Riverfront Times is seeking two new writers to assist in our coverage of the St. Louis food and dining scene.

We're looking for a freelance restaurant critic to pen weekly reviews for our print and online editions of the paper. Ideal candidates are adventurous omnivores (vegans need not apply) who are just as interested in discovering and writing about little-known gems as they are in surveying the hottest new restaurants. The freelance restaurant critic will also be expected to contribute columns for Riverfront Times' food blog, Gut Check. Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resumé and a sample restaurant review similar to those you see each week in Riverfront Times (approximately 1,000 words) to Chad Garrison at chad.garrison@riverfronttimes.com. Be sure to put "Restaurant Critic" in the subject line of the e-mail. No phone calls, please.

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Like a misprinted stamp, this IndiHop koozie is sure to be a collector's item.

Finally, we here at the RFT know what it is like to be misquoted. And let us tell you, it feels quote-unquote fucking awesome. Especially since that misquote has found its way onto the official beer koozie of this weekend's IndiHop.

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The Daily Meal has ranked "America's Best Ribs" in a slideshow, and three St. Louis restaurants are among the top twenty barbecue joints. Bogart's Smokehouse (1627 South Ninth Street; 314-621-3107) ranks #19, Roper's Ribs (6929 West Florissant Avenue, Jennings; 314-381-6200) is #18, and Pappy's Smokehouse (3106 Olive Street; 314-535-4340) scores the highest at #8.

See Also:
- The Seven Best Barbecue Joints in St. Louis
- "Best Barbecue" 2012: Bogart's Smokehouse

Gut Check is always hungry for more restaurant news. Feed us your tips.

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Jennifer Silverberg

That St. Louis classic, the St. Paul sandwich

Grub Street, the food blog of New York magazine, posted a slideshow yesterday highlighting 41 of what it calls "hyper-regional sandwiches":

...individual creations that, for one reason or another, seem to exist only in particular pockets of America.

Among the 41 were two St. Louis classics: the St. Paul sandwich and the Gerber.

See Also:
- St. Louie Chop Suey: Malcolm Gay's history of chop suey in St. Louis
- "Best Use of the Worst Cheese" 2008: Gerber sandwich, Ruma's Deli

Gut Check is always hungry for more restaurant news. Feed us your tips.

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Chefs Casey Shiller and Dana Holland hard at work on Cupcake Wars | Food Network

Congrats to Jilly's Cupcake Bar & Cafe (8509 Delmar Boulevard, Ladue; 314-993-5455), two time winner of Food Network's Cupcake Wars! Back in February, Jilly's cupcake chef, Casey Shiller, and its executive chef, Dana Holland, duked it out against other past competitors for a chance at redemption. The theme was the South Beach Food and Wine Festival in Miami, and Jilly's represented the Midwest in what became a battle of the regions.

Shiller couldn't tell us much about the episode when we spoke in April, but the episode aired on Sunday evening, so now the secret's out. Jilly's cupcakes took home the grand prize of $10,000 and the opportunity to have its own display at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival.

See Also:
- Jilly's Cupcake Bar Seeks Redemption at Cupcake Wars
- Chef's Choice: Casey Shiller of Jilly's Cupcake Bar & Cafe

Screen caps from the episode as well as details about the winning flavors after the jump.

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The first time they were on Cupcake Wars, they took home the grand prize and all the glory. When they returned for the "Battle of the Champions," they got cut back down to size. On May 5, Jilly's Cupcake Bar (8509 Delmar Boulevard; 314-993-5455) is back in the competition, duking it out against bakers from across the country at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival.

The local cupcakery known for its jumbo stuffed cupcakes filmed the episode back in February. Though they can't tell us too much about the outcome, the Director of Baking and Pastry, Casey Shiller, did sit down with us to talk about the experience of being back on Cupcake Wars for a third time.

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This morning, Gut Check received a tweet from Five Star Burgers (8125 Maryland Avenue, Clayton; 314-720-4350) that piqued our interest:

A #stl chef will make our city's @artculinairemag debut next week. Wondering if @stlmag_relish @evanbenn @ianfroeb @saucemag has the skinny?

— 5StarBurgersSTL (@5StarBurgersSTL) April 23, 2013

We thought a chef profile in Art Culinaire, the publication that looks at food as a visual art form, sounded pretty exciting, so we set off to find out who the talented and photogenic chef might be...

Update after the jump.

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Update: We still have gift certificates to participating restaurants to give away! Find out how to win them after the jump!
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In 1991, ActionAIDS, a Philadelphia-based agency to help those suffering from AIDS, organized the first Dining Out For Life event. ActionAIDS encouraged local restaurants to donate a portion of their proceeds from one day to the organization, which would use the funds to fight AIDS in the community.Since then, Dining Out For Life has expanded to more than 60 cities across the U.S.

On Thursday, April 25, more than 150 St. Louis area restaurants will donate at least 25% of your check to Saint Louis Effort For AIDS. A full list of participating restaurants and the amount they are donating is available at the St. Louis Dining Out For Life webpage.

But wait! We have gift certificates for five of the participating restaurants, and we want you to have them. Find out how to get one after the jump.

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image via

A word of advice to St. Louis vampires: Steer clear of Saleem's West restaurant (14560 Manchester Road, Manchester; 636-207-1368). According to the Travel Channel, it's a garlic paradise.

Back in July, a crew from the show Food Paradise filmed at Saleem's for an episode devoted to garlic. The episode will air at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, and Saleem's is holding a viewing party to celebrate.

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Todd Owyoung

In recent weeks rapper Rick Ross has made headlines for his controversial verse in rapper Rocko's song "U.E.O.N.O.," with lyrics that describe date rape. Last week Reebok dropped Ross' contract, and he made a public apology for the lyrics.

And now Ross is in the news again for eyebrow-raising song lyrics, though the subject matter is much less knotty -- and much more food blog-friendly.

It's called "Panera Bread."

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