Everybody’s freaked out about the stock market and the economy this week, but imagine if you had just opened a new restaurant! You’ve been working for many weeks, maybe even many months, and then all of a sudden you keep reading about how consumers were going to clamp their wallets shut.

So do your neighbors a favor. (After all, restaurants are among the most local of businesses.) Go out and give one of these new places a test drive this weekend. Just go for a drink and a snack if you’re watching your expenditures more closely. But give ‘em a fighting chance!

Bistro Toi, 3257 Ivanhoe, 314-646-1100.
Bobo Noodle House, 278 North Skinker, 314-863-7373.
Triumph Grill, 3419 Olive Street, 314-446-1801.
Sugos, 10419 Clayton Road, 314-569-0400.
Molly Darcy’s, 26 North Meramec, 314-863-4800.
Deluxe Restaurant, 2733 Sutton, 314-646-0370.
Exo, 3146 Locust, (Read more here from my colleague Kevin Johnson.

I’m sure there are more.…

It’s such a nice evening, sit outdoors. One of my favorite places to do that is on Liluma’s patio at the corner of Euclid and Maryland Plaza. As with all three of Jimmy Fiala’s restaurants, Liluma features a very good $25 tasting menu. (And as with lots of restaurant websites, Liluma’s is a bit out of date, currently showing the Sept. 3 prix-fixe, but you get the idea.) Anyway, go enjoy the weather and eat some great food.

My old friend Stu, a New Yawker turned San Franciscan, once dragged me to his favorite SF joint. He called it “The Hanging Duck” because there were several neck-on ducks roasting in the front window. To him, that was always a good sign for a Chinese restaurant.

Royal Chinese BBQ, 8406 Olive in U. City, passes the hanging duck test. I also like it for a reliable lunch, although I’ll usually divert from the lower-priced lunch specials to order something more elaborate off the long menu.

Crepes in the City has finally opened at 500 North 14th, at the rear of the building that used to house Marte Shoes. The glassed-in entrance overlooks Lucas Park and the back of the public library. There’s a website, but unfortunately it hasn’t been updated yet. (And there’s a phone number — 314-436-1900 — but I haven’t been able to get anyone to answer it.) Nonetheless, the place is open from early morning — 7:30, I think — until 3, with later hours toward the weekend. Hey, I’d tell you more, but they aren’t answering the phone yet.

Update: Props to Doug Moore of the P-D staff for forwarding me the official message from Crepes’ owner (the footnote is from me):

Our hours are:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7:30 a.m. - 3.00 p.m.
Thursdays and Fridays from 7:30 a.m. -11 p.m.
Saturdays from 8:30 - 11:00…

It’s tucked back in a mainly residential South Side neighborhood, at the corner of Macklind and Finkman. And one of the secrets to getting the most out of Onesto — run by Vito Racanelli of the restaurant family of the same name — is checking out the nightly specials list, where the Johnson & Wales-trained chef tries out his more elaborate stuff.

No, not that expensive hotel downtown. Four Seasons Vietnamese is at 3348 South Grand, and it has the typically extensive menu of local Vietnamese restaurants (plus some unusual items like game birds). But it also has one of the nicest interiors of any Vietnamese spot in town, and certainly one of the nicer decors on South Grand.

One of my favorite Thai places in town, Thai Gourmet, is tucked into a nondescript O’Fallon, Mo. strip mall, a couple doors down from Brewskeez. Like many Thai restaurants, it’s a friendly mom-and-pop place, but with a nice, sleek interior and some out-of-the-ordinary dishes. Try the hor mok, steamed fish in curry mousse. 4267 Keaton Crossing Blvd., off Highway K just north of Highway 40.

Lester’s Mini barbecue sandwiches

Watch for the second location of the deli/barbecue/sports bar combo Lester’s to open next Wednesday, October 15, at 14810 Clayton Road in Chesterfield.

The full name of this place is a mouthful: Bahn Mi Boba Tea & Creperie. It’s an interesting counter-service storefront just off the Euclid/Maryland Plaza intersection, featuring, as the name might indicate, the Vietnamese-style sub sandwiches called bahn mi (try the special, a mystery-meat surprise with head cheese and pâté). But it’s also a long menu, also featuring crepes and Japanese omelet/pancakes called okonomiyaki. 243 N. Euclid.

From the top, the disclaimer: I’ve known Norty Cohen for about 25 years and worked for and with him a bunch — and I think he’s a marketing genius. But I’m writing about his new site because I think it’s cool.

Rolling out today is something called Mealchime.com, basically a restaurant search site but one with built-in couponing. So say you’re looking for a place to have lunch — you type in your zip code, qualify if desired by the type of food you want, tell it how far you’re willing to drive and add a price range. What comes back is both a list of potential restaurants and a set of freebies, reduced prices and coupons applicable to restaurants in the specified area. The database appears to be pretty clean and relatively comprehensive; I did a couple of searches near…