St. Louis Food Blog

​Believe it or not, congealed pork blood at the fantastic Vietnamese restaurant Phuc Loi wasn't the most challenging thing I ate this week. That would be Doritos Late Night "Last Call Jalapeño Popper" chips. Talk about regurgitating the week! Then again, maybe we should wait till someone tries the Dive Bar Thanksgiving meal before deciding the absolute most challenging foods...

What else did we do this week?

The Sneak gave us not just one but two reports from the St. Louis International Film Festival.

Throwback of the House discovered the fallacy of weight-loss programs thanks to pumpkin pudding.

The Noble Writ tested himself against California cabernets, while the Beertender recommended brews for your Thanksgiving feast.

Farmers' Market Share enjoyed real maple syrup, and the Novice Foodie enjoyed a trip to Asheville and Atlanta.

Drink of the Week celebrated the Manhattan at Off Broadway, and Chef's Choice celebrated the cooking of Chuck Friedhoff.

The Dive Bomber struck the Black Derby Saloon, while Stuck to My Ribs hit up Dirty Dogz.

That's it for this week. Next week will be short because of the holiday, but packed with goodness. Have a great weekend. Eat something good.

​Don't you know? Gut Check has a Twitter account. You can follow me @gutcheckstl.

Here's some of what you missed on my Twitter feed this week:

Delmar Loop Xmas decorations up. #didisleepthroughthanksgivingandnowitsdecember?
11:31 AM Nov 16th

I don't care how many restaurants serve them: Crab cakes are not "a St. Louis staple." #menubs
2:44 PM Nov 16th

Josh Bacott

​Suppose it's a weekend afternoon, and you have a hankering for a nice 13-inch chili dog for lunch. You'd like to go to Foxy's Red Hots or Woofie's to indulge, but you're stuck with a stout to-do list that requires a trip to the local hardware. As much as a hot-dog palace such as Foxy's might be calling your name, you'd have to make two separate stops, and that's just not efficient.

Not when there's a delightful alternative sitting right inside your neighborhood Home Depot. Dirty Dogz calls the primo real estate at the exits of three area Home Depots home. Now, as you're walking out of the home-improvement store, you can have the latest addition to the tool arsenal in one hand and a giant 'kraut- and onion-covered beef dog in the other.

I challenge you to find a scenario that wreaks of manliness more than that one.

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 extra work to hand-grind burger meat, and there was much trial and error in finding a French-fry technique that pleased Friedhoff and his clientele, but it was worth it.

"Putting the extra work in is one thing, but putting the extra work in and having people appreciate it and realize you're doing something else is completely different and completely satisfying," says Friedhoff. "And it was an instant hit. Something I could change instantly and everyone was like, whoa, something's changed. What can I do to make the most impact, and be consistent on that impact?"

The year of Balaban's resurrection is complete. Balaban's Wine Cellar & Tapas Bar opens today at 1772 Clarkson Road in Chesterfield. Owners Steve McIntyre and Brian Underwood are offering tapas dishes, carry-out fare and a retail wine selection, with some of chef Kevin Sthair's dishes drawing  upon classic recipes of the original Balaban's (beef Wellington, Ligurian shrimp.) Balaban's is open 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Call 636-449-6700 for more information.

Balaban's opening comes only thirteen months after Aaron Teitelbaum and Jeff Orbin opened Herbie's Vintage 72 at the original Balaban's location in the Central West End.

​ Food safety bill passes the Senate. (Los Angeles Times)

Top ten dubious food label health claims. (Epicurious.com)

Giant Humbolt squid is quite tasty. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Beetles make all-natural Superglue on asparagus. (MSNBC)

Craft beer kings Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head collaborate on beer. (San Jose Mercury News)

Robin Wheeler

Chuck Friedhoff, Director of Food and Beverage at Persimmon Woods Golf Club

​"I never realized that hot dogs and golfers are such a big thing," says chef Chuck Friedhoff, Director of Food and Beverage at Persimmon Woods Golf Club. "I've been told it's because it's an easy thing to eat. It's somewhat clean. I said to myself early on that we should make bratwurst. We did that this summer, and it was a huge success. So we now have our house-made bratwurst. We grind our own sausage."

Since joining the staff of Persimmon Woods last May, Friedhoff has worked to change the nature of club cuisine as the nature of the clubs themselves continue to evolve.

Screenshot: www.cinemastlouis.org

​The Sneak makes a rare second appearance this week to continue her adventures at the St. Louis International Film Festival. See Tuesday's column for the first half of Round Two.

Shows: Stolen Lives, the much-hyped feature film starring local boy made mad, Jon Hamm, and Terribly Happy, the Danish Fargo.

Food: Some mysteriously bad beef jerky.

Difficulty: Surprisingly hard. Lines were long and in the open area of Plaza Frontenac in front of the theater, and a sold-out showing of Stolen Lives meant sitting in the very bright, very exposed front row.

Robin Wheeler

​In my months of writing the Dive Bomber, I've only had one instance (I know of) in which I've actively pissed off someone: an octogenarian bar owner who made some angry calls after my otherwise-glowing review of her tavern.

No, I'm not stupid enough to link to the piece in question. My editor had to deal with that "force of nature" once. I'd like to keep this job.