Food I DON'T Have to Fix

I love food I don't have to fix. Don't get me wrong, I do love to prep, cook and serve delicious home cooked meals. But there are times when I am the one that wants to be served. I want to be the one that ooohs and ahhhs over the presentation, the dishes, the wine choices. So, until my children become chefs, gourmands or foodies themselves, I have a plan.

Restaurants. Goes with the saying: "The best thing to make for dinner? Reservations!"

Of course I would LOVE to go to the five star and country club style venues all the time, but I have discovered a FUN way to experience many different types of food fare with out going broke.

Restaurants.com is a wonderful way to try different out of the way, under the radar establishments. Some may be newbies, some are small family owned hole-in-the-wall niches and some will be familiar to you.

These are NOT usually the big chain or franchise outlets. This is what makes it interesting. I have discovered quaint and quiet spots for my husband and me to run and hide from the everyday frey.

Here's how it works: You spend a little, get a certificate, go to the restaurant, spend a little more and get a whole lotta dinner! Okay, that was sort of vague, but you get the point. It's a way for restaurants to get more diners in to their diners for dinners.
Okay, here is the scoop:

1.  go to Restaurants.com via the link above this post and below the header on my blog (yesh, I am shamelessly promoting this site-cuz I love it!)
2. Set up your free account-they have to have your email, etc to send you the certificates
3. search for a restaurant by zip code, cuisine, distance, etc
4. purchase a $25 gift certificate for as little as $2 - $10.  Yes- two dollars!
5. Print out your certificate and use whenever.

Now there are some stipulations for use. There are minimum purchases, most add an 18% gratuity, you may only use one certificate in a restaurant once a month-that means just visit a different one if you want to dine out more often.

Now you might be thinking, sure that is the catch. the bill has to be huge to get the savings! Oh, no, no, no. Here is what we have experienced:

Restaurant: My Big Fat Greet

Certificate value: $25

Minimum purchase: $35

Our Bill: $58 (we had to get the flaming cheese!)

Our spending: $28 at restaurant and $2 for the certificate

Our latest experience was an Italian restaurant in Gilbert, AZ by the name of Amarone Italiano 

We chose this as the site for my step son's family dinner after his Boy Scout Eagle Court of Honor last Saturday. We LOVED it! We will go back. the sauces were fresh, the ravioli was hand made. WE watched them hand toss individual pizza dough that went into the wood fired brick oven.

This is a phenomenal way to save on your dining experiences.

Each restaurant has their own range of values. They may offer $25, $50, $75 and/or $100 certificates. Just remember, the total bill must be about double the certificate.

The savings range from 50% to 80% off for the price of the certificate. The site runs specials at least once a month.

Here is the really cool part:

• No membership fee
• No minimum purchases on the site
• General gift cards are available-you don't have to decide today which restaurant
• You can gift these certificates via email or a hard gift card in the mail

So, I will see you in the restaurant! We will be sitting enjoying a fine glass of wine, appetizers and maybe a dessert to share. 

Just remember to tip your wait staff!

Happy noshing!