St. Louis Food Blog

Robin Wheeler

Steven Caravelli's Gnocchi with Truffled Bacon Jus

​Well, it's October, finally. Too bad it's a month late. Ah, well. This would be a great weekend to stop by Citygarden, if you haven't already, and maybe grab a bite to eat at the Terrace View, the subject of my review this week. Or, if you're in the mood for pizza, maybe try Bono's Pizzeria, which Josh profiled in this week's Stuck to My Ribs. Or, if this week's Chef's Choice profile enticed you, you can visit Steven Caravelli at Sleek.

Or you could just watch Monty Python clips on YouTube all weekend. What else happened this week?

The Noble Writ urged you to have fun with wine.

The Sneak provided a map to suit all your sneaking needs.

Throwback of the House "celebrated" "Scandinavian" cuisine.

For the first time, the Novice Foodie enjoyed a cheesesteak.

The Beertender suggest beers for autumn.

Farmers' Market Share loves leafy greens -- and so should you.

The Dive Bomber learned Twitter and Super's Bungalow Beer Garden don't mix.

Java Enabled judged the Midwest Regional Barista Competition.

That's it for this week. Have a great weekend. Eat something good.

This Monday, November 9, 33 Wine Shop & Tasting Bar (1913 Park Avenue; website) will host a special cocktail event. Blood & Sand will bring together some of the area's leading mixologists, including Ted Kilgore and T.J. Vytlacil, to kick off the new local chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild. There will also be a wine tasting -- this is 33, after all -- as well as a beer tasting hosted by STL Hops beer guru Mike Sweeney. The event begins at 6 p.m. Admission is free. Call 314-231-9463.

​Don't you know? Gut Check has a Twitter account. You can follow me @gutcheckstl. Here's some of what you missed this week:

I get strange stuff in the mail: http://pic.gd/56d561
1:30 PM Nov 2nd

Well, I can cross Vietnamese-style congealed pork blood off the list of things I haven't eaten.
2:47 PM Nov 3rd

Robin Wheeler

​During my interview with Steven Caravelli of Sleek, he emphasized that combining gnocchi with bacon and truffles isn't an original idea. Ever-deprecating of his own creativity, Caravelli sees himself as more of a craftsman than an artist with food, perfecting techniques and flavor combinations until something unique emerges. Such is the case with his classic Potato Gnocchi with Truffled Bacon Jus. "It's bacon and truffles. How can that ever go wrong?" he asks.

Josh Bacott

​One of the detriments to living in a city that claims its own "style" of pizza? A significant chunk of the locally-owned establishments ignore the alternatives.

Seemingly every neighborhood joint that offers delivery specializes in thin-crust St. Louis-style pizza. As a lifelong resident of the Gateway City, I'm an unabashed lover of St. Louis-style pizza. I typically live by the credo the more provel, the better.

But one problem with our city's trademark pizza is that when a guy has a nice appetite worked up, he can mow through a twelve-inch thin-crust pie in roughly ten minutes and still find himself rifling through the cabinets for a snack within the hour. Simply put: The name of this blog and St.Louis-style pizza are not synonymous.

​ Big chefs write about home cooking. (Los Angeles Times)

Angostura bitters shortage could cause problems for cocktail lovers. (The Guardian)

Universal student breakfast program choking on sugar. (Chicago Tribune)

MU's new Enology and Viticulture program gets national press attention. (NPR)

After Gourmet, food magazine markets fragment. (Los Angeles Times)

Robin Wheeler

Steven Caravelli, Chef de Cuisine at Sleek

​When Steven Caravelli taught at L'École Culinaire, students always asked him when they would be chefs. They could do it the way Caravelli himself did.

First, earn a degree in journalism at the University of Missouri - Columbia while working in a gourmet shop. Over the course of the next six years, work days as a bank teller and nights in the kitchen at Chez Leon while writing the occasional article for Sauce Magazine until there's a full-time position available at the restaurant. Make a stop at a local culinary school for one semester.

​When I received an e-mail a few weeks ago inviting me to sit as one of the sensory judges at the 2009-2010 Midwest Regional Barista Competition, I jumped at the opportunity. At my most delusional, it sounded like "celebrity judge" -- at the very least, it sounded like a great time. Last weekend, I trained for my judging certification and then sat as a sensory judge for the first round of the competition on Saturday. Fifteen shots later, I attended the final on Sunday. Over the next three weeks, I'll relate my experiences.

Remember the hand-turkey? That staple of the November elementary school curriculum? You trace the outline of your hand onto a piece of paper, color it in with crayon or paint, depending on your level of sophistication, and voila! Another piece of crappy artwork for your parents to hang on the refrigerator!

Megan, the mastermind behind the website Not Martha, has devised a culinary version of the hand-turkey: The meat hand. Complete with nails and bones. It would make a lovely addition to any Thanksgiving dinner table. (Megan claims it's delicious. It is topped with cheese, so she may be right.)

www.notmartha.org

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