Liz Miller

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 >>

RFT Spring Arts Guide 2013: Art

RFT Spring Arts Guide 2013: Dance

RFT Spring Arts Guide 2013: Music

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 >>

Are Lay's Limited-Time "Do Us A Flavor" Potato Chips Sold Out in St. Louis?

In February Gut Check fell in love. The object of our affection: Lay's new, limited-time chicken-and-waffles potato chips, one of three flavor finalists in its "Do Us A Flavor" contest. It was love-at-first-bite. But as is the fate of most missed connections, we hesitated too long in reconnecting ... More >>

What It's Like to Bartend in Dogtown on St. Patrick's Day [PHOTOS]

Gut Check enjoys the drinking and general debauchery that descends on Dogtown on St. Patrick's Day in St. Louis as much as the next functionally alcoholic food blog, but until this year, our experience was simply as another soused, green-clad reveler trying not to hurl in the streets. When we learne ... More >>

Olive Boulevard Asian Eateries & Much More: An Updated Guide to Restaurants Along Olive, Westward From University City

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 Olive Boulevard Asian Eateries ... More >>

Melt Moving from Carondelet Neighborhood to Cherokee Street

Melt (7700 Ivory Avenue; 314-638-6358), which opened in June 2012 in the Patch neighborhood near south Carondelet, is relocating to 2712 Cherokee Street. See also: -First Look: Melt on Ivory

Chef's Choice: Natasha Kwan of Frida's Deli, Part 2

This is part two of Gut Check's Chef's Choice profile of Natasha Kwan of Frida's Deli. Read part one, a profile of Kwan, here. Part three, a recipe from Kwan, will be available Thursday. Natasha Kwan, the owner of the vegetarian, vegan and raw-food restaurant Frida's Deli (622 North and South Road, ... More >>

Chef's Choice: Natasha Kwan of Frida's Deli

This is part one of Gut Check's Chef's Choice profile of Natasha Kwan of Frida's Deli. Part two, a Q & A with Kwan, will be published Wednesday, and part three, a recipe from Kwan, will be available on Thursday. "I was an unhealthy vegan," confesses Natasha Kwan, owner of the vegetarian, vegan and ... More >>

Taste Test: Taco Bell Regular and Supreme Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos

On January 29, Taco Bell chief executive officer Greg Creed officially spilled the beans about the fast-food chain's forthcoming Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos. Originally the Cool Ranch-flavored tacos were to descend on the masses today, but earlier this week Taco Bell announced via its Facebook pa ... More >>

We Started the Fire: A Thorough Investigation Of The Chipotle Quesarito Urban Legend

It was during a regular lunch break in January when Gut Check first heard tell of Chipotle's "secret menu." While waiting in the restaurant's service assembly line we overheard a customer ahead of us order an "adult" quesadilla. Our ears immediately perked up. When our turn to order arrived, we aske ... More >>

Taste Test: Steak 'n Shake's New Late-Night Menu 7x7 Steakburger and Nacho Fries

On Tuesday, February 19, Steak 'n Shake announced a new late-night menu, the All Nighter, available in restaurants between Midnight and 6 a.m. Items on the All Nighter menu read like a drunk or stoned person's dream: a selection of specialty Steakburgers including jalapeno crunch and gorilla, nacho ... More >>

Taste Test: Lay's New Sriracha, Chicken and Waffles and Cheesy Garlic Bread Chips

We got to the Schnucks (6600 Clayton Road, Richmond Heights; 314-644-0510) in Richmond Heights just in time yesterday evening. Our mission was simple: beeline to the snacks aisle in search of Lay's three new, limited-release potato chip flavors in Sriracha, Chicken and Waffles and Cheesy Garlic Brea ... More >>

Gut Check is Hiring!

​Have you been dreaming of a career in the glamorous world of food reporting? Now's your chance! Gut Check currently has several opportunities. We are seeking freelance reporters to assemble and post regular Gut Check features and original, breaking content. Familiarity with blogging software Mov ... More >>

10 Fast Food Valentine's Day Specials for St. Louis Lovers

For many couples, Valentine's Day means a fancy dinner out complete with flowers, chocolate and sparkling wine. But with Valentine's Day profits expected to reach $18.6 billion this year, fast-food restaurants are looking to get in on the holiday craze. Why have an expensive steak dinner when you ... More >>

America the Jell-O Shot: A Boozy Dessert Experiment Involving the Lower 48

Earlier this week Gut Check talked to Salute American Vodka founder Pete Kelly about the product's launch in Missouri. Eager to concoct ways to taste test Salute American Vodka, we threw around a few ideas, until one stuck: red, white and blue Jell-O shots! For awhile, Jell-O o'clock was our favorit ... More >>

First Look: Basso, the Lower-Level Gastropub at the Cheshire

Last month we featured a first look of the Restaurant at the Cheshire (7036 Clayton Avenue; 314-647-7300) on the heels of its November 5 opening. Its sister restaurant, the lower-level gastropub Basso (7036 Clayton Avenue; 314-932-7820), opens today. Basso's robust Italian menu features sharable pl ... More >>

The 20 Best Concerts That Happened in St. Louis in 2012, According to Us

It's been another steller year for live music in St. Louis, whether you were looking for the most legendary living pop artist or the quiet birth of a powerful local band. We've racked our brans and come up with our twenty favorite shows (they're listed below), but what tops your list? Was it The Ur ... More >>

The Cheshire's Lower-Level Gastropub Basso Opens Monday, December 17

Basso (6300 Clayton Road; 314-932-7818), the gastropub located in the lower-level of the Restaurant at the Cheshire (6300 Clayton Road; 314-647-7300), opens its doors Monday, December 17. Basso's opening comes a little more than a month after the Restaurant at the Cheshire's opening on November 5. ... More >>

November 2012 Openings & Closings

Another busy month for openings included Bar Les Freres, a cozy new French spot from Zoë Robinson Pidgeon; Elaia and Olio, the restaurant and wine bar from Ben Poremba; and a new home for Niche, Gerard Craft's flagship venture. Closings were few, though my colleague Liz Miller's farewell to Spanky ... More >>

St. Louis Red Lobster Restaurants Get New Look and Menu

In 2009, national seafood chain Red Lobster began remodeling its restaurants and menus, "in a style inspired by the New England coast." This fall it completed renovation on all of its eight locations in the greater St. Louis area, and on Monday, October 15, it debuted its new menus, which it describ ... More >>

First Look: The Restaurant at the Cheshire

The Cheshire has been serving food on Clayton Road for more than 80 years. It first opened shop in the late 1920s as Medart's Olde Cheshire, a luncheonette that served burgers out of a log cabin. In 1960, Steven J. Apted bought the restaurant and converted it into the Cheshire Inn, a British-themed ... More >>

First Look: Local Harvest Grocery in Kirkwood

On Thursday, October 18, a second Local Harvest Grocery (12309 Old Big Bend Road, Kirkwood; 314-966-6566) opened its doors. This is the first location in St. Louis county, with its flagship, Local Harvest Grocery (3108 Morgan Ford Road; 314-865-5260), in south city. Co-owners Patrick Horine and Madd ... More >>

New "Ultra Modern" Wendy's Opens on Hampton Avenue Today

Today, Wendy's opens its first "ultra-modern" fast-casual restaurant in the Greater St. Louis Area at 2130 South Hampton Avenue. By coincidence -- because we haven't been stalking it daily -- Gut Check crashed happened upon the restaurant's grand opening VIP event yesterday evening. And let's just ... More >>

Lil B at The Firebird, 9/25/12: Review

Lil B | DJ Billy Brown September 25, 2012 The Firebird There is no merch for sale at a Lil B show. There are five minute conversations with the rapper, where he happily poses for pictures, signs photos, albums, books, bodies and thanks each fan for his or her support. But he's not trying to sell me ... More >>

Gut Check Test Dunks the Dipr, "The Ultimate Cookie Spoon"

"Dunking cookies into a glass of milk with my fingers is hard work," says no one, ever. The aftermath of said dunking, however, is messier, and cleaning sticky, crumb-encrusted hands slows down the number of cookies we can shove down our gullet. Enter the Dipr, marketed as "the ultimate cookie spoon ... More >>

Point/Counterpoint: Which is Superior, Waffles or Pancakes? Pancakes FTW

According to the Internet, -- and other credible sources, like Waffle House -- the first week of September is National Waffle Week. Our first thought at Gut Check International Headquarters was: Why do pancakes only get one measly day of celebration, while waffles are awarded an entire week? It was ... More >>

Remembering STLPunk.com -- How to View the Site Today and Find Your Old Profile Page

Before Pinterest, Google Plus, Facebook, Myspace, Friendster, Qapacity, Quechup, Wakoopa (can you believe these made up words? Also yes, I found a weird list on the internet of social networking websites) there was STLPunk.com, founded and operated by local artist / punk Jerome Gaynor. And before ST ... More >>

First Look: Melt

On the southern tip of the south Carondelet neighborhood of St. Louis sits the Patch, a quiet collection of streets in south city not far from the Mississippi River. On Tuesday, June 12, Melt (7700 Ivory Avenue; 314-638-6358) became the latest addition to Patch, the newest tenant of neighborhood res ... More >>

Fight Club Burrito Bowl: Chipotle Mexican Grill's Burrito Bowl vs. Taco Bell's Cantina Bowl

"Can Taco Bell Do Gourmet?" and "Think Taco Bell Can't Do Gourmet?" are questions scrawled across promotional materials for Taco Bell's new Cantina Bell menu. As Gut Check reported earlier this month, Taco Bell introduced its new Cantina Bell menu in stores nationwide on Thursday, July 5. It was no ... More >>

Fight Club Sandwich: Jack in the Box's Waffle Breakfast Sandwich vs. McDonald's McGriddle

In a recent morning hangover-induced jaunt to Jack in the Box, Gut Check glimpsed a new menu item: the waffle breakfast sandwich. According to Jack, the sandwich is made with the chain's new country grilled sausage, a fried egg, cheese and toasted maple waffles. Our first thought: Can we get hash br ... More >>

The Sweet Divine to Appear on Food Network's Cupcake Wars

The Sweet Divine (4521 South Kingshighway; 636-942-2900) announced via Twitter this afternoon that it will appear on an upcoming episode of the Food Network show Cupcake Wars. The episode will air for the first time on Sunday, July 29, at 7 p.m. local time. According to the Cupcake Wars page on the ... More >>

First Look: Frida's Deli

Frida's Deli (622 North and South Road, University City; 314-727-6500) opened its doors on Thursday, July 12, offering fresh, vegetarian sandwiches, soups, salads and smoothies. Owner Natasha Kwan has been a vegetarian for 29 years, at times adopting a vegan diet, at others a raw foods diet, and has ... More >>

Cheese Pizza at La Pizza and The Amazing Spider-Man

In May, Gut Check kicked-off the superhero leg of this summer's blockbuster season by seeing The Avengers in 3D and wolfing down a "Super Hero Sandwich" at Planet Sub. The next notch on our big-budget superhero movie belt was whittled this week at a viewing of The Amazing Spider-Man in 3D -- Marvel ... More >>

First Look: The Sweet Divine

On Tuesday, June 26, Jason and Jenna Siebert, owners of the Sweet Shop Truck by the Sweet Divine, expanded their bakery business to include a brick-and-mortar bakeshop with the opening of the Sweet Divine (4521 South Kingshighway; 636-942-2900) in south city. "I couldn't wait to start, but the day ... More >>

Mayer Hawthorne and the County at the Firebird, 5/22/12: Review, Photos and Setlist

Mayer Hawthorne and the County | the Stepkids May 22, 2012 The Firebird Mayer Hawthorne is so smooth. His pitch-perfect pipes slide from fragile falsetto to deep, soul-filled croon; his style and swagger resemble a mix of Buddy Holly and Andre 3000. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, less than 50 miles f ... More >>

Jamaica Jerked Chicken at De Palm Tree and Marley

On April 20 Marley, a documentary about the life and work of Rastafarian reggae musician Bob Marley, debuted in select theaters nationwide. Though it opened that day in St. Louis at the Landmark Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-995-6270), Gut Check was busy buying Visine a ... More >>

RFT Spring Arts Guide 2012: Visual Arts

RFT Spring Arts Guide 2012: Dance

Trying and Failing to Conquer the Beer Margarita at El Maguey

There isn't much Gut Check is willing to thank the Jersey Shore for popularizing, but hey, we do love crazy, bizarre, unholy food and drink combinations. Not-so-recently (like two years ago), Jersey Shore cast-members were photographed drinking frozen margaritas with upturned Corona bottles garnishi ... More >>

A Wedge Salad Anchored with Carbs at The Shaved Duck and Titanic 3D

When Titanic was released in 1997, some of us at Gut Check were only 10-years-old. We weren't allowed to go to the movies, the mall or to Rollercade without a parent, and we begged our parents to spare us the embarrassment of being the only kid in fifth grade who hadn't seen the blockbuster of our g ... More >>

Fish Fry Frenzy: Week 2, Webster Groves Lion's Club Gluten-Free Fish Fry

Beginning Today, Friday, March 9, the Webster Groves Lion's Club will hold a fundraising barbecue every second Friday and Saturday through October (excluding July) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m in the parking lot of Sappington Farmers' Market (8400 Watson Road, 314-843-7848). Today, Friday, March 9, and Sat ... More >>

Ten Best Irish Dishes in St. Louis: Guinness-Battered Fish and Chips at Molly Darcys

Though generally considered to be the premier British take-away meal, fish and chips is a popular dish in Ireland as well. At Molly Darcys Irish Pub at Seven Gables Inn (26 North Meramac Avenue, 314-863-8400) in Clayton, the Guinness-Battered Fish and Chips melds together two Emerald Isle favorites ... More >>

Fish Fry Frenzy: Week 1, First Unitarian Church of St. Louis

Vegan felafel, pita bread, veggie chili and dolmas aren't traditional fish fry fare, but then, little about the menu at the First Unitarian Church of St. Louis (5007 Waterman Boulevard, 314-361-0595) UnFish Fry could be described as traditional. This annual vegetarian dinner not only takes meat off ... More >>

Zola Jesus at the Luminary Center for the Arts, 2/23/12; Reviews, Photos, Setlist

Zola Jesus | Talk Normal The Luminary Center for the Arts February 23, 2012 The power behind Nika Roza Danilova's vicious pipes, mythical, phantom stage presence and empowered, anxiety-tinged songwriting makes Zola Jesus feel like aural noir. An opera-trained songstress, Danilova and her vocal fero ... More >>

# 88 Quesadilla Azteca from Tower Tacos

Liz MillerYou won't find Tower Tacos' Quesadilla Azteca on the menu at Applebee's.​The many restaurants that line Cherokee Street feature menus full of sizzling fajitas, deliciously cheap tacos and other Mexican standards. One dish, the quesadilla, tends to be passed over at these authentic es ... More >>