Dine and Shine

Dining out can be expensive. Happily, you can shave off some dollars by ferreting out restaurants that offer free or discounted meals for children.

The cash you stash can be used for an ice-cream outing or, perhaps, a trip to a movie.

Several area restaurants offer money-stretching options. Several of those are detailed below. Just remember to call before going, as offers can change or be eliminated. Remember, too, to be on the lookout for other offers as the below is merely a sampling.

** Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill. All Birmingham locations: All day on Tuesday with each adult entrée, kids ages 12 and younger may order a children’s menu option, with drink included, for $1.99. (Regular price for kids’ choices is $5.49). The special is valid for dine-in only.

** Baumhower’s Victory Grille. Montgomery Highway/Vestavia Hills. 403-7474: All day on Tuesday, with each $10 spent by an adult, one child (age 10 and younger) may choose a free kids’ menu option. (On the childs’ menu, prices typically are $5.99 and do not include a drink.) Dine-in only.

** Beef ‘O’ Brady’s. Helena. 624-2333: All day on Tuesday, with each adult meal, one child may order for $1.99 from the children’s menu whose options normally are $5.99. The offer is available for both dine-in and to-go.

** Beef O’Brady’s. Hoover. 987-9464: Thursday evenings, from 4 to 8, with each adult entrée from the regular menu (which does not include the nightly special), one child (12 and younger) may eat for free from the kids’ menu. The Kids’ Night Special is valid only when dining in.

** Bruster’s. Vestavia Hills. 978-2347: Every day children shorter than 42 inches get a free baby cone or cup of ice cream. No adult purchase is required.

** Buffalo Wild Wings. Alabaster. 664-0040:  Wednesday evenings, from 5 to 9, kids (ages 12 and younger) may order a kids’ menu item for $1.99, with each paying adult. (The usual price for a kid’s meal is $6.59.) Valid for both dine-in and carry-out.

** Captain D’s. Various locations: All day on Thursday up to two children per paying adult may order for 99 cents from the kids’ menu. (The regular price of kids’ menu choices ranges from $3.99 to $4.29 with a drink included.)

** Chick-fil-A. Hoover Commons/Montgomery Hwy., 979-9990: On Tuesday evenings from 5 to 7, with each adult meal, one child may eat free from the kids’ menu. In addition to the four-piece chicken pieces, one side, a drink and a toy are included with a kid’s meal. Dine-in only.

** Cicis. Homewood. 582-8098: All day on Tuesday, one child (age 4 to 10) eats free with each adult buffet and large drink ($9.44 with tax).

** Cicis. Montgomery Highway/Hoover. 379-0100: On Tuesday evenings from 4 to 10, one child (age 4 to 10 years) may eat free with the purchase of each adult entrée and drink. Daily children age three and younger eat for free from the buffet. (For ages 4 to 10 the cost is $3.49 for the buffet that includes a salad bar, pasta, an assortment of pizzas and several desserts.) Dine in only.

** Dale’s Southern Grill. The Plaza at Riverchase. 987-4757: On Monday evenings from 4 to 9, one child (age 12 and younger) with each adult entrée may order a kid’s meal (normally $4.50) for 99 cents. The offer is valid for both dine-in and carry-out.

** Denny’s. 224 Daniel Payne Dr., North. 214-3987: On Tuesday and Saturday evenings from 4 to 9, two children ages 10 and younger get free kids’ meals (typically less than $5 each) with each adult entrée. The special is valid for dine-in only.

** El ZunZun. Cahaba Heights. 791-7711: On Tuesday evenings from 5 to 9, with two adult entrees, one child, age 10 and younger, may order for free from the kids’ menu. Known for its Latin-American cuisine, the restaurant offers the special for dine-in only.

** Firehouse Subs. Alabaster. 664-4664: All day on Monday and Wednesday, a child (age 12 and younger) gets a free kid’s meals with the purchase of an adult meal. The offer is valid for both dine-in and carry-out.

** Golden Corral. Lorna Road/Hoover. 822-1314:   Every day children ages 3 and younger eat free. The all-day buffet cost is $5.99 for ages 4 to 8; $6.99 for ages 9 to 12. Drink is included for children.

** IHOP. 5242 U.S. 280 South. (991- 4871) and 7748 Crestwood Blvd. (956- 5502): With each adult entrée, one child age 12 and younger eats free every day after 4 p.m. Dine-in only.

** IHOP. Wildwood/Homewood. 290-0995: With the purchase of an adult entrée, one child (age12 and younger) eats free from the children’s menu Sunday through Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m. Dine-in only.

** Jason’s Deli. John Hawkins Parkway/Hoover. 987-8740: After 4 p.m., on Thursday, kids eat free from the children’s menu. Dine-in and carry-out.

** Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que. Hoover (985-8841) Trussville (508-5100) and Vestavia Hills/Rocky Ridge (822-2773) locations allow one child per adult entrée to eat free Tuesday after 5 p.m., from the children’s menu. (Served with one side and a drink, children’s menu options typically are $7.) Dine-in only.

** Moe’s Southwest Grill. Vestavia Hills. 824-7663: On Tuesday beginning at 5 p.m., with each adult entrée, one child (age 12 and younger) may order free from the kids’ menu whose regular prices range from $4.09 to $4.89. The special is for dine-in only.

** O’Charley’s. Alabaster (621-7453); Fultondale  (849-6401): Every day one child (age 10 and younger) with each paying adult may order free from the kids’ menu whose regular prices typically are $3.99. Dine-in only.

** Ruby Tuesday. Alabaster. 621-5416: On Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m., with each adult meal, a child (age 10 and younger) may eat free with the kids’ menu. Dine-in only.

** Ruby Tuesday. Bessemer. 425-3152: On Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m., with each adult meal, a child (age 10 and younger) may eat free with the kids’ menu. The special is valid for both dine-in and carry out.

** Steak ‘n Shake. Hoover. 982-5789: All day on Saturday and Sunday, a child 12 and younger gets a free kid’s plate with each $9 spent. Drinks and shakes are excluded. The usual price for kids’ menu options ranges from $2.29 to $2.79 with drinks priced additionally. Dine-in only.

** Texas Roadhouse. Pelham. 985-7427: On Tuesday evenings from 4 to 8, one child (12 and younger) with each adult entrée may choose a kid’s meal option for 99 cents. (Ranger meals are not included.) The usual kids’ menu options range from $3.99 to $5.49.

** Vecchia Pizzeria & Mercato. Preserve Parkway/Hoover. 637-3036: All day on Tuesday, with each adult entrée, one child (age 12 and younger) may eat free from the children’s menu. Dine-in only.

** Zaxby’s. U.S. 280. 437-9701: On Monday evenings from 5 to 9, up to two kids may eat for 99 cents each with an adult meal and drink. (The usual price, with tax, for a child’s meal is $4.89, including drink.) The Monday special is valid for dine-in and carry-out.

** Area code for all numbers is 205.

A Birmingham-based, award-winning writer, Lynn Grisard Fullman has contributed to newspapers, magazines, and blogs and has written several books, including Alabama Miracles and Haints, Ghosts and Boogers: Chillbump Stories from Alabama after Dark.