Dining out in your hometown - Cincinnati
Thursday, April 07, 2016
Saving Your Hard Earned $$$
14 Ways to Save When Dining Out
- Slash your everyday expenses. Think one less specialty coffee, soft drink and candy bar a week.
- Keep your eyes open for new restaurants in town. They typically offer grand opening specials.
- Check your local newspapers for advertisements of lunch and dinner specials, early bird specials; look for coupons, too.
- Take advantage of the chambers of commerce and visitors centers—even in your own town. You’ll find great restaurant discount coupons.
- Limit eating lunch out, and try brown bag lunches.
- Dine out during the week rather than on the weekends. Often the menu prices climb over the weekend.
- Do lunch instead of dinner. Lunch menus usually offer the same entrees as dinner, just smaller portions and a smaller check.
- Go vegetarian. Vegetarian entrees are usually less expensive than ones made with meat.
- Go ethnic. Some ethnic foods are better bargains than others. You can get a lot of food for the money in Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Indian and Thai restaurants.
- Dine early. Many restaurants offer specials before 6 pm It’s perfect for making a show on time or for parents who need to make an early night of it.
- Share an entrée or stick with the appetizer menu. Many restaurants serve portions that are too large for one person to finish.
- The markup on alcoholic beverages in restaurants is high. Instead of having a drink with dinner, have a glass of wine or some brandy after you get home.
- Have a candlelight dinner at home and then go out for coffee and dessert.
- Instead of eating in a restaurant, order out! It’s customary to tip a few dollars to the delivery person, but not as much as at a restaurant, where the usual tip is 20 percent.
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