Aquitante Group

My latest love? The Aquitane restaurant group. I've particularly been in love with Gaslight since they donated to a silent auction I was running, but considered myself too poor to actually eat a meal there. Enter in Yelp. Gaslight was opening their patio and asked Yelp to hold a kick-off party. I got in and so Gaslight and I were finally introduced. It started off with very little food, but a very generous open bar, a great little jazz quintet and beautiful weather. After a few drinks our stomach began growling for food and we decided our feet didn't want to go anywhere, so we got ourselves a table and had one of the best meals I've ever had in Boston.

Then the parents came and I got to try Metropolis' $30 three-course menu. (Wine included!)

So that's it, I don't think I need to search anymore the perfect restaurants on this side of the river. And really, they aren't as pricey as I thought. Try the $30 three-course, have your dining partner get an entree and then just split the appetizer, dessert and wine. There, that's nearing affordable. And while they advertise this special as being 5:30-6:30 in all their restaurants I got it a 8pm on a Saturday.

Luck of the Irish

Only my name is Irish, but I seemed to have been touched by their luck. Just this week I won another contest. I recommend you get on the Daily Dig list yourself. It's funny, but I can't even find a link on the Weekly Dig website for this amazing deal-bringer. Here's the link from my email. Each day you'll get news on a couple events going on in town. The Weekly Dig often has tickets for the event you can score by being the 11th person to email them, or in my case, emailing them a name of a song from Jesus Christ Superstar.

My two tickets for Jesus Christ Superstar were in the orchestra and worth $186! That, and Ted Neely, who originated the role of Jesus in the movie was starring in it. (You don't even have to be a theater geek to appreciate that.)

Our pre-theater dinner was at Jacob Wirth's, a great downtown German restaurant with an excellent beer list. And our meal was $25 off, thanks again to the Weekly Dig. Check out Dig Deals to snag your own coupon for JW's and other local restaurants. Hot tip: forgo the shipping charge and waiting for your gift certificate in the mail. Email Amanda @ the Weekly Dig dot com. You can pay for your deals in cash and pick them up from their studio near the South End.

Happy cheap weekend adventures - I'm off to the Lilac Festival.

Yelp!

Yelp, is no longer the sound a dog makes, it's the sound of twenty-somethings writing mini-reviews of their most favorite and hated, restaurants, stores, salons, and just about anything else these days. If you're not on Yelp you are probably not going to the best bars, the cheapest eateries or the tastiest restaurants. Worse yet, you could be going to dull, over-priced places with bad service.

Since Yelp I've only had fantastic meals, drinks and massages.

Here's why Yelp isn't just another Citysearch:

1. The writers are snarky, clever, irreverent and often hilarious. These aren't Zagat's reviews here or even a Lonely Planet tour book. Each person has their own style and it's usually well-written and brutally honest.

2. The map feature is pretty cool - see what top-rated eateries are around where you are. Want somewhere else? Just drag the map over and new places pop up.

3. You can 'bookmark' places to try later and put notes with it. "To Try: Masa Note: $1 tapas on Thursday."

4. Many businesses offer Yelper's discount. Say you saw it on Yelp and at Blu you get 30% off your lunch or $15 off your Thai bodywork session at Boston Thai Yoga.

5. Events and community are also key on Yelp. Waste some time trolling the message boards to see some funny drama. Check out user-posted events like Paper-Rock-Scissors Tournaments. And if you're in the Yelp Elite Squad you get invited to free events put on by local stores and eateries where they wine and dine you to get your 5 star rating.

6. The reviews are usually right on. Folks are encouraged to use their real name and photo and write truthfully. There's also a ton of folks on the site. There's a graph that shows you how many people gave it 1, 2, 3, etc. stars and the average rating. So in the end you get a pretty good picture of if the place is worth checking out.

Hop on Yelp and be sure to friend me!