Recession Consumption: Happy Hour - FISH

Being a Florida girl I've never met an oyster I didn't like, so when friends called and asked if I wanted to try the oyster special at FISH (280 Bleeker Street between 6th and 7th) I couldn't pass it up.

It was a Friday night around 6:00p.m. and we had no trouble getting a table for four. It wasn't terribly crowded or loud, so we could talk without shouting. Best of all, not only do they have the Oyster Appetizer Special -- $8.00 for half a dozen oysters plus a beer (Pabst Blue Ribbon) or a glass of red or white wine -- they also have all beers on tap during happy hour for $4.00. PBR is always $2.00. I started with a $4.00 Blue Moon as I couldn't resist the price -- where else can you get Blue Moon for 4 bucks in a restaurant? -- then moved to the PBR with my delicious oysters. If you're not looking to eat a lot, this is a great deal. Full meals at this place are not recession priced, but for a quick, fun appetizer, check it out.

We then moved on to KETTLE OF FISH (59 Christopher) which I knew nothing about, but you can read a review if you click the highlighted area. Anyway, they also had a good drink special -- $3.50 for any beers on tap -- and they were also not very crowded; we easily scored a four top and didn't have to shout to be heard.

Recession hits LES

Saw this sign just yesterday outside a restaurant on Stanton St in the Lower East Side.

Has the recession become hip? Are we all cool because we're counting our pennies?

Recession About Town: Online Entertainment

Hopefully you've heard about this by now and even more hopefully you've seen it: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, brought to us all by Joss Whedon & Co.

Go to the site before midnight Sunday!
Watch 3 entertaining and charming episodes of serial online TV for FREE!
After midnight on Sunday July 20, it disappears from the internet.

If you're as big a Whedon fan as we are, go to iTunes and buy the "Season" for $4.99. Be careful that you don't buy it by the episode - you'll spend $1.99 per episode. The season is a bargain!

Recession About Town: Recession Rock!

In July the Cowboy and I went on a Rock Cruise in NY Harbor with Los Straitjackets and about 100 other music fans on a boat called the Half-Moon. The concert was part of the Rocks Off Concert Cruise series - Rocks Off is an independent concert promotion gang presenting really cool and diverse performances. The concert was...there's no other word...awesome. Surf-rock played by the coolest band you've never heard of, breezy harbor views, fireworks, The Waterfalls, and plenty of beer (at an additional cost) = one of the best nights out in NYC.

The tickets were $20 each at Ticketweb plus the cost of drinks at the cash bar. The rest of the summer cruise series is also fairly cheap - mostly $20, some shows are slightly more expensive depending on which ship is sailing. If you do most of your drinking before you get on the boat or just plan to buy 1 or 2 drinks, you can spend less than $30 per person for a rocking night. Premium beer was $6/bottle, premium liquor $9 for a shot in a plastic cup. Most of the cruises have hot food available for sale - it's of the buttery pasta, fried chicken and hot dog buffet sort. We ate at home before the show, so we didn't sample the goods. Vegetarians and vegans should probably eat at home first.

It's not free but a rock cruise is cheaper and more satifying than most concerts - for those 3 hours, you will be the coolest people you know and make your friends jealous!

Recession Reading

Running Girl found this great article from the Daily Mail about Frugalistas in the UK.
Read on:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1033903/The-Frugalistas-Meet-women-beat-credit-crunch-style.html

Recession This! News in a Flash

On Recession This! our favorite word is "free". Here's some free stuff you can find in NYC today:

STARBUCKS on 7th and 24th is giving away free bags of coffee. See if the one in your 'hood is doing the same and let us know.

TAHINI on 3rd and 8th is giving away free lemonade when you purchase anything. (I love their falafel pita. It's so fresh and delicious, though the falafel sandwich around the corner at MAMOUN'S is $2.00 cheaper.)

Quick Tips: Travel This!

Cheap Airfare:

Find the best time to buy your ticket on Farecast.
Track trip prices and find out how to get a refund at Yapta.
Look for frequent flyer promotions at MileMaven.
Compare prices for flights, hotels, rental cars at Kayak.com.

Recessionista: Recession Book buying

Reading a book is a great way to cheaply pass the time during an "economic downturn" - plus, you might even learn something.

Start at your local library - for those in the NYC area go to the New York Public Library. Once you have a library card, the NYPL website (and many other libraries) allows you to put up to 15 items on request. You can track the progress of your request online and they will deliver it to the branch of your choice. In addition, the NYPL has a "wish list" feature where you can keep track of items you want to request in the future. You hardly even have to go into the library!
Don't forget that you can also borrow CDs, DVDs, and music scores from the library as well as all sorts of useful books on personal finance & planning, DIY projects, cooking, travel, careers, graphic novels & comic anthologies, etc.

When you want to buy a book, avoid the big-box stores where you'll be lured into over-spending on full-price merchandise.

Instead, shop online:
FIRST, look for your title at The Strand online: hard to find and out-of-print titles at super discounts (half-price!). They will ship to you for an extra charge or if you live in NYC, go to one of their stores and pick up your purchase FOR FREE.

I bought these 2 books online from The Strand:
Full price, I would have paid $36.90! At The Strand, I paid $19.98 for both and I got a nice copy of an out-of-print book.






At the very least look on Amazon where prices are almost always discounted and they will ship for free if you spend a minimum of $50. Amazon also has a nice community of used book sellers who have discounted and out-of-print items. Half.com is another resource (it's much the same sellers as Amazon).

Recessionista: Simply Classy

Check out Simply Vera by Vera Wang from Kohl's.

After seeing many commercials for Vera Wang's line, I decided to check it out for myself by doing a little online browsing from the comfort of my office. (You can only do this if your boss is a big online shopper during work hours, too.) I was specifically looking to class up my wardrobe as I have one of those jobs where I can wear anything to work. In some ways it's great to be able to throw on a pair of ratty jeans and a t-shirt, especially when I'm running late. But, as a 30something chick it's time to start dressing like a woman. And, Simply Vera's line is designed for those of us who want to look sophisticated, but not uptight.

The website makes it easy to buy entire outfits, including shoes and accessories, by putting looks together that mix and match with other looks. I got this cute top, skirt, and belt for $80.67, including tax and shipping. Paired with cute strappy heels from DSW and I've got an entire outfit for under $100!

Sunday Night Cooking Challenge

A delicious summer dish that can replace those $10 midtown salads for a few days of lunches! Also great for picnics – or waiting in line for Shakespeare in the Park tickets.

This makes a TON— you could use half the pasta and make half the sauce if you get sick of leftovers quickly.

Peanut Noodles with Pears
(adapted from Real Simple)

1 box pasta (small shapes work best—you can use spaghetti but it tends to fuse into one giant peanut sauce lump)
1 cup smooth natural peanut butter (chunky will not work as well – I’ve tried it)
1 cup water, at room temperature
¼ cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil*
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 pears (even better if they aren’t ripe)
1 cucumber
5 scallions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)

Chop up the pears & cucumbers & scallions while the pasta cooks. Drain the pasta, rinse with cold water & drain again. Combine PB, water, vinegar, oil & salt in a bowl and stir to make a smooth sauce (this will take a few minutes of stirring but eventually will combine). Toss the sauce with pasta and toppings, add peanuts on top for garnish if you like. Stick in the fridge and eat for days.

* Yes, this recipe does require the purchase of some specialty ingredients which Recession This! is generally opposed to—stay tuned for more recipes featuring sesame oil!