Free Lunch for Kids Program

The City of Albuquerque’s Summer Lunch Program dishes up free lunch (and sometimes breakfast) for youngsters aged 1 to 18 in area parks, community centers, and other venues.

We think this excellent Albuquerque summer lunch program is very well-known already - it’s certainly popular with parents we’ve spoken to. But just in CASE you haven’t heard the word, children and youths aged from one year to eighteen years can get a free lunch (and at some venues a free breakfast) just by turning up.

Meals are served on a first-come-first-served basis: 

• Map of participating free kids’ lunch venues so you can find a spot close to you
• List of free kids’ lunch and breakfast venues with times

The only restrictions are that youngsters can’t pick and choose – they take the entire meal – and they have to eat on site – it’s not a take-out deal. They must also clean up after themselves, and generally behave well – no food fights!

The program continues to August 6, 2010, although community centers (they’re marked on the list) will finish service on July 30, 2010.

See all the details and menus at the City of Albuquerque’s Free Summer Lunch Program page.

–Tania

Bike to Work Day Goodies: May 21

Free refreshments and swag at breakfast stops this Friday May 21, as part of National Bike to Work Day.

Get on your bike for freebies and the chance to win prizes this Friday May 21, 2010. Cycle to work and join the free-wheeling fun with BikeABQ at eight locations from Los Lunas to Intel, where you can get breakfast, t-shirts while supplies last, and win goodies from local bike shops.

Get fit, help the planet, and freebies too – what’s not to love?

Several New Mexico RailRunner stations are involved in Bike to Work Day.

Albuquerque Public Schools is encouraging its employees to join in Bike to Work Day, saying it will ‘recognize’ the site with the highest participation. Not sure if recognition brings rewards, but sometimes the glory of doing the right thing is reward in itself! (I guess teachers know that already. Three cheers for our teachers as we come to the end of another school year!)

And as we’re in Strive Not to Drive Week, remember that free parking is always available at Albuquerque Park & Ride lots during transit service hours for ABQ Ride passengers.

–Tania

Friday Food Freebies & Deals: May 7-14, 2010

Mother’s Day feasts, half price Starbucks Frappuccino, free choc chip cookies, military eat free, BOGO Quiznos Sub, 50% off  Porky’s Pride Real Pit BBQ, 50% off Cecilia’s Café, Savoy wine tasting, and more deals for the week ahead.

• Half Price Frappuccino at Starbucks Happy Hour through May 16, between 3 and 5 pm at participating locations. No coupon needed….Froth on!
• Free Chocolate Chip Cookies on May 15, to celebrate National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. That’s the kind of national celebration we like…. According to New Mexico Business Weekly, the Nestlé Toll House Café by Chip at the ABQ Uptown location ONLY will give away 2,000 mini cookies to mark its second anniversary there – plus opportunities to win prizes and see the Nesquik Bunny.
• Free Quiznos Sub with a Buy one Get one Free coupon to score a free sub when you buy one of equal value and a regular fountain drink. Valid till May 14, 2010.
• Military Eat Free at Chick-fil-A on May 15 in honor of Armed Forces Day, at both ABQ locations: Chick-fil-A  Cottonwood Corners and Chick-fil-A Paseo del Norte. We’re told that anyone in uniform or carrying a military ID will eat free. Yay on Chick-fil-A! And our military men and women… there aren’t enough Yays – we thank you for your service.
• Free breakfast at Chick-fil-A Cottonwood Corners on Saturday May 8 from 6:30 to 10:30 am. If you didn’t see our post LAST Friday about free breakfast week, you’ve still got one more day to nab a free breakfast item on Saturday, the final day of the promo. No link, we’ve just been reliably informed! Only at Chick-fil-A 3801 Ellison Rd NW.
• Save 50% at Porky’s Pride Real Pit BBQ and Cecilia’s Café thanks to Good Day New Mexico’s Half Price Thursday. Buy $50 worth of gift certificates for only $25. 
  50% off Porky’s Pride Real Pit BBQ certificates – use them through October 31, 2010.
  50% off Cecilia’s Café certificates -  use them till November 28, 2010
  Quantities are limited, don’t wait too long to purchase.
• Wine Tasting at Savoy Bar & Grill – California Icons on Saturday May 8 at 2:45 pm. Try a variety of featured Californian wines paired with “small bites” for $30 a head plus tax and tip. Places are limited – you need to make a reservation before they fill.
• $1 off Carl’s Junior – final week to print out the coupons for:
  $1 off Big Country Breakfast Burrito Combo to May 12
  $1 off Banana Chocolate Chip shakes and malts  to May 12
  $1 off any size Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger combo to May 19
  One coupon per person per visit. Find Carl’s Junior Albuquerque locations.

Mother’s Day Feasts

If you haven’t got your groove on for Mother’s Day yet, then here are a few places where you can TREAT that lady!

All seem reasonable deals for the locations, all on Sunday May 9, 2010. Tax and tip are extra, and reservations are generally recommended:

• TGI Friday’s premium menu with 3 courses for $16.99 
• Brasserie La Provence $30 prix fixe menu of three courses from 10:30 am to 3 pm.
• Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro Mother’s Day Brunch from 10 am to 3 pm offers the regular menu plus specials, and classical guitar music by Dan Dowling.
• Zinc Mother’s Day Jazz Dinner from 5 pm includes a starter amuse-bouche and sparkling apertif and a three course prix fixe menu for $40, with music by the Robb Janov Quartet.
• The Standard Diner Buffet Brunch is from 9:30 am to 3 pm at $27 for adults, or $10 for kids aged 5-12.
• Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort serves Mother’s Day brunch in the smart Corn Maiden restaurant from 11 am to 3 pm, at $60 or $30 for kids aged 12 and under. In the more casual Santa Ana Café, brunch runs from 10 am to 3 pm, for $45 – kids half that price.
• Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown buffet brunch is $28, and kids eat at half price, aged 12 and under. It’s all happening in the Sheraton Ballroom from 11 am to 2 pm.

Other treats for mom?

See our posts on the $10 tour with ABQ Trolley Co. on Sunday May 9 and $5  magazine subscriptions as a gift – order by May 9.

NOTE: Not all locations may be participating in all offers – call ahead if you want to be sure.

Thanks for tips from Ed at Large Ron, our Southwestern buddies at Tucson on the Cheap , and our surfer buddies at Miami on the Cheap.

–Tania

Friday Food Freebies & Deals: April 30 – May 7, 2010

Chick-fil-A free breakfast, free Einstein Bros bagel, $1 Hot Dogs on a Stick, free Jack in the Box sandwich, Olive Garden discount, 50% off Banana Leaf entree, and kids eat free…. all in our round up of food deals for the week ahead.

• Dollar Tuesdays at Hot Dog on a Stick means just what it says – every Tuesday get your Hot Dogs on a Stick for $1 each. Deal is good at all locations – in Albuquerque, find Hot Dog on a Stick at Coronado Center and Cottonwood Mall. 
• Get free breakfast at Chick-fil-A Cottonwood Corners from Monday to Saturday May 3 - 8 between 6:30 and 10:30 am. Free breakfast week at Chick-fil-A Cottonwood Corners was so popular – they’re doing it again! Next week,  a different breakfast item will be free each day.  At time of writing the website doesn’t show which goodies they’re giving away yet, but freebies before included biscuit and gravy, cinnamon cluster, sausage biscuit….  and as before, the free breakfast is ONLY at this Chick-fil-A location, 3801 Ellison Rd NW. 
• Free Jack in the Box grilled sandwich till Monday May 2. If you missed our post on this, you’ve still got time to get your free sandwich when you buy anything else on the menu – the offer is for the Deli Trio. Just take the free sandwich coupon with you, make any purchase, and claim your freebie! But make sure you do it by Monday May 2, 2010. 
• $2.50 off a dinner entree at Olive Garden – limited numbers of  Olive Garden Coupons  are available to print, so take your chances and print it soon! The coupon gives you $2.50 off up to two dinner entrees and it really is dinner only – not lunch. Terms say that it’s valid at any Olive Garden Restaurant, but can only be used by the person who prints their name on the coupon, and one coupon per visit. Coupon expires May 7, 2010.
  Thanks to Florida on the Cheap for the tip! 
• Einstein Bros Bagels coupons for a free bagel on Fridays and $2 Tuesday:
  - Free Bagel Fridays – Get a free bagel before 11 am, no purchase necessary. We like that! Expires May 22.
  - $2 Tuesday - Bagel, shmear and coffee for $2 on Tuesdays before 11 am until May 19.
  Only one coupon per person, once per day, BUT it looks like you can RE-USE the coupon every week till the deals expire.  Thanks to Editor at Large Ron for the tip! 
• Half Price Entree at Banana Leaf Asian Cuisine in Rio Rancho (via Valpak). Buy one entree and two beverages, and get another entree at 50% off! I love this place, and you can use the Half Price Entree coupon for lunch or dinner. Currently showing a May 13, 2010 expiry date – but Valpak coupons often roll back the expiration, depending when you print ‘em (until they take the deal down – it won’t last forever. 
• Kids eat free on Monday nights from 4pm to 10pm at Jason’s Deli Cottonwood. We mentioned this new Kids Eat Free night a few weeks ago, but have more details now. Deal is one free meal per child aged 12 and under, limit two children per adult. PLUS free balloons, coloring books and free ice cream! The menu is packed with the good stuff like organic apple juice and milk, and absent stuff like MSG, trans-fats etc. Find Jason’s Deli Cottonwood on Coors and Alameda in front of Lowe’s. 
• Also, if you check out Jason’s Deli Cottonwood on Twitter each Tuesday at 10 am, you might win a free sandwich in their Tuesday contest!
• Food & Life: A Place at Mother Earth’s Table. This free event at 1 pm on Saturday May 1 at the Maxwell Museum’s Hibben Center explores the wild plants that featured in prehistoric diets. Plus, sample modern recipes made with ancient ingredients. (That sounds a bit like my kitchen.) Admission to the Maxwell Museum is free, and so is the event. Details are on their events page.

NOTE: Not all locations may be participating in all offers – call ahead if you want to be sure.

We’re compiling all our Kids Eat Free ongoing deals into one point of reference on the ABQ on the Cheap site – if you know of any, please tell us in the comment box below or use the Submit Your Deal form!

–Tania

Friday Food Freebies & Deals for 4/9/2010

Tax Day treats plus freebies, discounts and coupons for the week ahead at Cinnabon, PF Chang, Quiznos, Chick-fil-A, Saffron Tiger free entree and kid’s bowl too, Gold Bar nostalgia, El Norteño Buy-One-Get-One-Free on breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and Standard Diner’s beer feast.

• On Saturday April 10, satisfy your sweet tooth with a free breakfast cinnamon cluster at Chick-fil-A Cottonwood Corners between 6:30 and 10:30 am.
• Join Chick-fil-A at Paseo Del Norte’s free viewing of the new VeggieTales movie Pistachio on Saturday April 10 at 6 pm. The free movie party includes face painting, giveaways, and popcorn. Pick up a free Pistachio coloring sheet in advance, take it home for your little one to color in and bring it back to the April 10 party…. and they’ll get a free kid’s ice cream!
• This coupon (mentioned last week) for an Arby’s free roast beef sandwich when you buy any soft drink is still (just) valid – coupon expires April 10.
• Sweet relief on Tax Day April 15 with free Cinnabon cupcakes. They’re giving away two free bite-sized cupcakes per person between 6 pm and 8 pm – note those are both PM times, it’s an evening offer – at participating mall-based Cinnabon bakeries.
• P.F Chang’s also eases the Tax Day burden with 15% off all food – dine in or take out – on April 15! Not valid on beverages or happy hour food but otherwise just turn up with a taxing appetite.  No coupons necessary. (If you’re a Warrior Card member, you don’t get 10% off on top of that – just the same 15% as everyone else!)
• Quiznos coupons valid till April 18  for:
  - Free chips and regular fountain drink when you buy any regular/large sub, or regular chopped salad
  - $1 off 1 sub, $2 off 2 subs, $3 off 3 subs
  (Thanks to Atlanta on the Cheap for the lead!)
• Get a taste of nostalgia with the Gold Bar fundraiser for the ’98 Del Norte High School 12 Year Reunion – buy the peanut butter and chocolate desserts that were sold in Duke City schools. One pound (about 12-14 gold bars) costs $9.80, two pounds = $18, and three pounds = $26. So you save by ordering more (what a great excuse! I mean, incentive.) Order your Gold Bars online, pay by PayPal, then pick ‘em up at Del Norte High School on April 17 or May 8 from noon to 1:30 pm. OR have them delivered to your door ($5 shipping for one pound of Gold Bars.) Or just turn up slavering at the school on those sale dates  – April 17  and May 8 – and pay with cash.
• My mouth’s watering at the thought of East Indian food, and Saffron Tiger Indian Cuisine Express adds to the temptation with a coupon for a free entree OR chai tea or mango lassi, PLUS a free kid’s bowl for children aged 12 and under, when you purchase any two entree combo. Saffron Tiger is located on Paseo Del Norte, just east of San Pedro, and the coupon is good through April 15, 2010. (Thanks to Denise for THAT tip. Not sure if Denise works there or is just a wonderful reader, either way, thanks D!)
• Editor-at-Large Ron is quite excited that  El Norteño Buy-One-Get-One-Free coupons are back in Valpak – and no wonder! BOGO coupons serve you a free breakfast, lunch, and dinner, valued up to $8 each. Coupons are valid till at least April 23, 2010 at current time of viewing, for dine in only. 
• Standard Diner’s Beer Dinner on Sunday April 18 is $50 a head, but that’s for six… count ‘em… SIX courses, all paired with Marble Brewery beers.  The menu starts with Cheddar/Beer Soup and ends up with Cinnamon Baked Brie, by way of Kobe Sliders, Lollipop Lamb, and a couple of other courses you’ll just have to do your best with. Reservations are required, and I’d say bring a tent, ‘cos I can’t see anyone walking home after this feast. Or maybe even rising from the table for 24 hours.
• If you’re more of a wine buff, Standard Diner uncorks half price bottles of wine on Monday nights!

NOTE: Not all locations may be participating in all offers. Call ahead if you want to be sure.

–Tania

Free Chick-fil-A Breakfast till Saturday April 10

Get a free breakfast item at Chick-fil-A Cottonwood Corners till Saturday! We’ve just found out about this daily deal thanks to a tip from reader Crystal, and hope some of you can fill up before the freebies are over!

Drop into Chick-fil-A Cottonwood Corners  for free breakfast this week between 6:30 and 10:30 am.

• Thursday April 8: Free biscuit and gravy entree
• Friday April 9: Free sausage biscuit
• Saturday April 10: Free cinnamon cluster

They also have free wi-fi while you eat!

–Tania

Free Denny’s breakfast – Today Feb 9 and on your Birthday

If you haven’t had breakfast yet today – Tuesday February 9th – get yourself down to a Denny’s for a free Original Grand Slam breakfast before 2 pm. And get a free breakfast any time of year on your birthday.

Maybe you saw the promotion advertised during the Super Bowl, but if you didn’t, you heard it here: A free breakfast at participating Denny’s until 2 pm on Tuesday February 9, 2010. No coupon needed.

Denny’s says that two million customers turned up for the freebie last year (erm, probably not just in ABQ – but from sea to shining sea) so don’t miss out on yours. And possibly expect a wait for a table.

Also good year-round news – Denny’s has also announced they’re bringing back a free Original Grand Slam for customers celebrating birthdays – show up with proof of date of birth at participating restaurants.

Finally, if you register for Denny’s Rewards program (newsletter with offers and promos) through February 14 2010, either online or in store, you may win a free Grand Slam Breakfast every week for a year. Each prize of 52 coupons for a free breakfast is worth over $300, and they’re giving away 52 prizes. Plus the first 500,000 people to sign up for the Denny’s Rewards program through Feb 14 get a free burger and fries, to redeem between March 1 and 7, 2010.

Denny’s restaurants are at:
11261 Menaul Blvd NE
2400 San Mateo Blvd
2608 Central Ave SE
1602 N W Coors Rd
5201 San Antonio Dr
254 US 550, Bernalillo

Remember: not all locations may be participating in this offer. Call ahead if you want to be sure!

–Tania

Last Chance! Free Breakfast Fridays at Chick-fil-A

There’s no reason to cook breakfast the morning after Thanksgiving when you can pop over to Chick-fil-A and get brekkies for FREE!

Between 6:00am and 10:30am each Friday, stop by the Paseo del Norte location (only) for a totally free breakfast item. Here’s the lineup:

• November 6: Free 3-count Chick-n-Mini
• November 13: Free Sausage Biscuit
• November 20: Free Burrito (Sausage or Chicken)
• November 27: Free Chicken Biscuit

This promotion is valid ONLY at the Paseo del Norte location. No coupon required. Limit one offer per person, please.

Chick-fil-A is located at 8110 San Pedro Dr NE, at the Paseo del Norte intersection, Albuquerque.

–Elizabeth Hanes

Free Breakfast Fridays at Chick-fil-A

Every Friday in November (2009), Chick-fil-A on Paseo del Norte (only) is offering you FREE BREAKFAST! Shut up!

Between 6:00am and 10:30am each Friday, stop by for a totally free breakfast item. Here’s the lineup:

• November 6: Free 3-count Chick-n-Mini
• November 13: Free Sausage Biscuit
• November 20: Free Burrito (Sausage or Chicken)
• November 27: Free Chicken Biscuit

This promotion is valid ONLY at the Paseo del Norte location. No coupon required. Limit one offer per person, please.

Chick-fil-A is located at 8110 San Pedro Dr NE, at the Paseo del Norte intersection, Albuquerque.

–Elizabeth Hanes

Free Breakfast Fridays at Chick-fil-A

Every Friday in November (2009), Chick-fil-A on Paseo del Norte (only) is offering you FREE BREAKFAST! Shut up!

Between 6:00am and 10:30am each Friday, stop by for a totally free breakfast item. Here’s the lineup:

• November 6: Free 3-count Chick-n-Mini
• November 13: Free Sausage Biscuit
• November 20: Free Burrito (Sausage or Chicken)
• November 27: Free Chicken Biscuit

This promotion is valid ONLY at the Paseo del Norte location. No coupon required. Limit one offer per person, please.

Chick-fil-A is located at 8110 San Pedro Dr NE, at the Paseo del Norte intersection, Albuquerque.

–Elizabeth Hanes

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