Dinner #1: Welcome to Savings Time- Mongolian BBQ

Hi there everyone! Hope you are enjoying my blog. I will be adding a post soon on restaurants that offer free children's meals and another on free birthday meals.

Well today, my husband and son joined my brother and nephew at a Toledo Walleye's Hockey game, so my mom, 2 daughters, niece, and sister-in-law went out to dinner at..... B.D.'s Mongolian BBQ. I had the meat/seafood bowl with unlimited soup and salad, while my DD had the kids portion with a drink. My meal was $12.99 which I thought was pretty reasonable and my daughters was $5.99. However, I was shocked that they charged $2.49 for her pink lemonade. Yes, the used an adults cup, but most restaurants use a childrens plastic cup and charge no more than $1.49, usually $.99.

The food was decent and the variety is endless. For those of you familiar with Blue Pacific at Levis Commons, I definitely would go there before Mongolian BBQ. The food at Mongolian was not fresh cut. Most likely frozen and thawed but it's no surprise since this is a chain restaurant. The service was awesome. Our waitress was super friendly but not overbearing. A little heads up for all you Groupon users. The management wanted a printed out Groupon not the mobile device Groupon. I told her that I never had this problem before. Most restaurants that I've used this coupon at, just wrote down my name and the bar code that appears when you pull up the Groupon. Afterwards, I was asked to press the button that says I used the coupon in front of them. When I told the manager this, she was really cool about it. They just were not aware that the Groupon could also be accessed via cell phone.

My one major gripe is I would not take children to this restaurant. The format of the restaurant is to sort of like a buffet, where you chose your meat, vegetable, and sauce at a buffet table and then have the food prepared on a huge wok-like stove. So to fill your plate, your kids' plate, and then wait for the food to get done is sort of tedious. I had my baby with me, so my mom and daughter went ahead  of me and when they came back I got my food. So, unless you all go together to order your food, you're not going to be eating together. I guess I personally, did not find the format convenient with small children who could not pour their own food or with baby's.

Would I go there again without a discount? Yes, but not for dinner. Way to busy and the lunch menu serves the same portion of food as dinner for only $9.99

In the end I paid $10 for my $20 Groupon.
Our bill was just $23.23.
Total Savings: $10
Total Savings to Date: $10

Mongolian BBQ on Groupon- Limited Quantity Offer

Hi Guys! MEant to post this earlier but got busy. Great Groupon Deal today (actually good until Sunday 11:59 pm) www.groupon.com


B.D. Mongolian BBQ at Westfield Shopping Center is offering $20 worth of food for only $10! 


There is a limited quantity on it, do if you like it you better buy it sooner rather than later.

While I am not a HUGE fan of Mongolian, for $10 it's worth it! Plus a fun experience for those of you who have not been there before!

And thanks to my daughter, our family purchased 2 of these offers (she bought one on my iPhone when she was playing on the phone without my knowledge)

Melting Pot- Double Date Meal October 31, 2010

Double Date Night! October 31st Dear Loyal Club Fondue Member, Want a real treat on Halloween? Invite your  friends, your neighbors, your in-laws -whoever!- to Double Date Night at The Melting Pot! (Just don't tell them that we're footing their bill.) Costumes encouraged! Four Course Set Menu Cheddar Cheese Fondue House Salad with your choice of our House or our Peppercorn Ranch Dressing Double Date Night Entree with Filet Mignon, Breast of Chicken, Teriyaki-Marinated Sirloin, White Shrimp, Potstickers, and Fresh Vegetables White Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Fondue (No substitutions, please!) $88 for first couple. Second couple eats at NO CHARGE! Reservations by phone (419.885.MELT) only, please. Let the Hospitality Specialist know that you're coming in for Double Date Night. Some restrictions do apply (see bottom of page or call for details). A deal so sweet, it's scary. 5839 Monroe St. (419) 885-6358   Must have four (4) people to enjoy this offer. First couple is $88. Second couple couple is no charge. $44 for each additional couple. No sharing. Event is plus tax and gratuity. An 18% gratuity on the original $44 per person price may be added. Restaurant.com coupons, or other coupons or discounts will not be honored for this event. Questions can be directed to the restaurant. Reservations recommended • Fondue coast to coast Locally owned and operated

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Kyoto Ka and Abuelo's Deals

Thanks everyone who is following this blog. Thank you also too my friend Roo for giving me a heads up on a sushi coupon for Kyoto Ka on Central Ave. I have been there several times and can definitely attest that it is really good! The service is superb and the sushi quality is exceptional. This week at Kyoto Ka, they have spend $50 and get a $10 gift card on your next visit. I hope we'll be able to eat there this weekend.

Another great deal is Abuelo's, which is offering kids eat free this Sunday (Halloween), if they are dressed in a costume. If your kids are anything like mine, they probably will love a good Mexican meal. We haven't been there yet, but if you have and you like it let me know!

Thanks again Roo for two fabulous deal updates!

To all you followers, please spread the word about my blog.

I will post a list of several restaurnats in the Toledo area who offer discounts. If your favorite restaurant offers a good deal, please share it with us as well!

Why am I doing this?

So a lot of you are asking me what possessed me to start this challenge.

I wanted to purchase the 2011 Entertainment Book. When I told my hubby, he thought it was an unnecessary purchase since we barely used our 2010 Book. And he was right. Of all the times we ate out in the last year, we rarely if ever used a coupon. I think I used a few for Subway, one at BW3, and that's it. Instead of letting it go, I told him, that we should have used it more often. In fact, for the next year we should only eat at restaurants that had some sort of coupon or discount deal. Without agreeing with me, he told me to go ahead and get it- what's the point of arguing over this.

A few days later, I thought it would be cool to blog about what restaurants I saved money at and how much. It kind of all developed from there.

There will be a one major challenge. My kids (who are 4 and 5, my baby doesn't have a preference where we eat) love eating sushi. However, rarely do I come across a worthy sushi coupon. If you have a good sushi coupon let me know!!! Well I guess Sakura has a sushi happy hour. Not sure when or what time (do you??) but will have to check it out.

I also look forward to the challenge of finding coupons/deals for restaurants when we are out of the city. As I previously mentioned I bought a coupon for Liquid Planet knowing that we will be eating in Cleveland sometime during the year when we visit my brother-in-law.

Now, the only time I might have to bend the rules is for an upcoming girls night dinner that was RSVP'd before I started this challenge. Hope to find a coupon for that restaurant soon. I'll keep you posted.

BTW, I will also be reviewing each restaurant based on their food, value, child-friendliness, and the service.

 Please add/follow my blog especially if you live in Toledo and enjoy getting good deals!

Liquid Planet

A couple of years ago, when my brother and sister-in-law lived in Cleveland we ate at a yummy restaurant called Liquid Planet. They have delicious sandwiches, salads, and smoothies. When I saw a 1/2 off deal on Living Social I jumped at the opportunity to eat there again for 1/2 price. The best thing is my brother and sister-in-law recently moved back to Cleveland and live within walking distance to Liquid Planet at Crocker Park and we visit them regularly. Can't wait to eat there again!

Have any of you eaten there before? What's your favorite thing to eat there?

Let the Quest Begin!

Toledo has more restaurants per capita than probably any other city in America. With so many yummy restaurants to explore, I decided to begin this quest in order to maximize my dining experiences using all of the new technologies out there promoting free and discounted restaurant programs! So, for the next 365 days, the only restaurants, cafes, ice cream shops, etc... that I will patron is those that I have a coupon or offer some sort of discount program.

To get me started I enrolled with several websites that notify me of restaurant deals such as www.groupon.com and www.livingsocial.com I recently purchased a coupon to Treo, Tropical Smoothie, and Elaine's Tea Shoppe, which I cannot wait to use!


Other sites that I found like www.restaurant.com that offer gift certificates for up to 1/2 off. As I come across more sites, I'll be sure to post them and if you know of any other websites similar to these, let me know.


I also purchased the 2011 Entertainment book. For those of you unfamiliar with the book, it is a huge book full of coupons for restaurants in your city. They also have a website (www.entertainment.com)that you can print more coupons from. (BTW: I bought the book for $32, got a $25 gift card to Treo Restaurant in Sylvania and saved $9 by purchasing it through www.mrrebates.com- so in essence the book alone already made me $1!!!)


I receive the J.D. Power Coupon Magazine, ValPak, and some local coupon flyer's in the mail all the time which I will clip and store in a coupon folder. I also intend to purchase the Fan Club Card in the next few days. And even without coupons, many restaurants offer free or discounted meals throughout the week. While many of these coupons target diners in Northwest Ohio, you could probably find similar coupons for restaurants in your area using these sources.


Some people might think this is just me being cheap. However, by no means am I a frugal person. I just enjoy eating out but I hate paying the exorbitant prices so many restaurant charge. I am a married stay-at-home mom and have 3 kids (well one is still breastfed so she won't be eating at restaurants anytime soon). All of you out there with kids knows, that to feed a family something other than McD's or BK it'll run you upwards of $40. But why? Why should we be forced to pay these prices? A few months ago we took our kids out to the Real Seafood and paid $115- for LUNCH! Okay, I know this was a special occasion meal, but that's 2 weeks of groceries for our family! 


Ok let's look at a more realistic scenario. We usually go out to eat one time a week as a family and pay about $60. Multiply that by 4 weeks in a month and that's $240 each month. Tack on an extra date night meal with the hubby- $60, me eating out with my friends once a week spending about $20, and my husband* eating lunch everyday and before you know it, we've spent well over $400 a month on eating out! 


*I cannot guarantee that my husband is going to agree to this quest. (He spends about $120 a month on lunches- $6 per lunch X 5 days per week X 4 weeks per month) He thinks my coupon cutting and free meal quest is kind of embarrassing and resists taking part in these attempts. However, if and when he does use a coupon I will post the savings.


Please, feel free to share your comments and savings experiences with everyone.


So here's the plan... for the next 365 days, every time my family and I eat out I will post where we ate, what coupon I had and how much we saved. At the end of this quest I will tally up the savings and prove that it is possible to enjoy eating out without EVER paying full price!!