Western Europe

Ask a Mexican: Why is everybody "white" now?

The Dam to Open Next to Amsterdam Tavern

Animal lovers, rejoice! No, not actual animals. We're talking to lovers of "The Animal," the famous triple patty burger from the late, lamented Big V's Burger Joint, which closed its tiny Delmar Loop counter in 2007. Michele Coen-Racanelli, former co-owner of Big V's, is opening a new burger resta ... More >>

7 Foods the St. Louis Rams Shouldn't Eat in London

Early Tuesday morning the St. Louis Rams touched down at Heathrow Airport in London. On Sunday the team faces off against the New England Patriots in the annual NFL game in fabled Wembley Stadium. Sure, there isn't a lot of European interest in American football -- perhaps the Rams should consider ... More >>

[VIDEO] British Reporter to Rams Cheerleaders: "So What's Your Shelf-Life?"

Oy! Those blokes in Britain are a right cheeky lot, yeah? The English website Sportsvibe just published a video interview with three Rams cheerleaders on the eve of our football squad's match-up against the New England Patriots in London on Sunday. And we have to say, these St. Louis women were real ... More >>

David France's stirring history of ACT UP

Are Child-Porn Cartoons Good for Society?

On Monday, a 36-year-old from southwestern Missouri named Christjan Bee pleaded-guilty to having some filthy porn inside his computer. His wife had discovered it, then tipped off the local police department in their hometown of Monett. According to news reports, police seized Bee's computer and ... More >>

Love, German Style

Desert -- Performed

2 Days in New York Is Rom-Competent

The 10 Dumbest "Sports" of the Summer Olympics

This week thousands of international athletes will descend upon London to compete in 2012 Summer Olympic games. Some of the dozens of contests that make up the games are as old as ancient Greece; others are relative newcomers; and others are so incredibly inane that the International Olympic Committ ... More >>

Shell-Shuckin' and Brew-Boozin'

Win Tickets for Portugal. the Man at the Pageant

Update: Our winner! milwaukee hurt me sound guy ruined 'got it all' help avenge the song Original post follows. Portland-by-way-of-Alaska's Portugal. the Man is playing the Pageant this Sunday, and we've got an extra pair of tickets to give away -- contest time! Inspired by Haiku Lou, St. Louis ... More >>

Portugal. the Man

8 p.m. Sunday, April 29. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

New Madrid Fault Stretches, Rolls Back Over for Another Ten Minutes Sleep

​A 4.0 earthquake within the New Madrid Seismic Zone gently shook southeast Missouri Tuesday morning at 3:58 a.m. The quake was centered about nine miles east of Sikeston, Missouri, and no damage or injuries were reported.Just ten days ago, engineers, scientists, emergency first responders and ear ... More >>

200 Years Ago Friday the Mississippi River Ran Backwards

A drawing shows a keel boat tossed by waves from the tremor. Despite the magnitude of the earthquakes, few people died because the population in the area was so sparse at the time. ​Seismologists don't know for sure the magnitude of the earthquake that rocked Missouri at around 2:15 a.m. December ... More >>

LouFest Interviews: !!! On Outlasting Fads And Having An Unpronounceable Name

Courtesy of !!!​When !!! vocalist, cowbellist, and hype-man Nic Offer spoke to us on the phone, he was waiting for a BLT. If the restaurant was spinning the Sacramento band's newest offering Strange Weather, Isn't It?, the bacon might fry itself and dance over to a bed of lettuce to make baby ... More >>

Bloody Hell: Local Film The Bloodfest Club Rolls Out Trailer

After their first film, Hooch & Daddy-O, racked up an armful of awards on the film-festival circuit, co-writers and coproducers Jim Ousley and Oscar Madrid went on to take home an RFT MasterMinds Award back in 2009. They've since moved forward with The Bloodfest Club, directed by Madrid, which they ... More >>

The Beginning of Mass-Produced Art

Ask a Mexican! Foreheads: Dirty, or just really into Ash Wednesday?

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 >>

Valentine's Dinner Deal at Robust Wine Bar

​The best Valentine's Day dinner deal we've found so far has to be the prix fixe tasting menu offered at Robust Wine Bar & Cafe. Three courses, each with its own three-ounce wine pairing, for $55 per person. Better still, the Webster Groves wine bar will feature this deal all through Valentin ... More >>

Ivory Wave: Synthetic Cocaine Lands in St. Louis, Sends Teen User to Pysch Ward

am-hi-co.comBath salts now banned in Bath, and the rest of the UK. ​Is there any end to the number of new fake drugs on the market? Earlier this year the synthetic marijuana, K2, was all the rage in Missouri and much of the United States. Now it's Ivory Wave, a drug marketed as "bath salts" but fr ... More >>

A Treasury of Dutch Illustrations About Constipated Women

Earlier today, I went searching for a photograph of a toilet to illustrate a post about restaurant toilets being cleaner than restaurant high chairs. I found a perfectly adequate photo of a toilet.I also stumbled upon these illustrations, apparently from Holland, of constipated women. What more can ... More >>

Interview: Male Bonding's Kevin Hendrick

Steve Gullick​Best Coast and Male Bonding are opening the Gargoyle's semester tonight. The show starts at 9 p.m. We've already interviewed Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino. But Male Bonding deserves some attention as well: The UK trio released its (excellent) Sub Pop debut, Nothing Hurts, earlie ... More >>

Contest! Win Passes to the LouFest After-Party at the Gramophone, featuring Hey Champ

​After you've rocked all day in the sun on Saturday, cool off at night with London Calling's four-year anniversary party at the Gramophone. The night features Acid Kids (a DJ trio from Berlin) and Chicago electro-funkateers Hey Champ (Preview a song from them below.) DJ Clockwork, Nick O. and ... More >>

Pokey LaFarge Tour Diary, Part One: Conquering the U.K., One Town at a Time

(Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three are currently touring the U.K. He passed along some thoughts, which you can read below. Part two coming later.) Bill Streeter​Thursday 8/5, Big Chill Festival Our first performance of the tour. Big crowd with lots of young people dancing, which was surpr ... More >>

10 Things to Do for $10 This Weekend in St. Louis, Aug. 13-15, 2010

As the temperature tops 100, RFT has discovered some cool ways to stay, well, cool in these dog days of summer. We've got art, music, magic and more indoors, plus a skate show and bike race for you daredevils who want to brave the heat. Viva la air conditioning!

Top 10 Values of the World Goblet 2010

​Now that Gut Check's World Goblet 2010 tourney is in the books -- France won, if you've been asleep in a cave for the past month and a half -- here's a handy shopping list of the wines we consider to be the best values we tasted, along with a link to the pertinent post and an encapsulation of ... More >>

The World Goblet 2010 - Recap and Awards

It's been more than a month since Gut Check got a wild hair up our corkscrew and decided to stage a World Cup, as it were, of value-priced wines. ​We did it because we're cheapskates, and because we drink a lot of wine, and because we blog like a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest. Well, we ... More >>

The World Goblet: Semifinal 2 - Australia vs. France

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The World Goblet: Semifinal 1 - New Zealand vs. Spain

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The World Goblet Round 3: Portugal vs. South Africa

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The 5 Best Places to Watch the 2010 World Cup Final

World Cuppage: Spain 1 - Germany 0; Alegría Roja at Guido's Pizzeria and Tapas

photos by Keegan HamiltonJavier Mendoza goes loco after Spain's winning goal.​There wasn't a Spain fan on the planet who was sure their team was going to win today. Everyone knew that they stood a decent chance of defeating the German juggernaut (they beat them two years ago in the EuroCup and wer ... More >>

The World Goblet Round 3: Greece vs. France

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

World Cuppage: Netherlands 2 - Brazil 1; Orange Elation at Barrister's

photos by Keegan HamiltonThe Dutch fans went wild at Barrister's when their team beat Brazil​During their Netherlands' 6:30 a.m. group stage match against Denmark a few weeks back, the Dutch fans at the Scottish Arms were less than lively. The Clockwork Orange won the match 2-0 amidst many yawns a ... More >>

Paraguay vs. Spain

The Morning Brew: 6.16

Massachusetts sees a boom in agritourists. The Boston Globe reports that argitourism made $660,000 for farms and wineries in 2002 and more than $5.6 million in 2007. That's a lot of money for people watching farmers like Laura Tangerini do her chores. "Do I see it as a way to make a farm more profit ... More >>

World Cuppage: Switzerland 1 - Spain 0; Coffee and Cigarettes at the Amsterdam Tavern

photos by Keegan HamiltonIt's soccer 24/7 at the Amsterdam Tavern in Tower Grove​It wasn't a good sign for the Spanish contingent when Rob, the co-owner of the Amsterdam Tavern, started rattling off the final results of the previous winners of the EuroCup in the World Cup. Like some soccer Rain Ma ... More >>

Best Coast and Male Bonding Coming to St. Louis

So, Wash U is on summer break, but that hasn't stopped shows from being announced at the Gargoyle. Via Pitchfork (and, just now, a publicist): LA dream-fuzz act Best Coast and U.K. attack-punks Male Bonding are touring together, and should be stopping in St. Louis on Tuesday, September 14. The forme ... More >>

World Cuppage: Netherlands 2 - Denmark 0; Going Dutch at the Scottish Arms

photos by Keegan HamiltonNetherlands fans cheer for goals...and pasties.​The clock just struck 7 a.m. and there's beer and pasties all over the place. No, it's not the end of a debauched night at a strip club in Sauget. It's Monday morning World Cup soccer at the Scottish Arms.The "pasty," in this ... More >>

World Cuppage: USA 1 - England 1; Yankee Doodle Culinaria at the Old Post Office Plaza

photos by Keegan HamiltonThe US streaked to a 1-1 draw against England.​"Let's hear it for cloud cover!"That's the cry that drew the second-loudest cheer of the day from St. Louis' American soccer hooligans. It was a sweltering 94 degrees in downtown on Saturday afternoon and the sun beat merciles ... More >>

The World Goblet Round 1: South Africa vs. Spain

via​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gu ... More >>

For Country and Glory

Where to Watch the World Cup in St. Louis

The Beertender: Extolling the Glories of Berliner Weisse While Stoked on Lou Reed

www.colnect.com​Lou Reed's 2007 concert film Berlin features the rocker performing in its entirety the 1973 album of the same name. More than 30 years later, the repertoire remains pure Reed: loss, hate, depravity, a sourness for this cold, cruel world that's most evident when he closes with an un ... More >>