Though new East Wind Brewing Company is facing this beer-heavy market, one factor sets them apart from the sea of breweries in their path -- they're opening in the metro east. Husband and wife Eric and Keva Lee have just signed the papers on a space in Staunton, Illinois, a one-stoplight town about 40 miles northeast of St. Louis. The Lees, along with father Harold and brother-in-law Jason McCoy, are hoping to engage those along Route 66 and distribute via taps throughout the metro east, while keeping East Wind Brewing Company all in the family.

Jennifer Silverberg

Working alongside the high school's culinary arts program, Legends will bus in juniors and seniors who are ready to get their hands dirty. Students will get a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of a kitchen, helping to slice and dice items for the day's meals. This is the type of hands-on experience you can't get from watching shows on Food Network, or within the walls of a classroom.

"Students will work with the chefs and get a chance to learn what skills are necessary in the culinary field," says Re-Essa Buckels of Legends. "It's one thing to learn something in the classroom, but it's another to be in an actual kitchen having to make orders back to back during a lunch rush."

The students won't be the only ones learning new things in this kitchen, the chefs and kitchen staff are surely in for some schooling as well.

"It should be interesting to see the chefs work with the students," Buckels says. "These are students who will be able to bring new ideas to the table.

Suzy Rust

After more than twenty years of darkness, the Luna Cafe sign is lit!

More specifically, the legend of the cherry in the sign's cocktail glass.

Courtesy of Laura Van Alstine

A Cardinals-themed hand-painted pie by River City Savories.

Serving as the company's creative consultant, Runge has created 35 varieties of cheese spreads ($7) including bacon scallop, spinach artichoke and cran-pear chutney for the likes of steaks, burgers, baked potatoes, crackers or bread. Each spread starts with a cream-cheese base and is supplemented with other cheeses such as havarti and mozzarella, a variety of spices and a layer of the designated flavor's ingredients. Take, for instance, Runge's Greek cheese spread.

"Greek cheese [spread] has feta, artichoke hearts, onion, black olive and red bell peppers in it. It tastes like a Greek salad," says Runge. "Some people buy it, cut it into pieces and serve it on romaine lettuce."

Robin Wheeler

Death by chili and pastry at the Belleville Runner's Club Chili Cookoff

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Just when we thought they couldn't top the health-endangering creations of chili-topped nachos, Cheetos and White Castle sliders, the runners cooked up something that might not only give people spice ulcers and heart disease, but also a whopping case of the diabetes.

"C'mon! Try a Cinnamon Roll Chili Bowl!" hawked a tautly muscled runner in front of the booth.

In the frenzy of chili and $2.50 beer, we're highly susceptible to hawkers. Usually we stick the the booth's lighter fare, preferring their spicy, chunky chili drowning a bag of Cheetos.

But we passed on our traditional favorite because, dude. It's a cinnamon roll topped with chili.

And we've had three beers.

Jacob's Ladder Foundation

Pigs will fly in Swansea on Saturday.

Despite his young age, Kellogg had already developed an affinity for barbecue. On Saturday his family honors their son's love of smoked pork with the second annual Pig-a-Palooza at Schranz Park (Huntwood Road at Honeysuckle Lane, Swansea, Illinois). Last year's barbecue event raised more than $7,000 for the Jacob's Ladder Foundation.

Gut Check chatted via email with Steve and Deatrice Kellogg, Jacob's parents and the founders of the Jacob's Ladder Foundation, and with the event's pit master, Jay Bradshaw.

Gut Check What prompted you to start Pig-a-Palooza?

Steve and Deatrice Kellogg, Jacob's Ladder Foundation Jacob had many passions in his brief but eventful 15 years with us. Among his two favorites were good music and exceptional barbecue. So when we were thinking of the kind of fundraising event to have to raise money for Jacob's Ladder Foundation, it made sense to combine those two passions: music and barbecue.

The name Pig-a-Palooza was an obvious choice after that. So as you know, we have a barbecue festival on June 4 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. We will be serving ribs (Jacob's favorite), pulled pork, burgers and dogs. In addition, we have lots of rides and inflatables for the younger kids to keep them occupied while the parents bid on the silent and oral auction. Then at 7:30, Trixie Delight will be performing. Should be a great outdoor concert. The weather will be perfect.

stag-beer.com

The Belleville Historical Society is in the early stages of celebrating the town's beer history, from the breweries founded by German immigrants to the heyday of the town's saloons. The recently purchased the building at 633 East Garfield, a former tavern that's on the National Register of Historic Places. The group hopes to open a museum dedicated to the town's beer history, particularly the 1890s.

"The building we have purchased was built in 1894-95," said Belleville Historical Society president Larry Betz. "Also significant, it was built by Adam Gintz who was then president of the Western Brewing Company."

Robin Wheeler

Possible future home of Belleville's beer museum.

Sunday was the final day for Outlaw Blues at 1214 Central Park Drive in O'Fallon, Illinois. The southern-themed restaurant, open since 2008, will reopen as a third outpost of Ravanelli's Restaurant on Wednesday.

It's not a huge change, since Steve Edwards of Ravanelli's has always owned Outlaw Blues. While Outlaw Blues focused on southern cuisine like chicken and waffles, barbecue, and Cajun staples, they also featured the same fried chicken and spaghetti that have been Ravanelli's basis for almost fifty years. Many of the Cajun seafood items have menu items have vanished from the Outlaw Blues menu over the past year.

Ravanelli's locations in Collinsville and Granite City will remain the same.

Update March 17 Steve Edwards emailed us more details about Outlaw Blues' transition to Ravanelli's:

The change was made because Outlaw just never got as busy as we wanted it to be, so the owners decided to change it to the Ravanelli's brand. Ravanelli's already had to successful locations and we felt it could be just as successful in O'Fallon.

One change at the new O'Fallon Ravanelli's is a wood-burning, Neapolitan-style pizza oven. We will still have famous chicken, homemade spaghetti and all of the same food items we've been cooking since 1964 when the Granite City Ravanelli's was opened.

Suzy Rust

You see a window like this at a diner, you know it's the real deal.

Those fried fish are so highly sought after in the community that the Petri Cafe stays open four hours past its usual quitting time of 3 p.m. on Fridays to accommodate the demand.

Ruth Petri, Lawrence's 86-year-old widow, comes into the restaurant nearly every day. "I need to be around people," she explains; staying home during the worst of this winter's snow nearly drove her crazy. Ruth's friendly presence warms the room as she moves from table to table refilling coffee.

And it's some coffee they brew here. It has to be strong enough to keep a steelworker going all day, which might explain the slight (and not unpleasant) aftertaste of rusted blast furnace.