The crowd at Iron Fork 2013 | Jon Gitchoff

First, a heartfelt thank you to everyone -- restaurants, bars, sponsors, ticket-buyers -- who attended last night's Iron Fork event. It was the biggest Iron Fork yet: 2,000 people trying food from some 40 restaurants, plus cocktails from the mixology-competition entrants. The lines to enter and the lines for the food and drink were long, but I hope your patience was rewarded.

Ed Heath of Cleveland-Heath (106 North Main Street, Edwardsville, Illinois; 618-307-4830) won this year's chef competition, defeating Andrew Jennrich, the chef de cuisine of Farmhaus (3257 Ivanhoe Avenue; 314-647-3800) by a mere one point in the judges' balloting.

Kyle Mathis of Taste (4584 Laclede Avenue; 314-361-1200) won the mixology competition.

Now a gallery of some of the shots you can view in the Iron Fork 2013 slideshow.

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THE TICKETS HAVE ALL BEEN CLAIMED. Thanks for playing.
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This evening's Iron Fork event is sold out. No general admission tickets are available at the door.

HOWEVER.

We have a select number of tickets here at Gut Check International Headquarters itching to find a home.

(Note: Tickets do not actually itch.)

Here's how you can claim a pair.

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TJ Vytlacil of Blood & Sand during Iron Fork 2012 | Steve Truesdell

Iron Fork, the Riverfront Times' annual tasting event, is this Thursday, March 28, and I still have nothing to wear.

That's my problem. Your problem is that you still haven't purchased tickets to Iron Fork. What are you waiting for? This year's event will feature samples from 40 restaurants and food trucks.

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Chef Carl Hazel of Eleven Eleven Mississippi during Iron Fork 2012 | Steve Truesdell

Iron Fork, the Riverfront Times' annual tasting event, is only a week away. It features samples from 39 area restaurants, a mixology competition among twelve local drink-slingers and the centerpiece Iron Chef-style battle pitting four local chefs against one another.

Have you bought your tickets yet? No? Well, now we have a way for you to win a pair of general-admission tickets (unlimited samples plus three full-size drinks each).

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Steve Truesdell

Jason Tilford of Milagro Modern Mexican, winner of the Iron Fork 2012 chef competition

Have you bought your tickets for this year's edition of Iron Fork, the Riverfront Times' annual tasting event, on Thursday, March 28?

No? What are you waiting for?

This year will feature more restaurants and food trucks than ever before, spread across two rooms of the St. Louis Union Station Hotel.

See Also:
- Restaurants participating in RFT's Iron Fork 2013
- Iron Fork 2012: The Slideshow

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Jamie Schroder

Iron Fork, Riverfront Times' annual tasting extravaganza, is Thursday, March 28 -- only three weeks away! This year's event will feature samples from more than 40 restaurants and food trucks, four local chefs battling on the main stage for the coveted Iron Fork crown and a heated competition between a dozen local mixologists.

And you, dear Gut Check reader, don't have to pay full price.

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What are you doing on the evening of Thursday, March 22?

Wrong. You're coming to Iron Fork, Riverfront Times' annual tasting event, at the St. Louis Union Station Marriott.

This year, for the first time, the paper asked me to set the table for the evening. To that end, I've selected the 30 local restaurants that will showcase their chefs' creations at the event, not to mention the four who will compete, Iron Chef-style, in front of the thousand-plus guests, vying for top honors from our panel of celebrity judges.

We've also hand-picked twelve of St. Louis' best drink-slingers for a cocktail battle royale.

Tickets cost $35 in advance ($45 at the door, if the event isn't sold out), which includes unlimited food samples and tickets for three full-size drinks. These are available through the official Iron Fork website.

However, through this Monday, February 20, you can purchase a general admission for $17 -- that's more than half off! -- through Voice Daily Deals. Don't procrastinate, though: Only 400 of these discounted tickets are available.

The list of restaurants whose participation we've confirmed is after the jump. We haven't revealed which four chefs will square off against one another, so once you've scoped out which restaurants will be there, tell us which chefs you'd like to see compete!

Update: (Monday, February 20, 7 a.m.) The discounted tickets have sold out! Tickets at the regular price of $35 remain available.

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