You Can Get Anything You Want At Annabelle's Restaurant

As should be obvious to everyone, we are trying to buy a house, and thus trying to save money. It's one of the reasons we started this blog in the first place (even though I am a bad blogger and have been neglecting our creation of late). As part of this search for our own home, we've been spending a LOT of time looking at properties. Sometimes this happens on a weeknight, and by the time we're done it's almost 9pm and the concept of cooking dinner is a nightmare - even more so than it is for me generally.

This confluence of events, and a handy-dandy Groupon, led us to Annabelle's in Hyde Park last month. This is a relatively new place as they just opened in 2010 and that newness is evident as soon as you walk in. The whole building is clean, modern, updated and open, providing a very welcoming atmosphere for a meal. They have ample seating both in the sizable bar area and in the rest of the restaurant, with TV's interspersed throughout the venue (which was key for us me this particular night, as I was able to catch the end of a Bruins playoff game while we ate).

The food here was very good as well. They advertise themselves as serving "traditional New England fare" but they have something for everyone, along with some interesting twists. Basically, they have a standard American dining menu, with everything from sandwiches to seafood and many cultural foods as well. Hard to not find something to eat when you dine here and more options are a plus in my book (though not necessarily going to get the Restaurant Impossible seal of approval, with their penchant for one page menus).

Sweet & Spicy!

About those "twists" on the menu.  One of the specials was Chicken & Waffles the southern-style staple. Liking both chicken and waffles, and never having had them together before, I obviously took the plunge. I was not disappointed. A delicious, flaky Belgian waffle was topped with crispy, succulent fried chicken with sides of maple syrup and hot sauce. While putting all these things together in one bite may sound odd, the flavors and textures all melded really well together. I'm sold on chicken and waffles and may need to explore other southern creation. My only beef is that one of my pieces of fried chicken was essentially just batter and bones though, which was disappointing.

Kendra got the wild salmon with jasmine rice and baby spinach over greens with a vinaigrette sauce, but in typical fashion subbed in rice pilaf for jasmine rice and added a side of asparagus. I had the leftover rice pilaf and it had excellent flavor, which was a nice surprise. The vegetables and salmon seemed to be good as well, as they didn't last long on the plate. Also of note, they bring delicious fresh baked bread before your meal, which melts in your mouth [not pictured due to the speed with which we devoured it]. It was like the peasant loaf of Joe's American Bar & Grill but we didn't share it amongst friends.

Now, given our Groupon, which was worth $35, we ended up paying about $7 bucks for the whole meal including tip. Not buying beverages goes a long way to keeping costs down. All in in, it was a nice dinner out at a new place that we'll likely go to again sometime. If you ever find yourself in Hyde Park, we'd recommend checking out Annabelle's - IF you can score a coupon. No sense paying full price for anything.

Free Money (Literally!)

April was a busy month for us. With a combination of Groupons and gift certificates we've been hitting up restaurants left and right. You're probably wondering where we got all these gift certificates since it our birthdays and anniversary (first one!) are still months away. Sad day. But, luckily, we have two magic websites to thank for that free money: E-Rewards and E-Miles. Both of these websites are pretty similar; they're a way to do online surveys to earn points. Those points can be redeemed for lots of things, one of which is a Restaurant.com gift certificate. We've already earned and used 3 $25 gift certificates, with one more on deck itching to be taken out! Not only is that a free $25, but earning them is so. freaking. easy. We can sit on the coach watching TV and do quick surveys that only take a few minutes. With the Restaurant.com gift certificates you have to spend a certain amount, which has been about $10 over the $25 but since all that money was free it's a CHEAP meal. If you love going out to eat and saving money, I highly recommend you check it out. What do you have to loose besides free money?!

Like A (Coupon) Virgin...

Tonight I felt like a magical couponing sensei and am proud to say I have coupon converts. Granted, teaching someone with OCD how to coupon is like giving drugs to an addict, but still, I'm happy to help anyone save money. Kind of makes you feel like Santa Claus.

I should probably preface this whole post by explaining that the night started out with my friend (and virgin couponer) Christine telling me she thought I was "sick in the head" (direct quote) and pictured that I was a big, creepy hoarder. (Friends, she meant all this in the kindest way possible I promise. Plus, let's get real, we all know I'm a bit crazy!) Anyway, I countered with some recent pictures of some of my best "hauls" and she did a 180. Or a 360? She was ALL about the coupons once she realized we weren't stockpiling dingy cans of beans or cases of toilet paper like Honey Boo Boo's mom. She demanded a trip to CVS on the spot and luckily there was one across the street. There always is. 

It's hard to describe this shopping experience at CVS, but when I say it was like a kid in a candy store I'm not lying. We went right to the coupon machine and scanned both her CVS cards to get the store coupons. Luckily, she got a few good ones we could use AND some Extrabucks so it helped jump start her first purchase! We only did one transaction on some Garnier Fructis shampoo and conditioner to practice. It's on sale this week 3 for $10 so she got one of each which came to $6.66. Here's a rough play by play at the check-out counter: 

Clerk: "Did you find everything okay?"

Christine: "Yes." And then announces: "I have coupons." (Spills them onto the counter) "I don't know if you need to put them in any special order."

Clerk: "It all adds up!" He finishes ringing everything in and then does the coupons. Total is down to $3 and something. Christine is so excited. "Do you want to give your email address to get a 20% off coupon?"

Christine: (freaking out) "Yup! Absolutely." 

Clerk finishes with her email and CVS card and the total is down to $2.32. (A savings of $4.24!) I take a picture to commemorate the momentous occasion! How happy is she?!

We then leave the store, at which point she says she's all in on couponing and that she apologizes for saying I was sick in the head. (Thank you and you're welcome!) We immediately schedule a Sunday couponing 101 date. Moral of the story: extreme couponing changes people's lives. Or at least makes them a whole lot happier to shop at CVS.