AliceI've never worked in the food industry. But I've more than made up for it by eating at restaurants. Yeah my mom cooked all the time when I was a kid, but we also ate out a lot. I guess I just come from a family that likes to go out. Or make that a family that likes to eat and talk about eating. Seriously, if I ever go to any show, or conference, or event, the first question out of my parents' mouths when I tell them about it is, "How was the food?" and "What did you eat?"

I really like eating out too, I guess. And while there's always some of my favorites that are hard to steer clear of (like the Chicken Marsala at Posa Posa, or the world's greatest shrimp parmigiana hero at Martio's or even the BBQ Chicken Nachos at the Fox Sports Grill), I'm always up for trying something new. New items on the menu or new restaurants for that matter.

I remember as a kid, my dad used to have the Entertainment Book, which offers you discounts at local restaurants, as well as all sorts of events. It actually saved us a ton of money, but also sucked us into new restaurants we'd never been in before, nor would've ever given a chance. Guess you could say it was advertising that worked.

Which brings me to today's big honkin' coupon. If you like to eat out or want to eat out more often but can't afford it, you should take a look at Restaurant.com. It's a site that offers gift certificates for local restaurants at a discounted price. You can buy a $25 Certificate for just $10. Depending on where you live, there's a great selection of local places to eat. You can search by zip code or state and then narrow things down. But even better... there's a coupon going on right now for the next few days that offers 50% off their prices. So a $25 Certificate costs you just $5. That's cheaper then a meal at McDonald's these days!

If your favorite restaurant is on the list, you most definitely should check this out, 'cause it'll save you a ton. Or try out someplace new without fear of dropping serious cash on a meal you didn't like. The site also offers other great tools like making online reservations, viewing menus or wine lists, and detailed information about each restaurant. Find a good place and now you can enjoy dinner AND a movie without takingout a 2nd mortgage on your home.

Extra 50% off Dining Certificates at Restaurant.com
Use discount code SPRING
Valid through: March 9, 2008 11:59 pm CT
This discount is in addition to the everyday discounts at Restaurants.com. So if you buy a $25 Certificate for $10 and use a 50% off coupon, you pay only $5!

NOTE: If the code above is expired, please check out our Restaurant.com Coupons page for the latest coupon. New codes are offered quite frequently.