New menus, other updates at southwest IL restaurants, including one in Belleville
I’m trying something different this week.
It’s one thing to write about restaurants that open in our small corner of the world. (I think readers really enjoy learning about new places to eat. I know I do.)
It’s another to share new information about the places we already know and love.
So-and-so now has a taco bar? Waffles? Pie? Plant-based options? Awesome, I’m in!
These are things I think people would like to know. (I know I would.)
So this column includes established restaurants with something new to offer.
If you’re a regular at any of these places, the info might be old news to you. Then again, if you’ve never been to any of these places, maybe you’ll now have reasons to check them out.
Take a gander. What do you think? Do any of your favorite area restaurants have new menu items or other updates?
Let me know by dropping me a note at jgreen@bnd.com.
The Quarter Restaurant
The Quarter Restaurant in downtown Belleville started featuring new and special menus.
There’s an all-you-care-to-eat soup and salad bar, Sunday brunches (with beignets!), and a separate menu for Lent.
Here are some specifics:
For Lent, choose from Crab cakes, French onion soup, clam chowder, shrimp po’boy, cod basket, catfish basket, popcorn shrimp, deep South shrimp and cheddar grits, white wine mussels, pasta with clam sauce and vodka con broccoli.
Sunday brunch includes scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage and biscuits & gravy.
You can wash down brunch with a bloody mary or mimosa, if you like.
There will be an Irish breakfast buffet from 8-10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 11, to coincide with the St. Patrick’s day festivities taking place downtown.
That menu consists of green eggs, ham, sausage, hash browns and biscuits & gravy.
So if all these food options aren’t quite enough to get you in the door at The Quarter, maybe this will: They have karaoke on Thursday nights and live music on Saturdays.
They started a monthly food and drink pairing event too. The next one is Wednesday, March 15. (Seating is limited!)
I’ve never not had a great time when I’ve been to The Quarter. Check it out and see if you can say the same.
The Quarter Restaurant is located at 126 E. Main St. in Belleville.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11p.m. Friday-Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
For more info, call 618-416-1000 or visit quarterrestaurant.com. Follow the Facebook page for updates, specials and events.
Old Bakery Beer Company
If you haven’t been to The Old Bakery Beer Company, you are seriously missing out.
And trust me, one meal from Old Bakery Beer makes the drive to Alton totally worth it.
The craft brewery recently released a new seasonal menu with a variety of items that include salads, sandwiches, pizza, chili … the delicious list goes on.
Signature sandwiches on offer include the Cuban (ham, roasted pork, swiss, pickles, yellow mustard on a baguette), BLT, reuben, veggie reuben, the Murray (smoked turkey, ham, bacon, cheddar and honey mustard on sourdough) and the coop special (smoked turkey, bacon, pastrami, swiss, chive and pepper mayo on sourdough).
New seasonal offerings include:
Grant Hill: beer brined fried chicken breast with special beer sauce on a bun
Andie McDowell: southern fried whiting, creamy cole slaw on a bun
Julie Andrews: fontina, white cheddar, raspberry mascarpone on sourdough
Chris Evans: sirloin tip roast, smoked turkey, cherry peppers, bacon garlic aioli and white cheddar on sourdough
Buffalo Chickpea Sandwich: chickpea fritter with buffalo sauce and ranch on a bun
Tacos and burgers are also available.
Not to mention the beer. I’m a fan of the porter.
If beer isn’t your thing, they also have hard seltzers, wines and cocktails, non-alcoholic sparkling herbal teas and soft drinks.
Seriously. It’s worth the trip.
The Old Bakery Beer Company is located at 400 Landmarks Blvd., Alton.
Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday.
For more information, call 618-463-1470 or visit oldbakerybeer.com.
Bridgeway
Starting Tuesday, March 7, Bridgeway, located within DraftKings at Casino Queen, is offering a series of specialty pasta entrées each week, according to a recent press release.
The weekly specialties described in the release include:
March 7: Jerk marinated chicken with peppers, onions, gemelli pasta tossed with Caribbean parmesan cream.
March 14: House-made gnocchi with poached lobster, cured ham, brussels sprouts and citrus beurre blanc.
March 21: Shrimp, chicken and Andouille sausage gumbo served over rigatoni with Cajun Creole sauce.
March 28: Pappardelle carbonara with pancetta, asparagus, house-dried tomatoes and poached egg tossed with parmesan cream and garnished with crispy garlic.
More specials will be announced at a later date as they become available.
In a separate release, DraftKings at Casino Queen also announced that Bridgeway now offers social hour specials.
You can partake of $5 appetizers and cocktails, which are available from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
Bridgeway is located inside DraftKings at Casino Queen at 200 Front St. in East St. Louis. Hours are 4-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
For more information or to make reservations, call 618-261-8829 or visit draftkingsatcasinoqueen.com/dine/bridgeway.
Arby’s
The Flynn Restaurant Group, the largest franchisee for Arby’s, announced the completion of a brand revitalization for 32 Arby’s locations across the St. Louis metropolitan area.
The $11.5 million project started in January 2022 with the goal of “leaving each Arby’s restaurant with a fresh, new and improved look and feel,” stated the release.
In addition, the project added more than 500 jobs among the stores.
“As a local partner, Flynn Restaurant Group is constantly looking for ways to positively impact and give back to the communities in which we serve,” Jerrod Mitchell, vice president of marketing for the Flynn Restaurant Group, stated in the release.
“Through these remodels and resulting job opportunities, we hope to demonstrate our commitment to improve the Arby’s dining experience to valued guests and employees across Illinois and Missouri.”
Illinois restaurant locations that benefited from the revitalization project include Belleville, Fairview Heights, Shiloh, Granite City, Waterloo and others.
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This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 6:30 AM.
