STlMealDeal

I doubt anyone actually reads this site anymore – but it’s been 6+ months since I packed up the VW Cabrio (which incidentally, holds almost nothing) and headed back to the east coast, so I thought I’d give an update. I’ve ended up in Philadelphia, a city that’s completely new to me. Now that I’ve been here awhile, I’ve compiled a list of some of the big food/drink-related things that I miss about St. Louis or that Philly just doesn’t do quite as well. Here are items 10 – 6, part II to follow:

10. MO Liquor Laws – PA liquor laws aren’t as bad as their terrible beer laws, which are the worst thing ever, but you Missourians don’t know how good you have it. When liquor had its own aisle in the grocery store, I was always making impulse purchases – picking up bottles that were particularly shiny or a pretty color or whatever and it was just part of my normal grocery shopping routine. And I went to the grocery store on a pretty regular basis so I had a pretty impressive collection going on. No extra stops at the liquor store or possibly another stop at the “fancier” liquor store (PA actually has two types of liquor stores, it is weird). Plus, I could hide how much money I actually spent on alcohol because it was incorporated into the grocery bill. Easy win for MO.

9. Slingers - I asked my friend if there was some sort of official Philly drunk/hangover food and he answered “Cheesteaks” (the answer to everything in Philly is apparently cheesesteaks) and not even some cool XXtreme Cheesesteak (a la STL’s own Mammer Jammer). Just a normal cheesesteak, which to me is regular, sober food, like a cheeseburger. I mean, it’s greasy and satisfying and I’d eat one while drunk but it’s no match for the Slinger, which serves no other purpose in life other than to be eaten while drunk at 2 am or hungover. I like the ones at Courtesy… two eggs over easy, hash browns, hamburger patties, chili, cheese and onions, please… maybe a side of toast. STL +1.

8. Fast Food Chains – When I first came to St. Louis, I thought it was fast food hell. You guys had no Dunkin’ Donuts and no Wendy’s – and this was in the pre-Chick-Fil-A spicy chicken sandwich days so that was rough. I was forced to branch out and discovered you guys not only have some crucial staples (Five Guys, Chick-Fil-A, Taco Bell, Qdoba/Chipotle), but you also have a burger chain devoted to butter burgers (Culver’s), a burger chain devoted to steakburgers (Steak ‘N Shake), White Castle (which I had never actually had pre-STL), and even a chain devoted to roast beef au jus sandwiches that isn’t gross like Arby’s (Lion’s Choice). I never went to McDonalds once in the year and a half I was there because why would I? And someone finally brought back Wendy’s and Dunkin Donuts before I left, making it a pretty perfect fast food world. Philly’s got the basics but it doesn’t have the extras.

7. Ted Drewes – Philly has Rita’s Water Ice while St. Louis has Ted Drewes’ concretes. Water ice is pretty refreshing when it’s hot out so I’m not anti-Rita’s, but summertime means ice cream to me, and concretes (which are essentially super thick Dairy Queen Blizzards with whatever add-ins you want) are pretty cool – You can turn the cup of frozen custard upside down and it’s so thick, it will stay in the cup. It’s a neat party trick. Rita’s actually has something similar and I’ll give it a try, but Shake Shack in NYC, which serves up pretty much my favorite burgers ever, sells the real deal (he pays respect to Ted Drewes and everything) so hopefully I’ll make it there sometime soon. This is more of a tie but I’ll miss them once the warm weather hits.

6. Beer Festivals - I haven’t experienced Philly in the summer yet, but they have a lot to live up to. STL is a beer city and has the Heritage Festival, Microfest, Schlafly’s Hop in the City, Augusta Bottoms Beer Festival… there’s pretty much always some big day drinking event going on which I love, and MO has plenty of solid craft breweries (all that unpopulated land IS good for something other than meth labs and puppy mills, who knew?). What really puts STL ahead, in my opinion, is that even the zoo gets in on the action. Ottertoberfest? Could beer events get any cuter? Or Jammin’ at the Zoo, an all you can drink event with wine and beer stations lined up throughout? This should really catch on at every city zoo because Zoo + Alcohol is a great (and I’m sure perfectly safe) combo. This one is TBD but I have a pretty good idea of who the winner will be.

Stay tuned for the top 5!

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Mother’s Day always seems to get a bit more attention than Father’s Day – at least in the restaurant world – but Dads deserve a big hooray for their hard work and effort in raising you as well. Sure, socks, ties and golf balls are all well and good but doesn’t your dad deserve a little more for being extra special?

Living halfway across the country from my own Dad, I don’t have the opportunity that many of you do to spend some quality time over a nice steak dinner or even a glass of cold beer but for those of you who do, take advantage of the opportunity and show your Dad just how much you love him!

After the jump, check out some Father’s Day Freebies, plus brunch, beer and steak deals that many restaurants in the St. Louis area are offering in honor of Dads everywhere!
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LoRusso’s Cucina is a great option for Italian on The Hill, offering more variety than the typical heavy, provel covered Italian that you will often find at many Italian restaurants in the area. Recently, LoRusso’s has been offering a dinner special that includes half sized entrees for half price, but I’ve been hesitant to include the deal on my site because I have to wonder: Is it really a deal if you’re spending less but getting less in return?

On the one hand, I appreciate the fact that the restaurant did not want to downgrade their ingredients or dishes to push out a cheaper product, and if you’re the type to turn up your nose at boxed up leftovers, smaller portions for less is probably a good deal considering the large portion sizes here — but if you’re me and take home half of your meal for the next day, it’s pretty break even.

LoRusso’s has now introduced a new early dining deal that definitely makes the cut for this website, however. When you dine between 5 and 6 pm and purchase an entree, you will receive a second entree of equal or lesser value at half price.

In order to get in on this discount, you must mention the early dining special while ordering. Sadly, this discount can’t be combined with any other offers, but after or before your meal, be sure to hit up the lounge area for their happy hour which runs Tuesday – Friday from 5 – 6:30 pm (perfect timing!) and features 1/2 price appetizers, $2 Budweiser Products, $2.25 Michelob Products and Well Drinks, $3 Micro Drafts, $3.25 Imported Beers and Premium Drinks, $4.25 Super Premium Drinks, and $4.50 – $6.50 Martinis.

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Filed under: Dinner for Two, Early Bird Specials, Friday, Italian, Saturday, St. Louis City, Sunday, The Hill, Thursday, Tuesday, Wednesday | No Comments »

Foursquare Rewards seem to be the next big thing in restaurant deals and for good reason: Not only does offering a Foursquare Freebie bring in fresh, new faces, but those customers automatically give a restaurant some free press when they check in and announce to the world “I Choose to Eat Here.” Even better, Foursquare is an excellent way for restaurants to reward customer loyalty – through Mayorship deals, and my personal favorite, deals for everybody who checks in.

For those not in the loop, this Smart Phone application allows you to share your location in real time and can be posted to Facebook and Twitter accounts – letting your whole network of friends know where you dine and where they can meet up with you. While a little narcissistic all on its own (Do your friends really care where you are 24/7?), when the simple act of checking in to a location nets you free food or drinks, this application takes on a much greater significance and becomes a Must Have App (in my frugal food loving opinion).

The owners of Robust Wine Bar, located in Webster Groves, are some of the social media front runners in the restaurant world, so it’s no surprise that they are among the first to jump in and host a very generous Foursquare deal.

Throughout the month of June, when you check in to Robust on Foursquare, the restaurant will treat you to a complimentary 3-ounce glass of wine – your choice of their selection of one red or white. The deal is limited to only one check in per day but feel free to make repeat visits throughout the month and get in on multiple glasses of free wine — and be sure to check out Robust’s other great offers like Flight Night & Cinco de Vino, sample some small plates and try their irresistible soon to be named dessert while you cozy up to the bar.



At the end of the month, the person with the most check-ins will be awarded the title of “Mayor” and will receive a $50 gift card PLUS a magnum of Champagne. All this for the simple act of pushing a few buttons on your phone!

To kick off the deal, Robust will be hosting a Foursquare Tweetup Wednesday, June 9th at 6 pm – So download the app if you haven’t already, stop by, check in and enjoy your free glass of wine while you meet other wine lovers!
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Filed under: American (New), Events, Freebies, Friday, Mid County, Monday, Saturday, Tapas, Thursday, Tuesday, Webster Groves, Wednesday, Wine Specials | No Comments »

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, June 1 – Friday, June 4 – Scotti’s Deli in Maryland Heights is offering a bag lunch special this month. Enjoy ANY bagged lunch for only $5 (typically $5.95) when you mention the June Special Bag Lunch (MUST mention special for deal). The bagged lunch contains your choice of sandwich, side, pickle spear and cookie.

Wednesday, June 2 – Taste of South Grand will take place on June 2nd from 5 – 10 pm. Participating restaurants include Absolutli Goosed, Al Waha, Basil Spice, Cafe Mochi, Cafe Natasha, City Diner, King & I, Gelateria Del Leone, Lemmon Grass, Mangia Italiano, Mekong, Mojo’s Tapas, Mokabes, Meskerem, Petra Cafe, St. Louis National Pizza Company, Sekisui, The Vine Cafe, Urban and Wei Hong BBQ & Bakery. Taste Menu can be viewed here. Cost is $25 in advance and $27 on the day of the Event.

Friday, June 4 – Novak’s Bar & Grill and Bar 5, sister restaurants located next door to one another, will both be offering free buffets to celebrate the first Friday of the month. Stop in to Novak’s for a free taco buffet beginning at 5 pm and then head over to Bar 5 for some free pizza beginning at 6 pm.

Friday, June 4 – The first Friday in June is National Doughnut Day! To celebrate Krispy Kreme will be giving away one FREE doughnut of any variety to their loyal customers! Participating St. Louis locations include the Fenton Location at 1871 Bowles Avenue, the St. Louis location on 10880 West Florissant Avenue and the St. Louis Krispy Kreme on 6935 South Lindbergh. For a complete list of participating locations click here .

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If you’re tuned into the St. Louis restaurant and food scene, you’ve probably heard about a recently opened restaurant in town that has quickly gained a loyal following of lunch and dinner groupies. If not, however, you may have missed the opening of Farmhaus – a small restaurant specializing in local, seasonal ingredients and fresh seafood, operated by Kevin Willmann, previous chef at Erato in Edwardsville.

Until recently, the restaurant’s website has been permanently under construction, leaving even those in the know wondering the details like When are they open? And most importantly, What are they serving? The restaurant’s website has recently launched but it can still be a bit tricky to find their menus, which are posted daily under their Twitter Account.

For those who can’t be bothered with Twitter, the standout deal here is their rotating blue plate lunch special, available Monday – Friday from 11 am – 2 pm. The entrees are definitely comfort food and are served with a salad of spinach, quick pickled vegetables, & sweet mustard onion seed vin plus a complimentary glass of tea — all for only $10. Having tried the bacon wrapped meatloaf, all I can say is that it’s definitely worth the price tag:

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Upcoming Events

Monday, May 24 – Farmhaus will be offering a Prix Fixe Dinner menu this Monday. Enjoy 3 courses for $35 or 5 Courses for $75 — including alcohol pairings. Menu has not been posted yet, but teasers have been shared and a strawberry bone marrow course appears likely. This event has 25 seats only so reservations are a must. Call (314) 647-3800 if interested.

Monday, May 24 – On Monday, from 4 pm – 9:30 pm, Remy’s Wine Bar & Kitchen will be offering a special 3 Course Menu with Wine Pairings to help raise money and awareness for Huntington’s Disease and the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, a non-profit health organization dedicated to finding a cure for Huntington’s Disease while providing support and services for those living with Huntington’s and their families. Cost of the three course dinner is $30, and Remy’s will donate 25% for each dinner sold. Full Menu and Pairings are available on our Events Page.

Monday May 24 – Balaban’s Wine Cellar and Bissinger’s are teaming up to bring you a wine and chocolate pairing on Monday. The tasting begins at 7 pm and will feature 6 wines from Balaban’s line up, each paired with one of Bissinger’s chocolates. Wine and chocolate pairings can be viewed in full here. Cost is $25 per person. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (636)449-6700.

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Cyrano’s Cafe, located in Webster Groves, is probably best known for their sinful martini list and dessert menu, which features everything from chocolate covered bacon to classics like ice cream sundaes and their famous caramel brioche bread pudding.

While they may carry a well-deserved reputation as one of St. Louis’ top dessert destinations, don’t count this restaurant out for the main affair.

The best night to stop in to Cyrano’s is definitely Monday Nights when the Cafe offers half priced glasses of wine, as well as bottles of wine offered by the glass, all night long in both the bar and dining area of the restaurant.

Cyrano’s also offers a few extra dishes on Monday night apart from their regular menu (which features affordable sandwiches and specialty plates in the $7 – $12 range), giving diners a few extra options to choose from.

While their Monday night specialty plate changes each week, the dish is always priced at a reasonable $9. Past specials have included a Burger Flight with fries (A trio of mini burgers: Cuban style burger with ham, swiss, mustard & pickle, Coffee rubbed burger with bleu cheese & bacon, and a Burger topped with mushroom, cheddar and thyme), Sesame Maki Tuna Roll with tempura fried vegetables, Pan Seared Tilapia & cheddar grits with lemon beurre blanc sauce, and a Mixed Grill plate with grilled chicken kabob, grilled anduille sausage, and grilled shrimp served with saffron rice and a roasted red pepper couli, among others.

For all you Burger Lovers out there, the Cafe also typically features a specialty open-faced hamburger & fries combo every Monday as well (available for $8.50). This may sound a little plain but don’t expect just a burger patty and half bun – Past specialty burgers have included burgers like the Rodeo, served open-faced with barbecue sauce, mozzarella cheese, and onion rings.

With entree selections under $10, squeezing in a dessert or two should be doable without breaking the bank (And DO splurge on dessert – it’s 100% worth it) – Add in the half priced wine and you have yourself a winning combination for an affordable date night.

Cyrano’s also offers a Prix Fixe Menu option available every Sunday – Thursday from 4 pm – 7 pm for only $14.

(Note: This coincides perfectly with their Happy Hour which runs from 4 – 7 pm Monday – Fridays and features 1/2 price wine and beer plus $5 Martinis so definitely stop by the bar before dinner!).

Check out the Prix Fixe Menu after the jump!

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Perhaps an unlikely location at first glance, Clayton has become the home for St. Louis Bread Co.’s newest concept – St. Louis Bread Co. Cares, a non-profit restaurant geared towards raising money for the local St. Louis community.

The restaurant, located in the heart of Clayton, operates on a Pay What You Can Basis – cash registers are available only to make change, signs advertise only suggested prices (identical to normal Bread Co. prices), day old bread is available for the taking (with a sign asking politely that you take only one), and all money is placed in a donation box at your discretion rather than handed over to a cashier. If you can’t afford to pay anything at all, the restaurant suggests that you donate an hour of your time working at the cafe.

While this may seem like a great way for those working in Clayton to score a virtually free lunch every day, the location was obviously chosen with the purpose of making money (to then be donated) rather than with the intent of becoming a soup kitchen. The hope is that with prices like $5.35 or $6.15, most people will round up rather than down, and perhaps throw in a few extra bucks.

The awesome thing about the restaurant operating as a non-profit is that there is no sales tax so prices are, in fact, cheaper here. You can pay the suggested price, round up, and still pay approximately the same amount as you would at your usual Bread Co., all while helping out the community.

If you can’t pay full price, consider paying what you can now and giving a larger donation later, or forget Bread Co. altogether and head next door to Clayton Diner, a little dive that serves up burgers and hot dogs for only $1.

I stopped in to St. Louis Bread Co Cares the other day, check out my opinions after the jump!

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A few months ago Yahoo Finance wrote an article about The Best Birthday Freebies being offered by national chains. With few exceptions, getting in on these birthday deals require newsletter and e-club sign-ups at each restaurant, and most come with plenty of additional junk mail throughout the year.

To help you navigate through all the restaurants in St. Louis and decide which newsletters are worth signing up for, I decided to compile my own list of birthday freebies.

As you can probably imagine, I am signed up for a ton of newsletters, so I was pretty excited to see what kind of haul I would bring in for my birthday. Well, yesterday I turned the big 2-8, and along with great gifts from my family, DJGel, DJGel’s family and the dog, I also received a ton of birthday offers from restaurants around St. Louis.

Which birthday offer do I consider the most generous? For me, it was a pretty clear cut win with the prize going to Harvest Restaurant. Hard to turn down a free no strings attached entree from one of my favorite restaurants in St. Louis — easily valued at $20+ and all you have to do is signup for their Mailing List and present your Birthday Email to your server. In fact, we’ve already used one of our Harvest birthday coupons (DJGel’s birthday is also in May) and will probably use up the other one before the month is over.

After the jump check out and compare all the birthday offers I received - from my favorite local restaurants to some of my least favorite chains – they’re all on the list. And if you see any that interest you be sure to sign up for their newsletter!

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