Be Part of the In Crowd When You Dine Out!

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so.

With a long weekend coming up, let's look at some ways you can have more fun by enjoying good meals!

Did you know that the "in" crowd gets paid $15 just to eat at certain fine restaurants and bistros? That reward certainly makes eating out a lot more attractive and affordable.

I looked into this for my area, and the in crowd has over 60 choices to do this in the Boston area. Checking out the ratings of these restaurants, I could see several that I would like to try . . . and several more that are regular haunts.

How do you join the in crowd?

Go to restaurant.com, enter your zip code, and pick the distance you are willing to travel. The Web site will list restaurants within that area which will let you purchase various discount coupons for use at each restaurant. A typical certificate is for $25 and costs you $10, saving you $15. Watch for restrictions. Some certificates require that you spend $35 (before taxes) while others may require that four entrees be purchased. Less expensive eateries may also offer $10 certificates for $3, which works out great if you will be dining alone for some reason.

If you are traveling on a budget, either for business or pleasure, you can order certificates for all over the United States in over 5,000 restaurants and bistros.

Here are three tips. First, check out the customer ratings of the restaurants both at restaurant.com and in other guides such as Zagat. Second, order early. Restaurants limit how many certificates they will sell, so the certificates are often not available near the end of the month for a given restaurant. Three, look at the menu to see how pricy the restaurant is before ordering. Otherwise, you may not be saving very much as a percentage of the check price.

Simply hand the certificate to your server at the time you order, and you're part of the "in" crowd. Enjoy!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Be sure to check out my blog dated May 30, 2005 on Plan Your Best Fourth of July! To find that blog, keep clicking on the oldest blog entry you can find in the right hand column until you find the title "Plan Your Best Fourth of July."