1. The new Happy Hour Menu at WildSmoke offers all the barbecue joint’s appetizers at half off from 2 to 6 p.m. daily. We’re talkin’ garlic barbecue delta shrimp over pepperjack grits ($5.50), smoked wings ($4), jumbo “doorknob” onion rings ($3.50), deviled eggs made with cheddar cheese and “pig candy” (brown sugar-roasted pork belly) ($3), a trio of sliders featuring brisket, smoked turkey and pulled pork ($4.25), and a half-dozen other choices.
2. Is Sauce on the Side poised to take over the world? That may be premature, but the newly opened second location of the calzone kitchen certainly has a hold on Clayton. The menu stars calzones like the Costanza, a dough pocket stuffed with pepperoni, eggplant, roasted garlic, basil, mozzarella and ricotta, brushed with garlic honey oil and served with red dipping sauce, as they say, on the side ($9).
3. If you’re into fruit-infused, summertime beer, check out the Rubaeus Raspberry Ale by Founders Brewing Co. ($6), currently issuing from the tap at Basso. This sweet-tart double-fermented ale is made with raspberries introduced at multiple stages during fermentation. The bartenders there also offer their take on a snakebite, a “Black Raspberry” double-pour with Left Hand Chocolate Milk Stout on the bottom and Rubaeus on top to make a chocolate-raspberry beer ($7). Yummy.
4. Take away one of the five ingredients, and this dish falls apart. Put them together, and you get the winning gestalt of a classic app. The Bacon-Wrapped Dates ($7) at Joyia tapas restaurant are suitable for sharing, but you won’t want to. The dates are stuffed with blue cheese, wrapped with bacon, and roasted with tomato chutney and a red-wine reduction. Mmm…
5. It’s tough to say but fun to eat at the new Sizzle, Swizzle & Swirl Happy Hour at Ruth’s Chris. Slide up to the bar in Clayton or downtown from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and order some of the steakhouse’s signature bites for almost half price. Dig into three crab BLT sliders, normally $12, with zucchini fries, a plate of beautifully seared ahi tuna (normally $17) or even a steak sandwich and fries, typically $13, all for $8. While you munch, sip a cosmo, blueberry mojito or Ruth’s Manhattan for $8 or a select beer for $3.
6. Carondelet burger palace Stacked STL has a cure for the Sunday-morning hangover: the $8 Sunday Morning Breakfast Buffet from 9 a.m. to noon. The spread features biscuits, gravy, eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, muffins and fruit, and once you find your seat, a server will take your order for French toast, pancakes or an omelet. Order up a mimosa, bloody mary or unlimited coffee and settle in for an easy morning.
7. The All-Night Happy Hour at Modesto Tapas Bar & Restaurant wins our Inaugural Cuteness Award. Available from 5 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the promotion is a lineup of 15 adorable one-bite samples. Consider the cerdo, grilled pork with quince (75 cents); the alcachofa relleno, artichoke stuffed with chorizo and cheese ($1); the queso frito, fried goat cheese with cumin honey ($2.50); and many more.
8. Haggis is probably eaten on a dare at least as often as it’s eaten by choice. The infamous dish – organ meats and grains encased in tripe (stomach) – gets a modern makeover at The Scottish Arms. At the CWE gastropub, house-made haggis is breaded and fried to make Haggis Fritters, and served with a whiskey sauce. You don’t have to know what’s inside to enjoy them. The end result – additional hair on your chest – is just a bonus.
9. One way to try the fried fantasies at Vincent Van Doughnut is to track down “Clyde,” the vintage van converted to a doughnut food truck. Another way is to order them at Sunday Brunch at Atomic Cowboy. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Sunday, the Grove restaurant offers a rotation of two or three different varieties of Vincent Van Doughnut. Recent flavors have included Rumchata, maple bacon, salted caramel, turtle, Highlander (made with Highlander Grogg coffee), and Tuxedo (a doughnut with a vanilla glaze, chocolate-covered nuts, chocolate chips, and a drizzle of liquid chocolate). At the Cowboy, they serve the doughnuts with an ice-cold glass of milk for $5.
10. A single S’more is sold in a roast-it-yourself kit nightly at new pub Los Punk (which we told you about here). A mere two bucks gets you a pre-portioned packet of jumbo marshmallows, graham crackers and a single mini-candy bar, plus a wooden dowel conveniently soaked in water for roasting. After buying the kit, head out back to the fire pit to make your s’more. Los Punk is open every night but Tuesday and sells s’mores every night that weather permits.
This article appears in August 2014.