Mr. Schroeder and I go out to eat quite a bit. It's a good and bad habit. Sometimes, our lives get so busy. If I don't go out to eat, I won't get home to make dinner until 11pm...on some days. We have figured some secrets out. As I've told this list to a couple of friends, some already know about a couple of these. But I hope I can save you some money and give you some excitement next time you go out to eat at one (or more) of these places.
• Applebees
Have you guys ever had their salmon? I'm PICKY about my salmon, but dang! Applebees cooks it well. Anyways, if you're a frequent Applebees diner, you have probably noticed that the manager will visit your table at least once during your visit. Now, if the manager fails to greet you during your dining experience, just tell your waiter/waitress! You will receive a $10 gift to come back and eat at Applebees again. Mr. Schroeder and I have done it twice, which has paid for a meal and a half! Boo-yeah.
•Einsteins Bagels
I love this place. So much. Einsteins Bagels has a ton of bagels left over at the end of the day? What do they do? They give them to an organization! Or...if you go to their location, you tell them that you want to be put on the "end of the day" calendar, you pick the date, and then you come pick the bagels up at the end of the day. Free of charge. I've done this 5-6 times. It's marvelous, except, I haven't been able to save all of the bagels. Each time I have done this, I have come back with 60+ bagels.
•Einsteins Bagels, again.
My favorite thing to order at Einstein's is an asiago bagel with turkey and cheddar cheese. I'm telling you, it is AMAZING. But here's the sitch. If you order a "bagel sandwich" it's easily $6-8. FOR A BAGEL SANDWICH. That's ridiculous. So! I have found that if you simply 'rephrase' your sentence to direct it to an "add-on" of your sandwich, it's half the price! Here's how I order my bagel:
"Can I get an asiago bagel with an add-on of 1/2 portion of turkey and an add-on of cheddar cheese." The price? $3 and some change. I'm not even kidding.
•Benihana's
This place is so delicious. I have actually already wrote a post on the free stuff you can get for your birthday. This deal at Benihana's is just too great, that you probably shouldn't pass it up. If you sign up for their "Chef's Table" birthday program thinger, you get a $30 gift card. $30!!!! That's a steal, right there. That's not just free dessert. That's a meal, too! Get on that folks!
•TGI Friday's
Are you a Redbull fan? If so, go grab the RedBull Slushie at TGI Friday's. If you're not a Redbull fan, go grab the RedBull Slushie at TGI Friday's. It will strike your fancy, I promise. It's delicious. And WHY does nobody know about that?! Spread the newwwss!
•Village-Inn
You can get a slice of free pie at Village-Inn on Wednesdays. In high school, this was the thing to do. But as I've met new people and married Mr. Schroeder, I've found that not many people know that. Again, so strange.
•Free Frazil Friday
Ok, Ok, frazil's aren't necessarily a "restaurant." But it involves food and plus, I love this one. In the month of March, every Friday, you can get a free frazil at your local gas stations. Now, you may be asking, what gas stations are participating locations? All gas stations that sell frazils. I didn't believe this, but in college, one of my room mates told me, so we found a random gas station, and voila! The gas station employee agreed to the frazils being completely free.
•Jamba Juice
Did you know that you can make the same exact secret Jamba Juice drink you love from the comfort of your own home? That is, if you know about the secret menu. To view the secret menu, and even make some of the secret menu drinks, click here. My favorite is the fruity pebbles. De-lish!
•Olive Garden
Next time you go to Olive Garden, try to notice how many breadsticks they give you. They tend to give you 1 more breadstick than the amount of people in your party. Example. Trevor and I went on a double date with some friends. Therefore, there were four of us. The Olive Garden waiter brought us 5 breadsticks. Now, why is that? I always thought that maybe it was because after everybody has their own breadstick, they don't want to take the last one, so it's a good strategy for Olive Garden to save some money. Is that true? I have no idea. Every time we've gone to Olive Garden, regardless of it being in the state of Utah or not, it happens. It's funny looking forward to the breadsticks for another reason (the first reason is downing those breadsticks as fast as you can because of how delicious [and fattening] they are).
•Chick Fil A.
I always order kids meals, wherever I go. Well, if the restaurant will let me. At Chick Fil A, I order the 6 piece chicken nugget kids meal. The worst part? The drink is so small. If you ask to upgrade the drink and not get the toy (unless your small child will have a cow), you can get a bigger drink! Meals at Chick Fil A have always been pretty large for me, so a kids meal with a little bit of extra liquid? The icing on the top.
Do you know any restaurant secrets? Or food secrets? What about tips/tricks to get some food for free?