5 Free Newsletters That Help Me Stay in the Know and On A Budget

You can Google “frugal,” but that won’t necessarily lead you to these newsletters (or their companion sites). Here’s to finding frugality in some unexpected places!

Tasting Table – The writers of Tasting Table keep me filled in on all sorts of NYC foodie fodder. Their mission is “to deliver the best of food and drink culture to adventurous eaters,” and while that usually inspires worth-the-splurge editorial (in this city, anyway), Tasting Table also offers a fair amount of frugally-minded suggestions for everything from recession-friendly dining deals and cheap $2 tacos to drinks at Depression-era prices and recipes for culturing your own curds.

Epicurious – Because I like making food and assembling meals and I like pairing them with wine or cocktails (and I even like to do all of this on the cheap, whenever possible)…

…because it’s often cheaper to prepare my own food than to pay someone else to do it…

…and because Epicurious sends me recipes from Bon Appétit and Gourmet (which I no longer buy)…

I am a longtime subscriber to the Epicurious newsletters. They currently offer 2 versions. The first, Recipe Flash, is more food and recipe oriented, while the other, Tasting Notes, focuses on wine reviews and pairing recommendations.

Fodor’s Travel – While Fodor’s may still be suffering from its reputation as, well, your parents’ travel guide, I urge you to look at Fodor’s with a fresh eye. Their editorial and design has really changed for the better over the last few years. And I’m not just saying that because I sometimes write for them (though not for their newsletters). I recommend checking out Fodor’s because their editorial focus has shifted to include more sophisticated drinking and dining coverage, a better range of offerings (in general), more compelling features, full-color guidebooks, and a vibrant community. Fodor’s isn’t as interested in traveling on the cheap as they are in getting you the most for your money, but with that being said, their newsletters often offer value-conscious features that are beneficial for both the tourist and the local, alike. Here are a few recent ones for our fellow New Yorkers:

• New York City Deals: Fine Dining for Less
• New York’s 12 Best Free Summer Events
• Cheap NYC Lunches: Fodor’s Top 5 Favorite Food Carts & Truck

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Washington DC: Visiting our Nation’s Capital with Less Capital

To celebrate my mother’s birthday in February, my father assigned me the task of planning an affordable 4-day family vacation for 7 to Washington DC in April. I took the job very seriously because I pride myself on planning terrific trips and finding fabulous deals, and now I needed to prove my skills to my family.

We decided to drive, keeping costs low to transport 7 people from NY and NJ to DC. Although gas and tolls add up for 2 cars, it’s still cheaper than flying or taking the train (I get sick on buses so that is not even an option, although I’ve heard that the Bolt buses are good.) You can get detailed driving directions from Google Maps.

Next, I had to determine where we would stay. Living in Manhattan, I’m a big proponent of the ‘location, location, location’ mantra, and wanted to be sure that we’d be able to enjoy the city within steps from our hotel. Read the rest of this entry »

Do-It-Yourself Aperitivo

3 Prosecco Cocktails (+ a cordial glass of strawberry mint syrup)

It’s easy to be a frugal foodie in Italy. Food, for the most part, is pretty cheap. And wine, I noticed when I was living in Rome, was sometimes even cheaper than bottled water (though it should be noted that free drinking water is available from water fountains all over the city, so there’s no need to ever even buy water). When I moved back to NYC from Rome a couple of years ago, I realized that the Italian way of thinking about gastronomy had gotten to me. Simple, seasonal, fresh, and delicious food is both a basic principle and something to be celebrated there. Italians are passionate about eating and drinking; meals are rituals; and the way things are done matters. A mere 2 ounces of carelessly prepared espresso is sure to cause a fight at the bar; pasta cooked a moment past al dente is unforgivable.

One of my favorite, celebratory Italian foodie/drinky rituals is the aperitivo. It’s sort of the Italian equivalent to our American “happy hour” or the French aperitif, but rather than getting a little bowl of salted nuts or pretzels with your drink, you’re presented with a veritable buffet of Italian delights – for no extra charge. Read the rest of this entry »

Brazil–Last Minute and on a Shoestring

My first visit to Brazil in 2004 began a love affair with the country and its culture that has required return trips.

Old stone houses in Recife, Brazil.

My first trip was to magical Salvador de Bahia in the northeast where music is everywhere and the vibe is relaxed and super fun. Subsequent trips took me to to Recife (above) to study with a yogi, the urban centers of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and the island city of Florianopolis where my Portuguese teacher (from Brooklyn) spent 2007-2008.

Brazil was wilder than I could have imagined: the food was strange and intriguing, the people were warm and funny; the country had a rich, dark history and could be fantastically beautiful.

Breakfast in Brazil consists of lots of delicious fresh fruit, cakes, coffee, eggs, ham, cheese, yogurt and some unidentifiable things.

But at almost 5,000 miles from New York, Brazil is not a weekend destination. For my last trip, in 2007, I paid with points—otherwise the ticket would have been around $1300 US.

This year, a friend in Rio (who had lived in New York until 2002) tipped me off about cheap airfares. Through BACC.com, a company that specializes in travel to Brazil, I got a ticket to Rio for $361 US (with taxes, $474) just 8 days before departure. Read the rest of this entry »