Groupon

Zinc Bistro Restaurant (Cleveland, OH) Review

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Back in December 2010 I bought a Groupon for a new restaurant we had never been before calling Zinc Bistro. My wife and I like to take advantage of a lot of the finer dining establishment via Groupon, mostly for on our date lights where we go to the Cleveland Playhouse. This past season was the first time we subscribed for tickets to all of the blockbuster plays of the season, and it has become a very healthy time for us to enjoy each others company while the grandparents enjoy the kids. So we knew the Zinc Bistro certificate would come in handy.

Well the current season has come and gone, and we never used the Groupon. In addition, we were nearing the expiration date, so we used the certificate last week so as not to lose it. Seriously, why did I wait so long to experience Zinc?

My wife and called and made a reservation, since we heard the outdoor patio books up well in advance. Unfortunately, it was overcast, and the outdoor area was shut down, so we were quickly ushered to a reserved indoor table in the upstairs balcony.

We started off our night with some cocktails, before hearing the nightly specials.

110623 Zinc Pear Salad


For starters, we had the Pear Salad with Ricotta salata, spiced pecans, oven roasted grapes. The salad was a great way to start the meal with the perfect combination of fresh, local, organic ingredients.

110623 Zinc Chicken Cordon Bleu

For our main entrees, my wife ordered the Chicken Cordon Bleu (Airline chicken breast, stuffed with country ham and Gruyere cheese; camargue rice, mustard sauce). The rice came out a beautiful red color and was really nice. The chicken was like cutting into butter it was so perfectly prepared, bone in.

110623 Zinc Gnocchi

For my meal, I ordered the Gnocchi Pasta (Chef’s garden veggies, asparagus, rainbow Swiss chard, green garlic, lemon herb beurre blanc). I kid you not, this was the best gnocchi dish I have ever eaten. As I write this post, it is all I can think about, and it’s been a week since we went. The gnocchi itself was from Ohio City Pasta. The lemon herb beurre blanc added the most intense yet subtle flavor. Perhaps the best part of the meal though was the incredibly fresh vegetables! Zinc has most of the ingredients grown locally and organically. I swear I could taste the earth the vegetables were grown in they were so amazing.

110623 Zinc Frites

My wife and I also shared a side order of the Zinc Frites, which was accompanied by an excellent dipping sauce.

110623 Zinc Poached Pear Dessert

For dessert we shared the Red Wine Poached Pear with house made ice cream. The pear was served in a delicate puffed pastry and drizzled with chocolate sauce. The flavor of the red wine in the pear was pretty intense, but very good. The ice cream of the night was a bay leaf flavor, and it was great! Initially I do not know if I would have tried it if I knew what the ice cream was made from, but it added an incredible flavor that really helped offset the intense flavor of the pear.

Overall, we were super impressed with Zinc Bistro. The cost of the Groupon was $35 for $75. In addition, we spent an additional $32 including tax and tip. Considering we had 3 drinks, shared a salad, two entrees, and shared a side dish and dessert, it was an incredibly rewarding experience for the amount spent. I would gladly eat at Zinc again even without a Groupon, although the savings was really worth it. TRY THE GNOCCHI!!!

Niagara USA Discovery Pass and Darien Lake Admission Half Off

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I find it kind of mind boggling just how many Groupon spinoff sites exist today. They even have the same look. I read a statistic in one of my magazines a couple weeks ago that there was something like 600+ other sites doing the same thing as Groupon. I am all for competition, but that is well beyond saturation.

When Groupon came out, my wife got me interested as it was a new concept. Then LivingSocial and hundreds of others started showing up. Even though the sign-up is simple at any of the competitors, no matter how good, or bad their deals were, I have never pulled the trigger to sign-up and purchase other deals. Honestly, even Groupon has gotten a little old. I say this not because it is not fun to score a deal. What I mean is when it was 1 or 2 deals a day, it was manageable. However, sometimes I go to various cities now and there are a dozen different deals to monitor. Basically it became a huge time commitment for the average consumer when you are watching multiple cities.

Running a blog, I am in constant search of great finance and travel related deals. Via getmyperks.com, they have two pretty decent deals worthy of discussion.

SOLD OUT!!First up is the deal for TWO Niagara Falls State Park Discovery Passes for the price of ONE! A $66 value for just $33! I find this to be an amazing deal because the pass gets two people into six different attractions at Niagara Falls.

– Maid of the Mist
– Cave of the Winds
– Niagara Scenic Trolley
– The Niagara Aquarium
– Adventure Theatre
– The Niagara Gorge Discovery Center

In addition, the passes are good for all of 2011. That is some major savings and worth the purchase. Must purchase before the end of today.

The second deal is for half price tickets to Darien Lake valid Friday, June 24th only. The ticket includes SplashTown Water Park & over 100 ride, shows and attractions! While the ticket is only valid on one day, if you have the time, it can be worth the savings. Purchase this deal before noon on June 24, 2011.