Budget Crunch: 8 delicious deals to try now in STL

Got $10 and a friend? Then we've got eight delicious deals you must try now in St. Louis.

1. School is back in session, and hungry college students can get their fix of sweet and savory Italian treats at Piccione Pastry on College Night. Every Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m., college students with an ID get 25 percent off just about everything in the store. That’s a lot of panini and cannoli, kids.

2. Every home cook knows the important of taste testing before you serve the meal. Lend a hand (and your taste buds) to Kakao Chocolate in Maplewood on Taste Test Tuesdays. Watch the chocolate shop’s Facebook page for the daily code word, then utter it at the counter for a free tasty treat. “Classic” for a milk chocolate-sea salt caramel? “How do you like them apples?” for an apple caramel? Yes, please!

3. Turning your favorite food into an ice cream counterpart is a fun game. Choco Tacos. Ice cream cookies. Boozy floats. But now we have doughnuts. Swing by Vincent Van Doughnut in The Grove and magically turn any of its house-made doughnuts into a ice cream sandwich for around $7.

4. Now through October, sample the new fall lunch and dinner menus at The Presentation Room, the student-run restaurant by L'Ecole Culinaire. For $10, enjoy a three course-meal that includes appetizer, entree and desert, all inspired bites from culinary students and future chefs in the making. Choose from flavors like chicken white-bean cassoulet, black and white pasta with steamed mussels or a juicy bourguignon burger, and don't forget about the vanilla bean ice cream with port wine glaze.

5. Cantina Laredo in downtown Clayton is featuring half-price combination steak and chicken fajitas on Wednesdays after 5 p.m. While you're there, enjoy a 3 G’s Please cocktail made by bartender Lucero Ortiz, the recent winner of the 2017 National Tequila Day competition.

6. 4204 Main Street Brewing in Alton recently changed its name to The Perfect 10 Pub and Grill, and it’s everything you could want in a hangout spot – literally, everything on the menu is $10 or less, including daily specials, like its Monday steak and beer night – an 8-ounce sirloin with one side and a 4204 beer.

7. If you’ve got a taste for something light and fruity, check out the wild flavors of Bissinger’s Gummy Pandas. At $4 a package, electrify your taste buds on the cheap with flavors like Strawberry Mango and Blackberry Hibiscus. They’re perfect for late-summer campouts or between sets at LouFest.

8. Can’t make it to the Grafton Apple Festival this weekend? Get a taste of the season with The Daily Bread’s apple pie. Each pie is filled with more than 2½-pounds of apples, and you can snag a slice for a few bucks in Des Peres.

Kevin Korinek is a freelance writer and photographer with a passion for making homemade pie.