St. Louis Food Blog

While Gut Check is on vacation, enjoy highlights from the past two years.

Ian Froeb

Today on the Daily RFT, my colleague Chad Garrison discussed the rather racy new Hardee's ad in which model and Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi expresses her love for Hardee's Western Thickburger. Here's the commercial, which aired many times during this past weekend's NCAA basketball action:



So is the Western Thickburger really so good that you want to lick dribbled sauce off your own calf?

OK, so I've always kind of had a thing for Abraham Lincoln. My ardor has diminished slightly over the years -- I no longer believe I am he reincarnated (we do have the same initials, after all) -- but I have never forgotten that I grew up in the Land of Lincoln, where his birthday is a school holiday.

I, um, also keep a Lincoln doll on my desk. He was a gift from my grandmother, who used to love to shower me with useless gifts. At one time, he had a stovepipe hat, but it blew away one blustery day in eighth grade when I took him to school to be a visual aid in a communication arts presentation. As compensation, somewhere along the line he acquired a pukka shell necklace. These days, we pretend it's a gift from President Obama.

So anyway, when I heard that Blueberry Hill (6504 Delmar Boulevard; Web site) was serving something called The Gettysburger this weekend in honor of old Abe's birthday, I decided it was high time for us to have a lunch date, just the two of us, outside the office. After all, a guy doesn't turn 200 every day.

I still haven't completely recovered from the closing of Big V's Burger Joint. While Five Guys Burgers and Fries might not fill all of the gap in my heart, I think it will accelerate the healing process.

A lot.

Maybe I need to take a break from fish and chips.

Among my Christmas wishes for the St. Louis restaurant scene was a simple request: a good green-chile cheeseburger. I couldn't think of a single local spot where I could enjoy this essential (and not especially exotic) food.

I figured someone -- most likely an annoyed owner or chef -- would tell me where to go. Instead, I found a green-chile cheeseburger, on my own and entirely by chance, at Buffalo Brewing Co., the brewpub at 3100 Olive Street in Midtown.

Was it everything I'd dreamed of? Find out after the jump...

Occasionally, when I tell someone I lived in Iowa for a couple of years, I'm asked my opinion of Maid-Rite. "Don't have one," I say. "Never ate there."

The reaction is similar, I imagine, to what would happen if you told someone you were from St. Louis, and they asked your opinion on T-ravs, and you claimed never to have eaten one. The Maid-Rite loose-meat sandwich is an Iowan thing, like the smell of hog shit or the cow sculpted out of butter at the state fair (a.k.a. "The Butter Cow"). The original Maid-Rite diner dates back to the 1920s; it is now a chain of franchise restaurants based in Des Moines, Iowa.

I have no idea why I didn't try a Maid-Rite loose-meat sandwich while I lived in Iowa. It certainly wasn't because I was a snob. I was a poor grad student: I cooked ramen noodles for lunch and dinner; for a snack, I ate the noodles dry. The easy answer is that there wasn't a Maid-Rite near Iowa City, where I lived -- though a Google search turns up a location in Coralville, the next town over.

At any rate, when I heard that Maid-Rite had opened a location in Ferguson (260 South Florissant Road), I realized I had to go. I dropped by today and ordered the Cheese-Rite, $7.09 with fries and a soft drink. Below, what it looked like when it arrived at my table.

Gut Check reviews a single dish.

The Location: Whole Foods

The Dish: Boylan's Natural Cane Cola

The Cost: $1.19

The verdict after the jump...

Gut Check reviews a single dish.

The Location: Starbucks

The Dish: Orange-Mango-Banana Vivanno

The Cost: $3.75

The verdict after the jump...

The Location: Smokin' Al's BBQ (1216 Hampton Avenue)

The Dish: A half-slab of ribs

The Cost: $9.95 (includes two sides)

The verdict after the jump...

The Location: The RFT break room

The Dish: Mac's Original Chicharrones (1-oz. bag)

The Cost: 50 cents

The verdict after the jump...

Gut Check reviews a single dish.

The Location: Bridge & Tunnel Pizza (1131 Washington Avenue)

The Dish: A slice with pepperoni.

The Cost: $3.25

The verdict after the jump...

Gut Check reviews a single dish.

The Location: Benito's Gelato (14 North Central Avenue)

The Dish: Blood orange gelato (small)

The Cost: $3.34

The verdict after the jump...

Gut Check reviews a single dish.

The Location: Porter's Fried Chicken (3628 South Big Bend Boulevard)

The Dish: Two-Piece Snack (Spicy)

The Cost: $3.49

The verdict after the jump...