Marie Callender's

Due to the economy, my husband has been laid off the better part of the last 6 months. Going out to eat is a rare treat so when we do got out we need to find the best deals possible for all of us.

Joining e-clubs that are available at some restaurants is great because they offer coupons and birthday deals. Marie Callender’s offers some of the best deals that we’ve found so far. I often get coupons for buy 1 get 1 lunch for free from them. An everyday deal though is that with the purchase of 1 adult entrée and drink, kids eat for free.

A few weeks ago we decided to take advantage of this while we were out running errands at that end of town (we do a lot of our shopping at Morrow and Sons on Silverton Road because of fantastic prices!).

Trying to stick to a budget, we ordered water with our meals. Our helpful waiter reminded us that if at least 1 of us purchased a drink that Bug’s meal would be free so we happily obliged. Their menu offers the typical kids’ menu options. Bug asked for “noodles,” so we decided to try the “Curly Noodles with Alfredo Sauce,” which comes with a slice of bread and desert options of a sundae, a slice of apple or chocolate cream pie. I would have liked to have seen maybe some steamed veggies or some fruit to go along with the meal though.

We usually add their all you can eat soup and salad bar, fill up and take our meals home. This also allowed us to get some things for Bug to crunch on while we waited for our orders. Bug snacked away at salad and slurped on soup while coloring a paper that could be entered for a chance to win a bike.

I was very pleased when Bug’s food arrived and the waiter informed us that it was warm and not hot – this is the first restaurant that we have been to that made a point of keeping the temperature of her food safe – this won huge points with me. The noodles got a big thumbs up from Bug.

To top off our nice lunch experience, the waiter brought Bug a balloon, which always makes her happy as can be.