The James Beard Foundation

The Morning Brew: 5.4

The James Beard Awards happened last night, honoring excellence in cooking and food media. The Boston Globe has all the winners. Stephen Sundlof, the FDA's director of food safety, is leaving his post to teach at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. According to the Wall Str ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 5.4

The James Beard Awards happened last night, honoring excellence in cooking and food media. The Boston Globe has all the winners. Stephen Sundlof, the FDA's director of food safety, is leaving his post to teach at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. According to the Wall Str ... More >>

See Food Documentary Fresh at Schlafly Bottleworks Tonight

Image via​Tonight, as part of its "Good Gardening Good Food" film series, Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue; 314-241-2337) will host a screening of the documentary Fresh.Here is the film's official synopsis:FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 5.3

The Gulf Coast oil disaster has led to a halt in all fishing from Louisiana to Florida. CNN's coverage of the environmental catastrophe looks at how oyster crews prepared as the oil slick moved into Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The chemical used to disperse the oil is highly toxic to marine life, whi ... 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 >>

Breaking: Gerard Craft of Niche Is Not "Best Chef: Midwest" at James Beard Foundation Awards

​Gerard Craft, owner and executive chef of Niche, Taste by Niche and Brasserie by Niche, was not chosen the "Best Chef: Midwest" at the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards.The award, announced moments ago, went to Alexander Roberts of Restaurant Alma in Minneapolis.Congrats again to Craft for the d ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 3.23

​The James Beard Foundation announced its 2010 finalists yesterday. This is the twentieth year the organization has recognized chefs, food professional and food writers. Locally, Gerard Craft of Niche made the cut. (CNN.com) Detroit-area kosher food bank Yad Ezra sees increase in need for Pa ... More >>

James Beard Foundation Honors Gerard Craft

Gerard Craft of Niche made the cut when the James Beard Foundation whittled the list of Best Chef: Midwest nominees -- a list that had also included Monarch's Josh Galliano -- to the finalists this morning. The James Beard Foundation Awards take place May, 3 at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Chef from Michael Mina Group Set to Open Hyper-Local Spot in Northeast Missouri

​From Vegas to Rutledge: Carron gets back to nature (and homemade gouda).​Anthony Carron, a John Burroughs grad who worked his way to the top of the Michael Mina restaurant empire, tells Gut Check that he's setting aside the fancy toque for a time in order to stick his hands in the dirt in north ... More >>

Breaking: Gerard Craft, Josh Galliano James Beard Foundation Award Semifinalists

​The James Beard Foundation just released the semifinalists (link PDF) for its annual awards honoring the nation's best restaurants, chefs and other food and drink professionals. St. Louis scored two semifinalists in the "Best Chef - Midwest" category: Gerard Craft of Niche, Taste by Niche and Bra ... More >>

Brasserie by Niche wears its honest-to-goodness heart on its sleeve

Review Preview: Brasserie by Niche

This week, I visit Brasserie by Niche (4580 Laclede Avenue; website), the latest restaurant from acclaimed chef Gerard Craft.Jennifer SilverbergBrasserie by Niche's onion soup​Read a sneak preview of my review after the jump.

Chef's Choice: David Timney, Mangia Italiano

It's never easy being new, but two months into his stint as executive chef at Mangia Italiano, David Timney is feeling content. "I think my home is really here," he says. "I'm just as excited being here as I was being at Balaban's seventeen, eighteen years ago."Robin WheelerDavid Timney, executive ... More >>

The Ten Most Important St. Louis Restaurant Openings of the Aughts #1: Niche (2005)

​Niche (2005)If a hurricane hadn't sent Josh Galliano here, both An American Place and Monarch would have had very different trajectories. And if an ambitious young chef in Salt Lake City hadn't taken the time to research emerging markets to open his first restaurant, we might not have had Niche. ... More >>

2009 in Review: May

​​It was the month of Kristen! My colleague Kristen Hinman won three prestigious journalism awards for her stellar feature about Missouri hog farmer Russ Kremer, "The Pope of Pork": a James Beard Foundation award, an Associaton of Alternative Newsweeklies award and an Association of Food Journal ... More >>

2009 in Review: March

​​The world as Gut Check knew it ended in March when we launched our Twitter account. Really, things have never been the same around these parts. The rest of the month after the jump.

2009 in Review: February

​​February was a big month here at Gut Check International Headquarters, as we rolled out our first new columns written by freelance writers: The Noble Writ, Java Enabled, The Sneak, The Dive Bomber and Throwback of the House. It was also a big month for Gut Check favorite Pappy's Smokehouse, wh ... More >>

St. Louis Food Blog Digest 10.23-10.30

Gut Check dishes on our favorite St. Louis food blogs.Cupcake Project: Stefani conquered a vampire with garlic cupcakes and chocolate-covered garlic, and then got witchy. She also shared Bride and Groom 3.0's first video review.Iron Stef: Stephanie partied with her mushroom-growing uncle.Show Me ... More >>

Chef's Choice: Josh Galliano, Monarch

Robin WheelerJosh Galliano, executive chef at Monarch​In the summer of 2005, Monarch executive chef Josh Galliano was working at New York's Restaurant Daniel when his girlfriend, Audra, paid him a visit. She wasn't happy with what she saw."She said, 'Okay, A, you look anorexic. You're working too ... More >>

FoodWire: James Beard Foundation Opens 2010 Awards Nominations

Doesn't seem that long ago that I was reporting on Gerard Craft of Niche, Taste by Niche and the soon-to-open Brasserie by Niche being a finalist for the 2009 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards. Now the foundation has opened the nominations for the 2010 awards. Anyone can nominate a c ... More >>

Chef's Choice: Jeffrey Constance, Hanley's Grille and Tap

Robin WheelerChef Jeffrey Constance of Hanley's Grille and Tap​What do you mean, you haven't heard of Hanley's Grille and Tap? Chef Jeff Constance took over the former J.Buck's locations at St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights, Illinois, and West County Center in Des Peres a few months ago. Though ... More >>

Gut Check's Week in Tweets

​Don't you know? Gut Check has a Twitter account. You can follow me @gutcheckstl. Here is some of what you missed this week: Restaurant playing "Who's Johnny?" from Short Circuit when I walked in today. Win.1:07 PM Aug 18thWhen I left aforementioned restaurant, the theme from Fame was playing. (re ... More >>

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

You didn't think Gut Check would let a week pass without noting another award nomination for my colleague Kristen Hinman, did you?Hinman's "The Pope of Pork" has been nominated for the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Awards Competition in the category "Best Newspaper Food Feature (Circulation 2 ... More >>

St. Louis Food Blog Digest: 5.2.-5.8

Gut Check dishes on our favorite St. Louis food blogs. The Digest returns after taking last week off because -- well, just because.St. Louis Eats & Drinks: The Pollacks visit the Central West End's Sapphire Pan-Asian.STL Hops: Mike has photos from last week's Microfest.Show Me Vegan: Lisa ... More >>

Readers dish on Dressel's, Screamer's and taking the Busch out of Busch Stadium

Riverfront Times' Kristen Hinman Wins James Beard Award

Riverfront Times staff writer Kristen Hinman last night won the James Beard Foundation Award in the category "Newspaper Feature without Recipes" for her article "The Pope of Pork." The article profiles Missouri hog farmer Russ Kremer and the Ozark Mountain Pork Cooperative.This is Hinman's second aw ... More >>

Breaking: Niche's Gerard Craft Is Not "Best Chef - Midwest" at James Beard Awards

Jennifer SilverbergGerard Craft of Niche (1831 Sidney Street; Web site) lost the Best Chef - Midwest category at the 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards to Tim McKee of La Belle Vie in Minneapolis. The award was announced this evening at a black-tie event in New York City. This was the first nominati ... More >>

The Week in Gut Check, Regurgitated

Jennifer SilverbergThe week peaked early here at Gut Check International Headquarters. On Monday came word that Riverfront Times favorite Gerard Craft of Niche is one of five finalists in the "Best Chef - Midwest" category of the 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards. As if that wasn't exciting enough, ... More >>

Gerard Craft of Niche a 2009 James Beard Award Finalist

Jennifer SilverbergGerard Craft of Niche (1831 Sidney Street; Web site) is one of five finalists in the "Best Chef - Midwest" category of the 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards. The finalists were announced today. The awards ceremony will be held Monday, May 4, in New York City.Craft, who last year ... More >>

Riverfront Times' Kristen Hinman a James Beard Award Finalist

Riverfront Times staff writer Kristen Hinman is one of three finalists in the "Newspaper Feature without Recipes" category of the 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards. Hinman is nominated for "The Pope of Pork," her profile of Missouri hog farmer Russ Kremer and the Ozark Mountain Pork Cooperative.The ... More >>

James Beard Awards 2009: Open Nominations Have Begun

2008 James Beard Award Winners Announced

King's Cups

Unreal gets tipsy on premium cocktails, then asks a bunch of questions about beer bellies and white weddings.

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