Mon 16 Nov 2009 10:38 pm
As you know, there ain’t no such thing as one. But we do have some other attractive freebies coming up:
1. Celebrate the opening of Street Bean Espresso (2702 Third Ave.) with free drip coffee all day on Wednesday, Nov. 18. You might want to kick in some cash anyway, though, as the non-profit Belltown cafe, a partnership with New Horizons Ministry, is aimed at giving street kids job skills and steady work as baristas. Organizers said the cafe got its start through community help, with cash donations, with the owner of the Kroll Map Co. offering a year’s free rent in part of his building, architects and builders donating the remodel, and a carpenter and one of the employees building the tables. All this, and free Wi-Fi.
2. Pike Street Fish Fry (925 E. Pike), under new management, will have “Free Fry Friday” from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20, giving away free boats of fries and selling $2 pints of Fat Tire and Mothership. They plan to continue the tradition the third Friday of every month.
3. On Wednesdays, Grand Cru Wine Bar in Bellevue (1020 108th Ave. N.E.) is offering a free two-course dinner (a choice of selected starters and entrees) starting at 5 p.m. every Wednesday. The only catch (and it isn’t much of one); an 18 percent tip will be added to the entire bill, including the amount the free food would have cost.
4. And, through November, the Dahlia Lounge (2001 Fourth Ave.) is celebrating its 20th anniversary with daily giveaways. There are free prizes (e.g., a dozen free donuts one day, or a free duck entree the next), for the first 20 people at the lounge and the bakery each day to say “Happy 20th Anniversary Dahlia.” And, there are “golden tickets” distributed daily for fabulous prizes like a taco feed at your place, cooked by Douglas himself. I know, when it’s someone else’s birthday, are they supposed to be giving us presents? You can give back by contributing to Food Lifeline, one of Douglas’s longtime causes. Bring in a bag of food to donate with a $10 value, and — here go the presents again — they’ll take $10 off your tab. Full list of daily giveaways here.
grand cru is doing free dinner on wed and sat
I went to the Grand Cru last Wednesday, and I was a little disappointed in the items selected for the dinner. They ran out of the soup, the pork tenderloin was overcooked, the ravioli looked like packaged ravioli, and there were only shrimp tails (no shrimp) in the curry. The manager explained that they’re still working on the items and on the free dinner process. Reservations are required, so they should know how many guests will participate in the dinners beforehand. I probably don’t deserve to complain, since the dinner only cost us the bottles of wine and the tax and gratuity of the value of the meal, but if the free meal isn’t good, why would I return to pay for it? On the other hand, the manager did take my comments and gave me a free dessert. Bottom line: nice thought but probably needs to be fleshed out before going “out on the streets.”