Anyway, proving that lows can always get lower, White Castle has trumped their fans themselves, and I/we owe George Mahe the Eagle Eye Award for passing it along.  It seems White Castle has created Slider scented candles to benefit…

wait for it…..

Autism.

Like pineapples at the Soulard Market, one of these things does not belong with the other.

And I leave you with this anecdote: one of Ellie’s coworkers has a son with Autism.  They do not buy beef because the beef in the grocery store, being fed corn and soy, and pumped full of the types of crazy non-deliciousness you’d need to be a scientist to properly pronounce, causes some sort of issue with his Autism.  Not having a child with Autism, or a family member with Autism, I don’t know the specifics, but I have no reason to doubt them,

Post from stlbites.com

American Fast Food, Harbinger of Weird

Post from stlbites.com

Nothing’s gonna ever keep me down

One book I’ve read recently–or reread as it were–is Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style.  The forward once again captivated me in a way that the subject rarely is, and as I neared it’s end and saw who wrote it, I am embarrassed to admit that I had not previously considered that the White half of Strunk and White, is E.B. White; the author of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little.

You see, of late I have also been reading Letters of E. B. White; all the while in shock that a man who is best known for writing children’s books writes with such grace.  Connecting the dots, it would appear I now have a new author to count amongst my favorites, and here is one food-related E.B White quote, from a letter he wrote to Bennet Cerf regarding Charlotte’s Web, that I am especially fond of.

A farm is a peculiar problem for a man who likes animals because the fate of most livestock is that they are murdered by their benefactors. The creatures may live serenely but they end violently, and the odor of doom hangs about them always.

I have kept several pigs, starting them in the spring as weanlings and carrying trays to them all through the summer and fall. The relationship bothered me. Day by day I became better acquainted with my pig, and he with me, and the fact that the whole adventure pointed toward an eventual piece of double-dealing on my part lent an eerie quality to the thing.

Post from stlbites.com

Connecting the Dots

For weeks I’ve scoured many of your Twitter feeds.  Sometimes I found the St. Louis restaurants, chefs, and other food-related accounts I hoped to. But then I also found things that would make for a bizarre demographic study of St. Louis foodsters.  Like, apparently, a lot of you are LeVar Burton fans.  At first I wondered, are you Reading Rainbow fans or Trekkies? And then I looked at LeVar Burton’s Twitter feed and along with learning that he felt The Who’s halftime show sucked and if you call him during Lost he will hurt your feelings, he has 1,607,229 followers.

But why the research?  Because Twitter blessed us with lists so that we can create organized feeds of people we don’t actually want to follow personally.  And that gave me the opportunity to waste my time assembling four lists that encompass every restaurant, chef, grocer and coffee shop located in St. Louis currently on Twitter. Word Up!

Click the links above and if I missed any, let me know @stlbites.

Post from stlbites.com

#stl Twits

While reading up on the scully cap I noticed, like many Wikipedia entries, not only was the included picture of  poor quality, it was just some random dude with a stupid look on his face.  Figuring he probably uploaded it himself, I’m embracing the power of the internet and am making accurate, St. Louis specific updates to food-related Wikipedia entries.

I begin with Barista for three reasons…

1. There wasn’t a current barista photo.
2. I love coffee and was trying to find an entry that was currently without a picture for sticking power.
3. Although the barista in the photo,  Alex Brooks, is no longer a barista in St. Louis, he is a friend of mine and often wears a scully cap–which I now know is more accurately called a flat cap.

Post from stlbites.com

St. Louis Specific Updates to Food-Related Wikipedia Entries #1: Barista

On any food-related message board, in any given city, at any given time, the debate of “who has the best hamburger?” always arises.  That’s because American’s love hamburgers—to the tune of 14 billion burgers consumed per year!

Many of you have been debating this very question over the last few years, but the debate took on a new fervor last year when Mayer Slay’s staff posed the question on mayorslay.com at approximately the same time Alex Csank brought it up once again on the stlbites.com forum.  Still, there was no unanimous winner.  The question remained unanswered.  To truly answer the question it was clear some capable man or woman would have to step up and consume all these burgers because you can’t say the Newstead burger is better than the O’Connell’s burger if you’ve never had the O’Connell’s burger.

And that’s where Andrew Mark Veety comes in. He has risen to the challenge and, in twelve months time, you will have your answer.  Sort of.

Taking votes to establish St. Louisian’s top picks via twitter and his website, Veety has tabulated the data and narrowed things down to the top 12 contenders.  In reverse order, one Sunday a month, he’ll be consuming each of the burgers to lay the question to rest in what has been dubbed, The Church of Burgers.  

First up: Contender #1.

Full Disclosure: I’d never met Veety in person until he invited along a small entourage of St. Louis Foodsters to partake in the consumption of contender #1.  Via the power of the internet he always seemed like a cool guy and I jumped at the chance to put down my  keyboard and cell phone and have some bonified social interaction.  I’m happy to report he is, in fact, a cool guy and as hilarious as I figured he’d be based upon his online persona.  Plus, I obviously like hamBURGErs.

Post from stlbites.com

WHERE IS THE REAL BEST BURGER IN STL???????????

While there’s more to the event than food, I am damn proud of the lineup of chefs I’ve assembled for the 4^th Annual Art of Food. While I am completely biased, you would be hard-pressed to find an event in St. Louis with a more star-powered line up of chefs. Whether you like me and the things I have to say or not, please consider coming out this Saturday to not only support this stellar line up of chefs that are sure to dazzle, but to support Slow Food St. Louis. With the money raised from events like this, Slow Food is supporting biodiversity in our region by offering small grants to farmers growing heritage animals and heirloom vegetables. And to ensure that future generations of eaters crave these delicious foods, the funds raised will also support our current school garden projects as well as fund additional gardens in the future.

Menu and more information about the event after the jump…

Slow Food St. Louis, a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating and supporting food traditions, is pleased to announce that their annual fundraiser, The Art of Food, will be held on Saturday, July 25th, from 6:00 to 10:00 pm, at Mad Art Gallery (2727 S. 12th Street, 63118). Proceeds from the event will benefit both Slow Food St. Louis and Fair Shares Combined Community Supported Agriculture.

The Art of Food will showcase the area’s top restaurants, serving up delectable hors d’oeuvres using only the freshest, local ingredients prepared in the Slow Food tradition.

Participating restaurants include:

Annie Gunn’s – Lou Rook III
Araka – Mark Curran
Bailey’s Chocolate Bar – Robin Murphy
Erato on Main – Kevin Willmann
Harvest – Steve Gontram
Kakao Chocolate – Brian Pelletier
Local Harvest Cafe – Clara Moore
Mad Art Gallery – Dave Lewis
Monarch – Josh Galliano
Niche – Gerard Craft
Rooster – David Bailey
Overlook Farm – Cary McDowell
Serendipity Ice Cream – Beckie Jacob
Sidney Street Cafe – Kevin Nashan
Winslow’s Home – Stephen Kovac

With all bread products provided by

Companion Bakery (Josh Allen)

222 Artisan Bakery (Matt Herren)

Food-themed art by local artists and gift baskets filled with a variety of specialty goodies from boutiques, wineries, and restaurants are also up for auction. Artists include Julie Malone, Cbabi Bayoc, Greg Barth, Ron Buechele, Marie Oberkirsch, Carmelita Nunez, Katy Fischer, and many more.

Tickets for the event are $30 for Slow Food members and $40 for non-members in advance*; $40 for Slow Food members and $50 for non-members at the door.
Sponsors include Mad Art Gallery, Sauce Magazine, and Schlafly. St. Louis Earth Day will also be managing the recycling efforts.

Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic, member-supported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions, and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes, and how our food choices affect the rest of the world. Fair Shares is a non-profit
organization dedicated to getting fresh, local, seasonal food into the hands of more persons in St. Louis – regardless of their income.

Tickets are limited and can be purchased at: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/69345

For more information about the event please visit http://www.artoffoodstl.com/ or contact Bill Burge at bill@slowfoodstl.org (preferred) or 314-498-1401.

* If you are a paid member, please be sure to join the members only mailing
list to receive the discount code.

Thank you,
Slow Food St. Louis

While there’s more to the event then food, I am admitadly damn proud of the lineup of chefs I’ve assembled for this years Art of Food. Whether you like me–or even all these chefs–or not, the event has turned into a who’s who of chefs supporting local producers, and I hope all of you in St. Louis will come out and consider supporting.

And the good stuff, the menu…

Annie Gunn’s

Roasted Prairie Grass Farms leg of lamb on grilled Companion bread with local peaches, Goatsbeard Farm chevre, and caramelized candy onions.

Araka

Local Watermelon Gazpacho with Sweet Yellow Corn, Rock Shirpm and Housemade Fresh Corn Tortillas

Bailey’s / Rooster

1. Fruitland Farms Chipotle Pulled Pork with Eckert’s Peach Salsa on San Louis Tortilla Chips

2. Buila Land Jalapenos stuffed with Heartland Creamery Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onion, Wrapped in Fruitland Farms Bacon

Overlook Farm – Clarksville, MO

Vesterbrook FarmLamb “Rillets” with Overlook Farm Garden Greens & Chopped Duck Eggs

Erato

Farrar Out Farm Rabbit Gumbo

Harvest

1. Missouri Grass Fed Oxtail Barley with Peppered Ahi Tuna and a Roasted Sweet Red Pepper Emulsion

2. Warmed Companion Brioche Bread Pudding with Bourbon Currant Sauce and Vanilla Whipped Cream

Kakao Chocolate

1. Homemade Marshmallow Pies with Chocolate and Pecans
2. Hand-Dipped Caramels with Sea Salt

Local Harvest

Biver Farms Heirloom Tomato Flatbread with Goastbeard Farm Goat Cheese and Pesto

Mad Art

Citrus Cured Troutdale Farm Trout with Baetje Goat Cheese, Fresh Claverach Farms Cucumber-Pickled Ginger Chutney and Radish Shoots on a Black Mustard Seed Cracker

Monarch

Root Cellar and Hannaway Farms Tomato Terrine, Whipped Balsamic, Goatsbeard Chevre Crème Fraiche, Black Olive Oil

Niche

Spicy Pork Meatballs – Greenwood Farms

Serendipity Ice Cream

“Peaches and Cream Floats” – Calhoun County Peach Ice Cream Floated in Fitzs Cream Soda

Sidney Street Café

EIEIO Acres Goat Sliders with Pickled St. Isidore Farms Eggplant, Arugula, and Curry Aioli on a Housemade Sesame Bun

Winslow’s Home

1. Chilled Winslow’s Home and Farm Eggplant Soup with Sweet Curry Creme Fraiche

2. Garlic Rubbed Benne’s Best Smoked Chicken with Winslow’s Home and Farm Red Onion Jalapeno Jam on Toasted 222 Artisan Bakery Baguette

Post from stlbites.com

Slow Food St. Louis 4th Annual Art of Food + Menu!

Last Friday, Food, Inc. was released to an additional 90 theaters across America including Landmark’s local Plaza Frontenac location.  As my saying the movie is a must-see is as biased an opinion as they come, how about a snip of what Roger Ebert had to say about his viewing of the film?

This review doesn’t read one thing like a movie review. But most of the stuff I discuss in it, I learned from the new documentary “Food, Inc.,” directed by Robert Kenner and based on the recent book An Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I figured it wasn’t important for me to go into detail about the photography and the editing. I just wanted to scare the bejesus out of you, which is what “Food, Inc.” did to me.

Post from stlbites.com

Roger Ebert on Food, Inc.

Post from stlbites.com

This Week in stlbites.com Tweets

Post from stlbites.com

This Week in stlbites.com Tweets