When is it "Worth It" to Save Money??

As a frugal bargain-hunting type, I take note of opportunities. Some, I'm too lazy to partake of; others--like coupons--make my head spin. Other opportunities--like the 30% off one book at Amazon that I posted on yesterday--take no time at all.

Today another Amazon deal passed across my purview: if you link your Twitter account with your American Express card and spend $75 at Amazon, you get a $25 statement credit. Go to American Express's facebook page to see for yourself.

It just so happens we want to buy something that costs $80 on Amazon (see below--another exciting holiday purchase). We don't have a twitter account. We do have an American Express card. Should we do it?

As often with these quandaries, I emailed Frugal Son and asked him. Now I'm asking you.  (Hmmmm. The item we want has gone down in price, perhaps for Cyber Monday??)

Happy Hour Food: Frugal Joie de Vivre

Mr FS and I are starting to go out to eat a bit more. Yes, one child out of college, the other almost out. We need to have more fun. The problem with going out to eat: it is expensive and sometimes it's bad. Frugal Son says that an occasional bad meal is an inevitable part of the overall experience. Unfortunately, we had a disappointing meal right off the bat at Brigtsen's, a New Orleans institution that gets ecstatic reviews on various sites. Oh well, but at over $100, I was miserable.

One good way to eat in restaurants without wasting $140.00 is to check out the Happy Hour offerings. We are going to visit Miss Em soon and she suggested we go to Happy Hour at Epiphany. The small plates are half price! Luckily for all of us, we have the metabolism of a 6 year old: we get very hungry very early and don't like to eat big dinners. This wouldn't work for a more European metabolism. I guess you could have a second dinner at 9 pm.

Check out the offerings. How will we choose? Have you found Happy Hours at your local restaurants? And--which 3 dishes would you pick?


Small Plates

Bread Service (Buhl, AL)
Whipped Berkshire Pork Butter and
Housemade Brown Sugar Bread
3(per Couple)

Steak and Eggs* (Cottondale,AL)
48 Hr Short Rib, Potato Hash, Rena's Soft Farm Egg
10

Pickled PEI Mussels
Basil, Warm Bread, Good Olive Oil
10

Housemade Local Berkshire Pork Sausage ( Buhl, AL)
Good People Brown Ale Mustard, Fried Brussels, Radish
9.5

Snows Bend Turnips (Coker, AL)
American Caviar, Tat Soi, Nori Powder
11

Oysters and Bacon (Appalachicola, FL)
Braised Bacon, Radish, Soy Caramel, Peach,
12

Snow's Bend Butternut Squash Soup (Coker, AL)
Red Curry ,Coconut, Apple, Bon Secour Shrimp
9

Organic Greens and Peach Salad (Coker,AL)
Benton's Country Ham, Coconut Milk Vinaigrette, Feta
9.5

Asher Blue Cheese Salad (Thomasville, GA)
Greens, Apple, Buttermilk Vinaigrette, Pumpkin Seed Oil
9

“Shrimp and Grits” (Bon Secour , AL)
McEwen and Son's Polenta, Dashi, Bacon
12

Rena's Farm Egg* (Cottondale, AL)
Farm Egg, Braised Bacon, Hon-shimeji Mushrooms, Kalamata Olive “Soil”
10



Baked Stones Hollow Goat Cheese (Buhl, AL)
Yellow Beets, Leek Ash, Purple Basil
11

Hay Smoked Scallop Crudo*
Cocoa Nib, Kumquat, Shaved Peach, Radish, Tat Soi
11

Oak Hill Beef Carpaccio* (Eutaw, AL)
Horseradish, Local Arugula, Salsa Verte
11

Local Cheese Tasting (AL)
Red Hill Cheddar, AA Creamery Cheeses, Warm Bread, Fruit
14


Local Vegetables and Sides

Katie Farms Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Coker,AL)
Berkshire Pork Fat, Kim Chi, Soy, Hot Sauce
7

McEwen and Son's Polenta* (Wilsonville, Al)
Rena's Farm Egg, Stones Hollow Goat Cheese, Maple
8

Miso Creamed Corn (Coker, AL)
Red Curry, Coconut Milk, Hot Peppers
7

Fried Brussel Sprouts (Coker, AL)
Snow's Bend Lardo, Peach, Soy
8

Local Collards (Coker, AL)
Ginger, Soy, Red Chili, Brown Sugar
7

Frugal Splurges: Restaurant August for $20.11

Here is an update of our meal at Restaurant August, second installment of a conscious decision to be a LITTLE LESS OBSESSIVELY FRUGAL. We don't eat in restaurants all that much, primarily because I like my own cooking better than what we get in most restaurants; also because it is for us an easy way to save money for the big stuff. A while back (a long while, now that I think of it) we had some truly bad meals at New Orleans restaurants, the worst at NOLA, part of Emeril's empire. This was really embarrassing because we were being treated by relatives. Otherwise, we would have sent the food back--all of it.

Anyway, the COOLINARY prices--$20.00 or less for lunch--seemed a good occasion to dip our toes back in. It was a good experience. The food was good, the staff nice. Customers were a blend of upscale New Orleans types (a power party of people in power suits, including seersucker with Panama hat, Hermes ties in pink and baby blue on both men of the party), tourists, and regular old people. The power types ordered a la carte and the regular people ordered the COOLINARY selection.

Everyone got an amuse-bouche of what looked like a soft-boiled egg in shell. Turned out it was a layered fish mousse topped with local caviar, truffle oil, and a toasted brioche crouton. John Besh himself was there, having his picture taken with various patrons.

You really want to see the pictures, right? We had peach salads and pate to start; we had all three main courses, and the three desserts. We are a sharing family, so all was fair.

Graduation Lunch: Pretty Frugal

If you like reading menus, here are our choices for Frugal Son's graduation lunch. Luckily, we are a party of three, so we can try all the main courses and desserts.

RESTAURANT AUGUST MENU


COOLINARY LUNCH MENU
Appetizer
(Choice of)

Washington Parish Watermelon Gazpacho
Covey Rise cucumbers, pickled red onions, mint

or

Salad of Grilled Chilton Peaches
Aceto baalsamico, basil pesto, bacon crisp, whipped ricotta

Main Course
(Choice of)

Crispy Mangalitsa Pork Belly
Creole cream cheese malfatti, mustard greens, tomato confit,
sauce blanquette

or

Pan Seared Gulf Sheepshead
Silverqueen corn custard, succotash, tomato vinaigrette

or

Brandade de Morue
Ravioli nero, mint persillade and soffrito marmalade


Dessert
(Choice of)

Tart of Local Celeste Figs
Brown butter and bourbon ice cream

or

Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Croquant
Salted caramel and McEwen's buttered popcorn ice cream

House made Ricotta Custard
Candied citrus, toasted brioche, local pecans, and Aleppo honey

$20.11

Excluding tax & Gratuity

What would you pick?

Treat Time! Frugal Food Splurges

I do have a tendency to be a little too hair shirt in the frugality department. I keep saying--to my family, not here--that I am going to loosen up. It's easy for me to loosen up in the travel department, as witness my blissful month in France. We came in way under budget on that one--mostly owing to the fact that we had a free place to stay, courtesy of Frugal Son's beloved teacher.

Frugal Son will be going back to France soon: he will be an assistant in a lycee. So exciting. Certainly, his recent graduation from college and his upcoming departure are good excuses for loosening up.

First loosen up: We bought soft shell crabs at the local grocery. Only $5.00 a piece, these are fried and made into po-boys.

Second loosen up: There's a Coolinary celebration in New Orleans: many famous restaurants are participating. So, we are taking Frugal Son for his graduation lunch to Restaurant August, part of the empire of John Besh, who has even served as a catalog model.

Third loosen up: Louisiana lump crabmeat is $9.99 a pound. So Frugal Son will make us crab cakes on Monday when we get home from work after a 12 hour day, weary.

These three treats will be under $100.00. Not bad for three threats.

If you want to check out some wonderful cookbooks for inspiration and temptation, see these!


What are your latest treats?