Cheap Eats: Part 2

This is the second post of the cheap east series covering the topic of how to find cheap places to eat through tips from this blog post or printable coupons. This post will focus on the following options that includes;

  • Coupons
  • Daily Deals
  • Places you never thought of
Coupons

I know most people associate coupons with crazy ladies that are addicted to cutting coupons and show up on reality tv shows. But it’s important to note that it’s not a bad thing to whip out a coupon here and there especially when its going to save you some money. A great website to check out is BeFrugal.com where you can sign up and then print off coupons for restaurants. Another great tip is to sign up for the newsletters of your favourite chain restaurants where they often send you emails with deals and promotions that you can use at their restaurants.

Daily Deals
Websites like Groupon.com are great websites where you can get coupons and savings for chain restaurants as well as local restaurants. Check out these sites often and you can even sign up for their newsletters to make sure you get the most up to date deals.

Places you never thought of

This section was one of the main reasons why I wanted write a post covering this topic. Going to the University of Guelph myself I realized that there was a great restaurant on campus as part of our Hotel and Tourism program. This restaurant is run by students and is part of their curriculum which leads to fairly good meals and really inexpensive prices.

A list of a few great university/college campus restaurants

  • Niagara College-Benchmark
  • University of Guelph-P.J’s
  • Humber College- The Humber Room
  • Algonquin College-Restaurant International
  • Fanshawe College- Saffron’s Restaurant

How do you save while eating out?

Cheap Eats: Part 1

After living in the city of Guelph, Ontario for the last 4 years and being here for 12 months straight I realized that I had really not taken advantage of the wide variety of restaurants available within the city. I had previously stuck to chain restaurants or cooked at home, with the cooking at home always being a great cheap alternative. But I realized I wanted something more, and there definitely is a great way to do it without spending a ton of money (and local restaurants are most often cheaper or have better food at a comparable price to chains). I’m sure many people can relate, but just for another city. I feel almost the same way when it comes to places I’ve tried out in Toronto (where I’m originally from).

So the only real option was to start testing out local non-chain restaurants within the city and there were a few ways that I did it, and the first topic, mobile apps will be covered all about how I found some cheap eats.

There are quite a few mobile apps that are great sources of information in order to find restaurants you may never have heard of and/or find out reviews for the restaurants in order to make a better restaurant choice.

  • Urban Spoon- Has a list of top picks, restaurants that are highly rated in your city (based on your location) as well as a break down of restaurants by price. With a section called “Cheap Eats”
  • Street Food App- If you have an interest in something different than a restaurant, check out the Street Food App, which provides food truck locations for Boston, Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver. Choose your app based on the city you live.
  • Foursquare- It may not be the first thing you think of when someone suggests food. But foursquare is an excellent source for recommendations as well as check in deals when going to some restaurants. Some restaurants even offer special bonuses for location mayors.
  • Yelp-Check out this app for restaurant reviews as well, similar to Urban Spoon.
  • Groupon- and other daily deal sites. You can download the app, or check out their websites but you can often find great deals for local restaurants by purchasing daily deals.
By checking out these free apps you are able to find deals as well as discover new restaurants and read reviews to get the best bang for your buck.
What other apps do you use to find great restaurant deals?