PAPPADEAUX'S PAPPADEAUX PLATTER ($24.95)
The seafood platter flies off the pans at Pappadeaux. And if you can't enough of that, try the Pappadeaux platter - the seafood platter with extra shrimp, catfish and crawfish. It's a sampling of Pappadeax's fare, and it's an excellent dinner before you head to a movie at Cinema De Lux next door. A highlight in the dish? The stuffed crab shell. It's filled with white fish, celery, onions, bell peppers and Thanksgiving-style, bread-based stuffing.
WILD MIKE'S PLATTERS ($8.79 and $9.99)
Because Wild Mike's sauces are so perfect for wings, you may have never thought to try them with the veggie combo platter ($8.79). Soak the deep fried mushroom, zucchini and cauliflower in Mike's Mix, an amalgamation of Kansas City BBQ, Ginger Teriyaki and Garlic Buffalo. Or go a step further with an order of extra hot buffalo sauce. (We salute you if you don't ask for a side of ranch to cool your tongue.) Carnivores should try the sauces with Mike's regular combo platter - three potato skins, mozzarella cheese sticks and jalapeno poppers ($9.99).
NADA'S CAZUELA TASTING ($25)
A quick culinary lesson: Braises are delicious.
Nada has three exquisite braises - tinga poblano, pork green chile and chimichurri braised lamb shoulder. If one or more of them sounds exotic to you (and they are), order the cazuela tasting, a sample of all three. It's fun to be bold in the restaurant world, but you don't want to limit your options, right?
POMPILIO'S TASTE OF ITALY ($12.25)
"It's our No. 1 driving dish and it features every one of our homemade items," says Pompilio's assistant manager Larry Geiger, explaining the restaurant's Taste of Italy platter. "It's a good dish for introducing someone to the five products we make in house." Those items are lasagna, meat and cheese ravioli, eggplant parmigiana, Italian sausage and meatballs. Twenty years after a scene in Rain Man was shot at Pompilio's, people are still talking about the fact that the cast and crew of the film loved this platter.
MIXX ULTRA LOUNGE'S SUSHI PLATTER ($55-$100)
Mixx Ultra Lounge is definitely a party after 10 p.m. on Saturday night. If you can drag your friends out before the place teems with the city's movers and shakers, share a sushi party platter with them. Choose from 18 pieces of nigiri and two regular rolls for $55, 25 pieces of nigiri, two regular rolls and one specialty roll for $75 or 30 pieces of nigiri, two regular rolls and two specialty rolls for $100. Whatever rolls you pick - be they yellowtail, dragon or Alaskan - try soaking them in Mixx's Ultra sauce, a tangy trade secret.
