Deliciously Affordable
Chris DeRosier
(page 1 of 3)
So you enter this fabulous restaurant. The lights are dim, the scene is perfect. This could either be a business lunch or a midday romantic respite away from the office. Your server seats you and your date. You order. It's efficient. You're not waiting around. It's exactly 9 minutes and 57 seconds and you receive pan-seared jumbo sea scallops and tiger shrimp, with a plateful of flavor-complementary sides. For $13.If you play your cards right, lunch at Argentina Steakhouse can be one of the finest fine-dining experiences in 417-land... not just in terms of the quality of the cuisine, but also because of how lightly it impacts your wallet. Same goes for a host of other restaurants, at lunch and dinner, all across southwest Missouri.
I'm here to guide you through some of those best values for your dining dollar. (Of course, this list of local deals is far from comprehensive: If you know of one we haven't discovered, tell me via e-mail to chrisd@417mag.com, and we'll follow up.) Why? Because "check, please" doesn't have to equal "what's the damage?" Dining out really can be all about the thrill of the steal.
dine fine
pay a dime
by alphabetical order
When it comes to 417-land's elite restaurants, value is defined differently. Delicious? Yes. High-quality? Certainly. Expensive? Usually. But hiding within gold-embossed menus, you just might find luxury tastes for pennies on the dollar. Here are 10 of our favorite such dishes.
Argentina Steakhouse
Lunch can be a challenge for chef and customer alike. Doing it efficiently takes a near-symphonic synergy of kitchen preparation, service and management. Consider Argentina Steakhouse the New York Philharmonic of 417-land lunch menus: fast, superior in quality-and shockingly affordable, starting at $7.
The pan-seared jumbo sea scallops and tiger shrimp-the most expensive item on Argentina's lunch menu at $13-comes with shrimp and scallops coated in a Champagne-butter sauce, sautéed vegetables, rice puréed in parmesan cheese and topped with grilled asparagus. As with any entrée here, it comes with a house salad and homemade bread.
Argentina Steakhouse has become something of a business lunch destination because it's subdued and generally offers never-have-to-check-your-watch efficiency with its service. Owner Michael Cho says entrées can be out to customers in as little as 10 minutes, and people can order, eat and be gone in half an hour. It's a performance worthy of an ovation. 1410 E. Republic Rd., Springfield, 417-886-8010.
Value Meter
Menu Price: $13
What it Should Cost: $19
Value Rating: ++++
Chez Robert Tea Room & Bistro
There are secret specials at Chez Robert that aren't on its menu. Good ones. Regulars know to ask for the restaurant's chicken carbonara, a recipe that owner Robert Baker wrote for cooking competition. When the contest judges started walking in and asking for the dish by name, Chef Robert (pronounced "Row-BEAR") knew he had a hit on his hands.
As hits go, it's a monster: Four pounds of penne pasta, two six-ounce grilled and buttered chicken breasts, creamy carbonara sauce, pepperoni, bacon, black olives, white onion, green and red peppers and button mushrooms. With a salad and fresh-baked focaccia bread served as sides, all for $15.99, it's one of those "never-leave-hungry" dishes Baker likes to serve. "No one eats it all," Baker's mom, Marilyn, says. "But there are those who try," Baker says. 604 W. Mt. Vernon St., Nixa, 417-724-2121.
Value Meter
Menu Price: $15.99
What it Should Cost: $18.99
Value Rating: +++
Clary'sClary's Executive Chef William Mauk has reshaped the restaurant's menu under new owners Dave and Lynee Fender, and the roasted quail is a hidden gem at $9. Can an entire bird be classified as just an appetizer? Clary's says yes, but it doesn't rely on just the quail to satisfy customers. The bird is stuffed with a combination of tasso (a kind of seasoned, smoked pork) and cornbread. Piled on top is a mixture of black bean relish and corn, topped with a pinch of clover. Though it's not easy to split onto two dishes, the quail is certainly enough food to serve two people the kind of quality dining Clary's offers-for less than $5 per person. 3014A E. Sunshine St., Springfield, 417-886-1940.
Value Meter
Menu Price: $9
What it Should Cost: $15-$17
Value Rating: ++++
DiGiaCinto
"It really should be $21.95," Sam DiGiaCinto says of his veal Dijon dish, listed on the menu for $15.95. Apparently, even he knows it's a steal. Start with the veal itself, not frequently served here. Its complements are more common but no less filling: a side plate of linguini topped with marinara sauce, a dish of DiGiaCinto's homemade bread and a side salad.
How does DiGiaCinto know how good a deal his veal Dijon is? He trims and often cooks it himself. "As long as you see me here, it's gonna be the same," DiGiaCinto says. 2259 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield, 417-882-5166.
Value Meter
Menu Price: $15.95
What it Should Cost: $21.95
Value Rating: +++
Fire & Ice
Its ice bar is pure South Beach, the decor is East Coast nightclub and the menu is the product of two chefs with considerable pedigrees in 417-land: Wing Leong (Mikayla's, Flame, Epicurean and Cartoons, not to mention the cashew-chicken-inventing Leong restaurant family) and Jeremy Story (Flame, Mikayla's). Yet, in spite of all this, affordability prevails. Leong's big-enough-for-two appetizer, the duck napoleon ($8), is a particular point of pride.
This isn't your average duck. Leong says a common misconception about duck is that it's generally tough and greasy. The reason people get that idea is because frequently a person's first experience eating duck comes from a field-hunted bird. Restaurant duck is softer and less muscular. Leong's variety is barbecued and served on wanton crisps with guacamole, a pineapple-mango salsa and crème fraîche and topped with watercress. The dish piles high but splits as an appetizer for two, or a meal for one. 2546 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, 417-866-5253.
Value Meter
Menu Price: $8
What it Should Cost: $12
Value Rating: +++
Gallery Bistro
Chef-owner Peter Tinson brings out his hazelnut-encrusted tilapia (Pictured at top, $15.55) with all the flavor and presentation of a dish worth significantly more. Julienned carrots form a tuft atop the tilapia, while the leek-infused citrus butter sauce zigzags along the edge of the plate. Each filet is enveloped in toasted hazelnuts for crispness. Finally, it's all carefully stacked on a pilaf of wild and basmati rice (the latter imported from India or Pakistan).
The resulting dish is appropriately portioned for one, though Tinson says he can split the dish for free (an unusual offer among 417-land's upscale restaurants), and if you wish, add extra sides à la carte. (Or splurge on dessert.) It's satisfying, not over-stuffing, costs less than $16 per person, yet looks pricey. Appearances can be deceiving. 221 E. Walnut St., Springfield, 417-866-0555.
Value Meter
Menu Price: $15.55
What it Should Cost: $20
Value Rating: +++
Haruno
A sushi dinner, prepared at the level of excellence Haruno offers, is expensive. There's no way around it, unless you're dropping in for an appetizer-sized snack.
So when owner Young June presents her Sicilian sea bass (see p.87), awash in a miso-teriyaki-wasabi sauce, served with deep-fried paper-thin garlic on a bed of toasted rice infused with bits of tomato, onion and seven varieties of mild red pepper-priced at $20-it garners special attention.
June says it's a frequently overlooked dish, but one that attracts regular fans once guests discover it... the highest compliment an entrée can receive. Another example of Haruno goodness (other than sushi) is the grilled scallops, a popular appetizer served with portobello mushrooms and asparagus and coated in wasabi sauce. It can feed two for $10.50. 3044 S. Fremont Ave., Springfield, 417-887-0077.
Value Meter
Menu Price: $20
What it Should Cost: $26
Value Rating: ++++
Nonna's Italian American Café
The new owners of Nonna's-Tim Caldwell, Marty Almaraz, Craig Anderson and Julia Ferrell-implemented their new customer-first approach when they bought the restaurant last summer. That new approach brought improvements to some of the décor, the level of service and also to the food. Take, for example, the cioppino, a bowl of seafood stew including shrimp, mussels and clams soaked in an aromatic white-wine broth and poured over a bed of angel hair pasta. This heaping helping comes for just $7.75 at lunch or in a larger dinner menu size for $12. 306 South Ave., Springfield, 417-831-1222.
Value Meter
Menu Price: $7.75
What it Should Cost: $9
Value Rating: +++
Tasia
When it comes to getting the most for your money, this pan-Asian place offers a traditional shrimp lo mein ($9.95 at dinner; $7.95 at lunch). This mega-plate of noodly goodness is filling at whatever time of day. In case your stomach is still growling, it comes with a side of soup to slurp your way to satisfaction. 4728 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield, 417-890-6789.
Value Meter
Menu Price: $7.95
What it Should Cost: $9
Value Rating: ++
Tea Bar & Bites
A name such as Tea Bar & Bites likely brings to mind a small shop that specializes in tiny snacks, but Tea Bar's Asian chicken wrap is no small thing. It's a handful in the most literal sense of the word-two handfuls, really, when sliced in half. Stuffed in the forest-green spinach wrap are a chicken breast, chopped asparagus and red peppers, all lightly doused in Tea Bar's proprietary peanut sauce. If needing two hands to carry your chicken and vegetables isn't enough, the wrap comes with a small café salad, bringing the total to $7.50 for a meal many regulars regard as plenty for lunch, plus a handy to-go box. 621 S. Pickwick Ave., Springfield, 417-866-7500.
Value Meter
Menu Price: $7.50
What it Should Cost: $9.50
Value Rating: ++
Click to the next page to discover the delicious deals we couldn't fit in the magazine.
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