Wikimedia Foundation Inc.

Hurricane Recipes? Try a Gulf Spill! Top 10 Natural Disaster Cocktails

Given that Saturday's Mardi Gras celebration is the proverbial bad-taste storm before the calm, it's only fitting that the big party's signature drink is sweet, lethal and named after an actual storm. That's right: the Hurricane. If you're in the mood for something different this weekend, Gut Check ... More >>

Power's Out? Clean That Fridge!

Wikimedia Commons​All winter we've braced for ice-induced power outages. Who knew it would be a string of surprise thunderstorms and tornadoes that would leave more than 30,000 St. Louisans in the dark? Now that the power's coming back, it's time to investigate the damage done by a dead fridge an ... More >>

Ten Things To Do in St. Louis: December 23-29

Wikimedia CommonsA scene from Christmas Holidays at Merryvale​For local clubs, the week after Christmas can be rather dead. Out-of-town touring acts take a break for the holidays, while locals tend to rest up, spend time with family and save their energy for New Year's Eve. (The exception to t ... More >>

Ten Animal Parts You Probably Didn't Know Were Food

Photo from bbc dig it​After watching Anthony "No Reservations" Bourdain dine on warthog anus (yes, warthog anus), it seemed potentially instructive to search the web for other implausible anatomical snacks.It was.So, to honor Mr. Bourdain's adventurous palate, here's a compilation of the top eight ... More >>

Holiday Travel Horror Stories -- Or, How A Complete Stranger Vomited On Me on an Airplane Last Night

Wikimedia Commons​According to AAA, travel during this Memorial Day weekend is slated to be up five percent over last year. Personally, I decided to get out of town this weekend - in fact, I'm already in Cleveland visiting my parents and my boyfriend, while tying up loose ends for my RFT work ... More >>

Baking Today? Try Alice B. Toklas' Recipe for "Haschich Fudge"!

It's a holiday of sorts for the world's stoner subculture, and if you'd like to celebrate with a cannabis-infused culinary endeavor, well, look no further.This recipe for "Haschich Fudge" was handed out on little scrolls of parchment Friday night at the wild opening for the art exhibit "Alice" at th ... More >>

Albert Pujols Trades Big Bat for Bigger Gun

​ Pitchers report to spring training next week, and soon "El Hombre" will be gunnin' for 'em.Ryan Franklin looks happy to have Pujols on his side.​ Photo courtesy of (where else?) Wikipedia, keywords: Mk 15 sniper rifle.

Hey, Baristas! Test Your Latte Art at Thursday Night Throwdown, 2.11

User "Mortefot," Wikimedia Commons​As you might have noticed, our coffee column, Java Enabled, is taking a break, but author Zach Dyer was kind enough to send along word of an upcoming competition in which you can show off your skills at latte art. You know, drawing a leaf or some such in the foam ... More >>

A Table for How Many? at Haveli Indian Restaurant

We don't expect our favorite Italian, American, Thai, sushi or Bosnian restaurants to serve food buffet-style. But when it comes to Indian food, St. Louisans have become spoiled by lunch buffets and often don't even consider having Indian food for dinner."How would I know what to order on the dinne ... More >>

The Noble Writ's New Year's Resolutions

Unlike several of my fellow Gut Check contributors, I'm not much for reminiscing about, dissecting or ranking the past year. Instead, I enjoy the challenge of looking forward and setting goals. So here are my plans for both my personal wine consumption and The Noble Writ in 2010.Aaron Logan, Wikime ... More >>

2009 in Review: October

​Waldo Jaquith, Wikimedia Commons​October saw the return of Drink of the Week, the column founded by Randall Roberts and continued by Kristie McClanahan that muses on life and libations. Alicia Lohmar is the new author, and we're thrilled to have her as part of the Gut Check family. The rest of ... More >>

The Beertender: The Gift of Beer Always Fits

John Blyberg, Wikimedia Commons​Hey, look, more holidays! Here are a few easy-to-find, crowd-pleasing holiday beers to spice up your family's Christmas feast.Again we begin with the St. Louis Brewery. Schlafly Christmas Ale is, like many winter beers, great for a dessert or after-dinner drink. Th ... More >>

Farmers' Market Share: Whole Wheat Bread

User "Zyance," Wikimedia Commons​December is a sad time for the farmer's market aficionado. At minimum, it will be three months before the first spring greens are available. We're down to two monthly markets, the indoor Tower Grove setup at St. John's Episcopal Church on Arsenal Street and Maplew ... More >>

Sweet Scout Waves the Danish Flag

Tomasz Sienicki, Wikimedia Commons​At work, minding my own business, not thinking about sweets at all. (I swear.) Just another dreary day answering phones in a windowless, characterless room. Then in walked a coworker with a nicely sized bag. My eyes lit up: Goodies! I peeked inside. A ring compri ... More >>

A Table for How Many? at Seki

User "Alton," Wikimedia Commons​To my left, a nine-year-old boy stared intently at his Nintendo DS, his fingers moving a mile a minute. Next to him, his teenage sister rapid-fire texted her friends until she sadly announced that her phone battery had died. To my right, a college professor played ... More >>

Take a Beercation to Louisville with the Beertender

Fleur-Design, Wikimedia Commons​Beercation (n.): A short, inexpensive trip whose primary justification is the pursuit of rare, local or otherwise unattainable beer.Among potential beercation destinations, my current front-runner is Louisville, Kentucky, only four hours east on I-64. Maybe not the ... More >>

What to Get Your Novice Foodie This Holiday Season

User "Wikidemo," Wikimedia CommonsMerry Christmas! (Watch your knuckles.)​What to get the novice foodie(s) in your life this holiday season? Here are some gifts that I heartily recommend. These are invaluable tools, well worth the space they take up in my own kitchen because I use them so frequen ... More >>

Sweet Scout: Deep-Fried Delights to Stick to Your Back

User "Jellyfish Juice," Wikimedia Commons​A special Wednesday edition of the Sweet Scout...There are sweets that aren't so bad for you, like angel-food cake and fat-free frozen yogurt. There are sweets that are actually good for you, like fruits and moderate amounts of dark chocolate. And then th ... More >>

Farmers' Market Share: Pumpkin Soup and Pretentious Media

User "Infromgation," Wikimedia Commons​I'm not sure when I first became obsessed with food, but I can tell you about my history with pretentious media. On both counts, I blame my parents.My mom is an awesome cook. I have to give many thanks to her ability to accommodate my vegetarianism throughou ... More >>

Sweet Scout Takes the (Cup)Cake

User "Jellyfish Juice," Wikimedia Commons​I never got the cupcake thing. When I was a kid and there was a birthday party at school or a holiday celebration in the classroom, someone's mom always brought cupcakes. I ate them, because, you know, cake. But I never understood why cupcakes were prefera ... More >>

Farmers' Market Share: Thanksgiving Wheat Berry Salad Recipe

Jérôme Sautret, Wikimedia CommonsSweet potatoes: Try not to eat them all before you're done.​As a compulsive cooking overachiever, I have a tendency to see pot lucks as a challenge: How can I make something totally novel and awesome...yet avoid shopping? It's like Iron Chef: College Ingenuity.S ... More >>

Who Knew Missouri Even Had Rest Stops?

Wikimedia CommonsYou won't find a crapper as rustic as this one at the I-44 Conway Welcome Center. It has modern wastewater treatment!​This just in from the latest issue of AAA's Midwest Traveler magazine: a $10.8 million Missouri rest stop has collected props from the American Association of Stat ... More >>

The Sweet Scout Tries Gluten-Free Goodies

User "Jellyfish Juice," Wikimedia Commons​Gluten-free foods intrigue me. Why live without gluten? Celiac disease causes an intolerance to gluten, a protein found in wheat; those suffering from celiac disease can suffer numerous health problems if they ingest it. However, recent studies have shown ... More >>

The Noble Writ: A Port for Every Storm, Part 2

Continuing our exploration of port from last week (read "A Port for Every Storm, Part 1"), we'll cover the other forms of port you're likely to see on the shelves. We'll also spend some time discussing what, if any, food will match well with the port in your glass.First, to finish up with the red ( ... More >>

The Beertender: Get Hip to Hops

Ever seen that ad where Jim Koch of Samuel Adams noses around a hops field and says, "Hops are to beer what grapes are to wine"? While it's not quite an SAT-worthy analogy, it does make the point that there are different varieties of hops -- and that they are crucial to beer.Hops are the spice of be ... More >>

Sweet Scout: Gooey Butter Cake

User "Jellyfish Juice," Wikimedia CommonsGooey butter cake and I go way back. It's the only thing my mom and I made from scratch on a regular basis when I was a kid. I loved the whole process. Shopping for the right cake mix (no pudding!) and cream cheese (never do fat free -- it just doesn't work). ... More >>

A Sneak in the House of Love

​Today, my very dear friend and sneaking companion, Madame H, got married.Pros: Nobody believes marriage will make her change her sneaky ways. Now that they are flesh of one flesh and therefore sneak of one sneak, I can probably press her husband into happy service as a second set of pockets. He ... More >>

Review Preview: El Pollo Loco

User "Sdbradley86," Wikimedia Commons Emphatically not the St. Louis location​This week, for a change of pace, I visit a fast-food restaurant. But not just any fast-food joint. No, it's El Pollo Loco, which was founded in Mexico. A sneak peek at my review after the jump.

Innovations in Sneaking: The Solid-State Cocktail

Fernando de Sousa, Wikimedia Commons While I'm constantly amazed at the number of movie theaters in St. Louis that offer beer, wine and decent coffee, there still aren't many places you can enjoy a good cocktail during the show. What's a sneak to do?1. Pre-mix the cocktail and bring it in a bottle ... More >>

Throwback of the House: Reel Him in With Cheemato Soufflé

Todd Ehlers, Wikimedia CommonsHave you been despondent since last week's post? Worried about eating sea pie and dying alone? It's time to find you a man with 1952's Date Bait: The Younger Set's Picture Cook Book by Robert H. Loeb, Jr., which was loaned to me by Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp.I d ... More >>

The Noble Writ: A Riesling Primer

Riesling is my favorite white grape variety, and if pressed, I'd probably choose it as my favorite grape overall (pinot noir being its only real competition). So it pains me that so many folks interested in wine seem to ignore it, if not deride or despise it. There are many misconceptions about ries ... More >>

By the Boards: Dennis Brown on the STL Theater Scene August 6-9

It is perhaps the most felicitous opening line ever written:"If music be the food of love, play on."In this very first sentence, Shakespeare sets the elegiac tone that dominates Twelfth Night, which opens this week at St. Louis Shakespeare. Again. Although through the centuries critics have never el ... More >>

The Noble Writ: Corkage with Class

On the relatively few occasions when I dine at a nice restaurant, I'm usually seen carrying my "geek bag." (I have used the 820 model for almost ten years.) Inside will be three or four wines from my cellar that I am willing to pay to open pursuant to the restaurant's corkage policy.A restaurant tha ... More >>

The Noble Writ: Romo-ance and a Romo-rant

This week we're going to delve into yet another virtually extinct grape variety that, in the right hands, makes absolutely delicious wine: romorantin. First, though, a bit of a rant. There are more worthy grapes out there than just cab, merlot, pinot noir and chardonnay. And, for the really adventu ... More >>

Interview Outtakes: Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon

Yes, tomorrow is finally the day when Sonic Youth opens this year's Live on the Levee series of shows! Just a heads up on time: Awesome Color goes on at 6 p.m., and SY is on at 7:30. (In other words, expect nearly two hours of SY goodness -- no setlist spoilers from this current tour from me, though ... More >>

The Verdict on Kansas City's Smoking Ban: Put Out Your Butts, People

Wikimedia CommonsKansas City is free to enforce its indoor smoking ban, per an order issued yesterday by the Missouri Court of Appeals-Western District. According to a story today in the Kansas City Star, "Enforcement of the Kansas City smoking ordinance plays an important part in protecting the hea ... More >>

Java Enabled's Day at the Roasters

"It smells sweet, like candy," my friend said as I extended my wrist to his nose. My skin had absorbed the caramel flavors that had been wafting around me all day like a welcome second-hand smoke. It was the smell of coffee roasting.It was a bad day to hang out near a coffee roaster -- much less two ... More >>

How to Win Sneaks and Influence People

Fernando de Sousa, Wikimedia Commons In a previous blog post, I talked about the passionate side of sneaking -- particularly for those who seek a Sneak. But you've doubtless noticed that, while one of the things dearest to me in this life is the B-movie laboratory St. Elmo's fire that flares when I ... More >>

Throwback of the House: Dad's Denver Nightmare Brunch

Todd Ehlers, Wikimedia CommonsMy dad's the guy who nuked some bologna for ten minutes back in the day. He's not much of a cook, but now that he's retired, he's starting to find his way around the kitchen. He can make apple pie and jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon.I'm proud o ... More >>

Throwback of the House: Baking the Summer Away

Todd Ehlers, Wikimedia CommonsAh, summer food. It's the only thing I like about summer. I'd gladly live in a climate that never rose above 60 degrees if it weren't for giving up local produce, cookouts and a good old-fashioned summer cheese bake.What? You don't have the summer tradition of cranking ... More >>

A Sneak at the Opera

Fernando de Sousa, Wikimedia Commons Dara Strickland is a leading expert on sneaking food and drink into the movies. She reports on her exploits for Gut Check (from an undisclosed location) every Monday. This week, she snuck into Gut Check International Headquarters on a Wednesday with this missive ... More >>

Review Preview: Sammy's Beach Bar & Grill

Matt Becker, Wikimedia CommonsThis week, I visit Sammy's Beach Bar & Grill, Sammy Hagar's joint.There are restaurants I review because everyone is talking about them, and there are restaurants I review because almost no one has heard of them, and there are -- rarely -- restaurants I review beca ... More >>

Throwback of the House: Busy Lady Beef Bake Starts a Revolution

Todd Ehlers, Wikimedia CommonsRobin Wheeler writes for the blog Poppy Mom. After years of making and eating fancy food, Robin is sick of it all. She's returning to the basics: recipes that haven't surfaced in three decades. She reports on the results for Gut Check every Tuesday.Are you a busy lady? ... More >>

The Noble Writ: Spanish Spring

Dave Nelson is the author of the blog Beer, Wine and Whisky. He writes about wine for Gut Check every Tuesday.While Spain doesn't have the staggering diversity of grapes that Italy does, it's still home to some fantastically distinctive white wines. Fewer of these are imported into the United State ... More >>

What's Your NPR Name?

Wikimedia CommonsPerhaps picking out an NPR name is not as exciting as figuring out your porn star name, but Unreal thinks that the RFT should never pass up an opportunity to enhance its journalistic credibility.This method of renaming was discovered by Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'s Peter Sagal and ... More >>

Missouri House Votes To Let College Students Pack Heat Along With Textbooks

Employing the same sort of logic that St. Louis alderman Quincy Troupe used when he suggested earlier this year that every north St. Louisan should pack a pistol in order protect themselves from crime, the Missouri House of Representatives gave final passage yesterday to an amendment that would allo ... More >>

The Sneak: Souplicity

Fernando de Sousa, Wikimedia Commons Dara Strickland is a leading expert on sneaking food and drink into the movies. She reports on her exploits for Gut Check (from an undisclosed location) every Monday.Show: Duplicity, a somewhat romantic and consistently, genuinely funny caper flick.Food: Lobster ... More >>

Throwback of the House: Pickle Cheese Soup

Todd Ehlers, Wikimedia CommonsRobin Wheeler writes for the blog Poppy Mom. After years of making and eating fancy food, Robin is sick of it all. She's returning to the basics: recipes that haven't surfaced in three decades. She reports on the results for Gut Check every Tuesday.The Polish Dill Pick ... More >>

Second Spin: Slik, Slik

Second Spin: General Kane, In Full Chill