Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Starbucks

The EconoMuse's world was rocked this week. Her favorite coffee store caught on fire. 

On Tuesday morning, Ms. E-Muse awoke to the sound of circling helicopters. As she took her kids to school, she knew something big was happening. (The billowing smoke and cordoned off roads were a small hint.) As she drove into town towards the smoky haze, she started pleading with God. "Oh Lord, please don't let it be the bookstore." Phew. The bookstore was safe. She continued down the street. "God, I really need to stop at the bank, and I don't want to pay $2 to use someone else's ATM. Please let Wells Fargo not be on fire." The bank was good. But with each passing block, the cruelest of possibilities turned to reality in the EconoMuse's smoke-addled brain--a large plume was coming from, gulp, Peets Coffee.

You have to understand one thing about the EconoMuse: she has a big, bouncy dog who loves long walks, especially if they end up with her (the dog, that is) tied to a pole in the doorway of Peets, where she (again the dog) can hold court, greeting everyone who is coming and going.  Ms. E-Muse and Dog Muse Franny make this 3.2 mile round trip four or five days a week. It is as much about the coffee as the community. Yes, the EconoMuse has done the math, and she realizes she could save oodles of cash by brewing her own, but this is one luxury she'll never give up (however, she makes a point to order drip coffee, which is about half the price of those frou-frou frothy things). Plus, Dog Muse would not be e-mused if the trips stopped.

Which brings us to this week...

Good Muse? There is another Peets in the neighboring town, which is 4.6 miles round trip. Dog Muse gets to walk another 1.4 miles. Bad Muse? It takes more time, so Dog Muse doesn't get to go as often. Which means the EconoMuse is finally brewing more at home. And as a consolation prize, she is dipping into frou-frou territory. 

A few years back, Ms. E-Muse discovered an inexpensive little device that can make all that frothy stuff for a fraction of the cost of your local coffee bar: the Bialetti Mukka Express.

This baby rocks. Just like the classic Italian stovetop espresso machine, this nifty contraption can brew espresso, and it can steam milk, making a fab latte all in one step. The design is so simple, requiring no electricity or water mains or large tracts of counter space. It's so small, that the EconoMuse has taken to traveling with it, guaranteeing herself great coffee no matter what godforsaken place she finds herself in.

So here is the math part of today's post. Feel free to skip this and jump in at the next paragraph. Ms. E-Muse has seen the Mukka (as she affectionately calls it) for $70, more or less. Assuming ingredients cost $1 per latte (beans, milk, treacly syrup, etc.), and a typical coffee bar latte costs $3.50, the Mukka will save you $2.50 per latte and pay for itself in just 28 coffees. If you are like Mr. EconoMuse, that's just one weekend of coffee drinking! Heck, every weekend that goes by that you are not using a Mukka is costing you $70!!

Sold? Now What?

Thought you would never ask. A funny thing has happened in Mukka World in the past few years. Ms. E-Muse bought her original one at the ever-overpriced Williams-Sonoma. This past Christmas, she gave 'em away like candy and found them for decent prices at various e-tailers. And so can you. But that requires shipping costs and carbon offsets. Then, her Safeway--of all G.D. places--started carrying them. And now Target and Costco, as well. Go figure. There can be an upside to the mass-consumerization of fine living.

Full Disclosure

No, the EconoMuse does not own stock in Bialetti. Rather, she is forced to admit one tiny fly in the ointment, as loathe as she is to do so. There may be a learning curve. Now she doesn't want to scare off anyone since she just adores her Mukka, but her concern is that you might get a tad frustrated upon first purchasing your own, as did Muse Roo Hoo Hoo. Or worse, you might get a "Mukka Injury" (again, Muse Roo Hoo Hoo, and it was not what you would think--there was no burning involved.) If you listen to Ms. E-Muse and buy your own Mukka, bookmark this very useful website. It will help you get up the learning curve quickly. Not that everyone needs the help.

Final Note

On the sad day of the Peets fire, the EconoMuse was trading texts with all the Peets regulars. One regular (she'll call him Peets Paul) uses Peets as his home office between client visits. Peets Paul texted, "What am I going to do?" Ms. E-Muse, clearly in shock herself, had no useful suggestions for a new "office" location. However, she could offer him this axiom: Remember, friends don't let friends drink Starbucks.

Recession Proof: Return of the Happy Hour

On this St. Patrick's Day, the EconoMuse naturally has beers and bars on the brain (along with a touch of alliteration.) However, instead of celebrating the day by drinking in bars, she has chosen to write about drinking in them instead. For better or worse (probably better) she has been sidelined by a cold.

The EconoMuse loves chatting with fellow Muses, and recently a recurring theme has begun to emerge in these conversations. Apparently the early bird does get the worm--or at least the 2-for-1 cocktails with cheap appies. 

Now, most of Ms. E-Muse's fellow Muses had done their time on the college bar circuit (remember $2 pitchers at Tacos Tacos anyone?!), moved on to have families, and then graduated to fine dining with expensive wines and even-more-expensive babysitters. Maybe it's the economy, or maybe it's the imminent midlife crises, or maybe it is even the company she keeps, but whatever the root cause, Ms. E-Muse has noticed a spike in the number of friends who are hitting the bars again. However, with a few notable exceptions (and she won't name names), this time around going to a bar no longer means shutting down the joint, followed by late night pizza-by-the-slice. No, now her muses are opening the joint, getting out on the town early so they can still get stuff done afterwards. (Or at least the next morning!) And, they are rewarded for their get-up-and-go spirit with free stuff. As they should be.

Muse Clockwise (don't ask--its a semi-long story), first alerted Ms. E-Muse to this Happy Hour resurgence. Now let's get this straight: the EconoMuse is pretty sure the Happy Hour never went away. It's just her own demographic simply shifted out of it, and is only now shifting back into it. So when she says resurgence, she doesn't want to hear from all you people who never let it die in the first place. She knows who you are and what you've been doing all these years. 

Anyhow, Muse Clockwise pointed out that she and a friend, Muse Tracy, could go to a fancy-shmancy restaurant, have two drinks and an appetizer, enjoy a little camaraderie with fellow foodies at the bar, and spend an hour or two of their time and $15 each of their money. 

Now let's compare bang-for-buck at non-Happy Hour times:

"Can I start you out with something while you review the menu?"

"Yes, I would like a glass of Chardonnay."

Done. $15. 15 Minutes. 

Should have started with a glass of water while reviewing the menu--it would have bought a few more minutes of enjoyment for your $15! 

Tap water, that is.

Finding the Happy Hours

Recently, the EconoMuse set out to find the best nearby Happy Hours. She set to work at the Googles, and discovered that some drinkers had actually taken the time to put together lists of good local Happy Hours. Tingling with excitement, she quickly learned that these lists are not the golden ticket. They are only one piece of the puzzle, and as the economy has sunk deeper into that R thing, new deals are popping up right and left, while some restaurants are closing. It would take a hearty soul to keep all these lists current. Therefore, Ms. E-Muse turned to the standard review sites, such as Yelp, Chowhound (a favorite foodie site but not as exhaustive as Yelp on the Happy Hour front), and BooRah (sort of the Rotten Tomatoes of the restaurant world) to aid in her search. 

Best way to work the review sites? Just type in "Happy Hour" and the name of your town, click on the various restaurants or bars that are your speed, scan each quickly for key words (i.e. hours, offers, free spread of hors d'oeuvres, etc.) and then click directly on the restaurant/bar website to verify the details. If the restaurant doesn't advertise a Happy Hour on their home page, they usually will have a Events, Calendar, or Bar page that will have more info. But some don't, and you'll just have to make sure that the Yelp post that led you to their site was recent and applicable--some Yelpers generically refer to that time after work as Happy Hour whether or not there are freebies.

Site to watch: Unthirsty.com

The EconoMuse has concerns about Yelp and transparency, so she hates to rely on it too heavily, and she is always looking for alternatives.  Here is one site dedicated to Happy Houring that she is watching: Unthirsty.com. The catch here is it depends on a critical mass of user feedback to keep it current, and it isn't quite there for her region. However, all you lucky drinkers in NYC (Muse Susan? Muse Liz and Pete?) will find a lengthy list to peruse.  At any rate, check in on it from time to time, you might just find a good tip.

Tuesday: the New GNO

When the EconoMuse followed her own advice, a few trends emerged. First, Happy Hour no longer is an hour or two. Some bars start Happy Hour at noon and go all the way till dinner, for six hours of afternoon happiness. At others, Happy Hour has become Happy Night or a Happy Late Night. Check the hours. Sometimes the late bird actually gets the worm!

Second, the deepest discounts come earlier in the week. The aforementioned Happy Night? A Tuesday. This means you can sneak out with friends after the kids get home from soccer practice and everyone is fed. And you know what that means, right? Guilt-free, cheap cocktails!

Final Word: Don't Skimp the Tip!

Muse Maria, the original Depressionista, weighed in on this matter the other day. She is all about the bargain hunting, but she is not cheap. She told the EconoMuse to make sure she blogs this in bold: tip as if it were full price. Ms. E-Muse fully agrees. We should not have our e-musement at the expense of the waitstaff working hard for shrinking tips. Remember, people, now that the pendulum is swinging us back to the bars for a little inexpensive fun, don't start to think you are back in college. You're not. This time, drink responsibly!

Soup's On

News Flash: a food industry analyst has proclaimed, "People will eat during a recession." Um, duh. 

The real question is not if but what will people eat. With everyone making difficult spending choices, apparently one food item is not even on the bargaining table. That's right, we are not willing to give up chocolate. 

According to Cadbury, the world's second largest candy company, chocolate sales were up in the last half of 2008.  But chewing gum? Not so much. Evidently chewing gum is an impulse purchase made by people on the go, whereas chocolate is a stock-up-and-pig-out-at-home item. So in these hunker-down times, we refuse to give up chocolate. Again, duh. 

The EconoMuse would like to point out that living well during a recession is all about making trade offs. If one were to live on some inexpensive meal, such as--let's say--soup, then the savings can be put towards indulging in luxurious chocolate. Again, this feels like a total no-brainer. So to make your chocolate splurge a reality, Ms. E-Muse--putting on her Frugal Gourmette hat--would like to share some thoughts on soup.

Soup: It's Not Just For Breakfast Anymore

OK. Maybe you weren't raised in the EconoMuse's house where everyone fought over leftover dinner for breakfast. (It got to the point where they would make spaghetti to have it leftover and cold for breakfast.) So, yes, Ms. E-Muse has a storied past when it comes to adventures in eating. And all those stories began with Mom and Dad Muse (aka Ma Muse and Da Muse). 

When most kids were sitting down to meatloaf and mashed potatoes in the 70s, Ms. E-Muse was grating Sap Sago cheese on her pasta. Don't know it? Sap Sago is a hard, green, stinky, grating cheese from Switzerland. Capers? No problem. Katsudon Donburi? Bring it on! Full curry dinner? Only if it could be eaten without utensils! Ma and Da Muse were well-traveled and liked to continue their international adventures in the kitchen. There was a time (also in the 70s), when Da Muse had recently returned from Japan and Hawaii, so he decided the preferred method for making toast in the morning was to pan-fry it in butter, covered with sesame seeds, using chopsticks as a spatula, and doing all this while wearing a kimono and flip flops (or "go-aheads", as he called them). This was the zany 70s, after all, and Da Muse was doing his part. 

In honor of Ma and Da Muse, who knew how to make inexpensive food fun and exciting during the last really nasty recession, the EconoMuse would like to kick off this Frugal Gourmette post with one of Ma Muse's famous soups, adapted to today's recessionary shopping trends. In other words, everything can be purchased at Trader Joe's!

Tuna Palos Verdes Chowder

First of all, the EconoMuse has no idea where the "Palos Verdes" in the title came from. She worked the Googles and got nothing. She thinks it was meant to give a recipe made from canned goods a name with cachet. (Ma Muse's version, after all, was made with Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup.)

Ingredients

1 Carton of Trader Joe's Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

1 Can of white tuna, drained [N.B. Never get light tuna. Yes it is cheaper, but you might as well buy cat food! Yuck!]

1 Small onion, diced

2 Potatoes, peeled, cut in half long ways, then sliced thin

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 Heaping tsp. oregano

Directions

1. Saute onion in a bit of oil in a medium large pot until softened, about five minutes.

2. Add potatoes, pepper, oregano, and enough water to barely cover potatoes (about 1-1/2 - 2 cups).

3. Cover and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes.

4. Add soup and tuna, and simmer for another 5 minutes.

5. Adjust seasonings to taste. Might need a touch of salt.

6. Enjoy.

7. Chase down with large quantities of chocolate.

Tuna not your thing? The EconoMuse understands. Her kids are split on the matter.  The funny thing is the non-tuna eater loved the soup, whereas the tuna eater? Well he hates everything new, so don't let it stop you...

The second soup is one of Ms. E-Muse's favs.  It's easy, yummy, and full of healthy things that can easily be picked out. (See paragraph above about picky eaters!)

White Bean, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Soup

Again, all of the ingredients can be bought at Trader Joe's. Ms. E-Muse's TJs even carries bags of whole sweet potatoes. But if you are inclined to waste a few dollars, you can buy those pre-packaged, peeled,and diced sweet potatoes or butternut squash.  Ms. E-Muse won't tell the Economizing Police.

Ingredients

1 Small onion, diced

1 Can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 Carton chicken broth

1 Medium-large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

3 Italian sausages (precooked or not), sliced in 1/2" slices. Ms. E-Muse prefers turkey so she doesn't have to precook and drain fat

A couple handfuls of baby spinach

Salt and pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Saute the onion in some oil in a soup pot, until soft.

2. Add sausage and saute until cooked.  Drain fat, if necessary.

3. Add broth, beans, and sweet potato.

4. SImmer for about 20 minutes or until potato is soft.

5. About 5 minutes before dinner time, add handfuls of spinach.

6. Adjust seasonings. It likes a few good grinds of black pepper.

7. Ladle into bowls and grate fresh parmesan cheese on top.

8. Enjoy.

9. Chase down with large quantities of chocolate.

Swapping Soup

Now, with blizzards in the East and dumping rain in the West, the EconoMuse wants her final word to be a plug for sharing soup. Years ago, Muse Jen P. wanted to have a soup party. Ms. E-Muse thought it was a grand idea. Mr. Muse Jen P.? Not a fan of the idea. Well, Muse Jen P., you could have been a trendsetter! The EconoMuse has stumbled across the notion of Soup Swaps. They are like those annoying Christmas Cookie Exchanges, except you go home with healthful soups instead of gazillions of extra calories at a time of year when people have way too many sweets anyways. Apparently there is even a National Soup Swap Day. We missed this years. It was January 24th. But no worries. And no need to wait a whole year to have your own. If you are looking for an inexpensive way to warm hearts and party with foodie friends during these recessionary times, check out Soupswap.com. Not that the EconoMuse needs an excuse to party...