I think that I'm going to go ahead and continue with my television themed series of posts and talk about one of my television guilty pleasures. Having come from a family full of chefs, I grew up watcing a lot of shows on the Food TV Network. It always seemed that someone in my house was watching a show on that particular channel, and when we would travel over to my aunt's house or my grandmother's house, the same channel was likely on the television there too. As a result of all of this food-ie exposure, I've continued to watch this cable channel to this day. I've even gotten to the point where I've seen repeats of most of the shows on the network. Those of you who are familiar with the Food TV Network will readily recognize the name of the Food TV personality Rachael Ray. She's one of those people who you just love to hate on this channel. I believe that she hosts three or four different shows on the network, and although she's always cheerful and full of good ideas, she's got that giggly, semi-obnoxious, always on a caffeine high thing going on throughout every one of her shows. As much as I would like to see her put in a muzzle from time to time, I have to really hand it to her concerning the great ideas that she's had for shows over the years. One of her most famous and widely known shows besides Thirty Minute Meals is the slightly newer Forty Dollars a Day. In this show, Rachael Ray travels all over the country, and in some cases the world, to visit a different city and get by purchasing breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack or drink for just forty dollars. The show documents her trips to various restaurants and keeps track of her spending and deal-finding throughout the day.

The reason that I really enjoy the show is that it shows the money-conscious world traveler that it is really possible to do a lot in a city on a little bit of money. Well, I guess you have to go and take into consideration that the forty dollars that she is spending on this show only goes towards her food and not towards the shopping and other attractions that she takes part in while on the trip. Still though, forty dollars for a day's worth of eating in a city that is unfamiliar to you is a prety good deal. The best episodes are when she travels to cities that have always had a reputation for being a little bit on the expensive side. She has traveled to Miami, New York City, San Francisco, Boston, and Las Vegas, and showed that it's very possible to eat well, have fun, and not break the bank. Believe me, having traveled to Miami, New York City, and Boston myself, it is no easy task to find good food for inexpensive prices, especially if you don't want to travel to the outskirts of the city to do so. It always seems to be the case that the closer you get to the really touristy areas of the city, the higher the prices will be. I remember in particular one very horrible experience that I had trying to get a burger at an Applebee's just outside of Times Square in New York City. That is definitely one mistake that I will never make again.

My favorite way to save money on food while traveling, which happens to be one of Rachael Ray's money-saving strategies as well, is to check out the little mom and pop, kinda hole in the wall types of places to eat. Some of these little cafes, restaurants, and bistros have the best food in the city or town, and they tend to have daily specials and discounts for hungry travelers. When I traveled to Paris back in January 2006, I managed to find some great like pastry shops (patisseries) in the neighborhood (arondissement) that I was staying in. I even made friends with the little old lady who owned the pastry shop down the street. I would stop by in the evening before the shop closed and get to taste some free samples and sometimes even take some home for snacking the next day. This is the kind of great deal that you really need to look for, especially in expensive cities like Paris that are known for their high priced cuisine.

I suppose that these same types of ideas for saving money when eating out can apply in all of our hometowns. I think that for the sake of convenience, a lot of us tend to head back to the same chain restaurants moreso than smaller eateries when we are on the go. I've found in the past that these places, while consistent, just don't offer the same amount of taste and satisfaction in the meal as the smaller places do. I guess that I've always felt that things taste better when you know they're made with love. Since I'm a new resident in a small town, I'm still working on venturing out and trying a lot of new things at a lot of the smaller restaurants in town. I've lived here for nearly nine months, and I've barely had the chance to scratch the surface on finding all the great little places that this town has to offer. That's going to be a fun summertime project for me to undertake. I'm going to have to start making a list of the places that I've already been so that I don't end up there again until I try some of the other great places in town.