Thrifty Strategy- Ikea for breakfast

From Ikea.com

One of my best friends was in town last week and wanted to check out Ikea for some kitchen and bathroom ideas and just to see what the hype was about. I had heard that they have some good breakfast prices and I knew it was a child-friendly store, so my friend, me, and my toddler headed over on Thursday morning. We got there at 9:30, as I had heard that the cafe opened before the store opened at 10:00 am.

We were not the only ones there for breakfast, the place was busy! There were elderly folks, families with kids, hipsters, all kinds of people. Coffee was free until 10:00 and my friend got a full breakfast with potatoes, eggs, and bacon, for 99 cents. Our location offers free breakfast on Mondays. I had three Swedish pancakes with lingonberry and butter for $1.99, also a good deal. My daughter had a bit off of each of our plates. There was even a kids' play area in the cafe and a lot of high chairs and booster seats available.

So, if you're near an Ikea and in need of a tasty, reasonably priced breakfast, head on over. Their lunch and dinner food looks good, too. I also saw frozen yogurt for $1 and hot dogs for 50 cents. Have you ever eaten there? what do you recommend?

Free food at Famous Dave's

Is your name Dave or David? If so, you can get a discount tomorrow, August 14th, at Famous Dave's Restaurants. If your first name is Dave or David, you get a free entree, and if it's your middle name you get half off. The deal is called Dave's Day.

So, if your name is Dave and you're in the mood for some barbeque tomorrow, go to Famous Dave's!

Thrifty Strategy- Salad Bar Tips

We've all been there. Just trying to have a healthy lunch, we head to the salad bar. We create a masterpiece of lettuce, toppings, and dressing. Then we get to the checkout scale and reality hits. That plastic box of greens cost over $10? What did I do wrong?

In March, the New York Times did an article on smart salad bar strategies "How to Beat the Salad Bar." The graphic they provided is below. In a nutshell, you should go for the items that cost more per pound on their own than the salad bar charges. So for example, piling your salad with sun-dried tomatoes that would cost $9.99 per pound elsewhere is a good value if the salad bar charges $7.99 per pound.


Graphic from NYT.com

 
Rachael Ray recently did a segment on her show about the same topic. Best Value at the Salad Bar One great tip shared there was to skip salad dressing from the salad bar and dress it yourself when you get back to your desk- just keep a bottle of your favorite dressing in the fridge or some packets of dressing in your desk drawer. That way you're not paying for the weight of the liquid dressing.

One tip I've learned from experience at olive bars that charge by weight- make sure to drain out any extra oil or marinade you might have picked up when scooping your olives. A drop here and there can add up.

Go get your (thrifty) salad bar on!

Splurge-worthy Sunday: An awesome dinner out



http://www.rinatarestaurant.com/

 Just got back from an awesome date night with my husband. We received a gift certificate to Rinata for Christmas (with free babysitting thanks to my in-laws!). I had heard that they have a Sunday night special, so we decided to use the gift certificate tonight. And what a great meal it was for a great value.

Rinata has Sunday night Date Night. They offer a 4-course meal for $20. There were two or three choices for each course. They also offer 1/2 price bottles of wine from 4:30-6:00 every day and all night on Monday and Tuesdays. Our 5:30pm Sunday reservation was perfect because we could take advantage of the wine deal, Date Night menu, and also get home in time to put our daughter to bed.

First Course: There were three choices, a soup, an olive plate, and an eggplant dish. We both chose eggplant. It was a long piece of eggplant flattened and rolled up with goat cheese and pine nuts, all in a tomato sauce. Yum!

Second Course: Two salad choices. My husband had the Caesar which looked tasty. I had the beet salad and was not disappointed. The beets were earthy and delicious, and served with spicy greens and some nuts. I love beets so it was a perfect choice for me.

Main Dish: There were three choices- a pork shoulder with ziti and red sauce, clams in a butter/white sauce with pasta, and a risotto. I had the risotto with local root vegetables, which were carrots, celery root, and parsnips. It was creamy and very tasty. My husband had the clam dish, the clams were done very well and the pasta sauce had a nice hint of spice.

Dessert: We both had the tiramisu. There was also a gelato choice. We both enjoyed the tiramisu.

Overall it was a great value. We both think that the portions would probably be larger if they were ordered off of the regular menu rather than the Date Night menu, but we both left nicely full. There was also a nice basket of warm bread with an olive oil/tapenade. Service was great as well, with our waiter making a perfect wine recommendation.

So, if you live in the Twin Cities and are looking for a nice dinner out with a great value, try Rinata. We have also eaten at their sister restaurant Al Vento and enjoyed that as well.