Friday, August 22, 2008

Recession Consumption: Puttanesca

I love brunch. I believe brunch should include a free alcoholic beverage. But, while it's never hard to find brunch in the city it's getting more and more difficult to find many restaurants that still offer the free mimosa / bloody mary / bellini / screwdriver.
What The Husband and I discovered completely on accident today was Puttanesca's brunch deal: for $8.00 they offer unlimited bloody marys, mimosas, and strawberry or peach bellinis. And, with their already really low prices (eggs benedict for $7.50 which can with a salad and potatoes) this is a pretty good deal. That is, if you have a Sunday you can spend drunk for the afternoon. The Husband and I did not partake in the unlimited alcohol as we could not face the rest of the beautiful day wasted, but the next time we can we're totally going back.
Please note: dinner here is $$$. Brunch is much less.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Recession Consumption: Urbanspoon

For all you iPhone owners out there if you haven't added the application Urbanspoon stop reading and do so now. First of all, it's free. Second of all, it totally works. Say you need a cheap place to eat, but you're in an unfamiliar neighborhood. With Urbanspoon all you gotta do is pick your neighborhood, type of food you want to eat, and how much you want to spend. Hit "shake" and, like a slot machine, Urbanspoon will find your request within seconds. And, you don't even have to know what you want to eat or how much you want to spend. The application has a feature where you can lock in the the neighborhood, but keep the type of food and $ open fields open. Or, you can lock the neighborhood and type of food, but keep the $ field free. Or...well, you get the idea. The Husband and I used Urbanspoon one night before meeting friends in the East Village. We needed dinner before a night of drinking, so we plugged in "East Village" and "$"; Urbanspoon hooked us up with Velseka where we had two sandwiches, two beverages, chips and cole slaw for $18.00.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Recessionista: Nothing to Wear? Call A Friend!

It happens all the time. You've got a swanky NYC party to attend and it's going to require wardrobe no less than something out of Sex & The City. Three hours before the shindig you're in your closet and nothing is right. You can't wear that BCBG dress because 3 friends who will be at the party saw you in it two months ago. That sexy yellow thingy you bought on impulse still doesn't have matching shoes or coordinating accessories. Before you panic and run for the nearest "Clothes for Ho's" pick up the phone and call someone who knows your closet. Sometimes a friend can offer a perspective on your wardrobe that you can't see because, hey, you bought those H&M pants to go with the Daffy's blouse and they can't possibly go with anything else...can they? I speak from experience. Recently, I had a loft party in Soho that I wasn't going to miss, but after destroying my closet I still had nothing to wear. I called my friend Amanda to find out what she was wearing. Sensing my problem Amanda suggested I wear "those cute denim shorts" she's seen me in, like, once. I never imagined those shorts could be anything other than super casual, but Amanda said I should pair them with a fancy top and some heels. Sure enough, I found something totally perfect in my closet to go with the Forever 21 shorts. A pair of gold heels and gold clutch, a long green and gold necklace, and gold earrings completed the outfit...and I didn't have to spend a dime. To top it off, I looked very "Soho Loft Party". So remember, you've got three life lines: always phone a friend first!