Spwcials, instead, let's see where a Lincoln can take you. Restaurants Get book previews Psecials Cost-effective culinary specials 2 culinady 4. White Castle. This recipe, where wedges are bathed in turmeric-accented coconut milk until meltingly tender and sweet, uses just half of one to feed four. Like Northern Thai Food Club and some of the other best restaurants in L.

Cost-effective culinary specials -

The United States General Services Administration , which manages the functioning of federal agencies, sets per diem rates for federal employees traveling on official business in the continental U.

Per-diem rates cover three types of expenses: lodging, meals, and incidental expenses. It varies considerably by local market. Whatever your appetite, you can find ways to shave a few dollars off your vacation food budget at every meal. Implement these cost-effective strategies for saving money on food on your next trip.

Short-term rentals with a functional kitchen let you prepare full, healthy meals. They can save you money on all your travel expenses by letting you do things like shop at a local grocery to save money on eating out at restaurants and do laundry so you can pack light and save on checked baggage.

Kitchen access is especially advantageous for larger groups, where communal meals can really trim per-person meal costs.

Go just a tick or two up the quality ladder to brands like Hampton Inn, and that continental breakfast becomes a sumptuous hot-and-cold buffet complete with waffle makers and omelet stations.

One of the easiest ways to save money at airports is not eating there. Fill up right before heading to the airport and stash enough snacks in your carry-on to tide you over until you land. As with any shopping trip, planning makes all the difference. Review your itinerary and determine:.

Otherwise, modify meals to accommodate shelf-stable ingredients. Instead, pack a refillable water bottle, preferably metal or BPA-free plastic.

Fill it before heading out on sightseeing excursions and at public drinking fountains. It costs nothing for the refreshment, and you can avoid adding to local landfills. This strategy has limitations. Hunger can strike anywhere, not just at the airport. So pack enough healthy, shelf-stable snacks to last you the entire trip.

Think dried fruit, mixed nuts, peanut butter with no added sugar, energy bars with no or low added sugar, granola bars, and whole-grain crackers. On extended vacations, this strategy may be limited by your cargo space. Nor can you sustain a longer trip on snacks alone. When the time comes to tuck in away from your room or rental, avoid overly touristy restaurants.

In fact, steer clear of tourist traps period — or at least venture off main commercial streets. In pure value terms, the best meals in unfamiliar cities often involve local cuisine in hole-in-the-wall restaurants in quiet neighborhoods that have yet to be discovered by out-of-towners.

That rule served me well in Thailand , where I ate more street noodle meals than I could count on both hands and never had so much as a rumble of indigestion.

My Health Department has an easy-to-search database of health inspection records for many municipal and state health departments.

I like the premeal bread assortment you get at some nicer restaurants almost as much as street food. In some parts of the world, restaurants charge for that satiating little assortment. Not quite the cost of a full appetizer but not pocket change either. Plan accordingly, and definitely use that plate as a replacement for your first course when dining at full-service establishments.

Before you arrive at your destination, look for daily deals and social coupons at tasty-looking restaurants there.

You can also try industry-specific coupon sites, such as Restaurant. com coupons. When in doubt, call ahead. On my first trip to Oregon, Travel Portland hooked me up with a nice swag bag that included a coffee shop discount coupon.

Local guides published by such groups often have a whole coupon section in the back. Check their websites for mobile coupons as well. My go-to restaurant-finding aid is Yelp. Google Maps works in a pinch too, and its quality has really improved over the years.

Both Yelp and Google Maps have user-friendly price-filtering tools that exclude overpriced restaurants. Add at-a-glance star ratings, detailed user reviews, and usually accurate menu details, and you have pretty much all the information you need to make an informed, cost-conscious decision about lunch or dinner.

Weekend editions in particular often have extensive coupon sections. Plus, restaurants are more likely to run prix-fixe meals several courses for a fixed price or cut-rate daily specials at lunchtime, especially during the week.

Restaurants often compensate for multicourse variety with smaller, more basic portions that often cost less for them to make. Ask servers for their honest opinions about prix-fixe value and read Yelp or Google reviews to ensure you make the right call.

Special occasions call for special experiences. If your trip coincides with a birthday or anniversary, you likely plan to have a spendy celebration dinner.

Imagine a 64 ounce 1. You don't have to be a math genius to know this is a triple digit markup. On to the food: The majority of breakfast items like pancakes and egg dishes are highly profitable and cheap to make. Syrup, especially if it's a fancy specialty, may be the costliest part of your meal.

Omelets are no different. Bacon, ham, turkey, peppers, tomatoes -- regardless of the type or style are still very inexpensive ingredients and unless specified, fairly generic and purchased in bulk.

In other words, don't expect gourmet mushrooms or organic tomatoes in that omelet. With appetizers and side dishes, restaurant-goers have a hard time determining a good value. Subsequently, these items are more profitable for the establishment.

The entrée is your main focus and that's what sets the standard. Jody Pennette, the founder of CB5 Restaurant Group, told Forbes in October that the prices on appetizers and side dishes had increased disproportionately to the raw food costs of these items.

This gives restaurants a nice cash cow. Another trick of the trade -- use mysterious ingredients that your average person doesn't eat or use. If you don't cook with lavender, use truffles or Beluga caviar in your recipes, you won't know what they should cost. The presence of that exotic element in your appetizer or side dish justifies the higher price, regardless of the quantity or quality used in the recipe.

So, skip the appetizer or extra side dish, and not only for cost reasons. Ordering them leaves you less likely to finish your entrée. That's leaving money on the table. Another thing leaving money on the table? Most people enjoy pasta , and what's not to love?

It's filling, it's tasty, it works with seafood, meat or primavera and it's one of the more affordable items on the restaurant menu. But appearances can be deceiving. Earlier we mentioned that food costs average between 30 and 42 percent of menu prices, average being the operative word.

Pasta, for example, brings that number down which is why restaurant owners love you to choose the penne over the beef. Pasta costs around 18 percent of menu price, so restaurants can make a killing. Even served with shrimp, veal or fancy mushrooms, there is still a nice profit margin factored into most pasta dishes.

So, if pasta is a restaurant rip-off, what should you order? According to Clark Wolfe, a restaurant consultant from New York in a Forbes article, "Choose labor-intensive, time-consuming complex dishes that call for hard-to-find ingredients.

Wolfe added, "If you can whip it up yourself in 20 minutes with stuff from your kitchen cupboard -- do that. In other words, go hard or go home.

And we think that especially applies to the next item on our list. If you're familiar with comic strips, you know Popeye, the spinach-eating sailorman. One of Popeye's friends, Wimpy, was a bit of a mooch with an insatiable appetite for hamburgers.

Today's restaurant patrons are no different. However, the new gourmet burgers are enough to make anyone, including Wimpy, reconsider his options.

But, today's restaurants have found ways to spice up the standard hamburger, and in doing so, command a higher price tag. Chefs add unique burger toppings like foie gras, special mushrooms or truffles; stuff patties with lobster or gruyere cheese or make them with Kobe beef, ostrich, or salmon.

Spices and spreads like pesto, curry or wasabi are other ways to jazz up this standard fare. In the minds of customers, this also elevates the burger from the sandwich category into fine dining. But, with these sophisticated ingredients, you get a very small portion relative to the price.

How many truffles fit on a burger? How much wasabi do you need on the bun? Do a few lobster pieces justify the cost? To avoid this budget buster, stick to your good, old-fashioned burger.

You may not feel as classy, but you'll get a better bang for your buck and still love the taste. People would expect New York City to have some of the more expensive restaurants in the world, and it doesn't disappoint. In April , Masa, a Japanese and sushi restaurant in Manhattan's Columbus Circle, was ranked as the most expensive NYC restaurant.

So after all that, would the best deal be some good old-fashioned Chinese food from the local takeout place? Yes and no. International is another area where prices can be deceiving.

Looking at Japanese fare, most would say sushi is worth the price. It has low food costs but high labor. After all, it takes talent and time to make the rolls; most people can't do this at home. So, when you get your 4 to 6 ounces to grams of soybeans, remember that it cost the restaurant about 50 cents in food and labor.

If you love Chinese food, chicken-fried rice is probably on that list. Assume any restaurant is buying eggs, rice and oil in bulk.

Add tiny bits of chicken, the cheaper veggies of the day, toss it all around and you've got your entrée. The better deal is the beef and broccoli stir-fry. It's more expensive but it's healthier and a better deal for your wallet. Or go Mexican and consider guacamole. They mash it up, add some spice and it's done.

Remember, if you can do it quickly and easily at home, it's probably not worth the restaurant's price. com article:. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots.

Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Budget Meals. By: Kim Williamson. Share Content on Facebook Share Content on LinkedIn Share Content on Flipboard Share Content on Reddit Share Content via Email. Contents Soft Drinks Salads Wine Seafood Specials Breakfast Foods Side Dishes and Appetizers Pasta Gourmet Hamburgers International Dishes.

Getting Your Just Desserts. That's part of restaurant strategy. A Big Bite in the Big Apple. Lots More Information Related Articles 10 Reasons You Should Host a Potluck 5 Easy Cheap Dinners for Families 5 Frugal Gourmet Recipes. Sources Arumugam, Nadia. October 19, November 1, html Bockelman, Christine.

March 29, November 2, April 27, November 4, html CBSNews. shtml CBS New York. November 8,

We use cookies Free stationery samples for anniversaries speclals tracking technologies xpecials improve your browsing experience on Office supplies sample trial Cost-effective culinary specials, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where Cost-effective culinary specials Cost-effeftive come from. To Cost-effectife more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Free stationery samples for anniversaries also read our Specialss Notice and Terms Cost-ecfective Usewhich became effective December 20, There are those who veer toward excess for the sake of excess — the Action Bronson-esque gourmands of the world — but, in a city as expensive as San Francisco, finding cheap pho and affordable sandwiches is just plain smart. Believe it or not, San Francisco is stuffed with financially accessible restaurants, cafes, and bars. Cheap churro waffles in the Bayview and Japanese noodles in the Financial District are here to prove the point for the naysayers in the back: this city can be affordable if you just search for it.

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