A little bird told us.

Yes, every now and then, the Twitter says it best -- better, even, than Hallmark. Such was the case earlier this week, when Eric Scholle, restaurant manager at Farmhaus (3257 Ivanhoe Avenue; 314-647-3800) tweeted about his "old-school 'Conflict Resolution'" technique and its effect on the employment status of a dishwasher at the famed south-city eatery.

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Myspace

Sandy Lupo says Hooters discriminated against her for having a surgical scar.

Sandra Lupo knew something was seriously wrong when she suddenly felt a numb, tingling sensation running along the left side of her body down to her toes. After she was admitted to the emergency room, a series of tests revealed a mass in the right side of her brain that had burst and was bleeding inside her skull. Doctors told her that without immediate surgery to remove the clot, there was a chance she could die.

Lupo, who'd been a waitress at the St. Peters location of Hooters since 2005, says she called and told her bosses that she was about to undergo into brain surgery. The procedure, which required drilling holes into and opening the skull, meant Lupo's long dark hair would have be shaved off.

"They said, 'Don't worry about it, no big deal,'" recalls Lupo.

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Empty bag, empty mind?

Is there any specimen of contemporary consumer convenience more beautiful than the bagged salad? The shiny plastic clamors for our attention from the supermarket shelves. You want a specific leaf? Bags trumpet the virtues of arugula or iceberg, baby spinach or hearts of romaine. Can't decide? Grab a spring mix or a European mix or a Mediterranean mix. Can't remember whether you have a bottle of dressing at home? The Caesar mix has your back with packets of dressing, cheese and croutons to pair with the greens.

This one has been triple-washed. This one has been quadruple-washed. This one has been washed in the tears of twenty comely virgins.

All beauty is fleeting, however, and in the case of bagged salads you needn't wait decades for its shine to fade. You don't even have to open the bag -- though that will surely do the trick. Simply take the bag from the shelf and examine its contents. Press the greens against the plastic until the bag seems ready to pop.

Does that leaf have a touch of brown around the edges? Do the greens leave a slick of slime on the inside of the plastic?

Are you really that desperate for a dump-and-dress salad?

See Also:
- "Excuse Me, Waiter, There's a Mouse in My Salad"

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Applebee's will not be seeing either of these people tomorrow (Upper left, Chelsea Welch; upper right, the fateful receipt; lower left, Alois Bell).

After Pastor Alois Bell left the message "I give God 10% Why do you get 18" on a credit card slip for her waitress, another server named Chelsea Welch posted a picture of it on Reddit. Outraged internet sleuths managed to decipher Bell's name and outed her online.

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Reddit

You shall tip no other gods more than me.

The message a local pastor left in lieu of tip has been setting the Internet afire all week.

Pastor Alois Bell went to Applebee's last Friday night with her congregation. She was apparently so full of the Holy Spirit that she shared some with their server after seeing the table had been automatically charged 18 percent gratuity.

Another server took a picture of the receipt and published it to Reddit, thinking that because the signature was hard to make out and the restaurant's name was cut off, it would be a harmless laugh. She hadn't counted on the picture going viral.

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Capitalist Pig

Someone in Soulard is taking signs SUPER seriously.

Just like the sign that hangs from Capitalist Pig restaurant suggests, owner Ron Buechele started a minor revolution on his Facebook page this week when he announced that someone at the city has a big pig problem with his sign.

"Apparently Joe McCarthy has risen from the grave," he wrote. "I had a long discussion this morning with a city official who informed me that the city along with the police department, have received 'numerous' complaints from individuals who do not like our sign, or the name of our business."

He went on to say he's been summoned to City Hall to defend himself. That had fans of the barely-two-month-old restaurant rushing to the barricades. (Capitalist Pig is located inside the Mad Art Gallery.)

"You should show up in a top hat and monocle," wrote one of dozens of commenters. "Do we need to get the Cherokee street presses to crank out Soviet era prop posters in solidarity?"

Oh, yes, please!

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​The mere rumor of a third Whole Foods Market for the St. Louis area, this one possibly located within the city limits -- rumors that weren't exactly quashed by Whole Foods' curiously phrased denial -- definitely sparked the interest of Gut Check readers and passers-by.

The original post has 39 comments as I write this, most of them answering Gut Check's call for suggested locations.

Peruse some of the most interesting comments, including from those who want no part of Whole Foods in the city, after the jump.

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Today's comment of the day comes from a post about Christy's Hamburgers.

Mike N. wrote:

Slightly off topic, but I noticed you call Christy's a chain. This is something I've been tossing around in my head lately: what constitutes a chain? There is so much anti-chain vitriol out there, it kind of seems like a scarlet letter to call a place a chain. There are two Ted Drewes, is that a chain? There are five or six locations of PI, is that a chain? Are local places like Lion's Choice or Fortel's or Rich and Charlie's chains? I really don't know.

Let us know what you think constitutes a chain in the comments.

Today's comment of the day comes from a post about Bridge & Tunnel pizza's plans to move from New York-style to St. Louis provel:

WHAT THE MOTHERFUCK!?!?!? Is this some sort of late April Fools Joke?! FUCK THIS. B&T was a fucking GEM, I'd love going there and getting a badass NY style slice at 2am. The pizza was always absolutely fucking delicious.

Fuck this fucking bullshit. If they don't offer good NON-PROVEL pizza BY THE SLICE at late night hours, I will personally make it my personal mission to make sure this place FAILS. I will smear them on every Internet review site. I'll spread lies about rat feces in the kitchen, I don't give a FUCK. I hope you're reading this Franco Bongiovani and Nick Smith. If I were you, I would just stick with the B&T formula and not get your nasty-ass fucking provel cheese involved. Failure to heed this warning will be met with SWIFT retribution.

Once again, I AM NOT FUCKING AROUND.

Today's comment of the day comes from a post about Mangia Mobile's official written response to Mangia Italiano.

Bill Cooper says:

So it looks like their defense is either "How could a bunch of fun-loving, wacky people possibly be in the wrong?" or "Clearly, we're idiots. Please take pity on us."