Ugh… I’m back a little early. But no worse for wear in general. The painful finger issue seems to have gone away - somewhat of a mystery.

Anyhow, I wasn’t going to post until next week but I felt absolutely compelled to get the word out about the FREE IKEA BREAKFAST that is going to be happening this weekend Sept 19-21, 2008. Seize the day, indeed. O captain, my captain!

I actually like the food in general at IKEA and have been meaning to make a post about it since it’s fairly cheap. But this is for free breakfast, no strings attached. You don’t have to buy anything - but of course, how could you not go to IKEA and NOT buy anything, LOL. That’s what they’re counting on, of course.

There’s more info on the Ikea site (I didn’t link directly to the coupon page because they’ll probably take it down later.) Note, the free breakfast does not apply in several cities (also, I didn’t check whether it applies in other countries), so you should probably check or call before heading down there. I wouldn’t want you to get breakfast-blocked after driving all the way there.

The offer is one per customer and only good until 10:30am. You get a free small breakfast and one cup of coffee - total value is $2. But hey, every little bit counts - have you felt the wobbling crazy insane eeekconomy lately? I have… and speaking of which - I’m still working on that related side project which was part of the reason for the extended break / vacation. I was going to “announce” it next week on the blog. But you can probably find it earlier if you’re interested.

I wish companies would email me a little earlier than like the day before an event - but anyway Friday June 6, 2008 is National Doughnut Day so Krispy Kreme is giving out a free doughnut of your choice. I guess I shouldn’t complain about them telling me about it since I’ve already gotten free doughnuts from them earlier…

Actually, I think someone might have told me about it - I just got busy and forgot.

I know they actually give out free doughnut samples once in awhile (when the light is on?) But for free doughnut day, I think they’re giving out not just the plain glazed. Not that it would matter to me - I still like the original ones best.

Have a nice doughnutty weekend.

Yep, two posts in one day again (I just moved the lemonade one forward in time so that it’s first). I seem to always catch these promotions at the last minute. This one is not so good anyhow, because you have to buy a drink. They call it “free”.

It’s already too late to get the biscuit breakfast sandwich, but for the rest of today (Thurs May 15, 2008) you can get a free Southern Style Chicken Sandwich at McDonald’s when you buy a medium or large drink.

I was wondering, what is it that makes this a “Southern Style” sandwich, is it just the coating on the chicken? Or is it the pickles?

Gah, I hate it when I find out about these freebees at 11:30pm right about when I’m about to go to bed. Since the deal is for tomorrow April 8, 2008, I almost didn’t post it. I also had a hard time trying to cobble together the graphic above, since their site is nearly all in Flash. I really don’t like Flash, but that’s a grumbly story for another late night.

Ok, so at participating Jamba Juice locations tomorrow from store open until 10am, you can get a free 12oz. “Breakfast” product which includes Juice, Juicies, Chunky Strawberry, Granola Toppers or Yogurt Blends. I have no idea what all those are since I never go there - but hey whatever it is, it’s free. One important note - when they say not all locations are participating they mean it. If your Jamba Juice is in an airport, university, Safeway, VONS, Pavillions, Target or in Hawaii then it’s not valid. Whew. Ok, I’m going to sleep so enjoy your free Jamba Breakfast and tell me all about it if you happen to pick one up…

So it’s time to switch into semi- boring mode again. Fast Food afficianados will just have to wait until the next time that [Insert Fast Food Chain here] offers free [Breakfast Item]. I’m almost embarrased to say I got pretty excited the first time I saw this story on the KCET website about sustainable lifestyles that some people are choosing to live or promote. In particular - the Fallen Fruit idea.

I mean, what could be cheaper eats (and somewhat fitting in conveniently with a Dharma Bums-ish lifestyle for those who swing that way) than living off the land by picking fruit. Getting back into your inner hunter-gatherer. Granted, it’s an idealistic notion - but at least they’re trying.

The Fallen Fruit group basically creates maps of all of the trees (in the Los Angeles area for now) that have fruit for the picking in public areas. They hold “Nocturnal Fruit Forages” every so often where a walking tour sets off to procure fruit ripe for the taking.

It’s pretty astonishing the different types of fruit that are available. It’s just not something you would think about. On just one map, I saw symbols for bananas, figs, grapefruit, grapes, lemons, loquats, olives, oranges, peaches and plums.

OK, thinking about it a little bit I have to admit I’m a tiny bit hesitant. I mean, it’s one thing to pick fruit from a park, but in these cases they’re talking about harvesting from actual neighborhoods. Besides the potential issues with hordes of fruit frenzied fanatics roaming around, I just dunno about picking fruit hanging over public space from a tree growing in someone else’s yard (I have to admit I’m actually unclear whether every single tree listed in the maps is a public tree or if they may be private trees where the fruit is overhanging into the street). Trick or Treat is only once a year for good reason - I could see some privacy issues or gray areas where homeowners might want that fruit for themselves. Um, and I’m not entirely sure it’s a good idea to creep around at night with a sack. Isn’t that what burglars do?

But, I’m going to leave the logistics and legal ramifications for others to decide. As an general concept, it’s a rather nice one. I mean, in most cases the fruit is just going to waste. People who live in the countryside may be laughing - but in the urban concrete jungle where I live, it’s a novel idea. I do have good memories of picking public produce (Blackberries by the road in Oregon, Pine Nuts in the Sierra Nevada, Mango and Passion Fruit off the trees in the front yard of the house we stayed at in Kauai). But I’m not sure if I’ll be heading out this friday night to pick avocados in Silverlake.

Fallen Fruit Website
KCET on Sustainable L.A.

OK, so you don’t see this too often: two Cheap Eats posts in one day. But I just wanted to let people know about the Free McSkillet Burrito promotion that is planned for tomorrow and Friday (Feb. 28-29). It’s not completely free - of course. You have to buy a medium or large drink. But if you were thinking of trying it out, this might be the time to do it. To be honest, I’ve been eyeing this burrito and thinking of getting it. I might just venture out on Friday morning and give it a go.

More details are on the McDonalds website.

By the way, because I’m doing two posts today, I’ll probably skip next week’s usual long post because I’ve got a ton of other work to do…

Free. F-f-f-free. Phree. Fwee.

That has a wonderful sound to it, hey? It’s the sound we like to hear the most here on Cheap Eats. But, it always seems there’s a catch to free goodies. Like you have to lend your email to unscrupulous marketers. Or you have to sell out your blogging integrity to thee man. Or you have to walk around like a living sandwich-board advertisement. I haven’t tried that one yet, but the year is still young.

So, I was sent this Senseo Coffee Pod System for free the other day. Now, what is the catch? The catch is that like free cell phones, free dish/cable network installments and free magazines, they want to make it as easy possible to rope you into a monthly “subscription” based type of payment. Sure, the phone is free, but you’ll be paying them a monthly fee that will eventually eclipse the cost of the “free phone” by far.

OK, so you don’t HAVE to sign up for any coffee subscriptions. However, because you need to use the special circular coffee packets with the Senseo machine - it’s pretty similar. They’re just reducing the barrier to entry by making the machine free - getting a lifelong coffee customer is completely worth the $70.

Incidentally, even though I was sent this machine without asking, it’s not like I’m special or anything. ANYONE can signup to apply for a chance to get a free Senseo machine as of right now. You just go to the Share Senseo website and fill out a quick questionnaire. The thing is - you are signing up for a CHANCE to get a free machine. You’re not guaranteed one. Needless to say, I’m told that if you use this link instead of just typing in sharesenseo.com, your application might be, er, expedited. And no, I’m not getting a kickback for sending you to them.

Ok, back to the coffee maker. Yes, so it does require their little “coffee pods” in order to use the machine (I’m debating whether or not it’s worth the effort to try and find a way to circumvent this by “making my own”. Right now, I’m leaning toward it being too much work). Also, you should note that I am NOT a coffee snob. I’ll drink pretty much anything as long as it’s not too burnt tasting. So if you really like coffee, your mileage will vary.

The first thing I noticed about the Senseo machine is that it is really WEIRD looking. To me at least. I wasn’t used to how curved everything was. It sort of looks like a cylinder that is leaning over to touch its toes. Now, I’m all for cool and unusual design - but I have to say that I wasn’t so happy with the way the main cylinder curves over the bottom plate where you put the cup.

I noticed right away when the instructions said to first flush out the device once by putting a bowl underneath to catch the excess water. I couldn’t find a bowl that would fit on it because the curved neck wouldn’t allow a large bowl to sit there without hanging off the edge. (Note: if you do get a machine, to flush it you can simply use a large wide cup that holds at least 10 oz. and you’ll be fine.)

My next complaint is the somewhat “unwieldy” curved nature of the detachable water reservoir. The shape just really makes it awkward to fill up and carry around - it’s shaped like a curved flat cannister, maybe like a warped hip flask or flat canteen. I guess it needs to be that way because the neck is so curved - anyhow, a minor complaint.

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