Blogs

A look at what’s happening at our favorite St. Louis food blogs…

Iron Stef is making tofu...tushies.

Show Me Vegan discusses the classic gin martini.

At STL Bites, Bill discusses how others react to his eating offal.

More after the jump...

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My review of Basil Spice is now available online. Click here to read. Also in this week's issue: Malcolm wonders whether pork pattie loaf is a pattie or a loaf, while Kristie chases the hair of the dog with SmartWater.

-Ian Froeb

Photo: Jennifer Silverberg

As I ate lunch at Basil Spice, a slow, bittersweet melody played over the restaurant’s speakers. I hummed along with the climactic passage: hum HUM hum hum hum hum. It was my fourth visit to the two-month-old Thai restaurant, and I had heard this particular tune during each of my previous meals. More precisely, I had heard nothing but this particular tune during each of my previous visits. The song, five minutes long, give or take, plays on a seemingly endless loop.

This week I visit Basil Spice, the new Thai restaurant on South Grand. Check back tomorrow to see what I think. (FYI: As of now, the restaurant's Web site is only a placeholder.)

-Ian Froeb

Photo: Jennifer Silverberg

Gut Check recommends three ways you won't go hungry this weekend.

1. Cinco de Mayo is Monday, but the big party takes place tomorrow on one of Gut Check's favorite streets, Cherokee: food, music, arts and crafts and maybe -- just maybe -- a drink or two. Visit the party's official Web site for all the details.

Even more Cinco de Mayo-related fun after the jump...

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A look at what’s happening at our favorite St. Louis food blogs…

The Cheesemonger's Wife reports on the opening night at the Shaved Duck.

At STL Hops, Mike visits Three Floyds Brewery in Indiana for Dark Lord Day.

The Cupcake Project is all about ice cream cupcakes this week.

Oodles more after the jump.

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Revival is an audacious name for any new restaurant, let alone one that's replacing an institution as beloved and influential as King Louie's. The word's connotations are mostly positive, of course. (Don't worry: I don't plan any CPR jokes.) But whether it conjures thoughts of a Cardinals' late-season rally from the middle of the pack to win the pennant or a charismatic preacher saving souls in a crowded tent outside a dusty town, the name raises a curious question: What, exactly, is being revived?

This week I review Revival, the new restaurant in the old King Louie's space. Check back here tomorrow to see what I think.

-Ian Froeb

A look at what’s happening at our favorite St. Louis food blogs…

Meet Kimberly: Her Adventures in Eating Locally blog chronicles her participation in a CSA (community supported agriculture) program.

The Pollacks file a review on Bartolino's Osteria.

At STL Hops, Mike reports on the release party for the new O'Fallon Pappy Van Winkle Smoked Porter.

Is there more after the jump? You betcha.

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My review of Katie's Pizzeria Café is now available online. Click here to read. Also in this week's issue: Malcolm risks leprosy to try armadillo, Kristie files a Drink of the Week from South Carolina and -- and! -- very exciting news about the restaurant scene at Ballpark Village.

-Ian Froeb

Photo: Jennifer Silverberg

A neon sign hanging in the window of Katie’s Pizzeria Café advertises Budweiser “N” pizza. This is, technically, true. You can order both a Bud and a pizza at the three-month-old restaurant. But if you expect Katie’s to be a typical beer ’n’ pizza joint, especially in the cracker crust-and-Provel St. Louis style, you’ll be surprised, maybe even a little disappointed. A more telling advertisement might be the sculpture of a giraffe on the lawn of the business next door: unexpected, different, funky. Even if it’s not your thing, you’d have to be a real sourpuss to dismiss it out of hand.

This week I visit the first of several new pizzerias to open in St. Louis this year, Katie's Pizzeria Café. Check back here tomorrow to see what I think.

-Ian Froeb

A look at what’s happening at our favorite St. Louis food blogs…

At One Hot Stove, Nupur is cooking up dhokaar dallnaa.

Iron Stef previews the new offerings from the culinary tricksters who gave us the Krispy Kreme burger -- the Gateway Grizzlies.

Lots more after the jump.

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My review of Pappy's Smokehouse is now available online. Click here to read. Also in this week's issue: Malcolm ponders Taco Bell bowls while the Gut Check column dishes a lot of news.

-Ian Froeb

Photo: Jennifer Silverberg

Not even a minute after I first walked into Pappy’s Smokehouse, the fantastic new midtown barbecue joint, I thought I was busted. I might as well have worn a T-shirt with “Restaurant Critic” in bold, bright type. Owner Mike Emerson strode right over to where I stood at the end of the long line to order, shook my hand and thanked me for visiting. I mumbled something and stared at my shoes. Time to buy a wig.

As usual, paranoia and megalomania had gotten the better of me.

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A look at what’s happening at our favorite St. Louis food blogs…

Show Me Vegan explores what St. Louis has to offer in terms of vegan-friendly restaurants.

Planning on attending Schlafly's Repeal of Prohibition Festival tomorrow? Mike has a list of the available beers at STL Hops.

Lots more after the jump.

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I visit too many restaurants to cover in the print version of the RFT. From time to time I'll share my thoughts on these visits in briefer, less formal blog-exclusive reviews.

GC Food & Brewery is a chain of restaurants with locations in a dozen states. GC stands for Granite City, though not Granite City, Illinois. The first location opened in St. Cloud, Minnesota, in 1999.

GC both does and doesn't brew its beer on site. The chain uses a patented technique it calls -- no joke -- Fermentus Interruptus.

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My review of Everest Café & Bar is now available online. Click here to read.

Everest - Photo: Jennifer Silverberg

Also in this week's issue: Malcom confronts Burger King Flame Broiled Flavored Potato Snacks, while the Gut Check column wraps up the news on Gerard Craft.

Drink of the Week is on her honeymoon.

-Ian Froeb