Gaming, rape culture, and how I stopped reading Penny Arcade

Lifestyle Features

Entertainment on the cheap

Where to go without breaking the bank

By JEFF INGLIS | January 15, 2009

You've paid your rent and your tuition, and bought your books and groceries. Yes, you're broke. But that's no fun. Now what?

Fortunately, Portland is rife with budget-friendly activities and events. Some places have weekly specials — we've compiled a bunch here — and there are plenty of others, as well as venues with occasional deals. Here's what to look for, and when.

Look your best
JONATHAN DOUGLAS SALON AND SPA (345 Fore St., jonathandouglasspa.com) has $99 "economy crunch packages" combining several services for one price. Choose "The Feel Good," with a basic manicure and pedicure, shampoo, haircut and style, and a brow wax, or unwind with "The OohLaLa," a one-hour Swedish massage and a "Get Acquainted" facial.

O2 SALON AND SPA (605 Congress St., 02salonandspa.com) has "recession packages," too, including a 30-minute massage and a pedicure for $80 (a $10 savings).

STUDIO ONE LTD. (151 Middle St., studioone-portland.com) is giving new clients 15 percent off services by Kate and Robin.

Each week GOODWILL STORES (244 St. John St., in the Union Station plaza; find others goodwillnne.org) mark many of their clothes and accessories (and other items) as half-price with special tags.

And on Wednesdays, the SALVATION ARMY STORES in Portland (49 Alder St. and 30 Warren Ave.) have half-price specials on marked items.

Refuel the engine
For a quick pick-me-up, grab a "recession special" coffee at FREAKY BEAN COFFEE COMPANY stores in Westbrook (855 Main St., freakybean.com), Scarborough (264 US Route 1, and 2 Cabela Way), and South Portland (740 Broadway) — it's 99 cents for a small drip coffee and $1.99 for a small latte.

Also calling its deal a "recession special" is BRIAN BORU (57 Center St., brianboruportland.com), which offers lunch for $7. That includes a soft drink; if you want to upgrade to a local draft beer, add just $2.95.

O'NATURALS in Portland (83 Exchange St., onaturals.com) has specials just about every night, under their "economic bailout plan." If you work at nearby businesses, stop in on Mondays for 20 percent off (show your business card, nametag, or pay stub); Tuesdays they give 20 percent off with a college ID. Wednesdays are family night, with a free kid's meal if you buy an adult one. Thursday two guys can go in and buy one meal and get a second free; Saturday the same is true for two women. And Friday is "date night," when any couple gets 20 percent off.

On-the-go diners will want to stop by the new JOE'S NEW YORK PIZZA (420 Fore St., joesnypizza.com) to check out their slice-salad-drink combo deals.

At ANTHONY'S ITALIAN KITCHEN (151 Middle St., anthonysitalian.com) you can buy one dinner and get the second at half price on Friday and Saturday nights.

Westbrook's Italian-cuisine standby, Casa Novello (694 Main St., 207.854.9909), has two-for-one entrees on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Back in Portland, SHAY'S GRILL PUB (Monument Square, shaysgrillpub.com) has a $4 quesadilla special on Mondays.

Every day is special at the EMPIRE DINE AND DANCE (575 Congress St., portlandempire.com), with a $6 burger deal that includes fries. Bring a friend — it's two small burgers, not one big one, so it's perfect for splitting.

1 | 2 | 3 | next >

Related: The year the crap hit the fan, BHO's no FDR, Good news, bad news, More

The year the crap hit the fan
For a good metaphor of the year experienced by Rhode Island in 2008, consider the economic-development summit called by Governor Carcieri in November.
BHO's no FDR
As we enter a new year, a new administration, and indeed a new era, the advice most given to Barack Obama is model your presidency after that of Franklin D. Roosevelt's.
Good news, bad news
It will be the best of times. Or, perhaps, it will be the worst.
The pain hits home
With unsuccessful wars running in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the worst economic crisis in almost 80 years likely to get worse long before it gets better, Barack Obama will face challenges of historic proportions when he becomes the nation's 44th president next week.
Nice package
As the largest stimulus package in world history winds its way through Congress, the critics are already out in force.
It's a shandeh!
The news that Brandeis University plans to shutter its highly regarded Rose Art Museum and sell its exemplary collection of American art from the 1960s and '70s in order to resolve its budget crisis not only shocked the world of elite higher education, it also stunned the local, national, and international arts communities.
The upside of hope in Rhode Island
Everywhere one turns these days, there's seemingly more bad news about Rhode Island: the unemployment rate, one of the highest in the nation, tops 10 percent — and the state's running out of unemployment assistance.
Hope for young homebuyers
Good news if you're in a sufficiently stable financial situation to think of bailing from greater Portland's rental-housing morass.
Funeral recession
These days, practically nothing is immune to the economy's woes — not even an industry that caters to what would seem to be the one recession-proof commodity: death.
Obama explained
If Obama's inaugural address set a new tone, his speech to Congress drew a new map.
Mountains, not windmills
I just read your article (" Transmission Troubles ," by Deirdre Fulton, February 13) in the Portland Phoenix, great article.
Less

Topics: Lifestyle Features , Culture and Lifestyle, Beverages, MAINE SQUEEZE JUICE CAFÉ, More

| More

view all

[ 02/19 ] Bubonic Bear + Banned Books + Ultra//Negative + Death Cloud + Heavy Breathing @ 131 Washington

[ 02/19 ] Circle Mirror Transformation @ Theater Project

[ 02/19 ] Jozef van Wissem + Robbie Lee + Arborea @ The Oak and The Ax

ARTICLES BY JEFF INGLIS

CAMP CLOSES; CURFEW PASSES; ACTIVISM CONTINUES | February 15, 2012
Let's just say it: The first phase of OccupyMaine ended with a fizzle, not a bang. The showing at Friday's 10 pm deadline for Occupiers to be out of Lincoln Park was poor.

AT UNION REQUEST, SUSSMAN STEPS UP FOR PRESS HERALD | February 15, 2012
It was not the owners of the Portland Press Herald who sought out Maine hedge-fund mogul S. Donald Sussman to proffer a cash infusion to save the ailing newspaper. Rather, it was the idea of the Press Herald 's unionized employees.

AS ENCAMPMENT FADES, PROTEST SHIFTS BACK TO CORE ISSUES | February 08, 2012
Even as Portland city officials continue to pressure OccupyMaine to leave Lincoln Park, they have done the Occupation a great favor, perhaps unintentionally.

QUESTION AUTHORITY | February 08, 2012
Maine journalists appear to disbelieve their own eyes, decline to do their own research, and prefer to quote officials instead of relying on independent knowledge and experience.

CITIZENS OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT OCCUPY ENCAMPMENT | February 01, 2012
As OccupyMaine's request to stay in Lincoln Park is considered by a Maine judge, it appears the Portland City Council's decisions (which the judge is reviewing) were based more on individual councilors' views and less on constituent complaints than elected officials have let on.