food specials of the week, february 4th

i will confess i am a bit of a shopaholic, and i get an instant high when i find a good deal.  i don't even know how many hours i've logged on the internet looking for cookware deals and restaurant specials (for most restaurants, i find it to be a good enough deal when i can get a table on the weekend).  so i'm introducing a new weekly feature on the site - a posting of all my "good deal" and "special" finds in the eating and cooking world every sunday.

i missed this last sunday, but here are some good finds:

le creuset at the home depot. 

who knew home depot sold le creuset?  well, it does and right now they happen to be having some great deals, like the 6.75 quart oval french oven on the left for just $129.00.  i haven't seen anything below $189 on the net for awhile, so get yours while they're around.  click on the dutch oven above to be directed to the home depot website and then search for le creuset.

your best buy dutch oven. 

cook's illustrated tested and rated several lines of dutch ovens in its recent january/february issue.  while we expected the prized (and expensive) le creuset to show up on its recommended list, a less known chefmate available only at target for $39.95 also passed america's test kitchen standards.  i was lucky enough to snag the shiny red one online for 20% off last week but unfortunately they have all sold out.  however, you can still find out what stores still have them in stock.  hurry as every religious braiser that hasn't been able to afford a le creuset is probably trying to get their hands on this one!

 

famous restaurant and famous dinner guests

besides being a shopaholic, i am also a starwood points whore.  all of you who travel a lot for business should understand where i'm coming from.  the starwood preferred guest program (starwood hotels: sheraton, westin, st. regis, the w, le meridien) offers "starwood moments," a program that allows members to use their starwood points to bid on once-in-a-lifetime experiences.  their latest offerings includes a private dinner party with the founders of the zagat survey at thomas keller's much talked about restaurant per se in new york city. if you're looking to cash in your points for something way cooler than just a free night at a hotel, this is your chance for a truly awesome dining experience.  hurry because it ends in 2 days!