Every time Nashville Originals offers its discount gift certificates, local diners eat them up. Yep, four times a year, the group of 60 local independent restaurants offers a sale on a limited number of 30-percent-off certificates to member restaurants. And before the day is over, hungry shoppers have cleaned the plate.
It should be no surprise since the participating restaurants are among some of the best known in local circles and include fine dining establishments as well as ethnic options, steak houses, breakfast eateries and burger joints.
If you like to eat out and if you don’t like to pay top dollar, this one’s for you.
Here’s how the discount gift certificate sale works:
The sale is a quarterly fundraiser for the Originals, which offers certificates to its restaurants at 30 percent off in $25 and $50 denominations.
The one-day promotion should go online about 7 a.m. Wednesday. Just go to www.nashvilleoriginals.instagift.com/discount-sale and buy certificates to the restaurants of your choice and they will be emailed to you.
Details: www.nashvilleoriginals.com
Reach Ms. Cheap at 615-259-8282. Follow her at www.tennessean.com/mscheap, at https://www.facebook.com/mscheap?_rdr. and on Twitter @Ms_Cheap, and catch her every Thursday at 11 a.m. on WTVF-Channel 5’s “Talk of the Town.”
Inside scoop on what to order (on the cheap) at some Nashville Originals restaurants
I always relish insider information, and so I asked some of the Nashville Originals restaurants to give me the lowdown on their menus (with my budget conscious mentality in mind), tip me off to the best items to order and share a few “secret” menu items.
They came up with some good tips for eating out without breaking the bank. Not all of their suggestions are cheap, but if you are like me, you are probably willing to splurge every now and then.
But when you do, you want it to be totally worth it. Here’s the scoop from some of the Originals:
► For a good “hump day” deal, check out Table 3 Restaurant and Market in Green Hills. You can sit at the bar to enjoy $5 burgers every Wednesday. It might be a French restaurant, but I’m told it has a great burger!
► I was glad to hear about Urban Grub’s loyalty program, the “Grub Club”, which is free to join. Members receive two-for-one prices on all cocktails and beers, and 30 percent off on wine all day on Tuesdays, 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, and until 6 p.m. Saturdays.
► A Franklin favorite, 55 South, located on Historic Main Street, has a popular guacamole appetizer for $10. I bet it tastes even better on Mondays when it is $5.
► On the adventurous drink front, try Embers Ski Lodge’s “Last Run” — a Miller High Life with a shot of Jameson for $7 (typically a shot of Jameson is $7 alone). It’s not on the menu at Embers, located in 12 South, so just call it a secret menu item.
► It is rare to find a good steak for under $20. Fleet Street Pub in Printer’s Alley offers a coffee-crusted beef tenderloin, cooked to order and served with a with smoked cheddar gratin, roasted vegetables, a gastrique of Guinness Stout and Yorkshire pudding for just $19.75.
► The Tin Angel has been a West End mainstay since 1993. One of the best dinner deals is the pork chop entrée made with Moroccan spices and served with sautéed spinach and almond-date and vegetable couscous for $18.
► If your group wants to try Nashville’s newest tapas restaurant, Americano, my insider scoop is to skip the entrée and opt for several small plates, or tapas, to share. Even better, eat out on Tuesday when Americano, located on West End, offers its tapas for half off.
► During December, Watermark Restaurant in the Gulch is celebrating its 10-year anniversary by offering a free appetizer or dessert, along with other surprises.
► At the 80-plus year old Jimmy Kelly’s Steakhouse, you don’t have to go for the massive steaks. How about the half filet at $18.75? It is a six-ounce filet and comes with baked potato and the hoecakes that are a Jimmy Kelly’s signature item.
► Two Ten Jack in East Nashville has a good happy hour from 4-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with two-for-one Kirin drafts and Asahi bottles, plus $5 sake punch, rotating tap cocktails and house wines. You can also get $3 edamame and $6 crispy rice/spicy tuna (only available during happy hour and not on the regular menu). Getting there early is a good idea if you want to get a table for dinner.
Nashville Originals Black Friday deal
This deal begins on Black Friday (Nov. 27) and runs through Cyber Monday (Nov. 30): In addition to the discount certificate program to the individual restaurants, diners can purchase a $100 Nashville Originals gift certificate — redeemable at any member restaurant — and receive an additional $50 gift certificate for free. After Cyber Monday, the holiday promotion continues throughout December with the option to purchase a $100 Nashville Originals gift certificate and receive a free $25 gift certificate. Visit www.nashvilleoriginals.com
Jimmy Kelly’s one-day certificate sale
Jimmy Kelly’s Steakhouse is having its annual one day holiday gift certificate sale on Thursday Nov. 19, when you can buy $100 gift certificates for $50. Visit www.jimmykellys.com.
This article is reproduced from “Nashville Originals Offers Some Great Meal Deals” by Mary Hance, The Tennessean
