Dining Out On A Budget: Bites Nearby

Raise your hand if you like to go out to eat. Now raise your other hand if dining out isn't always in the budget. Wow, look at all of those hands.

There is a solution that doesn't include dining-and-dashing. It's Restaurant.com, and it's gained enormous popularity. It's even rated an A+ by the BBB.

Here's how it works:

1. Register at Restaurant.com and make sure you join their e-mail list to receive special promotions.
2. Enter your zip code to find participating restaurants in your area and choose your certificate. For example, a restaurant will offer a $25 certificate that you pay only $15 for on a minimum dining bill of $40. Most restaurants have one or more stipulations such as dinner only, alcohol not included or not valid on Saturdays. An 18 percent gratuity is added and tax is additional.
3. Pay for your certificate using Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express or Paypal. It can be printed immediately and is good for one year.

Sounds pretty good, right? Ten dollars off of a $40 bill is the same as a 25 percent off sale. But, wait, it gets even better.

When you receive promotional e-mails, they give you a code to use toward the purchase of your certificates, which then discounts your purchase price even more.

So on the example above, a code for 80 percent off means that your actual purchase price for that $25 certificate is now only $3 instead of $15.

Apply that to the purchase of many certificates at various restaurants, and you can see what an incredible deal it is.

There are a few things to keep in mind. Only one certificate can be used per restaurant per month. And not every restaurant participates in this program.

Some restaurants have only a limited number of certificates they will allow to be sold per month and these tend to sell out fast. The beginning of the month is your best chance to grab these.

Here are some more ways to use these certificates. Use them as gifts—you can look up restaurants within the recipient's zip code. When traveling, a little planning ahead can get you discounts at restaurants across the United States.

The website is easy to navigate and all purchases are secure.

Here is a sampling of restaurants in the area that participate in this program:

Darien: , ,

Lemont:

Westmont: Brickyard Grill, Emmy's Family Dining, Vincitori

Woodridge: ,