Liz Miller

The mojito made with cachaca rum, fresh mint leaves and lime sorbet at Baileys' Range.

Baileys' Range (920 Olive Street; 314-241-8121) in downtown St. Louis sees local restaurant impresario Dave Bailey tread into burger and soda-shop territory, offering an impressive selection of burgers (including grass-fed beef, lamb, pork, bison, chicken, goat and vegetarian- and vegan-friendly options) and floats, shakes and sodas. Its food menu alone is enough to make Gut Check a frequent patron of Baileys' Range, so the fact that the restaurant also serves boozy lemonades, ice teas, floats and shakes is just boozy icing on the boozy cake. If that doesn't exactly make sense, it's likely because of Gut Check throwing back one too many of our favorite boozy libation at Baileys', the mojito shake made with cachaca rum, fresh mint leaves and lime sorbet.

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Emily Wasserman

"Remy's Warm Apple and Golden Raisin Bread Pudding" with brandy sauce.

Gut Check has tried many a dessert in our day. Ice cream, cookies, cakes and pies; they're all the cherry on top of a delicious meal, the nice finishing touch on a satisfying dining experience.

However, with one bite of the warm apple and golden raisin bread pudding at Remy's Kitchen & Wine Bar (222 South Bemiston Avenue, Clayton; 314-726-5757) those other desserts seemed to fade to a distant memory. Soft, warm layers of cinnamon bread sit atop a pool of rich, decadent caramel. Plump golden raisins are studded throughout the bread, along with juicy, slightly tart pieces of diced apple. Perched atop the dessert is a small dollop of cinnamon butter, which we spread generously across the slightly caramelized surface of the bread.

Nothing prepared us for the deliciousness of Remy's bread pudding, but perhaps it was better that way. Like love at first sight, it was sweet, addictive and almost too good to be true. We savored the bread until the last bite, after which, thankfully, there was still a pool of brandied caramel for our eating pleasure.

Erika Miller

Eggs, black beans, tomato and cheese are all nicely packaged in the veggie breakfast burrito.

On Cherokee Street hungry diners can find a burrito for any time of day or night, and the Mud House(2101 Cherokee Street; 314-776-6599) has your breakfast needs covered with a veggie breakfast burrito that's almost too big for its plate.

A giant flour tortilla is stuffed with black beans, tomato, cheese and egg. The eggs are scrambled and soft and meld perfectly with the black-bean chili. Combined, the eggs and beans provide a Mexican kick without being too spicy -- this is only the first meal of the day, after all. The black beans avoid being too firm or too mushy, and provide a welcome protein substitute for meat.

The veggie burrito is served alongside a simple salad of greens and homegrown tomatoes, with a dollop of sour cream on top. The tortilla is kissed on the grill, giving it a slight chew. It's all nicely packaged and contained, but once you cut into this massive burrito, it's contents spill forward and everything on your plate is covered in egg and bean.

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Evan C. Jones

There are many tempting options available at La Vallesana (2801 Cherokee Street; 314-776-4223), but whether you're getting quesadillas, burritos or tortas, there's something on the menu that leaps out to most people as something to avoid: tongue.

Offal is something that most Americans would consider, well, awful. But the undesired cuts of meat actually make for some great food. Tongue is best described as gateway offal. Because it is a cut of meat that's primarily muscle, it's typically braised and cooked down over several hours until it's tender. If you're a fan of pot roast, then tongue is something you need to try.

Why not on a taco? La Vallesana serves its tacos without a lot of bells and whistles: two flour tortillas, your choice of meat, cilantro, onion and a lime wedge. The simplicity allows the meat to really come through with a touch of acid from the lime. One taco quickly turns into another two, and then three.

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Bryan Peters

When Nosh Bistro (1135 South Big Bend Boulevard, Richmond Heights; 314-781-4734) closed a few months ago, we sank into a brief, but profound, funk. We'd grown terribly fond of their hummus and balela salad platter, and we didn't want to know a world without it. So you can imagine our delight when Nosh reopened its doors recently (relocating from Manchester Road in Maplewood to its current location inside Starrs).

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Evan C. Jones

How good is the bread pudding at Harvest (1059 South Big Bend Boulevard, Richmond Heights; 314-645-3522)? When Gut Check dropped by to pay homage to this favorite desert, chef de cuisine Brendan Noonan came clean about his consumption. "I've already had four portions of the bread pudding today," he sheepishly admits.

Typically made from bread scraps, Harvest starts its bread pudding with fresh loaves of brioche and custard. The marriage of the egg-laden brioche and cream/egg custard is rich as can be. In order to cut into that egg opulence, the entire slice of bread pudding is covered in a bourbon currant sauce. Noonan acknowledges that the sauce is volatile and can boil over because of the sugar and alcohol, yet the sauce is hardly mentioned when talk of the perfect bite of bread pudding come into play.

"I really like the middle," Noonan says. "It's not too cooked, not too much sauce and you get the vanilla whipped cream and the mint, which isn't just to garnish."

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Julia Gabbert

Root beer float at Dr. Jazz

Dr. Jazz Soda Fountain and Grille (29 N. Gore; 314-961-5299) is a homey little restaurant in charming Webster Groves. Dr. Jazz serves up your typical club sandwiches, burgers and lots of comfort food like chili fries and onion rings. The best part, though, is the dessert section. The entire back page of the tattered, old time-y menu is dedicated to sundaes, cones, floats and your favorite confections. The best of which is the classic root beer float.

Anybody who's anybody loves a root beer float, and Dr. Jazz has mastered the craft. Served in a huge 32oz. frosty glass, this root beer float has plenty of froth and plenty of fizz. A heaping scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream (from the award-winning Cedar Crest Ice Cream based out of Wisconsin) is wedged right on the edge of the glass, just dipping into the cold Barq's root beer. The hefty portion, while officially a dessert, could easily be an entire meal in and of itself.

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Ashley Atkins

Le Croque Monsieur!

LaBonne Bouchée (12344 Olive Blvd, Creve Coeur; 314.576-6606) offers the Francophile a wide selection of authentic French cuisine, ranging from le quiche du jour to le vol au vent to petit fours. But Gut Check's favorite way to eat à la française is to devour the restaurant's take on the ham-and-cheese sandwich: le croque monsieur.

You might see this as a simple grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich, but you would be terribly mistaken. Open your eyes, nose and taste buds to the creamy Béchamel sauce. Considered one of the "mother sauces" in French cuisine, it's an intoxicating mix of scalded milk, butter and flour -- and recipes such as fondue and lasagna could not thrive without its delicate texture and invigorating taste. Smothered over crisp, buttered bread, it moves this sandwich from the minor leagues to the big leagues.

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Blood and Sand

Sweet Potato Biscuits and Wild Mushroom Gravy

When we first heard about the members-only concept at Blood and Sand (1500 St. Charles Sreet; 314-241-7263), we were a bit skeptical, particularly considering the current economic climate. Sure, big ballers wouldn't have to sweat a $15 monthly fee, but what about the rest of us schmoes? And what could Blood and Sand offer to justify monthly dues?

The answer's simple: exceptional service, cocktails, atmosphere and food. And it all starts with the Biscuits and Wild Mushroom Gravy.

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Emily Wasserman

Fozzie's Sandwich Emporium (1170 South Big Bend Boulevard, Richmond Heights; 314-932-5414) serves up a wide variety of sandwiches, salads, burgers and hot dogs, offering selections for red-meat-loving carnivores, but also vegetarians. The ingredients are fresh, and many of the herbs and vegetables come from the restaurant's garden. The atmosphere is warm and inviting; and as most of the seating consists of outdoor picnic tables, you'll feel as if you're eating in your own backyard.

One of the best sandwiches on the menu is "The Gracey," a mysteriously named flatbread creation that requires a fork and knife to eat. The flatbread is large, warm and doughy, laying the perfect foundation for the rest of the sandwich. The bread is topped with a creamy, spinach artichoke spread, fresh spinach leaves, slightly browned onions and sweet, juicy roasted red peppers. Three warm, crispy balls of falafel sit atop this veritable mound of ingredients, and add spicy flavor to compliment the greens. You can try using your hands to eat the sandwich- but if you do, make sure you're armed with extra napkins.

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