How to Eat Cheap -- Part Deux

Several readers kindly pointed us in the direction of more ways to dine out on fewer dimes since I posted How to Eat Cheap. Thank you for your responses!

Among the tips or deals I’ve stumbled on since…

*Tasting Table posted a calendar online of New York City recession deals on a section of its Web site dedicated to the New York area . (I definitely recommend double-checking with the restaurants directly before heading straight there as things do change quickly). Tasting Table also sends out daily email newsletters with “NY,” “LA” and “Everywhere” editions on a range of food-related topics. To get them, sign up on the Tasting Table home page.

*A reader reminded me after I included OpenTable.com in the last post that the site has a points program. If you register and make your reservations through the OpenTable, you can accumulate points to ultimately be redeemed with your bill at participating restaurants.

*In addition, I heard from USMenuGuide.com. They recently fired up a searchable database called MenuBear.com, which tracks specials and deals at restaurants around the country. They work with restaurants to post the info, and the listings are still pretty limited but I did find a couple spots listed that I like in LA when I plugged “Los Angeles” into the search, particularly happy hour details for Casa downtown and small plate deals at Craft’s sister restaurant Craftbar in Century City). A “New York” search, however, only returned three suggestions.

*One other note: When I was doing research for How to Eat Cheap the first time around, I decided not to direct you to two of my favorites, Eater LA and Eater NY, because at the time the sites were having technical difficulties. But according to a post on EaterLA earlier this month, that’s all resolved. Those sites keep very close tabs on the restaurant scenes in their respective cities and worth a check-in if you’re planning a dinner out.

Please keep your ideas coming for How to Eat Cheap in these trying times. A comment on this blog post or a note to tellmelsdiner@reedbusiness.com will do the trick. Thanks!