Dine Out For Haiti

Many of the restaurants participating in Restaurant Week are also participating in Dine Out For Haiti. This is a great way to support and help those in Haiti via Action Against Hunger, Doctors Without Borders and Partners in Health. I'm sure many of you have done your part to help out the fundraisers for Haiti. This is another small step we can all take, and this doesn't cost you a dime if you are already dining out.

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Lists of participating restaurants for Dine Out For Haiti

• Eater NY has compiled a list of restaurants participating. This list has a map showing locations of the restaurants.
• Open Table also has a great list of participating restaurants. You'll find the restaurant name, neighborhood, type of cuisine and price point for each of the participating restaurants.
• TimeOut New York also has compiled a list of participating restaurants. This list includes names of restaurants, dates of participation, how much they are donating and other types of donations that are accepted.

There are many other ways to contribute to this disaster relief.  Many do not cost you much, such as Swagbucks' Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund Donation.  You can donate your Swagbucks to help this cause.  If you're not a member of Swagbucks, you can sign up here - Free (you earn points for cash and prizes just by searching).  You should find out how much of your donation actually goes to helping those in Haiti.  Direct donations to the American Red Cross or Doctors without Borders are two of the best ways to help this disaster relief.

Haiti has always been a country in need, and it is more so now than ever.  To read more about Haiti, you can check out some of these books.

Haiti Related Books:

• Travesty in Haiti: A true account of Christian missions, orphanages, fraud, food aid and drug trafficking
• An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, from Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President
• On That Day, Everybody Ate: One Woman's Story of Hope and Possibility in Haiti
• Paradise Lost: Haiti's Tumultuous Journey from Pearl of the Caribbean to Third World Hotspot
• Haiti in Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture (In Focus Guides)
• Haiti in the Balance: Why Foreign Aid Has Failed and What We Can Do About It
• Seven Days in Haiti

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2010 Winter Restaurant Week Kicks Off

Restaurant Week kicks off on Monday January 25, 2010 in NYC. Due to it's popularity and the Great Recession, it is once again 2 weeks, from January 25th to February 7th. There are some new additions this year.

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This year, there are 260 restaurants participating. Some new additions include dell'anima, SD26 and Breslin Bar & Dining Room (in the Ace hotel). In addition, there is a new Restaurant Week Truck making rounds across the city serving soups from 24 of the participating restaurants. The truck will run week days only from 11 am to 2 pm January 25th - February 5. To find out where the truck is you can check nycgo.com or via twitter

Prices for three-course lunches are $24.07 and dinners are $35. So those of us who have been saving up and eating out less, pick a good restaurant and try it while the prices are low!

Make reservations early, as the best restaurants fill up fast! Bon Appétit!

Recommended Books:

• 2010 New York City Restaurants (ZAGAT Restaurant Guides)
• Not for Tourists 2010 Guide to New York City (Not for Tourists Guidebook)
• Frommer's NYC Free & Dirt Cheap (Frommer's Free & Dirt Cheap)

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Frugal Dinner Out For Two

I just read about a restaurant deal at Smith located in the East Village. A Dine out meal for two for $35 is pretty hard to find in NYC. I'm sure some will disagree, and I hope to see many other offers so many can benefit from this.

The meal for two is on Mondays and Tuesdays. Smith's new chef, Doug Psaltis is offering a Spring Chicken for Two, a three-course menu for two featuring an appetizer salad with shaved vegetables and herbs, sides of polenta and mushrooms and chocolate mousse with pistachios for dessert.

If this offer has your mouth watering, then head on over to Smiths at 79 MacDougal St. Their phone number is 212-260-0100 if you would like to make a reservation.

Have you been to Smith's? Would love to hear your opinion of the food and service there.

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way, feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Frugal NYC - Top 10 Popular Posts November 2008

Frugal NYC has over one hundred posts now and it may be a little hard to figure out what may interest you. I've compiled the Top 10 Popular Posts as of this writing for you to check out and hopefully get you coming back for more. I've been blogging on a steady schedule since September 2008. Please let me know if you have enjoyed the content. Your feedback is very important to me, and I would love to hear from all my readers. You can leave me a comment on a post that interests you, which gets sent to me via email, or email me directly at frugalnyc@gmail.com. If you miss my regular posts, scoot over to my Frugal NYC Twitter account for quick tips!

1. Inbox Zero - In Three Steps!
2. Affordable Dining In NYC
3. GTD - Getting Things Done
4. Governor's Island
5. 10 Free Places to visit in NYC
6. Embedding Google Maps in Blogger
7. No Time To Think
8. 10 Free Blackberry Games
9. Windows Notepad Productivity
10. Central Park Series

What post do you like best? Am I addressing the topics you enjoy reading about? If you would like to contribute to Frugal NYC in any way, articles, ideas, posts, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else, feel free to contact me via email at frugalnyc@gmail.com.

Affordable Dining in NYC

When it comes to dining in New York City, you litterally have thousands of choices. This allows for all kinds of tastes, budgets and atmospheres.

There was a period in my life when I often organized dinner outings for a group of close friends. We all got together on an evening and had a good meal, with good company. Of course we had to find some affordable places to eat, since most of us were either still in college or recently graduated. Below is a list of places I've patronized in the past and several that I still do head to. I will continue to update this post when I find good or cheap places to eat.

Delta Grill - has some great louisiana cuisine. If you've never had southern fare, you might want to give this place a try. Its located at 700 9th Ave, New York, NY 10036 - Corner of 9th Avenue and 48th Street. I love the chicken fried steak for lunch, for about $11, here. Their Delta Crab Cake $14.00 is very good. The best deals are had for lunch, such as Deep-Fried Catfish $13.00.

West Side Sushi, located at 717 9th Ave, New York 10019 Between 48th & 49th St, is a great place to have sushi. Prices are very good considering its location I usually order 2 rolls such as the Justin Roll ($5.75) and a Rich Roll ($6.75). Have this with soup and tea (included) and you have a great filling meal for less than $15 / person including tip!

Mars 2112 is a theme restaurant, not exactly the greatest food, but a must see for children of all ages interested in Mars or Aliens. You can also enjoy a 3D ride for an additional fee, which takes you from NYC to Mars and back, its worth a ride if you've never been on these before. The food is does not stand out, but I would not call it bad. I've had the Promethan Pork Chops, two iron grilled pork chops served with baby carrots, mashed potatoes and apple-cinnamon sauce (19.95), and enjoyed the meal.

America, located at 9 E. 18th St., New York, NY 10003 near Broadway, used to be one of my favorites. Too bad it is closed now. The name of the restaurant gives the theme away. The food and atmosphere deal with, surprise surprise, America!

Jekyll and Hyde Club - is a great theme restaurant. It will most likely be very packed on Halloween. Its been some time since I've last visited, but I've mostly had appetizers and drinks there with friends. I don't know of the current prices, so you may want to check out Menu Pages .

Carnation Bakery - Located at 4605 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY‎ 11355 - (718) 321-8168‎. I visit this bakery weekly and some recent items I've had are chicken sandwiches ($1.5 ), creme bun ($0.70), roast Pork bun ($0.75), and Taro Bun ($0.70). You can get a nice breakfast for 4 for around $5 dollars. I really do like this and it is cheaper than many bakeries in the Main Street Flushing area. It is usually very packed during Saturday morning and early afternoons, which is when I usually visit.

AA Plaza - I call it the hole in the wall, located at 40-66 Main St. Flushing, NY 11355. It has great food for really cheap! Some things I've recently had there are: 4 steamed buns ($1.25), scallion pancake ($1), stir fried noodles ($1.25), stir fried angelhair noodles ($1.25). If you are on a very low budget and need to get a bite, I would suggest this hole in the wall ;) You can't beat the price and it will get you full fast!

Corner 28, located at 40-28 Main Street Flushing, NY 11355, on the corner of Main Street and 40th RD. On the first level, they have a takeout window with Peking Duck for 75cents a piece and Rice Noodle Rolls at less than $2. It is cheap and delicious. I've recently had their 3 dish and soup takeout for $4.50 with a bottle of poland spring water. Can't beat that price and the food isn't bad. Since I visit this place pretty often lately, I've included a map below.


View Larger Map

Happy Dining! Please share your experience in any of the above restaurants you may have visited. What is your favorite dining experience in NYC?