How's everyone doing today? Hungry yet? You will be after this.

@Julie Good question. I'm just as happy eating good ethnic food in a hole-in-the-wall joint as I am dining at a Michelin-starred "destination" restaurant. And my food "likes" far outnumber my dislikes. Come to think of it, there isn't much food I don't like or won't eat (case in point: the chicken feet I took down at a Chinese buffet last week). But there is one ingredient I've yet to wrap my palate around: white pepper. To me, it tastes like the smell of (human) feet.

@LD As far as I know, Josh, who was executive chef of Monarch when it closed this year, is scouting locations, trying to find the right spot to open his own restaurant. In the meantime, he's keeping himself busy and keeping his followers satisfied with several "pop-up" restaurants. The first was a fried-chicken-and-fish pop-up at Half & Half last month, and on Sept. 17, he's doing a gumbo take-out during lunch at the new Pint-Size Bakery on Watson.

@jkm Gokul in the Loop is excellent (Indian, vegetarian AND kosher -- how about that?). Local Harvest Cafe (downtown and on Morgan Ford and coming soon to Kirkwood) also has fantastic, fresh vegetarian options.

Ah, I smell a beer question coming up.

@MrHallas I've always said it is hard work running a brewpub (ie, a brewery that serves food). Lots of places either get the beer right or the food right, but it's rare to find a place that can do 'em both. I'm going to defer from picking the "best," but these places all deserve props, and I'd be glad to eat and drink at any of them: Ferguson Brewing (can't get enough of their smoked chicken wings); Schlafly Tap Room for its fish 'n' chips and cask beer, Bottleworks for its veggie burger; Perennial Artisan Ales' Claire Mendez is doing great stuff out of their kitchen...very beer-friendly, local, fresh food; Urban Chestnut offers a smart selection of small bites, and I pointed out last week that their Bier and Brat Plate is one of the best values in town.

@amveats Joe Bonwich has been an absolute mensch during this changeover. The best advice he gave me was to care about food, care about writing, and do my homework. My gym visits have increased in frequency from once every three weeks to once every other week. Like you, it shows.

@Jim There was some chatter this week on our Eat at Joe's forum that Sugarfire is aiming for a Sept. 17 opening. From the look of things, Vernon's will be soon after that. A six-pack for $5 or under? Tough one. Nah, easy: Stag.

OK, so my Top 3 STL pizzas right now are Pi and The Good Pie, constantly battling for 1 and 2 in my book, and a close third is Feraro's, which isn't fancy, just good. I call it Poker Pizza, because it's the kind of pizza that I could scarf down a few slices while playing poker and not feel guilty that I'm not fully savoring its gourmet qualities. What else is out there that I should consider?

(Meant STL, not STL Louis on that last poll, obviously)

Did I manage to sound both dirty and pathetic with that last post?

@Glee OK, we'll wait.