10 Under $10 Lunch at McCormick & Schmicks and Gift-Card Giveaway!

some of the 10 under $10 lunch specials, photo courtesy of McCormick & Schmicks

McCormick and Schmicks is well known with my circle of frugal friends because of their famous Happy Hour specials - between the 2.95 cheeseburger with fries and their trio of oyster shooters for around $5, it's definitely a wallet-friendly way to unwind after punching in the ole 9-to-5. And a great promo to get people in the door to check out the space.

Now M&S is introducing another option that's easy on the budget: the 10 under $10 lunch specials, where ten items are available for 7.95-9.95 each. As is the M&S's style, the menus will rotate seasonally and the selections vary between locations, but some locally available items include Oregon Bay shrimp mac 'n cheese, a gussied-up tuna melt with fresh ahi and albacore tuna and salmon skewers with jasmine rice and vegetables (and for the fish-wary, there's a variety of land meat and vegetarian items such as caprese sandwich w fresh mozz on foccacia bread and tri-tip and ground chuck beef chili.)

And as part of their 10 under $10 promotion, their PR folks teamed up with me to hold a giveaway of a $10 McCormick & Schmicks gift card, so you can have an opportunity to check out their lunch deals. To enter, simply comment and I'll draw the winner at random by midnight Friday. Good luck!

P.S. goes without saying, if your e-mail contact info isn't readily available (on your own blog or profile) do leave your addy in the comment too. You can even mangle it up - use (at) instead of @, for example - if you're scared of bots and more spam (Mmmm... spam...)

Get $5 for Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for Nat'l Coffee Day

Hey everyone! National Coffee Day is almost over but I've been approached by the PR folks at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to give out $5 gift cards to the first five folks who email me for a free cup of joe (or two). Sure, it's a chain, but it's also a drink or two on the house (and I personally am ga-ga over their seasonal Winter Dream Latte). So... start the emailing NOW! Sorry for the near end of day post -- but better late than never ;)

UPDATE: Got my five folks. Thanks for playing and hopefully there'll be more giveaways down the turnpike.

Friday Quickies #3: Getting Chain-y . . .

. . . no, I will not shotgun-blast someone in the face. But you might consider doing that to me since this week my musings will be on chains food/beverage stores.

BevMo! 5-cent sale almost over: If you like wines, go before the sale ends this Monday -- buy one bottle and get another for a nickel. A great opportunity to be adventurous with unfamiliar regions and varietals, stock up on well-acquainted favorites or have a few in reserve as a backup gift or for dinner parties. My personal favorites of the nearly BOGO set? The peachy, bright and vibrant 2005 Screaming Jack Viognier and the smooth, chocolate-cherry-ish 2005 Vichon Pinot Noir.

Extra Tip to Save a Little More: Place the order online for pickup at your local store (it can be as little as an hour away), Web search BevMo coupon codes (oh hell, just click the link) and save yourself that 5-10%. Can be quite a bit if you're getting the pricey stuff or buying a few cases' worth.

Upcoming Whole Foods Flagship Store in Pasadena: As disappointed as I am about Wild Oats impending demise and the consolidation of the two - the press release about the features of the 75,000+ sq. ft., two-story whole foods already got me salivating, and the store is still weeks away from officially opening. Offerings include a tapas/wine lounge, sandwich/Italian/seafood bars, customizable cook-to-order fish, freshly made tortillas and a "chocolate island". Of course, now I can wave bye bye to a larger portion of my salary . . . the place is not (dis-)affectionately dubbed "Whole Paycheck" without reason.