Most Popular
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Thousand Dollar Baby: By day Jamie O'Hare studies for a master's in social work. Her night job is anything but.
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Hot Contender: If looks count, Sarah Steelman may be your next governor
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John Ray used to own a tavern in Benton Park. Now he lives in Quincy and dabbles in conspiracy theory.
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Grand Old Patty: Ian goes on a beefy binge at Burger Bar and Sub Zero New American Burger Restaurant
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Dora Magrath was blessed with a beautiful voice. She's gone, but you can still hear it.
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Unreal puts "Jorts & Mandals Day" initiative on the back burner, weighs in on Saint Louis Fashion Week (13)
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Seeing Red: Partners battle over a Wash. Ave. eatery's ownership (17)
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Red Alert: Everything they really don't want you to know about those pesky traffic-light cameras (13)
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Hot Contender: If looks count, Sarah Steelman may be your next governor (3)
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Fist City: Rockwell Knuckles aims to punch through St. Louis hip-hop's glass ceiling (3)
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Grand Old Patty: Ian goes on a beefy binge at Burger Bar and Sub Zero New American Burger Restaurant
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Building a Better Bistro: Chef Andy White proves there's life after Balaban's at Off the Vine
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Asia, Lumiere Place's Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese/Japanese chow parlor/sushi bar, is all over the map
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Want Boba with That?: Fast and good Vietnamese food at BBC Banh Mi, Boba Tea & Crêperie
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Say Goodbye, Say Hello
Farewell to Dooley's — and Hi, Pi!
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Anti-Smelter Slate Wins in Crystal City
03:55PM 04/09/08 -
The Cosby Show Cast Today: Bill's Got a Rap Album in the Works
01:59PM 04/09/08 -
Bon Iver, "The Wolves (Act I & II)" Live from the Billiken Club, April 8, 2008
05:37PM 04/09/08 -
Local News Tidbits: Tight Pants Syndrome, The Feed, Raglani, Stella Mora, Heroes of the Kingdom, Fundamental Elements
02:50PM 04/09/08 -
In This Week's Issue: Everest Café & Bar, Burger King Snacks
02:29PM 04/09/08 -
The Morning Brew: Wednesday, 4.9
09:13AM 04/09/08
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Recent Articles By Ian Froeb
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Building a Better Bistro: Chef Andy White proves there's life after Balaban's at Off the Vine
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Dora Magrath was blessed with a beautiful voice. She's gone, but you can still hear it.
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Grand Old Patty: Ian goes on a beefy binge at Burger Bar and Sub Zero New American Burger Restaurant
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Say Goodbye, Say Hello
Farewell to Dooley's — and Hi, Pi!
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Lists Naughty, Lists Nice
Ian can recommend James Beard nominees Annie Gunn's, Atlas and Niche. But Missouri caviar? Not so much.
National Features
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Miami New Times
The Murder of Master Do
In a city plagued by killings, the most perplexing death is that of a killer.
ByTamara Lush -
SF Weekly
Pitching "Woo-Woo"
He'll find you a parking space and even watch your car--if the meter maids let him.
By Ashley Harrell -
Nashville Scene
Spank the Honkey
The victim of a racial slur exacts a special kind of retribution.
By P.J. Tobia -
Broward-Palm Beach New Times
Spring Break is Still Awesome
Try as it might, Ft. Lauderdale still can't shake America's die-hard partiers.
By Michael J. Mooney
Food & Wine magazine has named Gerard Craft, executive chef and co-owner of the Benton Park restaurant Niche one of its ten Best New Chefs for 2008. Craft is the first St. Louis-based chef to receive the honor, which has been awarded since 1988. Previous winners include such noted chefs as Daniel Boulud (Daniel), Thomas Keller (the French Laundry and Per Se) and Tom Colicchio (the restaurant Craft and co-host of Bravo's Top Chef).
Food & Wine says the award "identifies up-and-coming chefs in America who are innovators with a distinct culinary style and vision creating exceptionally delicious food."
Craft learned the news a month ago. "I thought one of the other chefs was playing a joke on me," he tells me by phone from New York City, where Food & Wine honored this year's Best New Chefs with a celebrity-chef-studded party in their honor.
The magazine swore Craft to secrecy, which he admits was difficult: "I have a big mouth."
While the news did remain a secret, obsessive observers of the St. Louis dining scene might have suspected that the stars were aligning for Craft. Food & Wine editor-in-chief Dana Cowin dined at Niche a few months ago and mentioned the restaurant in the "Where I'm Coming From" sidebar to her editor's letter in the magazine's February 2008 issue. (She had the pappardelle with smoked pork shank.)
The exceptionally modest Craft says his staff at Niche "were the ones who got [the award] for me."
"I consider myself to be extremely lucky," he says. "There are so many [chefs] better than me. They all deserve to be recognized. Hopefully, this will give a boost to the St. Louis dining scene."
Josh Galliano, chef de cuisine at An American Place, agrees: "It's awesome for St. Louis."
Galliano believes the award will let Craft and Niche represent St. Louis' contemporary dining scene to the rest of the nation. "People can look beyond the St. Louis specialties," he says. "There's nothing bad about that heritage, but we're in a new [restaurant] industry."
Craft and the other Best New Chefs will appear on the cover of Food & Wine's July 2008 issue, which will include a profile of and recipe from each chef. Coincidentally, Mathew Rice, pastry chef at Niche and the adjoining Veruca bakeshop, will have a recipe featured in the magazine's June issue.
