Cafe Mogador

I am always looking for a cheap restaurant that doesn't look or feel like a cheap restaurant. Sometimes you just need a place that feels like the food should be expensive and doesn't involve waiting in line or sitting in a cramped corner. Cafe Mogador is a quaint spot with delicious and interesting Moroccan cuisine. The hummus is very good (and I am hummus-obsessed) and the cous cous platters are served steaming hot and are almost too much food for two people to split. I also recommend the tangine dishes and their cocktails aren't half bad, either.

Bottom Line: Classy digs and cheap Moroccan eats
Cafe Mogador
101 Saint Marks Place
212.677.2226

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Dining for Dollars

I am a sucker for rewards programs. I sign up for frequent flier offers, I have a frequent flier credit card, I eat at restaurants that give me double points on said credit card and order flowers off of their online frequent flier mall. It's a sickness. So you can imagine why I love opentable.com. Not only can you make restaurant reservations without ever picking up a phone, you earn points with each completed reservation. Once you've racked up enough of those points, opentable.com will issue you a gift certificate good at any participating restaurants.

If more than 700 restaurants in New York aren't enough to pique your interest, opentable.com has restaurants in 47 states (I'm pulling for you West Virginia!!!) and seven other countries. I used the points I gathered from NYC reservations on a posh dinner in Las Vegas. Even better, you can make reservations for other names. Perfect for all of the administrative assistants out there (ahem).

Normally, 20 reservations gives you the points for a $20 gift certificate. But some restaurants offer up extra points for off times. Dine at one of those spots twice and you have enough points for the $20 gift card. Brilliant!

Bottom Line: Frequent restaurant diner rewards across the US and beyond!
www.opentable.com

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Why Paupers Don't Eat Popcorn

Everyone knows that the only economical way to buy movie snacks is to get them at a drugstore, before hitting the theater.

Forget to stop by your local Duane Reade, though, and you're in a heap of trouble. The instant you reach for your ticket stub and start making your way towards your movie, you're trapped. It's a FOX meets Las Vegas mentality--once you're in, you--and your Twizzler money--belong to the powers-that-be.

Check out this article, "Make It Large for a Quarter More?" for an interesting take on the history of movie theater concession stands (and to learn more about the genius minds behind gazillion-dollar popcorn).

Bottom Line: According to Slate.com, concessions account for 40% of a theater's total net revenue. Buck the system! Sneak in your own M&M's.

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