VACATION IN AMERICA (5 PART SERIES) - Part 3: Food

FOOD
 

Happy Hours
There are several ways you can cut costs on food.  Going to happy hours is one of my favorite ways to get a delicious meal on a budget.  However, happy hours are hard to do if you are traveling with young children.  Nonetheless, believe or not, there are some nice happy hours that are appropriate for children.  On of my FAVORITES is McCormick & Schmicks.   Their happy hour bar menu consists of juicy burgers, mussels, gourmet pizza, etc. and their prices start at $2.99.  I include photos directly pulled from the companies' websites so that you can verify what I am saying yourself (please see the date noted at the bottom of the webpage). 

Even with these very reasonable prices, I make it even lower by purchasing a gift card for this restaurant at a discount.  For example, Costco (a wholesale warehouse vendor) sells 2 $50 gift cards (total is $100) for $79.00.  Unfortunately, it is a membership only warehouse and it would not make sense for you to create a membership just to buy this gift card BUT they do sell to nonmembers through their website.  (www.costco.com).  Costco says that they may charge a surcharge to nonmembers. 

You may be wondering if this is prudent.  To purchase a gift card which will be mailed to you since it would have to travel internationally and the chances of delay and the mail getting lost may make it not worth it.  If it causes you any comfort, Costco ships with tracking.  I am not sure if they will charge a hefty premium since they will have to mail it internationally, however, you have another option.  You can contact the hotel and ask them if you can have a package delivered there in anticipation of your arrival.  Most hotels should have no problems with it.  That is why I prefer corporate lodgings versus renting a private room. 

Going back to the "happy hour" concept.  How do you find these happy hours?  You can ask the locals you meet, the concierge desk at the hotel you are staying, or do a search on www.yelp.com.  You do the search by typing in "happy hours" in the search parameters within the geographic region of your desire.  There used to be a restaurant called "Toppers" at the top of the Radisson hotel in Santa Monica, CA.  Not only was the view amazing, the restaurant was nice, and they had some free appetizers, discounted bar food, and discounted drinks.  Unfortunately, I say there used to be because Toppers has now been replaced with a restaurant called Penthouse.  It is my understanding that they still have happy hour, the prices are discounted, the portions are decent, and the view is still beautiful.  There may be a dress code. 

Some other happy hour places that I have been to (some in the distant past so you will want to confirm) are: Q's billiard's in Brentwood, CA (they had an awesome happy hour buffet), Matteo's on Westwood Blvd. in WLA (very decent food), Palomino in Westwood (very decent food, price is not cheap compared to other happy hours, just cheaper than their regular prices).  Some day, I will do a review of the happy hours in the Westside.  Until then, go on Yelp and search "happy hour" then call the restaurant and ask for the details - what time is the happy hour and on what day, what items are discounted - just drinks or drinks and food, is there a drink minimum, is there a dress code, etc.

Vouchers, Coupons, and Promotions
Website vendors such as Restaurant.com and Groupon offer restaurant deals.  Restaurant.com sells you a gift certificate for one of their participating restaurant for a price that is less than the face value of gift certificate.  For example, Restaurant.com may sell a gift certificate for $25 for $10.  That is a great deal but there is an angle.  In order to redeem that $25 gift certificate, there is usually a required minimum purchase.  Typically to redeem a $25 gift certificate they require you to spend $50, not inclusive of tax or tip.  Also, they may limit the purchase to dine-in service (or take-out) only.  The restrictions are usually written on the gift certificate and somewhere on the page before you check out. 

For our family of 5, Restaurant.com gift certificate has come in handy since eating at a restaurant is rarely less than $50.  However, if you are a party of 1 or 2, Restaurant.com has gift certificate offers for smaller amounts.

What I like to do with Restaurant.com is I like to find a promotion code that will give me an additional discount.  For example, as I was writing this blog I searched for a promotion code for Restaurant.com.  I found one.  It was "TRIP".  I plugged in the promo code on Restaurant.com and my $25 gift certificate for the price of $10.00 went down to $5.00.  See below.  If my family of $5 ends up spending on average $10 per person for food and drinks, I will have a bill for $50 + tax and tip.  By using a Restaurant.com gift certificate, the actual amount I spent was $30 + tax and tip.  That is a savings of $20.  Please remember to tip on the FULL value of the meal, however.   My goal of sharing my tips is to help you use your resources more efficiently so that you are able to share your wealth, especially with those in need.  (I promise I will stop my soapbox speech.)

I covered Groupon deals in my other posts so I will just say Groupon also offers deals on meals.  Just be careful to read the terms and conditions.

In addition to the above, do not overlook the bulk mailers, coupons on the back of grocery store receipts, magazine/newspaper inserts, tourist brochures, your hotel's affiliated discount, etc. 

Click the following to take you to "Part 4: Transportation," the next section in this series.  Or, if you have missed any of the prior sections, you can see a list of the complete series by going to the "VACATION IN AMERICA WITHOUT SPENDING A FORTUNE" page.