Los Angeles Freebie

Most years, my mother-in-law gives my wife and me a thick coupon book stuffed with offers for discounts all over Los Angeles and Orange County. Considering the amount of out-of-town guests we have over the course of a year, the coupons tend to come in handy. 20% off Huntington Gardens here, buy-one-get-one-free at the aquarium there – it adds up. But the one category of coupons that I had never used before I decided to write this blog post was fast food. Regular readers of Los Angeles Foodie know that I almost never eat at fast food chains, and when I do, it’s usually for a speific post on this blog. Oh, and also this is the first time ever that I’ve posted photos of myself, so… you know.. enjoy. Without further dillydallying, let’s get right to it…

My first stop was Dairy Queen. To be totally forthcoming about my coupons, this one didn’t come from the mother-in-law book. This one came from my award-winning submission to the Dairy Queen Queen blog contest. I came in fifth place, an honor that was communicated to me in the form of a $5 gift card. Just enough to buy a…

Peanut Buster Parfait. And yes, it was just as good as I remembered (which is pretty good). Money saved: $4.35

At our next stop, my lovely wife negotiated one free Original Chili Dog (the coupon for a free Original Chili Dog helped). By the way, Wienerschnitzel is giving away free Original Chili Dogs on July 14th from 5-8pm. Get ‘em while they last.

Yikes. iPhone cameras should not be used for food photography. Money saved: $1.39

A free quesadilla at El Pollo Loco was the next item on the menu. Free quesadillas? These chickens must be crazy.

LOL. It was actually kind of good. I mean, how bad can you mess up one of these things? Money saved: $1.39

Oh dear god, Domino’s. What suicide-by-carbohydrates will you be feeding me?

Cinna Stix with Sweet Icing tastes like a pizza topped with Easter candy. I could only take down one stix before my poor body threatened me with a diabetic coma. Money saved: $4.99

The next stop on the calorie train was Carl’s Jr. Ok, Carl. Let’s try one of your…

Famous Star burgers. Ironically, the iPhone camera did the ole ‘Star perfect justice. It didn’t look or taste very good at all. But at least we took the whole thing down (my wife and I each had half). Money saved: $2.45

OK. I know what you are thinking. Two pizza joints in a single afternoon is crazy talk. But don’t worry. No pizza was consumed because at Papa Johns, we got…

Chocolate Pastry Delights, and I swear to you that the girl working the counter had no idea such a thing existed. She had to rummage around in the back for a while before agreeing to bake us up a batch. A Chocolate Pastry Delight is a chocolate-filled puff pastry that has been topped with icing. Under different circumstances, the CPD might have lived up to its name and been delightful, but I was really full before I even tackled the first one. Furthermore, the overwhelming sugar punch made me long for my time with the not-as-sweet Cinna Stix. Money saved: $3.99

I wish it were a joke, but I really did get hearburn so bad that we had to stop by the pharmacy for a bottle of Tums. Money spent: $5.33

My wife and I consumed a total of $18.56 worth of food and spent $5.33 on medication. I think it’s fair to say that we had $13.23 worth of fun.