Free food for you unemployed peeps! From Urban Daddy newsletter:

BEEF & CUPCAKES
Essex Street Recession Dinners

The old-school butchers at Jeffrey's Meat Market have a sweet deal in store for anyone with proof of unemployment or foreclosure. The first 230 people to stop by get tickets to a gratis recession dinner featuring a half-pound steak, cupcakes and a bit of well-deserved relief. If only all the bailouts involved strip steak…

411: Now offering tickets for dinners on Apr 1, 120 Essex St, 212-475-6521

Twitter helps me find the most awesome stuff these days (sign up already!).

Today's evidence: www.newyorkology.com.

More specifically, NYology's post that breaks down NYC's museum Scene into two helpful categories, especially for the free-minded:

--Museums with a “suggested donation” all the time (bare minimum: one lovely penny)
--Museums with free or pay-what-you-wish hours (with convenient day-of-the-week subheads)

It also points this out gem: "Bank of America’s Museums on Us allows cardholders free admission during the first weekend of every month at the Met, Jewish Museum, American Museum of Natural History, NY Hall of Science, Bronx Zoo, NY Aquarium and the International Center for Photography"

Oh, heeeeey! Read full story here, and totally del.icio.us this shizzz.

One of my coworkers just finished badgering me about what to do for lunch. Her dilemma: not hungry (but decided she must eat something). She was craving french fries, but the 7 minute walk to Burger King was a mysterious burden.

As she stared at me with her doe-like eyes, I eyed the bag of potatoes in my office that I bought from Stiles Farmers Market and haven't brought home yet because, well, they're fucking heavy.

Baked potatoe? I suggest. Her eyes light up like I just solved not her hunger, but world hunger.

After she wandered away happily with my potatoe, I realized this is a perfect recession lunch.

Analyze:

--Cost of 4lb Idaho potatoes: $2.50.
--Average # of potatoes in bag: 12-16
--Cost per potatoe: $.21-.25
--Butter: FREE (from office fridge via leftovers from corporate bagel breakfast platters or local lunch spot) or $1.00
--Salt & Pepper: FREE (packets from local lunch spot)
--Sour Cream (optional): $1.00 -$2.00; per potatoe: $.16

You can have lunch for a quarter, or fourty cents if you want sour cream, for two weeks.

Dude, beat that.

P.S. I smell a new blog topic strain: "Lunch for less than a buck." Thoughts?

Breakfast deals are abundant at your local Brooklyn & Queens bodegas, but did you ever think you could land a 1 dollar breakfast meal from chain restaurant? More or less Jamba Juice? Plus, move over Burger King, introducing the Strabucks Value Meal! Gothamist reports:

"Someone’s wind-chill related prayers have been answered, and now it has come to pass: through the end of March, hand over one dollar to the Jamba Juice folks, and in return they’ll hand you some hot, steel-cut oatmeal that comes with brown sugar and choice of fruit on top. The cheap breakfast is just one of the many current promotional deals riding the coattails of the economic stimulus nomenclature. In exchange for oatmeal, Jamba Juice requires you to conspire with tree-killers to get their oatmeal deal by printing out a coupon. In the meantime, in an effort just to get customers through the front door, earlier today Starbucks delivered on its promise to introduce a new “value meal” consisting of coffee and an egg sandwich, with oatmeal or coffee cake, all for a low-priced $3.95."

Eat up, kids.

Found a website today that lists FREE events in NYC. They don't always have alcohol (le sigh), but there are useful events listings like "Self Promotion On-Line and Off." At this event an author (although kind of an unknown) discusses how to be more assertive in the workplace, which is helpful for those who want to make themselves more valuable to their employer during these tough times.

Check it out: http://www.jitteryfeet.com/

Actually, now that I think about, I bet this website was made for people who are afraid to go out (hence the name).

Doesn't sound like me.

Good thing there are some free happy hours listed so I can at least somewhat relate.

BlackBook published a TOP 10 FREE BAR SNACKS list. Hot!

I personally live down the street from Crocodile Lounge, and have personally indulged in their free pizza w/ a drink more times than I can (care to) count. On another personal note, I will be "stopping by" TRASH bar sometime soon w/ the roomies (oh, tater tots! I will never outgrow you), and the idea of a free cheesy panini (drool) @ Vero Midtown on a Monday night sounds almost too good to be true.

Click here and check out the full top ten list.