How to cut your restaurant bill

One of the few upsides of the recession is that there seem to be an unprecedented number of good deals in restaurants at the moment - provided, of course, you can afford to eat out.

Arbutus, which is one of London's most appealing restaurants, for example has a fixed price pre-theatre dinner for £17.50 for 3 courses - basically the price of a main course in a mid-price restaurant. And the food is terrific. My daughter and I kicked off with porchetta with pecorino (finely sliced, carpaccio style, served with a few leaves and a delicious dressing). She had Welsh lamb breast, pressed into a neat rectangle and served with mash and summer vegetables - just like a posh Sunday roast and I had smoked eel and tarragon risotto as a main course.

I finished with a couple of generous slices of Tomme de Savoie (to their credit as most restaurants charge an arm and a leg for cheese these days) while she had a truly classy dessert of strawberry sorbet (above right) with sliced strawberries and meringue. I honestly don't know how they do it for the price but I suppose it means they can squeeze in an extra sitting. (The restaurant opens for dinner at 5pm) Their lunchtime deal, which my son Will told me about, is even keener at £15.50

There are other tactics. Having two starters or a starter and a pud instead of a main course is a well-established ruse but I've noticed that restaurants have latched on to that and the price of starters is creeping up. Or just go for a main course. Yesterday I met with a couple of friends at another London favourite Racine and just had the steak tartare and chips (both awesome). Not having a starter, dessert or coffee probably cut our bill in half.

If you're prepared to eat vegetarian that's almost always cheaper than eating meat or fish as well.

Is this fair to restaurants while they're struggling? I'd emphatically say yes. I'm sure most restaurants would prefer to see customers who spent slightly less than not see them at all.

Has the recession affected how often you eat out and do you have any other good tips for keeping the bill down?

How to cut your restaurant bill

One of the few upsides of the recession is that there seem to be an unprecedented number of good deals in restaurants at the moment - provided, of course, you can afford to eat out.

Arbutus, which is one of London's most appealing restaurants, for example has a fixed price pre-theatre dinner for £17.50 for 3 courses - basically the price of a main course in a mid-price restaurant. And the food is terrific. My daughter and I kicked off with porchetta with pecorino (finely sliced, carpaccio style, served with a few leaves and a delicious dressing). She had Welsh lamb breast, pressed into a neat rectangle and served with mash and summer vegetables - just like a posh Sunday roast and I had smoked eel and tarragon risotto as a main course.

I finished with a couple of generous slices of Tomme de Savoie (to their credit as most restaurants charge an arm and a leg for cheese these days) while she had a truly classy dessert of strawberry sorbet (above right) with sliced strawberries and meringue. I honestly don't know how they do it for the price but I suppose it means they can squeeze in an extra sitting. (The restaurant opens for dinner at 5pm) Their lunchtime deal, which my son Will told me about, is even keener at £15.50

There are other tactics. Having two starters or a starter and a pud instead of a main course is a well-established ruse but I've noticed that restaurants have latched on to that and the price of starters is creeping up. Or just go for a main course. Yesterday I met with a couple of friends at another London favourite Racine and just had the steak tartare and chips (both awesome). Not having a starter, dessert or coffee probably cut our bill in half.

If you're prepared to eat vegetarian that's almost always cheaper than eating meat or fish as well.

Is this fair to restaurants while they're struggling? I'd emphatically say yes. I'm sure most restaurants would prefer to see customers who spent slightly less than not see them at all.

Has the recession affected how often you eat out and do you have any other good tips for keeping the bill down?

America's Most Wanted Recipes - Cookbook Review

With so many people buckling down in a waning economy the meals they looked forward to at their favorite restaurants are nothing but a distant memory of late. Restaurants like Applebee's, Chili's, Outback Steakhouse and Olive Garden were once diners' favorite hot-spots, but missing out on those meals may be a thing of the past as well.

America's Most Wanted Recipes, Delicious Recipes From Your Family's Favorite Restaurants, by Ron Douglas hit book stores this month to a very welcoming audience. With more than 200 copycat recipes from 57 of the most-loved restaurants across the U.S. like KFC, Red Lobster, P.F. Chang's, Cracker Barrel and Bennigan's, the wait for your favorite dishes is over.

Cajun Jambalaya Pasta

We prepared, and devoured, Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie and Chicken Enchilada Soup, The Cheesecake Factory's Cajun Jambalaya Pasta and Applebee's Crispy Orange Skillet. Each one was a delicious and spot-on rendition of the classic and easy to prepare - which made eating at home almost as good as going out to dine at a local hot-spot, and far cheaper.

Just think, no waiting in line or hanging on to a beeper as you search in vain for a spot at the bar while your table is prepared; no wondering exactly what's in your meal - and complete control over aspects like sodium and fat; a much smaller bill - and no tipping!

Get your own copy of America's Most Wanted Recipes at Simon & Schuster and Amazon.com.

My credit crunch lunch

The one upside of the credit crunch is that there are some amazing lunchtime bargains around currently. I've just had a two course lunch for a fiver at a Bristol fish restaurant called Fishers which was predictably packed.

The first course (above) was a simple but clever salad of mixed leaves and fresh anchovies with a pesto dressing. The second a salmon fishcake with a lemon butter sauce (half eaten before I remembered to take a pic, below). Neither portion was huge but then you don't want a vast lunch if you need to work in the afternoon. I'd say the accompanying 175ml glass of Muscadet while perfectly decent was overpriced at £4.90 but there were cheaper wines by the glass. And they have to make their money somehow.

It used to be the case that we all envied the French their fantastically cheap prix fixe menus but I can't think of anywhere in France where you could get a 2 course meal for 5.56 euros (today's exchange rate).

Have you come across any great lunch - or dinner - bargains lately?

My credit crunch lunch

The one upside of the credit crunch is that there are some amazing lunchtime bargains around currently. I've just had a two course lunch for a fiver at a Bristol fish restaurant called Fishers which was predictably packed.

The first course (above) was a simple but clever salad of mixed leaves and fresh anchovies with a pesto dressing. The second a salmon fishcake with a lemon butter sauce (half eaten before I remembered to take a pic, below). Neither portion was huge but then you don't want a vast lunch if you need to work in the afternoon. I'd say the accompanying 175ml glass of Muscadet while perfectly decent was overpriced at £4.90 but there were cheaper wines by the glass. And they have to make their money somehow.

It used to be the case that we all envied the French their fantastically cheap prix fixe menus but I can't think of anywhere in France where you could get a 2 course meal for 5.56 euros (today's exchange rate).

Have you come across any great lunch - or dinner - bargains lately?

An incredibly annoying restaurant practice

One of the most irritating things about eating out - apart from being endlessly pressed to order mineral water - is the habit of leaving a gap on the bill for a tip when you've already been charged for service. (Usually 12 1/2% these days)

In the case of Sofra restaurants they don't even go through the pretence of saying the service is 'optional', they charge it and then charge service on the service charge.

There was a lot of adverse publicity a while ago about this and restaurants stopped doing it for a while but in these credit-crunched times they're obviously up to their old tricks again.

So look out for it, don't pay it and let's name and shame the restaurants who do it!

An incredibly annoying restaurant practice

One of the most irritating things about eating out - apart from being endlessly pressed to order mineral water - is the habit of leaving a gap on the bill for a tip when you've already been charged for service. (Usually 12 1/2% these days)

In the case of Sofra restaurants they don't even go through the pretence of saying the service is 'optional', they charge it and then charge service on the service charge.

There was a lot of adverse publicity a while ago about this and restaurants stopped doing it for a while but in these credit-crunched times they're obviously up to their old tricks again.

So look out for it, don't pay it and let's name and shame the restaurants who do it!

Treat a friend for a fiver

I don’t know if you ever get the Financial Times but for some years now at this time of year they’ve run a great cut price restaurant promotion. It started some years ago as 'Lunch for a fiver' then the price crept up and for a few years, at the height of the boom, the idea seemed to be running out of steam. Now it’s been revived with a clever twist that benefits all parties - the customer, the restaurant and the FT.

This is the deal. You take a friend to lunch (and in some cases dinner) at one of the restaurants that is taking part in the promotion. They take 50% off your total food bill then you pay £5 for the friend (or obviously split the bill between you). You also have to present 3 tokens from the FT - there are two in the Weekend Edition which costs £2.30 and one in the daily edition which costs rather less which makes your second meal around £8 plus drinks.

Obviously the better the meal the more the deal is worth and the advantage of the FT promotion, unlike those run by other newspapers, is that some seriously good restaurants take part thanks to the clout wielded by the founder of the scheme, the FT’s restaurant critic, Nicholas Lander. Ones I would single out include Bibendum, Chez Bruce, L’Anima, Le Café Anglais, Moro, Quo Vadis and Ransome’s Dock in London, Bordeaux Quay in Bristol, The Vineyard at Stockcross, Anthony’s in Leeds and the wonderful Walnut Tree just outside Abergavenny. You can find the full list here. The promotion starts next Monday and runs till February 13th so if you want to take advantage I’d pick up a copy of the paper this weekend for your first two tokens.

Treat a friend for a fiver

I don’t know if you ever get the Financial Times but for some years now at this time of year they’ve run a great cut price restaurant promotion. It started some years ago as 'Lunch for a fiver' then the price crept up and for a few years, at the height of the boom, the idea seemed to be running out of steam. Now it’s been revived with a clever twist that benefits all parties - the customer, the restaurant and the FT.

This is the deal. You take a friend to lunch (and in some cases dinner) at one of the restaurants that is taking part in the promotion. They take 50% off your total food bill then you pay £5 for the friend (or obviously split the bill between you). You also have to present 3 tokens from the FT - there are two in the Weekend Edition which costs £2.30 and one in the daily edition which costs rather less which makes your second meal around £8 plus drinks.

Obviously the better the meal the more the deal is worth and the advantage of the FT promotion, unlike those run by other newspapers, is that some seriously good restaurants take part thanks to the clout wielded by the founder of the scheme, the FT’s restaurant critic, Nicholas Lander. Ones I would single out include Bibendum, Chez Bruce, L’Anima, Le Café Anglais, Moro, Quo Vadis and Ransome’s Dock in London, Bordeaux Quay in Bristol, The Vineyard at Stockcross, Anthony’s in Leeds and the wonderful Walnut Tree just outside Abergavenny. You can find the full list here. The promotion starts next Monday and runs till February 13th so if you want to take advantage I’d pick up a copy of the paper this weekend for your first two tokens.

2 for 1 pizza deals

I was going to title this post Pizza the action, but thought it was just too painfully bad a pun. But it slipped out anyhow . . .

Anyway, for those of you who don't subscribe to Martin Lewis's excellent moneysavingexpert.com newsletter (and if you don't, you should) Pizza Express and Zizzi are both offering 2 for 1 deals on main courses this month. In Pizza Express's case you get the most expensive pizza free which is really good.

I go back a long way with Pizza Express. I loved it when it first opened then went off it in a big way as the pizzas seemed to shrink and shrink but it's back on form currently. Zizzi I'm not mad about but a deal's a deal.

2 for 1 pizza deals

I was going to title this post Pizza the action, but thought it was just too painfully bad a pun. But it slipped out anyhow . . .

Anyway, for those of you who don't subscribe to Martin Lewis's excellent moneysavingexpert.com newsletter (and if you don't, you should) Pizza Express and Zizzi are both offering 2 for 1 deals on main courses this month. In Pizza Express's case you get the most expensive pizza free which is really good.

I go back a long way with Pizza Express. I loved it when it first opened then went off it in a big way as the pizzas seemed to shrink and shrink but it's back on form currently. Zizzi I'm not mad about but a deal's a deal.

Veggie Wednesday: Lehigh Valley and Beyond Vegan and Vegetarian Friendly Restaurant Listing

Len Frenkel, fearless leader of the Lehigh Valley Vegetarians, sent out a list of veggie-friendly restaurants not too long ago, and I expanded a bit on what he sent. I've added addresses, phone numbers, and web pages where available so these fabulous places are easier to find. Give one or two a try and please let me know if there are corrections to anything so I can keep this list up-to-date for everyone!

If you are not aware of the LVV, sign up for their newsletter at:

frenkel (at) rcn (dot) com (add the appropriate @ and .)

and tell Len I sent you. Also, when I asked what was new with the LVV, Len had this to say: "...we just participated in our first Bethlehem Halloween Parade on Sunday, the 28th with great success. Signs, banner, costumes and LVV T-shirts all contributed to people becoming aware of our existence..." Awesome, isn't it?!

***I'm adding another resource here, theLVMenus--a site dedicated to Lehigh Valley restaurants with links by location or cuisine. Check out the site and click on Cuisines to find vegetarian and vegan locations.

Veggie-Friendly Restaurants of the Lehigh Valley, and beyond

Amazon Café
1894 Catasauqua Rd
Allentown, PA 18109
(610) 264-0996


Apollo Grille
85 West Broad Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018
610-865-9600


Arnold’s Way
319 West Main St
Lansdale, PA 19446
(215)361-0116


Balasia A Green World Cafe
500 Chestnut Street
Emmaus, PA 18049
(484) 330-6405


Bay Leaf Restaurant
935 W Hamilton St
Allentown PA 18101
(610) 433-4211


Bethlehem Brew Works
569 Main St
Bethlehem, PA 18018
(610) 882-1300


Betty’s
129 West Main Street
Kutztown, PA 19530
(610) 621-2642


Blue Sky Café
22 W. Fourth St.,
South Bethlehem, PA
610-867-9390


Bridgeworks Irish Pub & Grille
4 New St
Bethlehem, PA 18017
(610) 868-1313


Café Origins
107 Broadway
Jim Thorpe, PA 18229
(570) 325-8776


Cali Burrito
3104 Hamilton Blvd
Allentown, PA
(610) 351-1791


Candle Café
1307 Third Avenue at 75th Street,
New York, New York 10021
(212) 472-0970

Candle 79
154 East 79th Street near Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10021
(212) 537-7179


Carried-Away Café
3360 Airport Road
Allentown, PA 18109-9302
(610) 443-0850


China King Restaurant
3033 W Emmaus Ave
Allentown, PA
(610) 709-0960


Damascus
449 North 2nd Street
Allentown, PA 18102-3101
(610) 432-2036


Eastern Chinese Restaurant
3926 Linden St
Bethlehem, PA 18020
(610) 868-0299


Essene Market & Cafe
719 South Fourth Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 922-1146
fax: 215.922.5150


Everybody’s Café
905 Main St
Stroudsburg, PA 18360
(570) 424-0896


Expressly Vegetarian Café
7th Day Adventist , lunch only
8700 Germantown Ave.
(off of Rex Avenue)
Chestnut Hill, PA 19118
215-247-6700


Fiesta Ole
1116 Chestnut St.
Emmaus, PA 18049
(610) 966-5522


Govinda’s Café
1408 South Street
Philadelphia, Pa 19146
(218) 985-9303


Grille 3501
3501 Broadway
Allentown, Pa 18104
(610) 706-0100


House of Chen
732 W Hamilton St
Allentown, PA
(610) 439-1330


Hunan Springs
4939 Hamilton Blvd
Wescosville, PA 18106
(610) 366-8338


Kingdom of Vegetarians
129 N. 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA USA
(215) 413-2290


Kow Thai Takeout
1201 W Linden St
Allentown, PA 18102
(610) 770-9100


LoBaidos
442 N 8th St
Allentown, PA 18102
(610) 820-7570


Mangia Italian Restaurant
2407 Mickley Avenue
Whitehall, Pennsylvania, 18052
(610) 821-8220
Fax: (610) 821-4570


Mangos
3750 Hamilton Blvd.
Allentown, PA 18103
610.432.2025
610.432.4420


Mary Margaret’s Kitchen & Tea Room
500 Chestnut St
Emmaus, PA
(610) 965-9988


Nan King
704 W Emmaus Ave
Allentown, PA 18103
(610) 797-7075


Nawab
13 E 4th St
South Bethlehem, PA
(610) 691-0388


New China Carry Out
501 2nd St
Catasauqua, PA 18032
(610) 266-8000


Nutricurean
1101 Woodland Rd.
Wyomissing, PA 19610
(610) 898-0745


Olive Branch Cafe & Restaurant
355 Broadway
South Bethlehem, PA
(610) 814-0355


Oriental Gourmet
Black River Rd & Route 378
Bethlehem, PA
(610) 868-3333


Palace of India
302 Main St
Emmaus, PA, 18049
(610) 965-0466


Panera Bread
3301 Bath Pike
Bethlehem, PA 18017
(610) 866-9802
(610) 866-9804 fax


Paolo’s
2418 Cherryville Rd
Northampton, PA, 18067
(610)261-1980

Petra Mediterranean
81 West Broad Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018
(610) 866-3901


Phenom
161 Northampton St
Easton, PA
(610)258-9777


Pho Vung Tau
150 Union Blvd
Allentown, PA
610 433-3405


Pistachio Bar & Grille
341 S Cedar Crest Blvd
Allentown, PA 18103
(610) 435-7007


Singapore Kosher Vegetarian Restaurant
1006 Race St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 922-3288
Fax: (215) 922-3288


SOGO Fusion Lounge
237 Northampton Street
Easton, PA
(610)250-0198


SuTao Café
Great Valley Shopping Center
81 Lancaster Avenue
Malvern, PA 19355
(610) 651-8886


Syb's West End Deli
2151 W Liberty St
Allentown, PA 18104
(610)434-3882


The Café
221 W. Broad St.
Bethlehem, PA 18018
610.866.1686

Tortilla Flat
500 Main Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018
610-868-8903


Touch of Thai
123 N 2nd St
Easton, PA 18042
Phone: (610) 250-0716


Vegan Treats
1444 Linden Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018
(610)861-7660


Water to Go: Diet and Nutrition Center
1315 Tatamy Road
Easton, PA 18045
(610) 438-2865


Wert’s Café
515 N 18TH St
Allentown, PA 18104-5018
(610) 439-0951


Wildflower Café & Gallery
316 S. New Street
Bethlehem, PA
(610) 758-8303


Zabower’s
620 Main St. Hellertown,
610-838-2220


Zen Palate

Union Square Location
34 East Union Square
New York, NY 10003
Delivery (212) 614-9291
Reservations (212) 614-9345
Fax (212) 614-9401

Theatre Location
663 Ninth Ave. (at 46th St)
New York, NY 10036
Phone (212) 582-1669
Fax (212) 582-1708

Lincoln Centre Location
2170 Broadway (at 76th St)
New York, NY 10024
Phone (212) 501-7768
Fax (212) 501-7867