Eating on the cheap

Just received an email from restaurant.com with an offer that I had to pass along. For a very limited time, they are offering $25 gift certificates to restaurants for $3. The offer is good from only November 16th through the 20th. After you place your order on their website, at checkout, type in the promo code "travel" and they will apply the discount.

It appears that if you purchase a gift certificate for a specific restaurant the amount of the discount may vary. You are probably better off getting an eGift card. The cost is $3 per card but they do add on a $1.50 handling fee. Still that isn't bad for a $25 gift certificate.

Restaurant.com has tens of thousands of restaurants participating in their program throughout the United States, so there is a good chance you can find something that you would like to go try.

I do have to offer two caveats about their certificates. They do not expire but there is some small print that you have to be aware of. Most of the restaurants have a minimum spending amount in the $35 range. So if you use the certificate you will still be spending another $10, but it is still a bargain that you can get a $35 meal for around $15.

The other caveat I find a little bit more harder to swallow in that the restaurants will automatically be tacking on an 18% gratuity to your bill. Some will even charge 20%. I don't mind paying a gratuity but it should be based on the customer's experience and not forced down their throats. All of the small print is easily available for each restaurant on the restaurant.com website.

Now where shall I go out to eat?