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The following modules appear on the "Food & Drink" home page of stlmag.com and are updated weekly.
Bert's Chuckwagon: Nearly as iconic as Collinsville's famed catsup bottle, Bert's celebrated its 50th year in business earlier this month. Devotees swear by the big-as-your-face pork tenderloin sandwiches, made-in-house onion rings, real cherry cokes, and inexpensive Mexican fare...which gets even less expensive on Monday nights, when the AYCE Mexican buffet is just $8.99. 101 E. Main, Collinsville, Ill, 618-344-7993
The Joy of Gioia's They hooked us, the rest of St. Louis (and Andrew Zimmern, too) with their homemade Hot Salami sandwich, and then again with the Sloppy Daggett and a few items off their "Secret Menu." Now comes the Red Hot Redbird (hot beef, hot coppa, hot giardinera, hot pepperjack cheese, served on hot garlic cheese bread). Call 'em superstitious, but it's been Gioia's Sandwich of the Week for the 5th week in a row. Go Bird. Go Birds. 1934 Macklind, 314-776-9410, gioiasdeli.com
Menu Mania Wait a minute. There's a separate menu for food, for wine and beer, for specials, for kids, for desserts... But no martini menu? Well, that's exactly what we need about now. What would we like tonight, you ask? How about a little menu consolidation? And fewer words to digest. We feel like we're cramming for a final.