Main Dish Recipes

#79: Salt and Pepper Shrimp from Wei Hong

Deborah HylandSalt and pepper shrimp at Wei Hong​This Cantonese delicacy, traditionally cooked heads-on and shell-on, left American diners completely flummoxed about how to eat the battered shrimp. Down the crustaceans, shells and all? Peel the shrimp and lose all the salty batter? Nibble away ... More >>

Lynne Truong of Banh Mi So #1 Saigon Gourmet: Recipe for Bun Ga Xao

This is part three of Antonio Pacheco's Chef's Choice profile of chef Lynne Truong of Banh Mi So #1. Part one can be found here. Part two, a Q&A with Truong, is published here. Antonio Pacheco​While chef Lynne Truong prepares myriad Vietnamese dishes, a highlight of Banh Mi So #1 -- Saigon Go ... More >>

Ivy Magruder of Vin de Set: Recipe for Bouillabaisse

This is part three of Amanda Woytus' Chef's Choice profile of chef Ivy Magruder of Vin de Set. Part one can be found here. Part two, a Q&A with Magruder, is published here.Amanda WoytusVin de Set's bouillabaisse​If you eat one thing on Vin de Set's (2017 Chouteau Avenue; 314-241-8989 or www.vi ... More >>

Miguel Carretero of Guido's: Recipe for Bacalao a la Vizcaina

This is part three of Deborah Hyland's Chef's Choice profile of Miguel Carretero of Guido's. Part one can be found here. Part two, a Q&A with Carretero, is published here. Deborah Hyland Carretero's recipe for Bacalao a la Vizcaina​Tapas have become quite trendy over the past decade, often to ... More >>

Mike Ryan of Lola: Recipe for Andouille Corn Dog with Red Beans and Rice

This is part three of Chrissy Wilmes' Chef's Choice profile of Mike Ryan of Lola. Part one can be found here. Part two, a Q&A with Ryan, is published here. Chrissy WilmesAndouille sausage corndog with red beans and rice​When does a deep fried carnival staple evolve into an entree? When Mike R ... More >>

C Notes: Ian completes the journey through his 100 Favorite St. Louis Dishes

John Caton of Benton Park Cafe: Recipe for Classic Breakfast Pizza

This is part three of Chrissy Wilmes' Chef's Choice profile of John Caton of Benton Park Cafe. Part one can be found here. Part two, a Q&A with Caton, is here. Chrissy Wilmes​Everyone has a favorite type of pizza. Whether it's thick crust or thin, red sauce or white, St. Louis style or New Yo ... More >>

Chris Williams of Franco: Recipe for Chicken Roulade

This is part three of Chrissy Wilmes' Chef's Choice profile of Chris Williams of Franco. Part one can be found here. Part two, a Q&A with Williams, is here. Chrissy Wilmes​When it comes to education, some chefs choose the formal route, attending culinary school and working externships, while ... More >>

Jeff Robtoy of the Bleeding Deacon Public House: Recipe for 'Wich Came First

This is part three of Chrissy Wilmes' Chef's Choice profile of Jeff Robtoy of the Bleeding Deacon Public House in south St. Louis. Part one can be found here. Part two, a Q&A with Robtoy, is here. Chrissy Wilmes​Jeff Robtoy's creativity goes far beyond the kitchen. He's an art school grad, a ... More >>

Matt Dawson of Brandt's Cafe: Recipe for Duck Tacos

This is part three of Deborah Hyland's Chef's Choice profile of Matt Dawson of Brandt's Cafe. Part one can be found here. Part two, a Q&A with Dawson, is here. Deborah HylandBrandt's Cafe chef Matt Dawson prepares duck tacos.​Appetizers are Brandt's Cafe (6525 Delmar Boulevard, University Cit ... More >>

Kraken Wise: Squid Rocks

​No question about it: Squid and octopus are in. On a whirlwind visit to New York late last year, Gut Check partook of octopus dishes at four different restaurants on four consecutive nights. Last week, right here in blogland, our featured chef of the week Grace Dinsmoor of Modesto shared her ... More >>

Wicked Mama: A pair of neighborhood joints worth venturing out of your neighborhood for

The Firth King, and Other Acadamy Award-Inspired Fast Food Treats

In honor of being nominated for Best Actor in his role as stammering King George VI in The King's Speech, fast food-loving Brit Colin Firth will get to create his own sandwich at Burger King if he wins the Academy Award. hollywoodnews.com​ Firth hasn't said what he'll put on his burger if he ... More >>

Battle Meat Pie: England vs. Australia Grudge Match!

​England vs. Australia may sound like a cricket match, but it's merely the latest Fight Club Sandwich installment: battle meat pie. The two nations may share one language and a similar gene pool, but culturally they're as far apart as they are geographically. One is planning a royal wedding; ... More >>

Con Fusion: A Visit to Thai Pizza Co.

Ian FroebThe panang curry pizza (?) at Thai Pizza Co.​I last visited Thai Pizza Co. (608 Eastgate Avenue; 314-862-4429) five or maybe six years ago -- before I was the RFT's restaurant critic. Though the restaurant is located right down the street from Gut Check International Headquarters, I ... More >>

Making Mom Proud: A Visit to Nora's

Ian FroebThe "For Pete's Sake" sandwich -- smoked pork loin, bacon, brie, caramelized onion and applesauce -- at Nora's​When you name your restaurant after your mother, as the owner of the Dogtown sandwich shop Nora's (1136 Tamm Avenue; 314-645-2706) has done, you don't leave yourself much margin ... More >>

Poll-oh Boy! A Visit to Amigo Joe's Chicken

Ian Froeb​It was sometime last summer when I first noticed the sign along Hampton Avenue advertising Amigo Joe's "American Fried Chicken" restaurant. Now, you rarely see "American" added to the name of a fried chicken joint. It's redundant. Here, though, it made sense: Amigo Joe's is a Mexican res ... More >>

It's the little things, and Filomena's Italian Kitchen gets them right

Kosher Soul Food: The Recipes

Aimee Levitt​On a recent morning, Andria Simckes and her mother Evelyn Lard invited Gut Check to Simckes' Creve Coeur kitchen to give us a crash course in their specialty: kosher soul food. The results were delicious. They were kind enough to provide recipes, but Gut Check declines to take res ... More >>

Remembrance of Wings (and Curries and Briskets) Past: The Best Dishes of 2010

Family of Fare: The restaurateuring Schmitz clan breaks out with a bistro in Clayton

A humble Olive strip mall gets yet another culinary treasure

Poisoned Candy, Free Lifetime KFC, and Other Halloween Food Horrors

What's scarier - urban legends about psychos contaminating Halloween candy with poison and sharp things, or dressing up as Colonel Sanders to win a lifetime supply of KFC? The Atlantic debunks spooky tales of razor blades and cyanide in treats, giving evidence that most "Halloween sadist" stories ar ... More >>

Bob Colosimo's Pasta with Walnut Sauce

This is the final installment of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice profile of Bob Colosimo of Eleven Eleven Mississippi. Part one is available here; part two, a Q&A, is posted here. Robin Wheeler​While traveling in Tuscany last month, Eleven Eleven Mississippi's Bob Colosimo noted the abundance o ... More >>

What happens when you take the same shopping list to four very different markets? An RFT food experiment.

Cook's Illustrated's New iPhone App: A Gut Check Test Drive

A free Cook's Illustrated app? Free? America's Test KitchenChristopher Kimball: bow-tied culinary mogul​Cook's Illustrated, the flagship magazine of Christopher Kimball's food-media hydra, isn't known for giving it away. Kimball refuses to sell advertising in any of his magazines and cooki ... More >>

St. Louis to Sitka: Chef TJ Weston Publishes Alaskan Seafood Cookbook

​TJ Weston, a St. Louis native and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, has published his first cookbook, Eat, Fish & Be Happy: Salmon and Halibut Recipes to Celebrate the Taste of Alaska. The book draws from the 28-year-old Weston's time as the chef at a fishi ... More >>

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 >>

Counter Intelligence: RFT stages an around-the-clock diner-thon

David Molina's Paella Valencia Recipe

This is part three of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice interview with chef David Molina of BARcelona Tapas. Part one is available here; part two is here. Robin Wheeler​Paella Valencia Serves 6 4 1/2 cups chicken stock Robin Wheeler​1 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons chopped garlic 1 1/4 poun ... More >>

Chef's Choice Recipe: Eliott Harris' Tuna and Salmon Tartare

This is part three of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice interview with chef Eliott Harris of Miso on Meramec. Part one is available here; part two is here. Robin Wheeler​"People have this misconception about the Midwest that if you're landlocked, tough," sushi chef Eliott Harris says of sashimi ... More >>

Chef's Choice, Part 2: Jarvis Putnam of Bossanova Restaurant and Martini Lounge

This is part two of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice interview with Jarvis Putnam of Bossanova Restaurant & Martini Lounge. To read part one, click here. Stay tuned for part three tomorrow. Robin WheelerJarvis Putnam of Bossanova Restaurant & Martini Lounge​Did your family cook when you we ... More >>

Chef's Choice Recipe: Chef John's Egg Ravioli with Lardons and Mustard Greens

This is part three of Robin Wheeler's Chef's Choice interview with Chef John of Entre:Underground; to read part one, click here. To read part two, click here. Robin Wheeler​"I've had three kitchen jobs, and they've all been really short because they were in the summer before going back to sch ... More >>

Chef's Choice Recipe: Frazer Cameron's King Crab Boil

A staple on the Frazer's Restaurant and Lounge menu, this classic crab boil highlights owner Frazer Cameron's dedication to fresh ingredients, prepared simply to maintain their integrity. It also connects him to his childhood in San Francisco. ​Frazer Cameron​"When I was a kid, my mothe ... More >>

20 Unholy Recipes: Dishes So Awful We Had to Make Them

After about a year of perusing old-school cookbooks looking for weird recipes and spotting bizarre trends (hot dogs eggs, inside a Jell-O mold) from the '50s, food blogger Robin Wheeler compiled her twenty most stomach-turning concoctions. (Do not view this list before lunch. Jeez, or maybe after ... More >>

Farmers' Market Share: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

So hopefully the omnivores in the audience haven't given up on me yet. I know I burst onto the Gut Check scene in 2009 promising to explore the full spectrum of local foods, yet I've barely glanced at foods with faces.To the patient among you, rejoice!Alissa Nelson​The reason for the absence of me ... More >>

Chef's Choice Recipes: Jon Feraro's Fast Pizza Recipe

Robin Wheeler​"Here is a little recipe very similar to the way I make pizza in the shop and at home," says Jon Feraro of Feraro's Jersey Style Pizza, who was profiled in yesterday's Chef's Choice. "If you follow these steps, you can impress your friends and family with fresh Jersey-style pizza at ... More >>

Chef's Choice Recipes: Chuck Friedhoff's Bacon Cheddar Burgers and Vinegar-Salted Fries

Robin Wheeler​Anyone can buy ground beef and frozen French fries, but as I detailed in yesterday's Chef Choice's profile, Chuck Friedhoff of Persimmon Woods Golf Club wants to make these American classics transcend the manufactured version that's taken over in food service. It takes a lot of extr ... More >>

Chef's Choice Recipes: Josh Galliano's Butternut Squash Ravioli with Chinese Bacon

Robin WheelerMonarch executive chef Josh Galliano​While I interviewed Monarch executive chef Josh Galliano, he prepared butternut squash ravioli in a lemon-sage beurre blanc with Chinese bacon. After the jump, the recipe for this dish -- and for the fresh pasta you need to make it.

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 >>

Gyro Scoop: Meaty Middle Eastern pleasures abound on South Grand

Throwback of the House: Hunger's the Best Sauce for Reuben Chowder

Todd Ehlers, Wikimedia CommonsA special Tuesday edition of Throwback...You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry. It's a horrible sight to behold. Although I have enough body fat to keep me alive in the wild for the better part of a month, if I go an hour past mealtime without a feeding, there's hell to ... More >>

The Novice Foodie: Julia & Julie & Kelli

Part of my concept of what being a foodie entails is being able to cook well. I think I'm a decent home cook. I cook mostly from scratch, and I love being in the kitchen, but dishes that take a long time or have a complicated ingredient list intimidate me, mostly because I have the attention span of ... More >>

Gut Check: Dorm Room dinnertime!

Throwback of the House: Childhood Memories, Destroyed by Pyrex

Todd Ehlers, Wikimedia Commons​Even the most hardcore food snob has that one processed food that she just can't shake. For me, it's pimento cheese. These days, I usually make my own with Scott Peacock's gussied-up recipe, but a few times a year I need the processed-orange-crap-in-a-deli-tub chees ... More >>

Hold the Moustache: Fumanchu, the prodigious Mike Johnson's latest offering, is all over the Asian map

Tortilla Fats: Ian falls hard for a taqueria — again

Can Ian make Barack Obama's chili? Yes he can!

The Pla Song Kruang Remains the Same: Basil Spice puts the newest Thai twist on South Grand

Do you miss good ol’ home cookin’? Revival wants to raise your spirits.