“Eating your own dog food” sounds pretty yucky but actually is a phrase coined by a product manager at Microsoft back in the ’80s. It soon became a motto for using the products you make or recommend to others.It basically means practice what you preach.

^[2] I’ve recommended a lot of things on this blog and one of my absolute favorites is Restaurant.com ^[3]. This past Tuesday I took my wife and three children out to a great little eatery and used one of the $25 gift certificates that I bought for only $2 with the Dinner of the Month Club ^[3]. We ate BBQ nachos, a blue cheese burger, a very rare tuna steak (my favorite), grilled salmon with capers, a grilled chicken flatbread sandwich, and a monstrous club sandwich all for much less than usual because of that gift certificate.

^[4] What I like about using Restaurant.com’s Dinner of the Month Club ^[3] is that you aren’t bound to one single establishment – or even bound to use it in the same city or state! When you go to their site, you can enter which city you’re going to and print out a certificate for any restaurants that are participating in that area. Currently there are over 13,000 restaurants participating nationwide and Restaurant.com’s customers have saved over $100 million. Using coupons for eating out is not only ridiculously easy, but smart too. And they make great gifts ^[5] because you can email them to friends ^[6], family, or business associates!

^[7] Here’s your chance for Dinner of the Month Club

Now through Jan 31, 2010 you can get the same deal I did – getting $25 restaurant gift certificates for only TWO dollars each!  Use the coupon code: BONUS when you check out and for less than the face value of ONE certificate, you can enjoy $300 in restaurant meals all year long as a member of the Dinner of the Month Club ^[3]. Certain restrictions and limitations do apply but good grief, for that kind of deal, I can handle a few restrictions.

^[8]

Not all restaurants participate but there is no obligation to check which ones do in your area (or the area you’re planning to visit). What I like is that for the most part, the big chains aren’t in on this deal. As a result you get to experience more local flavor and variety than the big chains could ever offer. And does it ever taste good!

So give Restaurant.com ^[3] a try – you won’t be eating dog food, I promise.

Photo credits:

• Grilled salmon photo by Terry.Tyson ^[18]
• Bleu cheeseburger photo by Gayla J. ^[19]
• BBQ nachos photo by mooshee85 ^[20]

About the author

Ron has written 1080 articles on The Wisdom Journal.

The founder and editor of The Wisdom Journal ^[21] in 2007, Ron has worked in banking, distribution, retail, and upper management for companies ranging in size from small startups to multi-billion dollar corporations. He graduated Suma Cum Laude from a top MBA program and currently is a partner in a national building materials company.

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