Minimum Wage Gilded-Age

A friend send me this review of Belltown Pizza, Actually Belltown Pizza was my first stop on my 21 run and I havn’t been back since, but based on this review, I should!

I have walked or driven by Belltown Pizza hundreds of times, stopping in maybe once for a slice, but not thinking much of it.  I would often skip over it without even thinking of it when brainstorming Belltown restaurants or bars.

I ended up stopping in for happy hour and finally changed my life.

$2 Pizza by the SLICE (all caps, because the slices are big), $2 PBR tall boys, and $3 drafts.  If you follow my reviews, you may notice that I’m all about killer deals on PBR, so that accounts for at least one star, but the friendly service, cozy bar area, and those delicious SLICE’s make up the rest.

Often times baked goods are really expensive. Like give me a break, $3.49 for a baguette? And you know what happens at my house, when its fresh I eat part of the baguette then it sits on my counter and goes stale. I found a cheaper way to solve my craving for baked goods; through osmosis.

I walked around the Safeway bakery putting my hand on the french bread, cupcakes, and sourdough rolls while breathing in the delicious smells wafting through the air.

Then I go and get my regular groceries

Many of the Gilded Age in the 1920s collected art.  In the Minimum-Wage-Gilded-Age, we don’t care to collect art because we believe that (in the words of Andrew Carnegie) “Familiarity with art is a gift that the privileged should offer the the “other half”".  Instead we prefer for our great museums to display this art for us. 

Every first Thursday the Seattle Art Museum Downtown opens its doors for free, yes free, so that means tomorrow, take the bus downtown and check out the exhibits.  Picasso is not free, but its highly discounted.  Get info here. 

The Seattle Art Museum Sculpture Park is always free.  I love to go down there and just walk around the Eco-botanical gardens. 

Actually memberships are not too pricy for the Seattle Art Museum either and sometimes www.artsone.org has discounts on memberships.  The memberships usually cost $65 per year which works out to approximately $1.25 per week. 

See you at SAM tomorrow

Living in the Minimum Wage Gilded Age, I, like you, enjoy the finer things in life and that includes high end restaurants. 

Tell you the truth, I have never eaten in my three favorite restaurants.  I have only eaten in the bar, and only between the hours of 4pm-6pm and 9pm-close.  The hours otherwise known as Happy Hours.  Here is a list of my three favorite restaurants:

1.  Icon Grill located at 1933 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101: they have awesome comfort food like mac and cheese and a shrimp penne to die for.  They also have cheap drinks with their well whiskey as Makers Mark

2.  Sazerac located at 1101 Fourth Ave, Seattle, WA 98104:  They have a killer Grilled Cheese and the food is kind of classy southern meets Seattle, their Happy Hour menu is here

3. Palomino located in the City Center Building at 1420 Fifth Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 but also have locations in Bellevue, WA, San Fran, Cincinatti, Dallas and others.  They have awesome pizzas and flat breads. 

Where are your favorite happy hour spots?

The Seattle Met did a great article on where to go after New Years to get over your hangover, if you are rich.   Give me a break, who can afford to go to the Seattle Art Museum for a Grilled Cheese Sandwich?  

For all of us that are NOT Bill Gates, here is a list of cheap hangover remedies.

Restaurant:  Ozzie’s in lower queen anne  They have 2 eggs and meat, Tall stack o pancakes, French toast, oatmeal, bloody Mary’s, mimosas, and a ton of other greasy favorites for under $5 each. 

Hotel: SpringHill Suites by Marriott has a complementary “hot breakfast” for all guests.  Although I have never stayed in the hotel, I have had breakfast there, i actually went with my roommate to breakfast at one of their 4 locations in Seattle for every weekend for almost a year.

Home: Stay home drink some water and go back to bed.  Yup the cheapest hangover breakfast is not having breakfast at all!

Step 1: Buy your own Champagne – Segura Viudas is super good and super cheap buy it here

Step 2: Find out where the best fireworks are in your city for Seattle the Space Needle hosts the best firework display

Step 3: Use google maps to identify parks with a view of the space needle and use street view to make sure you can see it.  I have identified two parks in queen anne: Kerry Park and Bhy Kracke Park. 

Step 4: Invite all your friends to do the same! 

If that’s too much work for you go ahead and Pay $80 to get into some club here is a link for that too http://www.clubzone.com/nye1/seattle-new-years-eve.html

to get the full list including cheap stuff click here

Free Stuff on Capitol Hill for New Years

• The Capitol Club/ $0 -  DJ Edis starts spinning the tracks at 9pm. Champagne Toast at Midnight & Party Favors. Doors open at 6pm, food service til 1am.

• Garage/ $0 – DJ Killa B, midnight champagne toast included in the nonexistent cover charge (cool!). Reservations accepted for the bowling, pool playing, and sitting around and eating facilities. Doors at 7pm.
• The Cuff/??? – How much? We don’t know. Plus, their web site thinks New Year’s Eve falls on Saturday. Party!

• The Saint/ $0 – Colored lights, noisemakers, party hats. No special DJs or free champagne was mentioned, but hey, not cover charge! Reservations are recommended. 9pm.

• Po Dog + Auto Battery/ $0 -

tips for the best deals & steals from Ross ( this is also posted on their Website)

The treasure hunt

Shopping off-price is a treasure hunt – try not to limit the experience by being too specific. Sometimes we get great deals on items that do not go to all stores. If you go looking for a specific item, you may not find it. Keep an open mind and your flexibility will pay off.

shop often

The number one way to discover the best deals is to come often. Shipments arrive at our stores 3 to 6 times a week. At Ross there’s always something new.

early bird catches the deal

Stores get busier as the day goes on so shop as close to opening time as possible to avoid “competition.” For store hours check the Store Locator.

SNATCH IT UP

If you see something you like, buy it. More than likely, it won’t be there when you come back.

buddy system

Bring a friend. Another set of eyes increases your chance to spot a bargain.

going, going, gone

Shop clearance sections for even bigger savings. Price reductions are taken every week and are marked on the ticket. Look for the red clearance signs.