I talk a lot about saving money when shopping but I don't get in to the eating out savings very often. But I'm all about eating out (less cooking at home) and saving money too!

TCBY is giving out FREE fro yo on Mother's Day this Sunday! Every mom will be treated to a free cup or cone. And thanks to Subway and their $5 footlongs, price slashing in restaurants is continuing. Have you had a $4 Torpedo from Quizno's? I have, a couple times. They look huge but go down so easy. Tasty!

Now Chili's has a "10 under $7 menu", TGI Friday's has $5 sandwiches and salads and The Cheesecake Factory has introduced a small plates and snacks menu. I'm thrilled about these developments and hope we see more. I hated spending $9 on a salad that I couldn't finish at Friday's and would rather spend a little less and get a little less, I don't like the "super sizing"! Let me know if you've heard of any good deals in the chains or local restaurants.

Once again, I gotta tell you, I got some of this info from Hungry Girl, check her out at hungry-girl.com!

A BOTTLE OF RED

I always think of that Billy Joel song when I eat out at a traditional Italian Restaurant. As we did last night with friends. We headed not far across the river to Del Pietro's on Hampton in south St. Louis. And we used one of the $25 dining certificates from restaurant.com.

Our meal started with calimari and brushetta appetizers. I'm not a calamari eater but the guys said it was served differently than they had ever seen it but it was good. It was larger pieces that did not exactly look like the squid they had eaten. It was in a light breading and was softer not a crunchy batter. It was very tender though and not at all chewy, as calamari can sometimes be. It was served with a marinara and lemon. The brushetta were grilled and topped with fresh tomatoes, slivers of basil and fresh slices of parm. It was also tasty.

Soups and salads followed. I forgot to ask how the other couples' soup was but I do know they ate it all. I believe it was a minestrone. John and I both had house salads. They were what I'd call typical St. Louis style with greens, pimentos, cheese and a good coating of Italian dressing but I enjoyed it as much or more than others I've had around town. It was every bit as good as The Pasta House's.

We then moved on to entrees. I had a small order of spaghetti and meatballs (and was very glad that a small order is offered), John had pasta tutto mare and the other couple had veal canneloni and the evening special of beef spedini over ricotta based gnocchi. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals and I think everyone polished theirs off or came close, there were no doggy bags to go home.

We finished off the meal by splitting desserts of chocolate chip cannoli and tiramasu and again the plates were "licked" clean. With our meal we enjoyed two bottles of chianti, a must drink with pasta in my opinion. Service was good, we were waited on by a young man that has worked there for 6 years and pretty well had it down. They're located not far from Ted Drewe's which could be another option for dessert!

GET OUT

We're headed into St. Patty's day weekend and here's what's on tap, besides the green beer!

Saturday is the St. Patrick's day parade in Belleville, the march gets under way at 11:00 a.m. and runs through downtown Belleville.

JV's will be serving corned beef and cabbage. And on Sunday they'll be celebrating their 24th Anniversary. Festivities get under way at 4 p.m. Stop by and get in on the fun.

Gallagher's has a Lenten Friday fish special. Their fried fish plate is $8.95 and features beer battered cod with homemade tartar sauce, crinkle cut French Fries and homemade slaw. Regular menu items are also available.

Gibault High School is holding a trivia night in their Gym in Waterloo Friday night. Questions get under way at 7 p.m. and cost is $12/person. There's cash prizes for the top 3 teams, a 50/50 raffle and a Survivor Game. Bring your own food and beverage. To reserve your table call 939-3883.

GET OUT

The Home and Garden Show is over in St. Louis this weekend, Fri., Sat. and Sun. at the Dome (who's got those naming rights now, Edward D. Jones?) and Convention Center. There's also an RV show at the Belle Clair Fairgrounds this weekend both inside and outside. Cost is $5 per person for that one but if you cut out their ad in the Belleville News Democrat you get $2 off.

The Dorothy Weinel Eppinger Foundation is sponsoring a concert Friday night at the Columbia Middle School Cafetorium. The concert by Cadence starts at 7 p.m. The group is a percussion rock group from Springfield, Mo who almost hit it big by making it in to the top 20 of America's Got Talent on tv. We were watching the show and rooting for them, they're very entertaining.

There's all kinds of fish fries Friday night. You can head to the VFW in Waterloo, Turner Hall in Columbia, the VFW in Millstadt, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Renault, St. John United Church of Christ in Valmeyer, The Sportsman Club in Millstadt and Waterloo and a number of restaurants and bars (think JV's, Gallagher's, TUB's in Waterloo and Gruchala's and Tiny's in Columbia).

Saturday night there's a benefit trivia night for Backstoppers at the Hecker Commercial Club starting at 7 p.m. For reservations call Jim 939-7015 or Joe at 939-8966.

Chocolate Fix

So I went out last night with a few of my friends to Bailey's Chocolate Bar in the Lafayette Square area of St. Louis.  We've gotten a group of gals together and we eat out together once a month.  The atmosphere is really rich, just like the chocolate. Dark woods, reds and golds, candles - very romantic and relaxing.  Make sure you're ready for a leisurely dinner and dessert, or just skip to dessert if you want.  You can pick your poison (chocolate) in the form of beer, martinis, shakes, on your salad, baked desserts, candies and ice cream confections.  The seven of us felt it necessary to have a bit of dinner before we dove into dessert.  On the table with a lot of sharing going on were: a couple of pizzetas (small pizzas with not your usual ingredients) of the "Missour" variety which was just a pizza crust spread with butta (butter), cheeses, mushrooms, garlic and a little green herb garnish of some sort; a couple salads - one spinach and one Salad Chocolat (mixed greens, dried cherries, toasted nuts,danish blue cheese, white chocolate with a framboise viniagrette); Baked Brie wrapped in mixed nuts with bacon, fruit and bread; and foccacia bread with olive oil to dip it in. For dessert there was: Milk Chocolate Bread Pudding, The Bailey's Bar (chocolate cake with buttercream frosting between layers dipped in ganache), Bailey's Chocolate Brownie and a chocolate raspberry martini. I'd say the pizzeta and desserts were favs of the table.  You'll find their complete menu, both drink and food, on their website just click on their name above or the title of the article and I'll take you there!

Eating to See and be Seen

I know, you're asking yourself "what is she talking about?"  Well, I'll tell you.  We went out to eat at Lucas Park Grille on Washington Avenue in St. Louis on Friday night.  Our friends invited us and picked the restaurant.  So, as I do with restaurants I haven't been to before, I checked them out on the Sauce Magazine website and their own website.  On the Sauce Mag website I found that they were voted number 1 in their reader's choice poll as "the place to see and be seen."  Well, I guess I was seen but I don't know by who 'cause I didn't recognize anyone there.  But the restaurant itself was great.  The food, atmosphere and servers were all top notch.  I had filet mignon (I'm boring but I just think its heavenly when done well, not well done : ) with pomme puree (ok, they're a bit pretentious here, they're mashed potatoes alright) and asparagus.  Oh, but first, I had this great lavender puff pastry stuffed with goat cheese and served with greens and strawberry compote (yeah, also kind of pretentious sounding), it was very yummy.  For dessert I just stole a taste of John's maple walnut bread pudding, it was good but not in the same league as the rest of the meal.  And speaking of John and the others, John had a chicken breast stuffed with duck confit and something else, the husband of the other couple had monkfish with crab risotto and his wife had lamb chops with couscous  Everyone enjoyed, I'd give it a 3 3/4 spoons (out of 4)!

Eat Drink Save Money

A reader passed this great tip on to me.  At restaurant.com you can buy $25 gift certificates to local restaurants for just $10.  If you click on the title above, it will link you to the webpage to start ordering.  You just enter your zip code or the city you want to look in and it will lead you through the simple process from there.  The reader had bought a certificate for Del Pietro's.  I did a quick search for south St. Louis and downtown St. Louis and also found Aya Sofia, The Feasting Fox, Felix's, Johnny Gitto's, Bailey's Chocolate Bar and Hammerstones, just to name a few.  Read carefully, there are a few restrictions that I believe can vary restaurant to restaurant.  For instance, at Bailey's the certificate is not good on Fri. and Sat. nights and only one certificate is allowed per table.  But what a great way to eat out at a nicer restaurant for a nicer price!

SHOP, EAT, REPEAT

Shopping, eating out, I've been doing a little bit of both this week.  Yesterday I headed down to Waterloo.  I had dropped some items at the new resale clothing shop, Hi-Style Boutique, there in the plaza in front of Wal Mart.  I had a large lawn and leaf bag full of clothes that I was emptying out of my closet and some of them were still in good condition.  They were headed to a resale shop to be donated but I thought I'd stop there and see if they were interested in any of them.  Out of the bag, they accepted half to 3/4 of them and gave me a check for $37 for them.  I can't tell you how much they gave me for each individual item because I didn't ask them to.  I was happy to be paid on the spot for items that were just going to be donated and that I didn't have to sit at a yard sale and sell.  If you're going to give them a try its best to go Tues. through Thurs. and call first and see if the owner, Lisa Kueper, is going to be in.

After that, I headed to the Western Egyptian Resale shop to donate the leftovers and while I was there I thought I better just take a peek.  I came out with 3 great necklaces for a total of $2.50.

Later that afternoon I headed with a friend over to The Closet Exchange and Sweet Charity (both resale shops), on Gravois near the intersection with Sappington in South County.  I bought a Lilly Pulitzer hot pink polo top for spring, brand new with the tags still on it for $20 something (reg. price on the tag was $75) at The Closet Exchange.  And at Sweet Charity I bought an Emmanual Ungaro black jacket for spring and a Ralph Lauren black and white stripe blazer (also for spring) both for $8 each and a Jones New York spring pink with navy polka dots blouse for $7.  There's also a home furnishings resale shop in the same plaza as Sweet Charity but I didn't catch the name of it and they seemed to still be setting up and getting ready to close for the day, so I'll have to check them out further another time.

Tonight I'm headed out to eat with my husband and another couple to Lucas Park Grille downtown St. Louis.  Of course I'll let you know how it is.

I'm hoping to find somewhere to shop tomorrow.  And yes, I'll let you know if I do and what I find.

Cooking up some Entertainment

A reader and her husband tried a Dierberg's Cooking School class the other night and had a wonderful time and it sounded like the food was fabulous. She said some great stuffed mushrooms and a wondeful salad dressing were her favorites. The instructor cooked for them and then they got to eat the demonstration. There was the appetizer, salad, main course and dessert (a molten chocolate cake, of course, I would recall the dessert she said they made and not the main course). She said it was all good and a fun evening out. Dierberg's has a south county cooking school location in addition to many other locations throughout the St. Louis area. You can check out their upcoming schedule of classes, costs and make reservations by clicking on the title above, "Cooking up some Entertainment." I think it would also make a great gift for someone. It's now on my list of things to do in 2009!

Eat your HEART out

Valentine's Day is fast approaching. If eating out is the way to your sweetie's heart here's some ideas to consider:

At The Falls in Columbia - They are serving a delectable 4 course dinner prepared by Executive Chef Jon Weatherfield, paired with just the perfect wine, skillfully selected by PRP Wine International (no I don't know who they are but they sound impressive. Doors open at 6:30 and dinner is served at 7:00. Cost is $55 per person, all inclusive. Reservations Must Be Made By Wednesday, February 11, 12:00 PM. Call 888-538-7778 and ask about their Sweetheart Package or visit them online at http://www.seethefalls.com/.

JV's in Waterloo is serving Chicken Marsala or Ribeye as their special on Valentine's Day.

Annebriar in Waterloo has a special dinner & dessert menu on Valentine's Day with Live Music by Singing Cowboy Terry Roberson from 7 to 10 p.m. Call 939-4653 for reservations. Drink specials ALL Night!

Bobeck's in Waterloo's Saturday V-Day special for two is a 10 oz. Strip Steak, Fried Shrimp, Baked Potato and Dinner Salad for $24.99 per couple.

The Feasting Fox at 4200 Grand in St. Louis is offering a few great options. Friday night they have a candlelight dinner, Saturday dinner with live music and a rose for your sweetheart and Sunday a Brunch buffet for $9.95. For more info check out their website at http://www.feastingfox.com/.

If antiques and collectibles are more your sweetheart's desire, Echoes of the Past in Waterloo is taking 20% off all Rose items through Feb. 14th. And if diamonds are your girl's best friend Curtis Jewelers in Columbia is having a 20-50% off Valentines Day Sale (hopefully there's some diamonds in that sale).

As for me and my sweetie, our plans include dinner out with friends Friday night at Lucas Park Grille downtown St. Louis, a couple's massage at Mist Day Spa in Columbia on Saturday (I was given a gift card to there for Christmas!) and a movie and dinner at home that evening. I'll let you know how the restaurant and spa turn out.

SHAKEN NOT STIRRED

I've spoken about The Glass Olive, south on Telegraph Road before but am reminded to mention them again. I just received their email newsletter that included their February Nightly Specials. Thought they were worth sharing with you:

Sunday - 4:00 p.m. to close every Sunday night A three course meal for two on selected entrees for only $35.00 a couple.

Monday - 20% off all food and drink

Tuesday - $5.00 martinis (a wide selection of tasty treats) all night, every Tuesday!

Wednesday - Free flat bread buffet from 4 to 6 p.m.

Thursday - Oh, it's ladies night with martini flights. Choose 4 - 3 oz. samples of selected martinis for $12.00!

Friday & Saturday - Live Entertainment

For more info head over to their website, just click on their name above. And while you're at it, register to get on their email newsletter list!