Eating on the cheap, again.

Jake and I have a new goal: when we go out to eat other than our one sanctioned "big meal" every two weeks (our friends like to go to Bosco's and we rack up a big bill there sometimes - I love the garlic Parmesan fries and pizzas), we want to spend 18$ or less pre tip/tax. I know that doesn't seem like a big goal but when two people are eating out on one person's salary and you're going out to eat several times a week, it adds up. We doubled our eat out budget this month. We're caught between wanting to be social and enjoy time with friends and being fiscally conscious.

We've had some big successes this week and last, though.

1) During house hunting, we visited the neighborhood Italian grill, Dino's. I've gone there since I was little and love it. I got a kid's spaghetti with meat sauce and a small Italian salad. Jake got spaghetti with meat balls. We got water and it came with garlic bread - we had a feast for very little money. I could barely eat the whole kid's portion and Jake took his leftovers for lunch.

2) At Bosco's the other night, Jake and I got an order of garlic-parm fries and a buffalo chicken pizza and split both between us. It was the perfect amount of food and probably still not great on calories but the price was nice - 15$.

3) I was sick this week and craving chicken noodle soup. Monday we went to Carraba's and each got a bowl of chicken noodle soup (one of their big pasta sized bowls - HUGE). I also got a side of my favorite pasta and Jake got the calamari appetizer. With waters and bread, we were more than full. I ate my leftovers Wednesday night. We ended up right at 18$ pre-tax/tip. We could have probably spent less by getting two soups and one regular order of the pasta to split and been fine.

We're also all about hitting up some specials. Our friends Heather and Ed told us about an Early Bird Special at Paulette's (my favorite fancy restaurant) from 4-6 every night. You bet Jake and I will be showing up to that. I love eating at 5 (I'm old at heart) and especially love a good bargain.