Restaurants in Spanish Lake

Though lunch was originally created in the '70s to address the wheat industry's unprecedented surplus of wraps, it has since become America's most beloved midday meal. With today's deal, $5 gets you $10 worth of healthy, fast lunch fare at Baladas Bistro. The Bistro's convenient location near the convention center means that you can grab a tasty bite on your lunch break, while still having plenty of time to stop by the hotel and pilfer some tiny shampoos. Baladas Bistro is open Monday through Friday for lunch, dessert, and snacks. This Groupon is good for dine-in and carryout.

Featured on the "Deli Delights" episode of the Food Network's The Best Of program, the team at Kopperman's Specialty Foods & Deli works hard to deliver a classic delicatessen experience. They serve breakfast all day as well as overnight on Fridays and Saturdays, poaching eggs for benedicts and frying potato pancakes for orders of latkes. Smoked salmon and trout top bagels with cream cheese and housemade chopped chicken liver dresses up slices of rye bread. Carnegie Deli salami, corned beef, and pastrami come in from New York City, as do cheesecakes, black forest cakes, and apple crumb pies baked in the Statue of Liberty's torch.

The Soulard building has come a long way since its days as a turn-of-the-century shoe factory. Its newest tenants, however, still pay homage to their space’s industrial origins, keeping the original concrete pillars and exposed brick walls in Franco's dining room. That isn't to say the owners scoff at modernity—they've updated the charmingly rustic environs with sleek, undulating light fixtures. This balance between past and future extends to the cuisine, which has been lauded by St. Louis Magazine as a “minor masterpiece.” Chefs spotlight classic French meats and cheeses and infuse them with Midwestern flourishes such as molasses-bourbon gastrique sauce. Additionally, servers happily recommend wine pairings or the best wine bottles for trapping genies, a feat that earned Franco’s staff the Best Service in a Restaurant award from Riverfront Times.

Some spots that feature expedient services, such as human egg timers and express zombie groomers, don't want patrons to stick around too long. At Bellacino's you'll get quick service without feeling rushed. Televisions and patio seating set the St. Louis outpost of this national chain apart from others, making it a place to gather with friends. The menu is full of speedy savories including oven-baked grinders, crisp salads, and pizzas. Indecisive diners can marry together two cultural eats with the taco pizza, a doughy round topped with taco meat, onions, a cheddar-mozzarella cheese blend, salsa, olives, fresh lettuce, and tomatoes ($6.99 for 8 inches, $13.59 for 12 inches, and $18.29 for 16 inches). Vegetarians can opt for the veggie grinder, a finger-friendly feast with green peppers, onions, mushrooms, cheese blend, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo ($5.49 for 9 inches, $10.29 for 18 inches). The light menu, packed with sandwich options clocking in at 9 grams of fat or less, has healthier versions of classics (turkey, chicken, roast beef). Beer and wine, also available at this location, make substantial companions to the quick cuisine.

Inside the Westin St. Louis, Clark Street Grill’s open kitchen bustles as chefs craft artful, upscale plates. The tightly written menu breathes elegance into classic American dishes that flaunt innovative flavor combinations and hints of international influence. Dinner entrees spotlight delicately prepared seafood and meats, such as beef tenderloin and boneless pork chops, and lighter lunch options include sandwiches, personal pizzas, and helium soup. Guests can linger with glasses of wine in the modern dining room, which is populated with crisp white tablecloths and columns.

In the late 1960s, a new music craze hit the scene. English lyrics and a unique fusion of rhythm and blues with Cuban stylings helped the boogaloo quickly capture the attention of audiences across the country. And though Boogaloo—the restaurant—isn’t known for its music, it’s not hard to see the logic behind its name. Just as the fusion of musical styles engaged listeners, Chef Dan Powers engrosses diners with his menu of Cuban specialties laced with Caribbean and creole elements.

Pressed Cuban sandwiches layered with pork, ham, and swiss cheese vie for attention with Jamaican jerk chicken—smoked in-house—and shrimp po’ boys buried in housemade rémoulade. Elegantly plated tapas, such as crispy crab empanadas and Jamaican beef patties, make for lighter, shareable meals.

Those who want to forgo food in favor of specialty cocktails can grab a mojito or glass of sangria and race to one of the bar’s popular swing seats, so named because of their refusal to vote predictably.