @gutcheckstl. Here's some of what you missed this week:When I heard about the "zombie attack" at an Iowa City restaurant, I thought, "Must've been Pancheros." And, yup, it was. #iowacity9:56 AM Oct 27thFor non #iowacity types, in ... More >>

More Plaudits for Kristen Hinman and "The Pope of Pork"

Forgive me if Gut Check sounds like a broken record, but my colleague Kristen Hinman continues to pick up award nominations for her grand-slam feature story, "The Pope of Pork." Hinman's profile of hog farmer Russ Kremer is one of three finalists in the "Food Writing" category of the 2009 AltWeekly ... More >>

Reviewing Reviews

Side Dish

C'est fromage as the cheese craze reaches St. Louis

Side Dish

How much service is too much service?