1. You say, “Cannoli Happy Hour,” and we say, “Happy? Pshaw – more like ecstatic.” On Tuesday nights at Piccione Pastry in the U. City Loop, every cannoli is half off from 8 to 9 p.m. Rotating flavors may include chocolate chip, pistachio, citrus, chocolate, strawberry, gooey butter, coconut cream, cookie dough, chocolate-mint brownie, black cherry-Marsala, traditional and more.
2. Don’t let the fancy craft beer at the Flying Saucer slosh around your tum-tum without food. The Beerknurd Brunch Buffet is a $10 affair that runs every Sunday from noon “’til the food runs out.” The buffet always includes a make-your-own breakfast burrito station featuring eggs, bacon, sausage, shredded cheese and soft-taco shells. Other dishes may include biscuits and gravy, fruit and muffins.
3. Dig the sweet treats platter at Pan D’Olive. The $5 Dessert Sampler includes baklava, tiramisu and chocolate mousse and is available during happy hour, which takes place weekdays 4 to 7 p.m.
4. When a doughnut shop stays open at night, one tends to take notice. Over at Collinsville’s Glazy Squares Donuts & Ice Cream, the owners have just extended their daily hours until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 9 p.m. every other night of the week. Hot dogs and chili dogs are now available ($1.75 to $3.25), along with 16 flavors of ice cream ($2.75 to $3.75), plus ice cream floats. On select nights, you can buy a baker’s dozen of your favorite doughnuts at half price ($4.25). Check Glazy’s Facebook page or join its email list to learn when that discount is offered.
5. Tuesday night is when the mad scientists of SqWires unleash their creations upon an eager public. SqWare Plates are small-plate portions of new dishes that just might find a more permanent place on the menu. The half-dozen tastes, which change each week, run $5 each or five for $20. Last week’s newbies included grilled chive chicken with a creamy Ozark Forest Mushroom saute, barbecued oysters broiled in a house sauce and onions, primavera and Parmesan arancini, mussels with rosemary fries, a prosciutto quiche with mixed greens, and English pizza with house-made tomato sauce and three cheeses.
6. Some people come to Three Kings Public House just for the breakfast cereal. Of course, I’m referring to the venerated Captain Crunch Shrimp ($10), an app that melds spicy and sweet to wonderful effect. Six jumbo shrimp are breaded in a mix of crushed Captain Crunch cereal and seasoned flour, fried golden brown, and served with Asian slaw and a spicy Thai dipping sauce.
7. One of the most unexpected sandwiches in town is surely the Sardine Sandwich ($9) at the Schlafly Bottleworks. Skinless, olive oil-cured sardine fillets, spicy mustard, pickled onions and lettuce get to know each other on grilled white bread (with a side of potato salad). It’s pleasantly fishy, not too oily, and plenty salty – drink lotsa water.
8. Get lost, Sunday brunch. We’re cottoning to the Saturday Brunch at Annie Moon’s Bakery. The $12 buffet includes buttermilk biscuits and gravy, quiches, casseroles, fruit salad, soups, wraps, French toast, and more, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
9. They make it fun to order dessert at Pairings Wine and Dessert Bar . The petite, two-to-four-bite morsels are $3 each or three for $8. Consider the bacon and blueberry bread pudding a la mode; the chocolate crepes with Frangelico hazelnut chocolate mousse, dark chocolate ganache and hazelnuts; the Key lime cheesecake with candied lime zest; or the house-made ice cream of the day.
10. There are those who walk among us in silent struggle. They are called vegans, and finding foods around town that meet their dietary choices can be challenging – unless we’re talking Monday nights at Gokul Indian Restaurant in the U. City Loop. That’s because on Monday nights, the entire buffet ($12), normally vegetarian, kicks it up a notch and goes 100-percent vegan. The rotating array of dishes on the buffet may include chana saag (spinach and garbanzo beans), jalfrezi (a kind of curry), daal makhani (lentils and beans), aloo (potatoes with) tomato, mutter (green pea) tofu, and desserts like carrot kheer (rice pudding).
This article appears in April 2014.