Alton, Ill. Fast Eddies Bon Aire. Opens at 1 PM until I don't know when. Get there at opening or you might have a wait most days. It's a true dive, but great and cheap food. You can't go in if you are under 21. Bugers, ($1), fries, peel and eat shrimp, chicken kabob, pork kabob, beef kabob. They may have onion rings also, not sure. I think I just covered the entire menu. The most expensive thing on the menu is the beef kabob and that I think is under $2. It's called the Big Elwood. Generous amount of spiced beef and green peppers on a skewer. The other kabobs are a little smaller and run about $1.30 or so. Peel and eat shrimp are 25 cents each. Drinks are very reasonable.

Alton is just north of I 70, up river from downtown St. Louis. Worth the trip. Fast Eddies is famous for a reason. In fact, it was a stop for Alton Brown when he did his show on his motorcycle a year or so ago.

If you are in St. Louis proper, go to what's called "The Hill" around here. It's an area dominated by Italian families and Italian run restaurants. Almost any of them are really good. Zia's, GianTony's, are two favorites.

If you are near the brewery, there is a great place called Fraziers Traveling Brown Bag. Often people call it Fraziers or The Brown Bag, not the whole thing. Great menu, with a nice mixture of upscale type items, without the upscale prices, and downscale items, all prepared in the kitchen. It's just west of the brewery but it's one of those "you can't get there from here" places. You have to get to it from the other side of the highway that runs north and south along the edge of the brewery. There's a walking bridge, so the people at the brewery can get there but driving is a no go from that side. Also, I'm not sure they take credit cards. They didn't used to.

Edited to ask. What places do you like? You may have a found places that we aren't aware of in our area. Are there places that you just can't miss when you're on the road?