Image via

​The next time you're wandering through the frozen-food section at your nearest Walmart, keep an eye open for a newcomer to the already-crammed breakfast section. Tucked in next to the Pillsbury Toaster Strudel and the Hot Pockets, IHOP will be stocking its new IHOP At Home line of breakfast fare.

America's favorite pancake house is now serving breakfast 24/7...from your freezer. Of course, it should be mentioned that foodies won't find IHOP hotcakes packaged and ready for the microwave. (Aunt Jemima seems to have cornered that market.) Instead, IHOP is bringing its higher-end breakfast items to Walmarts across the country.

More >>

Gut Check is constantly working to bring the latest food news to our readers. As a result, we do a lot of blogging. In an effort to draw attention to great posts that may have otherwise been lost in the blogosphere (and to recognize our hard-working writers), we present Post of the Month.

Katie Moulton

White Castle knows the way to Gut Check's ego.

​Seasonal. Fusion. Ethnic. Bacon crumble. These are all words Gut Check never thought we'd hear within slinging distance of a slider.

Yet there we were Thursday morning, listening to White Castle's new corporate chef discuss how the fast-food chain is expanding its menu with an eye toward...freshness. And it all begins with breakfast. White Castle invited Gut Check, along with other St. Louis food bloggers, out to its Bridgeton location (11979 Paul Mayer Avenue; 314-738-7999), to introduce its revamped breakfast menu.

Right now the breakfasts are being tested in the St. Louis market only, but White Castle communications director Debbie Cline says the company intends to roll out the breakfast menu in other markets late this year.

Though representatives of the mainstream media were noticeably absent from the Castle's blogger confab, there was absolutely no way Gut Check was going to miss this.

More >>

Kholood Eid

​Chick-fil-A may be unlike any other fast-food restaurant when it comes to opening new stores. With each new location that crops up across the nation, a crowd of loyal customers is sure to gather -- and camp out 24 hours prior to the premiere. This applies to the newest Missouri location in St. Peters.

And we're not talking locals, or commuters from St. Louis. We're talking everywhere.

The grand openings draw a cult-like following that's a culture unto itself. Sure, there's the draw of being one of the first 100 in line, which wins you free Chick for a year (see details on the Chick-fil-A website.)

But for many it's a tradition.

"This is the third First-100 Openings we've been to," says Ben Perry, of Olathe, Kansas. Along with his wife, Becca, and kids Joshua (age six) and Katherine (four) -- the youngest is staying with grandparents -- Perry set out from home at 1:30 this morning. When the family arrived just after five a.m., there were already about 50 people in line.

More >>

We at Gut Check International Headquarters are all in favor of Halloween, provided the candy isn't lame. So when we heard that Chipotle Mexican Grill is offering $2 burritos to patrons who arrive dressed as a processed-food item, well, we headed straight for the wardrobe department.

Then we realized there is no wardrobe department at Gut Check International Headquarters. Boy, was our face red!

No matter, there's always the Internets!

Anyhoo, the deal's this: Dress up, hie to Chipotle after 6 p.m. and snarf your $2 burrito -- or, if you prefer, bowl, salad or order of tacos. Too lazy? Consider that Chipotle will donate all those $2 burrito proceeds to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution fund.

More >>

Kristen Klempert

​The Joint: Sanctuaria
4198 Manchester Avenue
314-535-9700

The Hours: 4-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Late-night happy hour 10 p.m.-close.

The Deal: $5-8 specialty cocktails; beers ranging from Bud bottles for $2.50 to Left Hand Sawtooth for $5.50. Tapas about $4 per order. Three to four tapas dishes constitute the perfect pre-dinner snack for a table of four.

All well and good, but does Sanctuaria deliver the goods?

More >>

Kristen Klempert

​The Joint: Tom's Bar & Grill
20 South Euclid Avenue
314-367-4900

The Hours: 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday

The Deal: $2 domestic drafts and bottles, $3 premiums (e.g., Blue Moon, Bass, Guinness), $10 five-bottle buckets and $3 well drinks. All appetizers half off.

The Scene: Your typical blue-collar-bar layout: wooden high tops, multiple TVs and neon beer signs. Happy hour attracts a lively crowd, especially on nights when the Cards are playing. The staff is friendly and professional; they get you what you need before you have to ask for it.

More >>

Robin Wheeler

Which one's Fats? Fats Pierre partners Ty De la Venta and Jonathan Jones.

​Other cities have street food. Taco trucks. Noodle carts. Meat-on-a-stick, grilled in portable kitchens and served fresh and hot to night owls looking for a bedtime snack to soak up the beer.

Aside from a couple of hot dog carts, St. Louis hasn't had much in the way of street food.

But Jonathan Jones of Fats Pierre has a plan.

"I'd like to change that," he says. "And I'd like to change it by doing everything by the book, then getting people excited about it and showing that it can contribute to the culture of the city."

There's no guy named Pierre, and business partners Jones and Ty De la Venta are both rather trim. For the past few weeks, they've been selling gourmet sausages at the Silver Ballroom while going through the rigorous process of making sure their food cart is up to code.

If all goes as planned, Fats Pierre should be street legal by the end of this week. It's a long process, but one that's worthwhile for a business that's breaking new ground in St. Louis, especially when even food-friendly San Francisco is cracking down on street vendors who work outside the system.

No matter where they go, the Silver Ballroom will remain Fats Pierre's home base. Street vendors are required by law to have a commissary -- a kitchen that's subject to the same inspections as city restaurants.

"Make sure you say that we're warm and wonderful," De la Venta jokes.

And they are. The team -- Jones is three years out of college, De la Venta is a 70-year-old artist -- are unlikely partners, longtime family friends who found they shared ideas about the necessity of street food.

More >>

Micah Svejda, Joe Marrocco and Mike Marquard are representing Kaldi's Coffee this week at the SCAA United States Barista Championship in Anaheim, California. Marquard placed sixth in last year's competition.

Watch the local trio compete live at Kaldi's Coffeehouse at the Crescent and Kayak's Coffee.

(That's right. Kayak's. They've officially been acquired by Kaldi's. Everything's the same except the coffee.)

Visit either location on Thursday, April 15 (4-8 p.m.) for Svejda and Marrocco in the first round. Semi-finals with Marquard (and maybe the others!) are on Saturday, April 17 (11 a.m.-7 p.m.). The final round takes place Sunday, April 18 (2-5 p.m.). Watch a live stream of the competition and get a 25 percent discount on any in-house drink from the "Traditional" menu. Perfect for toasting the competitors.

Here's video of Marquard competing last year:

​It's April, which brings brings showers of free stuff from chain restaurants and food companies.

Chick-Fil-A has a freebie a day this week. Today get a free yogurt parfait. Thursday's free chicken nugget day. Friday it's a fudge brownie.

On April 15 (tomorrow), bring your own reusable travel mug to Starbucks for a free cup of coffee.

The next day, hit Jack in the Box for a free small order of fries.

Einstein Brothers Bagels are jonesing for fans. Fan them on Facebook and get a coupon for a free bagel on Friday mornings until May 22. They also have coupons for a free chocolate almond latte until April 19.

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese also wants Facebook fans, who are rewarded with coupons for a free box of Kraft Cheesy Explosion Macaroni and Cheese.

I still haven't completely recovered from the closing of Big V's Burger Joint. While Five Guys Burgers and Fries might not fill all of the gap in my heart, I think it will accelerate the healing process.

A lot.
More >>