{For the Family at Cielo}
Welcome to Budget Crunch, wherein intrepid reporter Byron Kerman offers 10 tips on delicious menu items and sweet deals happening now.
1. It doesn’t get much cheaper than free. And tonight (Jan. 28), a free wine tasting at Elaia and Olio features the wines of Matteo Corregia, a leading producer in the Piedmont region of Italy. It’s a “library tasting,” which means guests get to taste the same wine at various points in its aging process. For instance, you can try one of the wines in its 1996, 2000, 2005 and 2011 vintages. Eighteen wines total will be poured, and most wines will be available for purchase, too. No reservations required.
2. The wintry Urban Harvest Pizza at both Crushed Red locations is a counterintuitive marvel. We certainly wouldn’t have thought of candied walnut pesto, diced bacon, dried cranberries, caramelized onions, roasted corn, mozzarella and (gulp!) stuffing together atop a pizza. It’s sweet, it’s savory, and it works at just $7.50. But you’ve got to try it soon – this is the last week.
3. The German Chocolate Pancakes at Lewy Nine’s Café at River City Casino earn an official, “Holy cow!” They may be on the breakfast menu, but this $9 stack of four deep, dark chocolate pancakes drenched in decadent caramel-pecan syrup and topped with shredded coconut could easily be dessert for four people. Plan to take home leftovers.
4. The Llywelyn’s Pub new $3, $4, $5 Happy Hour is marvel of simplicity. You can get three different items for $3 each: chips with pepper cheese or rarebit sauce, a cup of soup or chili, and the Dragon’s Nest, which is a basket of fried onions and jalapenos. The four-for-$4 lineup includes pub pretzels with pepper cheese, Welsh rarebit, a chef’s choice of mini-sandwiches, and fried Irish pies stuffed with corned beef, white cheddar and mashed potatoes. The five-for-$5 selection features spinach artichoke dip, pub pickles, mini-burgers, a half flatbread, and Irish Mussels – blue mussels steamed in garlic, Jameson Irish Whiskey and butter.
5. The small plates menu at the restaurant with the breathtaking view, Cielo at the Four Seasons St. Louis, has a nifty option for groups. The For the Family includes four small plates, plus almonds, olives and salamino (slices of small salami) for $24. Small plate choices include curried shrimp with cauliflower puree, grilled octopus, wild mushroom arancini, crunchy olives stuffed with beef, pork and veal, and bruschetta with goat cheese, oven-dried tomatoes and pesto.
6. Chaumette Vineyards & Winery in Ste. Genevieve opens an Indian-themed pop-up, a temporary restaurant concept this February and March. Lambay’s India at Chaumette will showcase the skills of executive chef Adam Lambay, the former executive chef at India Rasoi. For $20, a guest chooses three veggie and meat curries from a menu of 16 options, including chicken tikka masala, goat rogan josh, goan shrimp, saag paneer, eggplant pharta, dhal makini and gobi aloo, accompanied by basmati rice, samosas, breads and chutney. The Indian pop-up is hosted in Chaumette’s Barrel Room from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Saturdays in February and March. Reservations required.
7. They call it Wine and Dine Wednesdays, and it means every glass of wine at Mike Shannon’s Grill in Edwardsville, Ill., is half price all day. We hear the promotion has become super popular, and they’ve added a little something extra with occasional wine sampling from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, too.
8. Everything on the menu at upscale comfort-food hideaway Juniper is special, but let us now sing the praises of the not-so-humble grilled cheese sandwich. This little number features house-made pimento cheese and an eye-opening, bacon-Brussels sprout jam. It’s delish, and while it’s $6 at lunch or dinner, it’s just $4 on the late-night menu after 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
9. Students at Dierbergs School of Cooking‘s Gone to the Dogs class create treats for Fido like pumpkin-peanut butter-flavored bones, “Scooby snacks,” chicken-and-cheddar bites, “pupcakes,” and doggy ice cream. The $25 class takes place Sat., Feb. 8, at the Des Peres location.
10. The Donut Happy Hour at both locations of Ray’s Donuts is a sweet deal. From noon to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, buy one doughnut and get a second of equal or lesser value for free. Bring a friend – or don’t!
This article appears in January 2014.