Get a Free Small Plate at California Pizza Kitchen!

California Pizza Kitchen is a great family restaurants that specializes in innovative, oven-baked pizzas. Prices are good and portions are hearty. They have locations throughout the United States and luckily one on Park Ave South. As a means to promote their new small plate menu (found here) and to say thank you to all their loyal customers, the restaurant is offering a free small plate to customers until January 31st. Choose from one of six scrumptious options and get it totally free. Be warned that these are, in fact "small plates" so don't expect a full dinner. They are snack size dishes that should be ordered as a quick nosh or in combination with a drink or two at the bar. I stopped by last night and ordered the Asparagus and Arugula Salad. Very tasty and completely complimentary! Print this coupon to get your free small plate too!

Asparagus and Arugula Salad

California Pizza Kitchen

440 Park Avenue South

(212) 685-6700

Free Cupcakes at Georgetown Cupcake Every Day!

Georgetown Cupcakes of TLC's DC Cupcake fame has been featured everywhere from the Today Show to the New York Times to People Magazine. With decadent flavors like Toffee Crunch, Bubble Gum Pink Vanilla, and Honey Banana, it's no wonder it's garnered such widespread popularity. Founded by sisters Katherine Kallinis Berman and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne in 2008, the success of their first bakery in Washington DC, led them to open several other locations, including one in Soho. These cupcakes are not cheap, going for $2.75 a pop, and worth every penny. For a cupcake lover like myself, spending almost three dollars on a cupcake every once in a while is a well-spent indulgence but what's even better is getting these delicious treats for free. How, you might ask, does one go about doing that? Well, each morning at 9:00 AM Katherine and Sophie (or rather their social media manager) updates the Georgetown Cupcake Twitter with a special free (not-on-menu) flavor. All you have to do is be one of the first 100 customers at each location to order it by name and it's yours for free! I tried it out on Wednesday and got a free Vanilla Hazelnut Cupcake. Noms-pictured here! According to the cashier, the secret cupcakes are usually all snatched up by noon so be sure to head to the shop early if you expect to get one. Check out their other flavors and more about Georgetown Cupcake on their website!

Get a Free Beauty Bag from Aerie

Update: The Aerie Facebook page failed to mention that the "free" beauty bag will only be given out with a purchase of $35 dollars or more. Wish I knew that before I trekked out to Soho in the slush. Oh well! Aerie is having a great sale on bras right now though so if you're on the prowl for a new one, it may be worth a trip!

Tomorrow, January 16th, American Eagle will be giving out a limited supply of beauty bags from their in-house lingerie brand Aerie. What's in these beauty bags is a mystery and Aerie is being pretty secretive about what they will include. But my interest is peaked so I will definitely be stopping by one of the two participating stores in New York (either Soho or Times Square locations) to snatch one up.


Click here for exact locations from the Aerie Facebook page!

Free "Skinny Slice" at Sbarro

For all you health freaks and pizza lovers (can you be both?) tomorrow's your lucky day. Sbarro is handing out free slices of their new "Skinny Slice." Advertised as being only 271 calories, each slice is topped with portobella mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted red and green peppers, and soft mozzarella cheese. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. All you have to do is like Sbarro on Facebook and print the coupon. Not all Sbarro locations are participating in the giveaway but there are still several in NYC who will be handing them out. Check out the list below to see where you can get your free slice.

In Manhattan...

• 34th Street
• 5th Avenue And 46th St
• 33rd And 7^th
• 701 7th Avenue
• 49th And Broadway

And for you outer-borough folks...

• Kings Plaza Mall
• Staten Island Mall

I'll be dreaming of the cheesy goodness tonight! 

Queens Goodwill Outlet Brings the Bargains!

I used to consider myself a thrift store aficionado. I would frequent Housing Works, Angel Street, Buffalo Exchange, and countless hole-in-the-wall consignment shops hunting for bargains. Little did I know, I had been missing out on one of the city's greatest second hand shops: the Queens Van Dam Goodwill Outlet.  A friend of mine told me about it a few months ago and I finally took my first trip out there this Friday.

Just a few blocks from the 33rd St/Rawson Street 7 train stop in Queens, the Van Dam Outlet is one of the city's best kept secrets. Just like any other retailer, Goodwill receives new (well, actually used) merchandise via donations on a continual basis. Merchandise that isn't selling in a Goodwill store is taking up valuable floorspace that could be occupied by better selling products. This slow-moving merchandise needs a place to go. And that place is their outlet store.

It's a no frills venue. Unsorted clothing is tossed into large blue bins and customers take their chances rifling through the hodgepodge of men's, women's, and children's duds. Clothing sells for 1.69 per pound. Several scales are placed throughout the warehouse-style store so that customers can weigh their finds. There's also several bins filled with shoes, bags, and belts. These items sell for 1.79 per pound.

I know what you're thinking: a store full of Goodwill's rejects probably has very little to offer. But on the contrary. A little digging uncovered an All-Saints vest, Burberry slacks, and Tory Burch blouse among the bins. Unfortunately, none of those fit me, but keep reading to see the amazing stuff $10 bought me at the outlet.

An Economist's Tips on Finding Good, Cheap Restaurants

Tyler Cowen is the not the first person I would think to consult about finding a great restaurant. He's  a professor of economics at George Mason University and author of New York Times best-selling e-book The Great Stagnation as well as writer of critically-acclaimed economics blog marginalrevolution.com. But his genuine love for food combined with his background in economics have made him an unlikely expert on the subject. He recently authored An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules for Everyday Foodies which covers everything from how food in America became so bland and mass-produced (he blames prohibition, strict immigration laws, and kids!) to why Mexican food tastes different in Mexico and the US. His insights into how supply and demand, cross-subsidies, and technological advances influence food is fascinating. I picked up the book at my local New York Public Library to educate myself on the economics that drive food.
My favorite chapter by far was "The Rules for Finding a Good Place to Eat" which offers practical tips for finding good, cheap restaurants. Here are some highlights:

1. Eat at a restaurant on a side street: Restaurant owners, like the rest of us, have to pay rent. Rent along the long avenues, where there is heavy foot traffic compared to side streets is exorbitantly more expensive than on side streets. And that cost is factored into the price of each meal. A restaurant located on 5th Avenue and one just around the corner on say, 50th Street may have the same quality food but the one on 5th Avenue will have to priced their dish higher to accommodate the higher rent. Plus, chances are that if a restaurant is surviving on a side street without the business of the multitude of tourists who eat at places on main streets, it is probably pretty good!

Free Gloves at American Apparel

American Apparel is giving away more free stuff! All you have to do is text "Apparel" to 23000. Then you'll recieve a confirmation text that entitles you to one free pair of fingerless gloves. The gloves are super warm (you can choose between an acrylic or wool blend) and are perfect for texting. Plus they come in a whole slew of fun colors! They sell for $12 dollars so be sure to stop in before December 10th when the promotion ends! Happy shopping!