Blogs

photo: Ian Froeb

Drink, rinse, repeat.

I moved this week. It sucked. But at the end of an arduous few days, I looked forward to rewarding myself with one of the great, small pleasures of this world: drinking an ice cold beer while taking a hot shower.

Alas, this didn't work out quite as I'd hoped. Still, it's the perfect occasion to introduce what I hope will be an occasional feature to put you, loyal Gut Check readers, in the spotlight.

Name: Ian Froeb

Age/Occupation: 29, Food Critic

Date Beer Consumed in Shower: 5/31/07, sometime after midnight

Why? Just finished moving into new apartment

Beer? Boulevard Pale Ale

Good? Perfectly crisp

Which did you finish first? The shower. No hot water!

Do you, too, enjoy the occasional (or frequent) beer in the shower? Drop me a line with "Beer in the Shower" as the subject heading, and you may be featured on this very blog!

-Ian Froeb

Mea culpa, Scott.

Here's an example of the pain-in-the-assitude of a weekly publication schedule:

In this week's review of Acero, I wrote that black truffles are as rare as a Scott Rolen base hit. Poetic exaggeration, sure, but the dude was scuffling.

Key word being "was." I finished with my review on Wednesday of last week. Since then, Rolen has gone 10-for-20 during a six-game hitting streak, raising his average from .215 to .252.

So, Cards fans, please hold your letters. I've seen the error of my ways. (And I'm glad to be proven wrong!)

Also, in yesterday's Small Plates, I misstated the opening of the new Chipotle in Clayton. It opens today, not yesterday. If anyone tried to score a yummy burrito yesterday evening after reading my post: mea culpa.

-Ian Froeb

photo: Jennifer Silverberg

Even tastier than it looks.

My review of Acero is now available online. Click here to read.

Also in this week's paper, Randall Roberts tries Lemp Lager at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room.

In lieu of his regular column, Malcolm Gay prepares a Keep It Down feast. Read the article here and then check out the slideshow of Jennifer Silverberg's amazing photos here.

-Ian Froeb

I'm moving to a new apartment today, so this will be short and sweet. But it involves free food, so listen closely.

On Tuesday, June 5, area Chipotle locations (including the new location at the intersection of Clayton and Forsyth, which opens Thursday) will give you a free burrito, taco or salad in exchange for a non-perishable food item. The donations go to the St. Louis Area Foodbank.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Wine Clinic has announced that it will be offering a six-week Summer Varietal Workshop Series. In each workshop, participants will learn about -- and taste, of course -- a specific varietal: cabernet, chardonnay, syrah/shiraz, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir and riesling. The series begins this Monday, June 4, at Luciano's Trattoria.

This ain't free. You pay $200 for the whole six-week course, or $45 per workshop. One of your instructors will be advanced sommelier Chris Hoel, subject of a recent feature by my colleague Kristen Hinman. Call Hoel at 314-369-8255 for more information.

EDIT: Original post incorrectly stated that the new Chipotle in Clayton opens today. It opens tomorrow, Thursday, May 31.

-Ian Froeb

Our waiter was referring to yours truly, about to do a face-plant in my mushroom ravioli. These delicate morsels, adrift in a sauce of melted, mildly tangy caciotta (a Tuscan cheese made mostly from sheep's milk), were very good, but the true object of my lust was the black truffle that had been grated atop the dish, its aroma and flavor as heady as new love.

This week, I review Acero, the hot new Italian restaurant in Maplewood. Check back here tomorrow -- or wait for the hard copy to hit the streets -- to find out what I think.

-Ian Froeb

Hope you're having a safe, relaxing holiday. If you still need to go to the store for burgers or steaks, this article from last Wednesday's New York Times may help you avoid a nasty case of sticker shock. (Registration required to read that, by the way.)

Have higher prices trickled down to St. Louis yet? I'm having a decidedly untraditional Memorial Day dinner -- we're in the middle of moving; no time to grill, sadly -- so I haven't had a chance to notice. Let me know.

-Ian Froeb

You're looking at a (crappy) photo of the new Bistro Alexander, which opened last week at 7927 Forsyth in Clayton. (It's the space formerly occupied by Limoncello.)

I had a look at the menu. True to its name, Bistro Alexander offers contemporary, seasonal bistro fare: grilled horseradish-crusted salmon, spring Colorado lamb chops, a rib eye steak. You can reach the restaurant at 314-725-9999.

Look for my thoughts on the place in a few months. Meanwhile, if you know of a place that's opened recently, especially one that's opened under the radar, drop me a line.

(And I apologize again for the crappy camera-phone shot. I have a digital camera, I swear.)

-Ian Froeb

Don't let that archive fool you. Gut Check is the brand-spankin' new Riverfront Times food blog. We're here to discuss food and drink in St. Louis: restaurant news and reviews, discussions both serious and silly, tips on where to find interesting and top-quality ingredients (and pleas for the same) and maybe even a recipe or two. Don't be shy, either. Comments are encouraged.

To get you in the mood, here's a picture of one of my favorite dishes on this or any other planet, tacos al pastor: two corn tortillas filled with smoky pork, pineapple, onion and cilantro. A squeeze of lime, some salsa, you're good to go. Enjoy!

-Ian Froeb

Nihari doesn't look extraordinary when it's delivered to your table. A dark stew, chopped cilantro scattered across its surface, chunks of beef shank bobbing ever so slightly. The aroma is pungent -- it can't possibly remind you of Vietnamese pho, can it? But before your first bite, young Zack Khan would like you to notice something.

He points to a small, pale object barely breaking the surface of the nihari. "See that?" You nod. "And that? And that? Limes. Some people like to squeeze them in the dish. That really sharpens the flavor."

What does nihari taste like? Why had I never seen it an Indian restaurant until I visited Indian Food? Learn the answers to these questions and more here.

-Ian Froeb

Hoel put in his notice two weeks ago, after lining up investors for a downtown "speakeasy": a new venture he's modeling after New York's Milk & Honey and San Francisco's Bourbon & Branch. The members-only lounges sport quirky rules like no cell-phone use, no wingmen, no networking. In the beginning only invitees knew the bars' addresses.

Hoel expects his joint to debut in four or five months. It'll only be open Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, leaving him plenty of time to mug up for his second crack at the master sommelier exam next spring.

-Kristen Hinman

I wasn't here when Harvest opened in 1996, so I can only imagine how surprising such a rustic menu, dependent on the seasons and the whims of nature, must have been. The fact that we now have so many restaurants that adhere to a similar mindset is a testament to the continuing success and influence of their local wellspring. And the food is so good, hearty and comforting, that we diners return to it again and again.

Why I have returned to Harvest now? Is it still as good as advertised? Find the answer to these questions -- and, this week especially, a lot more -- here.

-Ian Froeb

A quick note: I'll be the guest on this evening's edition of The Wire on KDHX (88.1 FM). Tune in at 7:30 p.m. to hear me discuss the St. Louis dining scene. This is my first radio appearance, so please excuse any nervousness. (Though people do tell me I have the perfect face for radio)

-Ian Froeb

Any talk of iconic St. Louis restaurants must include -- and might even begin with -- Balaban's, which for 35 years has anchored the intersection of Euclid and McPherson in the Central West End. This marks the fourth time this paper has reviewed the restaurant since 1999 alone, and it's a bona fide miracle that (to my knowledge) no stress-crazed Wash. U. med students or embittered line cooks have kidnapped the chef statuette that stands outside the front door.

Is Balaban's, now under the ownership of Brendan Marsden and Harlee Sorkin and with Andy White (formerly of Harvest) in the kitchen, new and improved or just cleaned up? Read my thoughts here.

-Ian Froeb