wallet saver guide - dine out, pay less
Dine LA happens twice a year (January and July) running for two weeks each. Make this a point if you live in LA; it’s the best way to try restaurants that are usually more of a luxury expense outside of Restaurant Week. Meals are as low as $15 prefix menu for lunch, $29 for dinner.
Other cities (Long Beach, Pasadena, Newport, etc also have their own Restaurant Weeks during the year) Restaurants typically create a limited, prefix menu selection for Restaurant Week but will usually feature popular dishes that they are known for.
For Restaurant Weeks in other cities, visit my Restaurant Week page.
Most worthwhile is when Groupon features a deal that covers amount of the whole meal, rather than a discount percent off the tab (For example, $25 for a prefix dinner for two, versus $12 off $20). Only buy a Groupon when they offer one of their additional promo code sale days, like 20% discount off any local deal (this usually happens AT LEAST once a month) or something like a $10 off $30 deal, that way you double your discounts.
Groupon now also features cash back offers for various restaurants throughout the city. It’s a simple click to activate cash back offers for free and will link directly to your credit card on file. All you have to do when you dine at one of these restaurants is just use the same credit card that you have on file in your Groupon account.
Sometimes you’ll get a small discount off the tab, a free appetizer or dessert, or half-off a drink if you check-in to a business on Yelp. Always check Yelp before you try a new restaurant in case they have a check-in offer that you can take advantage of.
A bit more complicated, but you essentially pay an amount (say $5 to put towards $25 in Restaurant.com gift card credit) which then allows you to allocate the $25 credit towards different restaurants, who set their own pricing deals ($5 for $15, $10 for $30, etc).
There is usually a minimum purchase that has to be made at the restaurant when you dine, so be careful of that (For example, you can have purchased a deal of $25 off your dining tab, but you have to spend at least $100 at the restaurant for the gift certificate to apply).
*The one silver lining to this complexity is that your Restaurant.com credit doesn’t expire, even if you have a voucher for a restaurant that is no longer featured. You are allowed to return the voucher and apply it towards a different restaurant.
Also a little more cumbersome, but can potentially save you $5 to $10 off a meal (hey, that pays for tax or tip in some cases) using Gift Card Granny. You essentially purchase a gift card for a restaurant (or retail store) for a price less than the actual balance of the gift card.
Around Thanksgiving, Whole Foods lets you sample their entire Thanksgiving catering/order menu in-store. The best way to get the heads up is to get on their mailing list.
sample days
farmer's markets
Try healthy samples of fresh and dried fruit, juices, and other locally-made artisan snacks (spreads, sauces, jams, cheese, yogurt) at your local Farmer’s Market.
A great way to try new or trendy food without paying for service and tip. Many popular LA Food Trucks will post their truck schedule online so you know where and when to find them.
food trucks
Every Sunday 10 am - 4 pm in DTLA. Smorgasburg hosts a huge variety of food and craft vendors in tents. Some of the trendiest food in LA can be found at Smorgasburg, making it an easy way to dabble in tastings of each without having to drive all over the city. Guaranteed something for every palette AND a great way to multi-task by eating and doing some shopping.
*They will occasionally bring Smorgasburg to the beach (Santa Monica Pier). So far since its LA inception, it’s only happened twice. Easily accessible via The Metro.
Casual dining where you don’t have to pay tip for service. There’s a lot of different dining options to choose from (Belcampo burgers, Eggslut breakfast sandwiches, McConnell’s ice cream, ramen, etc) to satisfy different diets and taste buds.
Restaurants will often list free events on Eventbrite when they are having a new location grand opening, a themed-food event, or some kind of special where they might be trying out new menu items and will offer free food at their restaurant.
Subscribe to this mailing list that frequently (about once a week) releases great dining deals in LA (other cities include Chicago, San Fransisco, New York). BlackboardEats provides you with a passcode if you’d like to reserve tables at a particular restaurant with the advertised deal listed. The restaurants featured are usually unique or fancy establishments seeking more exposure.
If you frequent a restaurant, utilize restaurant apps that lets you earn credit. For example:
Veggie Grill - accumulate points, BOGO meals on your birthday
CPK - get $5 in credit for every $100 spent, free dessert on your birthday
Starbucks - accumulate stars based on purchases, free drink on your birthday
Pinkberry - accumulate points, free Pinkberry on your birthday
Panera - earn points and rewards with purchases
apps
