Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this Gut Check series, we are chewing our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. To see hundreds more winners and finalists and download the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis mobile app, visit our Best of St. Louis homepage.

Ian Froeb

A beef tenderloin sandwich at Yia Yia's Euro Bistro

​A certain segment of Gut Check's readership wets itself with rage whenever we write about (let alone celebrate) chain restaurants. We'd like to say we understand. However, several years of professional eating have taught us many unpleasant truths, among them:

1. Even the best-intentioned local, independent restaurants can suck.

2. Sometimes, reading over a list of chains operating in St. Louis, our tummy grumbles.

Here are our five finalists and the winner for the category "Best Chain Restaurant"...

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Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this Gut Check series, we are chewing our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. To see hundreds more winners and finalists and download the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis mobile app, visit our Best of St. Louis homepage.

Megan Gilliand

Outside of Woofie's, a perennial local favorite.

​No longer relegated to ballparks alone or punch lines about the contents of their encased innards, hot dogs have never been so hip. So Gut Check was only too happy to fete the 'furter in our countdown of the area's best.

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Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this Gut Check series, we are chewing our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. To see hundreds more winners and finalists and download the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis mobile app, visit our Best of St. Louis homepage.

Jennifer Silverberg

​The Super Bowl is a week from Sunday, and according to a Los Angeles Times report, Americans will eat 1.25 billion wings the day of the big game. That's not a misprint. 1.25 billion wings, or 5% of America's total wing consumption for the entire year.

Gut Check loves us some wings. Here are our finalists for the best in St. Louis.

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Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this Gut Check series, we are chewing our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. To see hundreds more winners and finalists and download the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis mobile app, visit our Best of St. Louis homepage.

Sarah Rusnak

A World's Fair donut

​In far too many cities, there are plenty of places to get doughnuts, but only one name to know: Dunkin'. St. Louis is not one of those places. Here, from the many independent doughnut shops, are some of our favorites:

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Eckert's pies, but not necessarily filled with Eckert's fruit.

​This Monday, January 23, marks an important national holiday: National Pie Day. This great festival is the brainchild of the American Pie Council -- and how did we not know that such an organization existed, devoted exclusively to the celebration of pie? From this day forward, we resolve that all the spare change we find in the nooks and crannies of our car and couch will go toward our American Pie Council Membership fund ($40 lifetime for amateurs).

In celebration of National Pie Day, Eckert's Country Store and Farms -- Riverfront Times "Best Pie" for 2011 -- will be offering a special buy-one-get-one-free pie deal, featuring fourteen different types of pie. Next door, Eckert's Country Restaurant will be selling all its desserts for a dollar. Joy! Joy! Joy!

Except...except...it turns out we made a grievous error in our citation for "Best Pie."

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Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this Gut Check series, we are chewing our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. To see hundreds more winners and finalists and download the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis mobile app, visit our Best of St. Louis homepage.

Bryan Peters

Robust's tomato salad.

​The quest for "real" tapas in St. Louis is a daunting -- but not impossible -- one. While Spain's twisting, mysterious streets are home to many a gastronomic wonder, St. Louis is seeing a steady increase in restaurants that pay homage to this lovely, languid way of eating a meal. Here are nine places worth exploring, one delicious morsel at a time.

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Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this Gut Check series, we are chewing our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. To see hundreds more winners and finalists and download the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis mobile app, visit our Best of St. Louis homepage.

Jennifer Silverberg

Heo lui, a barbecued pork shish kabob appetizer, at this year's "Best Vietnamese Restaurant"

​In 2011, our "Best Vietnamese Restaurant" also happened to be St. Louis' oldest Vietnamese restaurant. This was no legacy award. It stood out among very, very strong competition.

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Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this Gut Check series, we are chewing our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. To see hundreds more winners and finalists and download the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis mobile app, visit our Best of St. Louis homepage.

Jennifer Silverberg

The wings at this year's "Best Neighborhood Restaurant"

​The term "neighborhood restaurant" is deliberately vague. Like the man said about pornography, it's hard to define, but you know it when you see it. Unfussy, soul-satisfying fare is one common denominator. A friendly staff -- even if everyone doesn't remember your name, they seem sincere when they call you "babe" or "darling" or "hon" -- is another.

More than anything else, though, each of the five finalists for "Best Neighborhood Restaurant" is a place where, no matter where you happen to live, you feel a little closer to home.

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Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this Gut Check series, we are chewing our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. To see hundreds more winners and finalists and download the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis mobile app, visit our Best of St. Louis homepage.

Jennifer Silverberg

​What does Riverfront Times' crack eating squad (not the same as our crack-eating squad, though there's some overlap) eat more than anything else? While the exact numbers aren't handy, the safe bet isn't pizza or barbecue or burgers.

It's sandwiches. From humble deli creations to artisan salume, we love 'em all. (Well, most of 'em.) Only five could make the cut for "Best Sandwiches," though. Here are the finalists.

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Selecting Riverfront Times' Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this Gut Check series, we are chewing our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. To see hundreds more winners and finalists and download the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis mobile app, visit our Best of St. Louis homepage.

Jennifer Silverberg

Pitmaster Skip Steele glazes ribs at Bogart's Smokehouse.

​How do you know that 2011 has been a very, very good year for barbecue in St. Louis? Because neither of the two restaurants that have garnered the most national attention -- and deservedly so -- can claim the top spot.

Here are Riverfront Times' five finalists in the category "Best Barbecue."

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Tags:

17th Street Bar & Grill, barbecue, Bogart's Smokehouse, Pappy's Smokehouse, PM BBQ, the Piccadilly at Manhattan