thus vegetarian, as meat-free food should be less costly
Find decent places to eat on the company per diem and take home as much money and points as possible
Vegetarian Friendly: Quite so
There were quite a few items available to pick from including Angel Hair Pomodora, Feta Ravioli, and Basil fettucini. I chose a few of my favorite items from the menu and thought I’d try a new one. Nearly every pasta dish on the menu with a “before meat” price, so meatless was a cheaper and obvious option in all cases.
Take Out Friendly: Pretty good
Had to place the order over the phone. No web or app-based ordering. I walked in, said I was there to pick up my order, paid for my food, and walked out, without any hassle whatsoever. Napkins and tableware were included.
Accuracy: Perfect
When asking for vegetarian preparation, or extra sauce in this case, there’s always a chance something will go wrong. When ordering over the phone, there’s one more chance that something will go wrong with the order. Not a thing went wrong.
Value: Pretty Good
The amount of food and prices charged weren’t quite the same value as eating at home, but for restaurant food, the prices were pretty good, and the portions were far from stingy.
Timeliness: Great
I was told the food would be ready in 15-20 minutes. I got there in 20 minutes and the food was already bagged and ready. The cashier immediately saw me and was out of there in mere minutes. When I got it back home, it was still plenty warm.
Service: Excellent
The phone was answered quickly to place the order. The order was taken accurately and politely. The wait time was nearly zero.
Food Quality: Pretty darn good
I ordered a few things, because some of the sides/starters were pretty affordable, and I had to get $30 worth in order to get my Delta bonus points. (which I failed to do at Tilted Kilt)
Greek Salad – Crisp iceberg lettuce, tomato, onion, pepperoncinis, kalamata olives, Feta and our exclusive Athens dressing.
Greek Eggplant Dip – Roasted eggplant, fresh garlic, mayonnaise, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
Spanakopita – Phyllo dough filled with spinach and cheese with Yia Yia’s [do I know this person?] syrup on the side.
Eggplant Parmigiana – Kouzzina-style eggplant Agnanti [what’s that??] served with linguine and tomato sauce.
The Greek salad was exactly as advertised and generally as expected. The lettuce was quite crisp, the tomato (though sparse) was ripe and delicious. However, pretty much everything other than the dressing, iceberg lettuce, and cheese was pretty sparse. I actually had to dig through to figure out where/if the onions were. The dressing was so-so: a whole lot of olive oil, and generally light in flavor. The freshly grated feta cheese was so fresh, it was actually hard to believe it was feta. This didn’t taste like your store bought feta, that’s for sure.
The Greek Eggplant Dip was pretty thin and mayonnaisey. I really couldn’t taste much else over the overpowering mayonnaise. I would have expected a bit more grilled eggplant or garlicky flavor. It was decent, but mostly seemed like mayonnaise with eggplant seeds in it. The accompanying pita wedges, however, were fresh and light and tasty.
The spanakopita, or spinach pie, was where things really turned in Athen’s favor. The phyllo was crisp and flaky. The filling of spinach and onion was so flavorful, rich, and savory. Combined with the accompany honey sauce (made by Yia Yia, I guess)… it seemed, at the time to embody the perfect food. The only flavor “missing” was sour, but all of my taste buds were dancing with delight with each bite. I’d never had a spanakopita served with a honey sauce, so I was eager to see what they had in mind, and I was delighted to have gone to visit Yia Yia. I recommend you do the same.
The Eggplant Parmigiana was a great finish to the meal. The breading on the eggplant was light and occasionally crisp, despite being soaked in the tomato sauce (of which I asked for extra). The pasta was to al dente perfection, and the sauce, itself was flavorful and intense with a bit of a kick to it that you could only feel in the aftertaste. The only thing wrong was a bit or two of eggplant that were slightly under-cooked.
The Discounts and Deals
I expect to receive a stacked deal of:
7% cash back from Mogl (got an immediate acknowledgement when the transaction hit the clearinghouse – just like last time)
Since I spent over $30, a bonus of 500 Delta SkyMiles as part of their Delta Dining bonus
3 miles per dollar from the Delta SkyMiles Dining program from Rewards Network, since I’m an “online member” (getting their spam)
now up to 2:12 required restaurant visits to count toward 5 miles per dollar VIP status
1 mile per dollar from my Delta American Express card
The Experience
Overall, the vegetarian items were plentiful. The pricing to leave off meat was obvious and fair. The ordering process was easy. The food was delicious. What else can you say really? I’d absolutely go again [on the company’s dime].
This is the entry way. It’s in a mall, but they still made it cute.Mall dining area$34 worth of Greek take out!Greek Salad, but of course!Eggplant dip with pita wedgesSpanakopita (Spinach Pie)Eggplant Parmesan with linguine
If you are collecting Delta miles to save up for a trip, you can join SkyMiles Dining for up to 3,000 Bonus Delta SkyMiles. All you have to do is register with their program earlier than September 30, 2017, spend $30 or more at each participating restaurant, and write a review within 30 days of each bonus dine. After dining out three times, you get their maximum reward of 3,000 Delta SkyMiles! Even if you’re already participating in a RewardsNetwork dining program like iDine or FuelRewards, you can switch over to the Delta program juuust long enough to get your big bonus, then go back to your preferred program.
This dining rewards program lets you get Delta SkyMiles each time you dine at restaurants participating in their program. After twelve dines, you start earning 5 miles for every dollar spent dining at participating venues, until then you get 3 miles per dollar (as long as you sign up to get their spam). Delta does not expire their SkyMiles. As a result, you can get these SkyMiles and hold onto them until you need them.
Within 30 days of signing up, make a $30 or greater (incl. tax and tip) purchase at any participating location. All you have to do, is pay using your credit card that you register as part of the program.
Complete a review of the place within 30 days of your spend.
Each visit earns you a progressively bigger bonus until you get a total of 3,000:
500 bonus miles for your first visit to a participating restaurant, then another
1,000 bonus miles for your second visit to a participating restaurant, then another
1,500 bonus miles for your third visit to a participating restaurant
This bonus available to new SkyMiles Dining members or those members who, at the time of registration, do not yet have a “dining profile”. They say it can take between 4 to 6 weeks from the completion of your survey for the bonus miles to make it to your SkyMiles account.
How to Write a Valuable Review
It’s hard to be upset about free miles, and this deal is pretty darn good.
How to Write a Valuable Review
According to the Rewards Network, here’s there guide on writing a review. Note that “value” isn’t one of their key considerations.
Spill the beans. [Ha, I see what you did there!] We encourage you to be creative in your review and let your personality shine. The most meaningful reviews contain colorful descriptions of the food, service and ambiance. Here are a few tips to help you provide feedback that is the most helpful:
Food and Drinks
After all, it`s what you came for. [And that’s all — except no highly marked up drinks] Be sure to tell us what you liked about what you ordered or your thoughts on the menu. Was that soup just like Grandma used to make it? Tell us about it.
Service
Was the service polite, helpful and efficient? Did your server help make your meal sparkle [No thanks, I would rather not pay the 35% tip expected for sparkling service, thank you very much] by checking in at the appropriate times or anticipating needs?
Ambiance
Tell other diners what you thought of the mood. [Like I care… These things add to the cost, which I do not want] Did it match the food and service? Was it casual enough for a family outing or romantic for a first date?
Constructive Feedback
If your visit was less than perfect, be sure to remain constructive in your review. Avoid using offensive or distasteful comments. Share information you feel would help the owner improve upon future experiences.
This is my first frugal vegetarian take-out review, so I’m making up these criteria as I go along. But overall, I’d give it a “not quite” 2/4 stars. As a reminder, the chief criteria of this challenge is to:
Stack as many discounts/points as possible
Pay as little as possible
thus takeout, to avoid drinks, desserts, and tip and “atmosphere”
thus vegetarian, as meat-free food should be less costly
Find decent places to eat
Restaurants this week were found using the RewardsNetwork restaurant list. However, when I was searching for coupons to stack for this week’s restaurants, I found another program that ties into one’s credit card called Mogl. Unlike the RewardsNetwork programs, when I signed up for Mogl, I didn’t get any “only one program” emails from RewardsNetwork, according to my research, it might just stack! There are quite a few restaurants on both the RewardsNetwork as well as Mogl, so they could be running the same program, but they might not. Only time will tell. Yelp also offers a cash back program, that uses the Mogl infrastructure, so Yelp and Mogl cannot stack, but either can stack with RewardsNetwork.
Vegetarian Friendly: Not really
The “vegetarian option” of black bean burger can be substituted or you can “leave off the meat” that you’re certainly paying full price for.
Take Out Friendly: Not so much
Had to place the order over the phone. No web or app-based ordering. The goal here is to minimize the amount of imposed “service” to create reciprocity and expect a tip. There was no take out zone. It was not obvious who to talk to in order to pick up the order. When the waitress finally came over, she was intent to butter me up as fast as possible for her tip.
Value: Pretty Poor
Burger and (six) onion rings for $15 is a little more than I would expect. I’m thinking that guys aren’t coming here for the food or the prices.
Timeliness: Fair
I was told the food would be ready in 10 minutes because they were pretty slow. I got there in 12 and the food was ready in 20. I’m not looking for fast food, just accurate estimation. If you tell me it’ll be an hour, and I come get my food in an hour, I don’t expect my food to have been sitting around for 45 minutes, getting cold.
Service: Not so hot
While I was placing the order, I had a very hard time hearing the order taker, because they have their phone right where the music is loudest in the restaurant. When I arrived, no one came to assist me for about 5 minutes. I had to walk around and find someone, who then went in back to tell MY waitress (the one who took my order) that I was waiting. While I was waiting the (not my) waitress offered me some water while I waited, which was pretty nice. When my waitress arrived, there was a large flurry of “how was your day” type banter, meant to make me feel engaged. She went through all of the boxes to make sure they hadn’t screwed anything up, which is as expected.
Food Quality: Some good, some mediocre
The burger itself was actually pretty good. The problem was that there was already so much salt from the starter, that the bleu cheese was just way too salty. After letting my palate get over the excessive saltiness of the “Irish Nachos”, I was able to experience the subtle flavor combination in the “black and bleu burger”, and it was really well done.
The onion rings, all six of them that were included in my order, were actually pretty tasty. Unfortunately, there was no offer of any condiments to accompany them, nor were any provided.
The “Irish Nachos” were actually awful. First, they were way too salty. I could feel my blood pressure rising, and this was takeout, so it certainly wasn’t because of the “atmosphere”. Second, the “cheez” on it seemed more like cheez-whiz, and added even more salt. Third, it seemed about 1/4 of the chips were from a prior batch made in some rancid oil. Once I got a snootfull of that, it was pretty hard to recover. Finally, the decision to remove the beef chunks (with no cost accommodation provided) must have been the coup de grâce that just made them far from what was originally intended, but quoth The Raven, “nevermore”. The tomatoes, however, were of decent ripeness and flavor, but this strength did not redeem them.
The Discounts and Deals
I expect to receive a “stacked” (keeping in line with their tongue-in-check mammary-related humor) deal of:
7% cash back from Mogl ($1.78)
3 miles per dollar (76 miles) from the Delta Skymiles Dining program from Rewards Network, since I’m an “online member” (getting their spam)
1:12 required restaurant visits to count toward 5 miles per dollar VIP status
1 mile per dollar (25 miles) from my Delta American Express card
There are better credit cards to use for steeper dining rewards, such as the AARP and CostCo Visa which each give 3% cash back on dining with no annual fee, but I don’t have either of those right now.
In the future, I hope to interleave some Restaurants.com or Entertainment coupons on this goodness, but I didn’t have time to line those up for this week’s travel dining.
Also, since Delta is running a bonus program, I was hoping to get a bonus of 500 miles on this first, but I didn’t spend $30, only $25. I didn’t pay close enough attention to the terms. However, I should still get the regular miles listed above. Here are the details of the Delta Dining bonus good until September 30, 2017:
For a limited time, join SkyMiles® Dining and earn up to 3,000 bonus miles right out of the gate. Just sign up, register your credit and/or debit card, and within the first 30 days, after completing an online review:
Earn 500 Bonus Miles by spending $30 or more at any participating restaurant.
Earn 1,000 Bonus Miles by spending $30 or more on your second participating restaurant.
Earn 1,500 Bonus Miles by spending $30 or more on your third participating restaurant.
The Mogl app is actually pretty sweet. This is especially in contrast to the utter lack of an app for the Delta SkyMiles Dining. I was able to call the restaurant straight from the app, and the moment that my credit card was swiped through the register, I got this little notification:
I understand that the RewardsNetwork can take up to a few weeks to show up on their site. The official statement on the site is to allow 5 to 10 days for miles to show on your statement. It ended up taking three days. Ate on Monday night, showed up on my SkyMiles Dining profile on Thursday morning.
The Experience
Hidden under the section of the menu labeled Big Arse Burgers, lies the option to make the item a “Skinny Arse” by substituting a spicy black bean patty. Every burger, whether with a big or skinny arse, is served with the choice of side. I went with the Beer Battered Onion Rings. I love onion rings.
Now, finding something vegetarian on this menu is quite problematic. Most of their burgers come with bacon, and I’m not a big fan of paying for something as part of the base price, then having them just “leave that off” without giving me something in return. So, the following burgers with other meaty things added were out to the question:
BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger – Apple wood smoked bacon [it needs more meat, right?], cheddar cheese, Guinness, BBQ sauce, crispy shiestring onions, leaf lettuce and ripe tomato.
F. A. B. Burger – Golden fried burger patty, apple wood smoked bacon [bacon, again!], cheddar cheese, kilt burger mayo, leaf lettuce, ripe tomato and red onion.
Pub Fried Egg Burger – Apple wood smoked bacon [definitely needs bacon], a fried egg, American cheese, leaf lettuce, ripe tomato and red onion.
Wicked Boston Burger – Maple pepper bacon [ooh! a different kind of bacon!], American cheese, Samuel Adams Boston larger, caramelized onion relish, burger sauce, leaf lettuce and ripe tomato.
Hot Mess Burger – A fork and knife burger with TK chili [it probably has bacon in it] and cheddar cheese all smothered with Monterrey jack cheese sauce.
Double D Burger – Served with boasts two deep fried patties, apple wood smoked bacon [whew… I was worried it might not have bacon], cheddar, kilt burger mayo, leaf lettuce and ripe tomato.
This left me to choose from the following to replace the normal beef patty (making it a “Skinny Arse” as per their branding wit) with a black bean burger:
Big Arse Classic – Pickle chips, leaf lettuce, ripe tomato, red onion and served on a toasted bun.
California Burger – Turkey burger with Swiss cheese, guacamole, leaf lettuce, ripe tomato and red onion.
The SOB (South of the Border) Burger – Roasted green chilies, pepper jack cheese, habañero salsa and cream cheese schmear.
In addition, since this place is allegedly “Irish”, thought I’d give the Irish Nachos (sans spiced ground beef) a shot. I never heard of such a thing. As ordered, it was “fresh-cooked crispy potato chips covered with melted cheese sauce and tomatoes”. As noted above, I was exceptionally disappointed in these. The cheese was nasty, thick, cheez-food product, the chips were salty enough to pickle your tongue after a few bites, and a few too many of them tasted like they were “fresh-cooked” in rancid oil.
Tilted Kilt Take Out Order
Black & Bleu Skinny Arse Burger with Onion Rings
Rancid Arse Irish Nachos
Allegedly, from various Pinterest photos, one can get a black bean wrap from Tilted Kilt, as well. I’m not sure which of the two following menu items affords the opportunity for the substitution of their ubiquitous “vegetarian option”, the black bean patty, but the Tilted Kilt in my area didn’t have this item specifically mentioned or identified for substitution on the menu.
Chicken Tender Wrap – Hand breaded chicken tenders, provolone cheese, lettuce, ripe tomato and ranch in a grilled tortilla. Sauce em and toss em in one of our six amazing wing sauces. Spicy Southwest Chicken Wrap – A grilled tortilla filled with tender grilled chicken, fresh veggies, cheddar and jack cheese and spicy southwest dressing.
Working my way through the burger section on the menu, the double entendre present in the Hot Mess and Double D Burgers are certainly a tongue-in-cheek shout out to their recruiting process, bikini calendar, and oh-so-snug apparel. I scoured the rest of the menu to find these two winners as well: Sadie’s Stuffed Breasts and The Big Rack. I had never actually been in a Tilted Kilt before and was rather surprised at the outfits. It was more than a little disgusting to see the hoarde of male patrons seated around the bar ogling the wait staff while I waited for my order. I felt like I was in… shall we say… not a restaurant. I was pretty happy to get out of there, as the overall energy is not what I expect in a restaurant. Perhaps “breastaurants” aren’t my bag. Good thing there’s takeout.
Restaurant Address: 1500 Satellite Blvd, Suwanee, GA 30024
When shopping at all, but especially dining, I try to get as much bang for my buck as possible. To recap my frugal dining rules, which I’ve yet to actually post:
Use Discounted Gift Cards when possible
Use Credit Cards with Points/Miles programs otherwise
Use Coupons! By joining mailing lists or coupon books, like Entertainment
Dining Rewards Programs
A while ago, I belonged to a dining program calling iDine. It was a pretty good program back around the turn of the century, and then they started reducing their benefits substantially. Combined with my traveling less for a few years and eating healthier, I just stopped participating. Another interesting point to note was that I sent them to a “spam” email account, which resulted in my not reading their emails. I didn’t want to waste my time reading about places they’d like me to go. I preferred to choose not only where I went, but also how I spent my time. They actually canceled my account because they demanded that their spam promotional emails be read.
Well, fast forward a decade or so, and I’m traveling again. This time, however, blogging isn’t just a new thing, everyone and their dog has one. But given that my blog has an “enjoy life, but frugally” theme to it, driving around seems to happen a lot. I’m always filling up the MuffinWagon™. I generally use GasBuddy to find the best gas prices, or fill up at CostCo, but sometimes, I just don’t have a lot of choices. I’ve been filling up a lot at Shell, and thought I’d check into their new FuelRewards program, now that their FuelPerks program has died a bloody death. And just today, I just got hassled at Winn-Dixie (where I hardly ever shop, because the shopping experience is generally unpleasant) because my old, “you don’t get the advertised price unless you carry our card” card was no longer their program, and new they’re doing this new “Plenti” thing. So, how long until this new program is defunct? Who knows…
After signing up with Plenti, so I could get my BOGO salsa, I bit the bullet and signed up for the new FuelRewards program, and researched a few restaurants to go to new week while traveling.
Then, in researching this blog post, I’ve discovered that the old iDine program is still around, as well as a few others flying the “rewardsnetwork” banner, such as:
I was really curious, at first, why the same restaurants were in FuelRewards as were in the Delta program, which triggered my research and here we are. It’s all really one program. So, I registered my cards with Fuel Rewards, Delta, and Plenti. As soon as I registered with the second program, I got this lovely email:
You recently registered a credit or debit card which has been registered with another dining program administered by Rewards Network. Credit and debit cards can only be registered in one dining program at a time. As a result, you will no longer earn rewards through [the new program] when you dine and pay with this card. Instead, you will earn rewards through the program you moved the card to.
While I’m a little confused, from that email, which program I am still registered with, its apparent that they don’t want you double-dipping. And if you weren’t aware that you were, you’ll sure find out when you try.
The various programs break down like this.
iDine: 5% rebate up to $250 spent per year, 10% between $250 and $750 and 15% back on spending over $750, and unless they can prove you’re reading their spam, they kick you out.
$250 = $12.50
$500 = $37.50
$750 = $62.50
$1,000 = $100.00
FuelRewards: Earn 10¢ a gallon for every $50 you spend dining out, limited to 20 gallons per “fill up”, then you start over. From reading the site, it seems there’s the same spam requirement.
Airline Miles: Read their spam and eat at RewardsNetwork restaurants 12x a year, you get 5 miles per dollar spent dining out.
Hotel Points: Read their spam and eat at RewardsNetwork restaurants 12x a year, you get 8 points per dollar spent dining out.
Overall, the miles program seems like the best deal, and you get your choice of a few participating airlines. Right now, Delta is offering some pretty wicked bonuses for dining out and leaving a review:
For a limited time, join SkyMiles Dining and earn up to 3,000 bonus miles right out of the gate. Just sign up, register your credit and/or debit card, and Completing an online review of each restaurant within 30 days visit to earn bonus miles:
Earn 500 Bonus Miles by spending $30 or more at any participating restaurant.
Earn 1,000 Bonus Miles by spending $30 or more on your second participating restaurant.
Earn 1,500 Bonus Miles by spending $30 or more on your third participating restaurant.
Triple Whammy
Now, being a consultant who is compensated for meals while traveling, I get reimbursed for these meals. However, by participating in the reward program, I get airline miles for these meals as well. And finally, as a blogger documenting my experiences of enjoying life frugally, I get a chance to experience and document my experience of these places for free.
My challenge: To be able to find decent vegetarian food at these places, get the food for take out, and document the experience on the blog.
First week’s agenda:
Athens Kouzzina
Athens Kouzzina takes its name from the Greek word for “kitchen.” Thus, you can expect a homey setting enhanced by vibrant colors and an open kitchen. Here, guests are invited to watch their food being prepared using fresh meats, seafood and produce to deliver home-style cuisine served with plenty of hot-from-the-oven bread. The casual yet inviting setting creates a backdrop that works for family celebrations, date night, or a get-together with friends. Like the atmosphere, the food has a traditional Greek warmth about it that is exotic but still familiar.
Wayback Burgers
What started as a simple desire to offer quality, fresh (never frozen) burgers has grown into the franchise sensation that is Wayback Burgers. Once upon a time (way back when) burgers were made fresh to order and served in a comfortable restaurant that felt like home. Wayback Burgers is bringing that back and is the place you want to be when the craving for “a really good burger” hits. Whether you want to create your own or try one of their signature burgers — like the BBQ Crunch, Double Bacon, or Philly — you’ll get a fresh, hot, and delicious meal. Also on offer are house-made potato chips, all-beef hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, turkey burgers, and fresh salads. And try to save room for one of Wayback Burgers’ milkshakes, because what goes better with a hot, tasty burger than something cold and creamy like a vanilla, chocolate, cafe mocha, or Oreo mud pie milkshake? Every month, Wayback Burgers rolls out a new burger and shake of the month, so there’s always something new to enjoy and keep you coming back for more!
Tilted Kilt
The Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery does a lot of things right. It has perfected five things which you’ll find each and every time you visit: plenty of ice cold beer (48 Draft), an interesting and delicious menu, every possible sporting event on a bunch of TVs, a vibrant atmosphere, and finally, a staff that is friendly and always smiling. When you’re looking for any of those things AND a place with a terrific Happy Hour and live music, then this is the place for you! Start your meal with the TK Irish nachos; with fresh cooked crispy potato chips covered in cheese sauce, ground beef and tomatoes, you’ll fall in love with this starter which is great for sharing. Then, dive in to one of their tasty dishes like the classic Big Arse hamburger; this 8-ounce behemoth burger is juicy, tender and delicious. Irish pub favorites include the Olde Dublin Irish stew and shepherd pie. With so many great dishes from which to choose, you’ll just have to go back again and again to try them all, and remember, the kitchen is open until late every night so finding late night munchies is never hard! For a festive and vibrant ambiance and a place that has a knack for putting a smile on your face every time, check out The Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery today!
One of my key aspirations is to express my creativity through capturing the beauty of nature through photography and videography. All of the photos on this site were taken by me, The Happy Camper.
Anonymity
Because my wife and I still work for our wage slave masters, while I viciously attack the concept of such servitude in this medium, I will use a pen name and refrain from being directly visible in any of the photos or videos. This is because “the man” isn’t terribly interested in having people work for them who aren’t in it for the “long haul.” Just as companies can fire someone when it’s right for them, I reserve the right to quit my job when it’s right for me, and would prefer not to gain any unwanted attention from the overlords until then.
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