Blogs

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A look at what's happening at some of our favorite St. Louis food blogs.

My review not enough for you? Mike shares on Tigín's beer menu at STL Hops.

The Cheesemonger's Wife has the skinny on some very expensive pork.

The Cupcake Project promises cupcakes that are better than sex.

At STL Bites, Bill wonders what the worst thing you've ever eaten is -- and then opens the forum to your answers.

The Pollacks visit the new Thai restaurant Land of Smile.

At Sounding My Barbaric Gulp, Kelly overcomes her hatred of beef stroganoff.

French bread is Mandy's challenge at Fresh from the Oven.

Karen wants your help organizing her spice cabinet at FamilyStyle Food.

Iron Stef improvises on Nigella's recipe for chicken cacciatore.

Nupur dishes up burji, an Indian egg dish, at One Hot Stove.

Alanna has carrot dip on the menu at A Veggie Venture.

Bruno's Dream is baking biscotti.

That's all for this week. Next week: Mexican food like Mom used to make. If my mom were Mexican. Which she's not.

Have a great weekend. Enjoy the weather. Eat something good.

-Ian Froeb

Señor Pique -- the RFT's Best Mexican Restaurant for 2007 -- has moved to a new location at 14870 Manchester Road. Its previous location at 14424 Manchester Road will become the Cactus Grill. According to the sign outside the restaurant, this will offer "Mexican and international cuisine."

-Ian Froeb

Mayor Slay has a poll on hamburgers at his Web site. Remember: If you don't vote, you can't complain about the results.

-Ian Froeb

A quick mea culpa: Fountain on Locust, which opened last week at 3037 Locust Street, doesn't feature Argentinian cuisine, as my previous post mentioned. It does feature dishes from Natalia Penchaszadeh of local food blog ZiNur as well as ice cream and cocktails.

-Ian Froeb

www.usda.gov

Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer rejects a ban on "downer" cattle in the food supply in light of the Westland/Hallmark beef recall. Schafer also believes the current penalties for companies that violate USDA regulations are tough enough. (Washington Post)

Companies that purchased meat from Westland/Hallmark worry that insurance won't cover their losses. The article is a bit technical, but a good inside look at the working of the meat industry. (Wall Street Journal)

British retailer Marks & Spencer has begun charging customers who want plastic bags. (Reuters)

-Ian Froeb

So Jake Wagman of the Post-Dispatch reports.

Is that bad news?

(Wait for it...)

No -- it's the wurst!

-Ian Froeb

Basil Spice Thai Cuisine will open at 3183 South Grand Boulevard (roughly halfway between Pho Grand and the King and I) on Monday, March 3, according to the banner hung outside the restaurant. The restaurant will be open daily from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for lunch and from 5-9:30 p.m. for dinner.

-Ian Froeb

While the mainstream media paid lip service to the crisis, The Daily Show was on the case. (NSFW -- but only if your coworkers might object to the term "douchebag".)

-Ian Froeb

Photo: Jennifer Silverberg

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has released its 2008 Fish Consumption Advisory for Missouri waterways. The pertinent disclaimer follows:

The 2008 consumption guidelines are based on the most recent fish sampling information available. Because not all waters in Missouri are monitored, this fish consumption advice is considered a baseline of protection. The advice balances risks from contamination with the benefits of eating fish. In general, eat smaller, legal-size, younger fish because they tend to have lower levels of contamination than larger fish of the same species.

Most of the recommendations are based on how often you should eat a certain fish (once a week or month). However, there are a few fish labeled "Do Not Eat", including sturgeon eggs from the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

I mention the sturgeon eggs because three years ago my colleague Kristen Hinman wrote this article on the growing popularity of sturgeon eggs as a replacement for caviar.

The full text of the press release is after the jump.

-Ian Froeb

More

In this week's review, I wrote that the Irish pub and restaurant Fadó was supposed to occupy "the former Golden Grocers space" on Euclid Avenue. In fact, this is the space formerly occupied by a vegetarian restaurant next-door to the Golden Grocer. They were physically connected, if I recall correctly. However, the Golden Grocer is very much open today. My apologies for the error.

-Ian Froeb

The latest twist in the Westland/Hallmark meat recall: The Humane Society is suing the USDA for creating a legal loophole that can lead to unfit cattle being slaughtered. (New York Times)

Norway has opened its "Doomsday Vault" for seeds. (CNN)

Italian bust counterfeit prosciutto di Parma! Seriously, they have food-fraud police in Italy! (AP)

-Ian Froeb

Annie sent me this link: Rapper and producer Dr. Dre is releasing a line of liquors, including a premium cognac and...sparkling vodka. I didn't know such a thing existed. Turns out there at least a few sparkling vodkas out there: Vodka O2 and Nuvo. The question being, Why bother?

-Ian Froeb

www.dininginfrance.com

New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni has chosen the ten best restaurants nationwide to open between January 2006 and December 2007. He eliminated New York City from consideration as well as Portland (which the Times dining section recently highlighted) as well as a few L.A. restaurants he'd already reviewed.

Bruni is writing short reviews of each of the ten restaurants, to be published over the coming weeks in a countdown from #10 to #1, but he has already revealed the complete, unranked list, which includes the Las Vegas outpost of chef Guy Savoy (pictured above):

Central Michel Richard (Washington, D.C.)
Cochon (New Orleans)
Coi (San Francisco)
Fearing's (Dallas)
Fraîche (Los Angeles)
Guy Savoy (Las Vegas)
Michael's Genuine Food and Drink (Miami)
O Ya (Boston)
Tilth (Seattle)
Ubuntu (Napa, Calif.).

Also, he lists five restaurants that didn't make the cut:

Ad Hoc (Yountville, Calif.)
Comme Ça (Los Angeles)
Lüke (New Orleans)
Takashi (Chicago)
Tinto (Philadelphia)

As you can see, the center of the country doesn't get much love. I was surprised to see no Chicago restaurants in the top ten, though one did make the top fifteen. Then again, I don't have the expense account that Frank Bruni does, so I have eaten at exactly zero of these restaurants. Any readers visited any of these? Any places you think Bruni missed?

-Ian Froeb

My review of the Irish pub and restaurant Tigín is now available o'nline. Click here to read.

Tigín - Photo: Jennifer Silverberg

Also in this week's issue: Malcolm ponders change and the Chicken McNugget, while Kristie puts her plans on hold for a lesson on Greek wine.

And if you've missed any of the action here on Gut Check, remember that the blog now comes in easy-to-digest column form.

-Ian Froeb

www.amazon.com

General Mills and Nestle recall processed-food products that might contain beef from the Westland/Hallmark slaughterhouse at the heart of the 143 million-pound beef recall. Meanwhile, the head of Westland/Hallmark skips yesterday's Congressional hearing on food safety. (Wall Street Journal)

More coverage from yesterday's hearings: One congressman knows who is to blame for the whole mess -- the Humane Society! (New York Times)

Hillary Clinton's campaign not fulfilling your need for 1990's nostalgia? Check out the feng shui McDonald's. In California, of course. (Huffington Post)

-Ian Froeb