$AVING YOU MONEY: You can eat at restaurants without busting your budget

By Cathy Spaulding
Phoenix Staff Writer

October 09, 2008 11:26 pm

— Rebbeca Wade won’t let tight budgets keep her from dining out with her family.
“I probably order off the senior menu more than we did before,” she said while having lunch with her husband, Gary Wade, and her father, Dalton Raglin. “I always look for specials in the newspaper.”
“And go to happy hour at Sonic,” Raglin, a Checotah resident, said grinning.
Concern about high gas prices and a sour economy has prompted many diners to cut back on their orders when they go out to eat — if they go out to eat at all.
However, consumer-oriented Web sites, thrifty diners, even area restaurants have ways people can enjoy their favorite eateries without it eating into their wallets.
“I can tell you what our customers are doing. A lot of women are not buying dinners for $6.99, but sandwiches for $3.50,” said Lisa Palmer, owner of My Place Bar-B-Q, 2021 Gibson St. “A lot of women are buying child’s plates and hardly any are buying from the buffet. Women will come in and hit our salad bar.”
She said the $9.49 buffet is popular with men.
Consumer-oriented Web sites abound with tips on saving money while eating out. For example, thriftyfun.com, a community site in which people share ideas, includes such suggestions as ordering water instead of soft drinks or tea, ordering appetizers or lunch portions and splitting a big entree.
The Wades, who were visiting from Tennessee, and Raglin did several of those things when they had lunch Thursday at Chili’s Grill & Bar, 950 W. Shawnee Bypass. For example, each had a mug of water with lemon. Gary Wade had a soup and salad, while the other two split some quesadillas.
Chili’s manager Nanette Fabian said the restaurant offers quick lunch featuring with soup or chili with a side salad.
People also can use certain appetizers such as the triple dippers as meals, she said.
Christy Jordan of Stigler had a whole table of giggling elementary school-aged girls at lunch recently. She said it was a special birthday lunch and special in another way.
“This is the first time we’ve been out to eat in a month,” she said. “We used to go out to eat once every two weeks.”
Other Web sites have other ideas. The Family Wallet suggested skipping the appetizers and cocktails and taking advantage of coupons. Moneycrashers.com reminds readers that people do not have to tip at places with counter service, such as a sandwich shop or deli or coffee shop, even though many have tip jars.
Mexican food lovers who are light eaters can save money by buying tacos only or enchiladas only from the a la carte menu. However, Enrique Gomez, owner of Chavas Mexican Restaurant, 710 S. 32nd St., said it sometimes is better not to order a la carte if you want a full meal.
He said Chavas has a $4.94 lunch Mondays through Fridays.
“If there is an older person who can’t eat much, I might let them order from a kid’s menu,” he said.
Sometimes it pays to go ahead and order the meal and take home what you don’t eat — saving a little money on home meals.
That’s what happens often at Napoli’s Italian Restaurant, 323 S. 32nd St., manager Gino Osmonis said. He said about 20 to 25 percent of his customers end up taking home leftovers. People also like to share meals, he said.
“For example, if you and your husband are here and you are not that hungry we give you another plate and you can split. We love to please our customers.”

8 tips for saving when dining out

1. Go for lunch specials.
2. Look for a discount.
3. Order a dinner and appetizer and split it.
4. Make a second dinner on leftovers, eat the veggies and bread first.
5. Order only side items such as a salad and appetizer.
6. Dine when there are special discount or “kids eat free” days.
7. Drink water.
8. Skip dessert.

SOURCE: The Barganist.com

Reach Cathy Spaulding at 918-684-2928 or Click Here to Send Email

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