Living in a city is expensive, and New Haven is no different. Sure, it is, by far, Connecticut’s coolest city (take that, New London!), but with that coolness comes a cost. The rents are high, and vacancy is extremely low.
There isn’t much you can do about rent, but that doesn’t mean you can’t save a few bucks here and there and still enjoy all of the amazing things this city has to offer.
Fear not, Dear Reader, for I have done the agonizing research to scour New Haven for the very best deals. (I asked my Facebook friends.)
I wanted to avoid turning this into another Happy Hour list, so please don’t email me telling me about how great 116 Crown/Prime 16 is — I know. It’s on the Happy Hour List already for a reason. Yeah, it’s from 2015, but it’s still pretty accurate.
So without further adieu, I present to you… The Absolute Best Deals in New Haven.
L’Orcio: $10 Tuesdays
If you don’t know, L’Orcio is this fancy Italian restaurant in lower East Rock which makes all of their own handmade pasta. It’s a lovely setting — especially in the summer when you can sit on the back patio, underneath the trellises.
However, L’Orcio’s fanciness comes with a price, and meals can get pretty expensive. Except on Tuesdays! Every Tuesday, L’Orcio provides a special menu of $10 pasta dishes, as well as offering their entire pasta menu at $10.
These are worth every penny and then some. Even as a pescatarian, there is a bevy of seafood dishes that will make you forget that you’re about to consume 2,000 calories of pure, unadulterated carbs.
Atticus Cafe: $1 Coffee Refills
People regularly waste unbelievable amounts of money buying coffee at coffee shops. If an average coffee costs $2.50, and you get 1 a day, that’s almost $1,000 a year. You could’ve spent that on beer!
However, not everyone has access to make their own coffee at work, or enough time at home. I get it. You’re busy. You’re important. You wear fancy business outfits.
Luckily, Atticus is looking out for you. For the low low price of A SINGLE BUCK, they will refill your coffee mug (within reason). That’s it. A buck! So break out your Contigo!
Just make sure you tip your barista. Unless they aren’t looking. No sense in helping someone if you don’t get credit for it.
Ferraro’s: Meat, Etc.
No, Meat, Etc. is not the name of my terrible improv group. We’re talking about Ferraro’s on Grand Ave, the place to go when you want giant sacks of meat. I once picked up a $25, 5 lbs. beef tenderloin. That’s like filet mignon for $5 a pound. That’s crazy town.
What’s on sale this week? Who knows! Could be anything. Apples, avocados, boneless chicken breasts. Check out their weekly flyer on their site to find the deal out.
Either way, though, you cannot beat their prices, nor can you take their tiny shopping carts to your car. Just the price we pay for a sweet deal.
Miya’s: Late Night Menu
Every Wednesday through Saturday, from 10pm to midnight (or whenver they sell out), Miya’s transforms from expensive-but-excellent, sustainable and delicious sushi into some of the best food you can get — cheap.
Whether it’s the $6 sushi special or the $3 Chinese firecracker sake bombs (you don’t have to be clear-headed Thursday morning, do you?), there’s plenty to love about the late night menu.
Check out the menu here.
Cheap Movie Night at Bow Tie Cinemas
If for some reason you just woke up from a coma, you might not realize that every Tuesday night at Bow Tie Cinemas, tickets are only $7 for standard movies.
I assume everyone knows this cause every time I go to the movies on a Tuesday, the line is out the door and these people have apparently never used their debit card to make a transaction before and oh my god why didn’t I get here earlier.
Anyway, it’s cheap movie night. Get on it.
(There’s also the very cool Insomnia Theater/Movies and Mimosas, which are fun little things to check out.)
Mamoun’s: Falafel Sandwiches
You just can’t beat the prices of a standard falafel sandwich at Mamoun’s, available 365 days a year, until 3 am, no sobriety required:
$3.85.
That’s not a typo. That’s less than four bucks for a falafel pita with the fixins.
I don’t know what else to add.
(You might want to wait until you go home to use the bathroom.)
Barracuda: So Many Happy Hours
I didn’t want to repeat the Happy Hour list, but so many people recommended this. They apparently have the craziest happy hour schedule:
Happy Hour prices are available Monday through Thursday 4pm-7pm; Friday 12 noon – 7pm; Sunday through Thursday 10pm -1am; Saturday & Sunday 3pm-5pm
The Happy Hour includes appetizers and all kinds of food, wine, margaritas, all kinds of shit. They apparently make a pretty good mac n cheese, too.
Seriously, there isn’t anything bad on the menu.
Half-Price Sundays: Wine at Pacifico/Barcelona/116 Crown, Tequila at Geronimo
Sunday Funday really starts on Sunday nights, where all kinds of deals are available for the savvy shopper.
116 Crown, Barcelona, and Pacifico all give half off any bottle of wine. “Oh, darling, I had no idea there would be half price wine on this romantic date, what a lovely surprise!” Practice this in the mirror — you don’t want it to come off rehearsed.
Geronimo also has half-price tequila on Sundays, in case you were really looking to make some terrible mistakes and slide right into Remorseful Mondays.
[tw-divider][/tw-divider]
Well, here we are! I hope you’ve learned about a few sweet deals you can get in New Haven and enjoyed a few jokes along the way.
“But Josh! What about X and Y happy hour! Or Pitaziki!”
Listen, there are other great deals out there, but we don’t have all day. I tried to pick the very best of the best. Disagree? Let me know.
In the meantime, Dear Reader, I have a question for you!
I’ve been getting a lot of submissions from new writers, and I am curious if you’d like to see Between Two Rocks turn into a multiple-post-per-week format, or if I should spread the new writers out, or what, so why don’t you vote below and tell me:
[socialpoll id=”2486313″]
[efb_likebox fanpage_url=”https://www.facebook.com/betweentworocks” responsive=”1″ show_faces=”1″]
