It’s Feb 29th, Prices Take a Leap!

It's Leap Year, any excuse to offer a deal is a good one, right?!

Despite what we learned in grade school, our planet actually takes 365 1/4 days to revolve around the sun. To catch up on the annual six extra hours, we add a day to our calendar every four years to keep us in sync with the sun. Without leap day, our seasons would shift and over time we’d literally end up celebrating Christmas in July.

In celebration of this rare occasion retailers are offering deals to intice you into their establishments for the “holiday.” And restaurants (chains as well as mom and pop’s) are no exception. We’ve heard whispers of special deals at fast food establishments, like menu items for $0.29 or sit down eateries like Denny’s promoting 29% off your check. Some places like Outback Steakhouse are offering a chance to win four years of free Outback if you visit their facebook page.

Today only save 29% off your bill at Denny's

Other deals include:

• Boston Market: 10% off Purchase 
• Caribou Coffee: Buy One Coffee Get One Free
• Subway: Free Cookie with Purchase
• Arby’s: Free Roast Beef Sandwich with a drink purchase
• Einstein Bros Bagels: Buy One Lunch Sandwich Get One Free 
• Buca di Beppo: $29 for a meal for 4
• Chick-fil-a: Free Chick-n-minis 4 count between 6:30 and 10:30 pm

Act fast though, these specials are for today only and won’t come around again for another four years!! Do you know of any Leap Year deals near you?!

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Last Minute Valentine

Romance can take many forms. Waffle House is a cozy and family-friendly Valentine's Day treat!

Still no plans for Valentine’s Day? Or did you make plans for the weekend, but still want to observe the actual day? It’s not too late! Sometimes you don’t need to go all out, it’s just nice to not have to cook. There are a few chain restaurants that you can still make plans to have something to do on for Valentine’s Day and save the big to-do for the weekend.

Once again, The Waffle House will offer white tablecloth service by candlelight tomorrow night at more than 110 locations nationwide.  Participating Waffle House’s will feature a special Valentine’s Day menu but all the usual favorites will still be available. Even with the romantic atmosphere, The Waffle House is still a family friendly Valentine’s Day treat. So if you don’t have a sitter and want to take all your loved ones out on a date, Waffle House might be a nice way to go!

Olive Garden is offering one lucky couple the romantic trip of a lifetime. Don't enter ya'll because I want to win!

OpenTable recently conducted a survey that revealed 35% of their diners think Italian cuisine is the most romantic Valentine’s Day dinner choice. The Olive Garden is trying to keep that idea alive by not only inviting guests to  enjoy a three-course meal for $12.95 (pending location & for a limited time), but they have also announced their ‘Sweetheart Sweepstakes.’ Now through February 19th you can enter to win a romantic 7-night trip for two to Italy by visiting the Olive Garden Facebook page. There are also daily drawings to win a $25 gift card to the restaurant when you enter the sweepstakes.

And for those of us ladies who don’t have a Valentine this year, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers is inviting you to round up their girlfriends and come in on Feb. 14 for Girls’ Night Out. Select locations are offering half price bottles of wine and dessert. In honor of Valentine’s Day Red Robin will debut a new dessert, the Gooey Chocolate Brownie Cake – available for just $1.99 on Feb. 14 with the purchase of a burger, entrée or salad.

Related articles

• Waffle House Hosts Special Menu for Valentine’s Day (newsy.com)
• Happy Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate (mydestiny2011.wordpress.com)
• Ladies, Would You Drop The Drawls For Your Dude If He Took You To A Romantic Dinner At Waffle House For Valentine’s Day???? [Video] (bossip.com)
• https://restrow.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/happy-valentines-day/

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Say "I do" over Pizza?

With V-day falling on a Tuesday this year I’m going to err on the side of caution on post early for all of those who will be getting started on the festivities this weekend. Naturally restaurants everywhere are going crazy with promos for Valentine’s Day. Some high-end chains like The Melting Pot are featuring special menus at some locations as well as Valentine’s Day chocolates.  While other’s like Morton’s The Steakhouse already know that they are a Valentine’s Day go-to spot and thrive on special occasions like Valentine’s Day. 

However, this year I was surprised to see some fast food chains are making Valentine’s Day special offerings as well. For example Pizza Hut is offering a “Tie the knot with the $10 Dinner Box” promotion! Yup, that’s right Pizza Hut fancies themselves a perfectly romantic method for proposing one of the most important questions you will ever ask in your life! I couldn’t believe it myself so I had to take a closer look and actually what they’re offering isn’t half bad.

The Promo is called the $10 Dinner Box but it actually costs $10,010 and includes a red ruby engagement ring, a limo, flowers, fireworks, a photographer and a videographer and of course the ever so romantic $10 pizza box! Not too shabby for the low-key couple who is looking to catch their partner off guard with pizza in a box! Pizza Hut must be testing the waters with this one because there are only 10 packages available. I wonder if anyone has actually bought this?!!

Kurt Kane, Pizza Hut CMO, explains how Pizza Hut came up with the idea, “If we’re able to fit pizza, bread sticks and dessert into one box for only $10, why stop there? Our customers want the best of everything, from their food to memorable life experiences.” Explains Kane, “So we decided to make one of those experiences – the marriage proposal – second-to-none and offer it at PizzaHut.com right alongside the new $10 Dinner Box.”

Hmmmmm, it certainly is a unique idea, but I don’t know . . . Ladies would you say “yes” over Pizza Hut? But I guess in the end it really doesn’t matter that much how you propose as long as you’re in love and willing to make the commitment. And hey it’ll make one hell of a story! Maybe Pizza Hut is on to something . . . maybe . . . What do you think?

Related articles

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It’s Almost Game Time!! Super Bowl XLVI

Super Bowl weekend is here! What will you be munching on come game time?

It’s time for Super Bowl 2012!!!! The NY Giants and the NE Patriots are the only contenders left for the ultimate NFL title, but you still have time to decide who will emerge victorious in the important decision about food! Super Bowl party hosts will be deciding between the usual take out food contenders, who will win at your house? You probably already know who you want to win the big game, but when it comes to grub the options are harder to narrow down. Will it be pizza or wings? Sandwiches or Nachos?

We have to wait until Sunday to find out who will win Super Bowl XLVI, but if you’re smart and don’t want to go hungry for the big game, you’re already figuring out what you are going to serve or bring to your Super Bowl party. And the big restaurant chains are ready for you with all kinds of deals to influence you to choose their “team.”

According to a poll from the National Restaurant Association, 61% of Americans said they would order pizza this Sunday. Fun fact, more pies are sold on Super Bowl Sunday then any other day of the year! The three big contenders are Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa John’s. As the “official pizza sponsor” of the NFL, Papa John’s expects to deliver 9 million slices!

I myself really like pizza, but I’m trying to stay healthy so maybe I’ll see which one of these has the best looking salad pizza? However, some of the people coming over to our house never watch a game without their wings and nachos. Decisions, decisions . . . one thing is for sure though, I’m all in for my NY Giants to beat those Pats for the second time!! GO BIG BLUE!!

Heart Disease, Eat Your Heart Out!

Heart disease is the #1 killer of American women, so this Month the AHA reminds you to be good to your heart and yourselves.

February is National Heart Month! The American Heart Association (AHA) which does such good work all year round raising funds and awareness about heart disease will get some well deserved recognition this month and hopefully so will your heart. A surprising and scary statistic shows that heart disease kills more women than cancer, so the AHA shows some love to the ladies with their “Go Red For Women”campaign. In fact tomorrow is National Wear Red Day so if you have some red in your closet break it out, wear it with pride, and tell your friends!

Being educated about heart disease (just as with anything else) is the first step in being able to prevent it. So I always like to draw attention to events like these because it never hurts to remind ourselves that these conditions are out there, what the warning signs are, and what we can do about it. Mimi’s Cafe, a French style bistro with 145 locations in 24 states thinks so too and they are the first national chain to partner with the AHA in order to get people involved for the cause. Starting with a free cup of soup to “warm the heart” of customers who wear red tomorrow!

I love it when restaurants get involved with health causes because what we eat is so instrumental in maintaining and improving our good health. Also, when restaurants support causes like National Heart Month, it only makes sense that they offer healthy menu options as well which is an overall win for everybody. The AHA knows that what you eat can impact your health and they offer a pretty good guide to dining out for anyone with a heart condition on their website.

Related articles

• Mimi’s Cafe is the First Restaurant to Nationally Support the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women Movement (multivu.com)
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Dinner With Barack

What do restaurants and the President have in common? They both use food to get you to like them on Facebook!

As an informed and concerned American citizen I liked President Obama’s Facebook page. This way I can keep up with any speeches I might have missed and keep track of any major decisions that he makes. But now that the Presidential race is once again upon us, he has started soliciting me for donations in my news feed. And he is making it pretty tempting because of all those who donate to the campaign will be entered into a contest where the prize is dinner with him and Michelle at the White House. And yes they will fly you to D.C.

Social media marketing has officially taken over. Ok I’ll admit it’s been getting out of control for a while now but if you think about it, it’s so sneaky! Ever since Facebook began letting businesses and public figures create “pages” for themselves and enabling you to “like” them, they essentially enabled you to tailor your news feed with ads that you’ve preselected! It’s the same with Twitter, people are given incentives to follow their favorite restaurants because if they do they will be notified about specials and coupons.

There is this great place by my job, Smootie King and by liking their Facebook page I get coupons that literally have me going in there at least twice a week. Without the coupons as a carrot, their smooties while delicious, would be a little too pricey for that kind of patronage. Obama is attempting to do the same thing, using a once in a lifetime experience as extra motivation to donate to his campaign. And you know that dinner is going to be fantastic too! Delicious food prepared by the White House chef, most likely with all organic food that was purchased locally if not from the White House garden itself.

Even if you are not in favor of Obama as President, how cool would it be to have a private dinner with him at the White House? Even if you don’t agree with his politics, it’s hard to deny that he is fascinating. And Mrs. Obama is just fabulous! So when the ‘Dinner With Barack’ contest popped up in my news feed, I had to consider whether contributing to the Obama 2012 campaign for a free trip to the White House to have dinner with the leader of the free world was something I could see myself doing? As it turns out, Yes I Can!

 

 

Related articles

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Restaurants Support Breast Cancer Awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, find out how you can give back while dining at your favorite restaurants!

Restaurants are going Pink this October for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. All over the country there are restaurants donating a portion of their revenue to local and national breast cancer research foundations. So before you make your reservations this month, check to see which of your favorite eateries is taking the time to give back.

We took the liberty of finding a few for you so if you are in New Orleans, DC, or Chicago check out these links and put your dining dollars towards a good cause!

New Orleans– NOLA Goes Pink: 31 New Orleans restaurants will be offering $31 prix fixe dinners in support of breast cancer awareness throughout October. 10% of each sale will go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, New Orleans affiliate.  Participating chefs have pledged that their menus will feature clean, healthy, non-cancer-causing ingredients from produce purchased from local farmers’ markets and vendors. And, as evidence of their support, the chefs will wear pink chefs’ coats.

DC – Take A Bite Out Of Breast Cancer: All month long over 24 restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds to the first annual Take A Bite out of Breast Cancer to support Pink Jams!, an outreach and fundraising campaign focusing on early detection in young women (and men!) under 40 years old.

Chicago – In Good Taste: Participating restaurants will donate $1 per check (or more if you desire) to the Lynn Sage Scholars Program at Northwestern University.

We know that there are many more areas that are taking this opportunity to give back. Let us know what’s going on near you!

Related articles

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TCBY Turns 30

30 years of The Country's Best Yogurt!

There was a time when I was completely addicted to white chocolate mousse and I’m not talking about a cake or a cream pie, I’m talking about a wafer cone of soft serve from TCBY. And they didn’t always have the flavor in stock, every now and then swapping it out for strawberry or perhaps coffee which are also good but no white chocolate mousse. It was a very sad day for me when the store nearest to me closed its doors and I was forced to go without. However, to this day if I pass a TCBY in a mall or at a highway rest stop and they have white chocolate mousse I’m getting a cone!

30 years ago TCBY, The Country’s Best Yogurt, revolutionized the frozen treat industry by introducing entire generations to low/no-fat frozen yogurt as a healthier alternative to  ice cream. As a thank you to the fro-yo enthusiasts that have stuck with them for the past three decades, TCBY is celebrating by offering customers special deals at participating locations on their anniversary, September 30th, $1.30 small cup or cone in traditional stores or only $.30 per ounce in self-serve locations. Also all month long you can sign up for the sweepstakes by liking the TCBY Facebook page. Fans will automatically receive a coupon for 30% off any item in September and every day this month two fans will be selected to win $30 gift cards, one lucky grand prize winner will receive a $300 TCBY gift card.

Over the years lots of competing frozen yogurt franchises have appeared, but TCBY is holding strong with over 600 locations both in the United States and abroad. A leader in their industry, TCBY recently introduced their healthiest option to date, Super Fro-Yo, a frozen yogurt packed with vitamins, probiotics, dietary fiber, protein, and calcium. So drop by the nearest TCBY and “give it a swirl!”

Related articles

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