2 For 1 Hot Chocolate At Chocolate Bar

As City Bakery's Annual Hot Chocolate Festival comes to a close today, we realize that you might still be looking for your hot chocolate fill. Swing by Chocolate Bar (19 Eighth Avenue
between Jane & West 12th Streets) any Sunday between 8:30AM and 9:00PM this winter for a 2-for-1 hot chocolate special. Eight hot chocolate flavors include classic, spicy, peppermint, coconut, hazelnut, caramel, raspberry and white.

Pork Bun Crawl Tomorrow In Chinatown

Tomorrow, NYC Food Crawl presents a pork bun crawl. Meet at the NE corner of Columbus Park (intersection of Mulberry and Bayard Streets) at 3PM and spend a couple hours sampling different types of pork buns across Chinatown. No RSVP necessary. Bring friends and make new ones. The event is pay as you go.

More details can be found on the Facebook invite here. Enjoy!

Matt Damon & Paul Greengrass @ The Apple Store In Soho

Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass will be discussing their new film -- Green Zone -- this evening at the Apple Store in Soho at 6:00 PM. Free. Details here.

Free Admission To EastVille Comedy Club This Weekend

You know the drill: Mention NYCDAILYDEALS when you make a reservation for the 9PM or 11PM show on Friday or Saturday night at EastVille Comedy Club (phone at 212-260-2445 / e-mail at eastvillecomedy@yahoo.com) and they'll waive the $20 cover charge. Beverages start at $5.00 so you'll have no problem meeting their 2 drink minimum. Here's who you'll see this weekend:

Todd Barry

(Sex and the City, Road Trip, The Wrestler, David Letterman)

Sherrod Small
(Best Week Ever, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Today Show, Comedy Central)


Eliot Chang
(Comedy Central, Last Call w/ Carson Daly, Law & Order, Crash Test)

Nate Bargatze
(Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central)


Marc Maron
(Almost Famous, Conan O'Brien)

75 Cheap Dates In NYC

Earlier this month, Time Out New York ran a feature: 75 Great Cheap Dates. They're even broken down into different categories for you: active, arty, classic NYC, cozy, funny music/dancing, and outdoors. Some of our favorite date spots include:

Weekly "Napkin Idol" drawing contest at Dusk Lounge.
Williamsburg’s first bowling alley in nearly half a century, The Gutter.
A late-night Bistro Burger at dimly lit Village standby Corner Bistro.

Sunday’s ASSSSCAT 3000 improv show at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

The warehouse turned graffiti gallery 5 Pointz

Check out the entire list here.

$3 Beers / $4 Margaritas @ Piquant in Brooklyn

Swing by Piquant in Prospect Heights from 5PM - 8PM on Tuesday through Friday for $3 beers including Sixpoint and Guinness. at the bar There are also $4 margaritas. We love a good happy hour!

Free Pancakes At IHOP Today

IHOP celebrates National Pancake Day by offering customers three free buttermilk pancakes from 7AM - 10PM. Beware though -- the lines can be crazy! Locations below.

BROOKLYN -
276 Livingston Street, (718) 222-446
72101 Ralph Avenue, (718) 251-2262

MANHATTAN -
2294 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd, (212) 234-4747

QUEENS -
73-01 Northern Blvd, (718) 429-5452
9801 Liberty Avenue, (718) 659-6501

Tasty $5 Dinner In Midtown East

Last week, I stumbled upon Kushi Q (723 3rd Avenue) a fast food yakitori spot which serves delicious skewers with rice/salad and miso soup. For lunch, a 3-skewer meal will cost you anywhere from $6.80 to $8.90 -- a bit on the pricey side, although you do get a lot of food.

I noticed, however, that they have a dinner special from 4PM - 6PM that can't be beat: $5 for any 3 skewers + rice/salad. Go for one of the more expensive lunch options like fresh shrimp, tender beef, or fresh salmon and you're getting your meal for almost half of what it would cost during lunch. You can see the full menu here.

There is also a location at 153 E. 53rd Street.

Check out reviews of Kushi Q on Midtown Lunch!

Chinese New Year Parade & Festivities

Ring in the Year of the Tiger at the 11th annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade and Festival. The parade goes from 11:30AM to 4:00PM and winds through Chinatown along Mott Street, Canal Street, and Bayard Street. More details can be found here.

Jersey Shore Dance Party @ Bell House

So here's the situation... we know you've been missing your fill of Jersey Shore episodes and are also longing for summer. Fill both of these voids tonight at Bell House's Jersey Shore Dance Party. According to the invite, Juiceheads, Meatheads, Gorillas, Guidos, Guidettes, Grenades and even Creepers are all welcome. Prizes will be given away for the best costumes. More details here. Enjoy!

Size DOES Matter - Shaq's New Art Exhibit

Size DOES Matter is a new art exhibit curated by Shaquille O'Neal. It opens today and includes works from international artists exploring the how scale affects the perception of contemporary art. There will be everything from huge sculptures to a microscopic portrait viewed through a special lens on display.

The exhibit is presented by the FLAG Art Foundation which is located on the 9th and 10th floors of the Chelsea Arts Tower at 545 West 25th St.

More info can be found here.

French Fry Tasting In Brooklyn This Weekend + Pomme Frites Coupons

4Food is a new restaurant chain with the mission of selling fast, fresh, delicious, and nutritious food, made of local produce. Their first location opens in April and this Sunday they're having a french fry tasting in Brooklyn this weekend. There is a session for children at 11:00AM, teenagers at 12:30PM, and adults at 2:00PM.

Although the adult session is almost full, you might be able to snag one of the final spots by emailing your name to info@4food.com or calling 718-884-3663. There are a number of spots still available for children (6-12) and teens (13-19).

And while you're dreaming about french fries, how about this? Send your name, e-mail, and mailing address to nycdailydeals@gmail.com. At noon, I'll randomly pick five people to receive two coupons to Pomme Frites -- which serves my favorite fries in the city. One coupon is "buy one get one free" and the other is "get a large for the price of a small."

The catch? You must be on our mailing list. If you're not signed up, you can do so here. We just launched a brand new, user friendly format today and we think you'll enjoy it! Good luck!

* So many responses! Thanks to everyone who entered. The winners are Charlene W, Jenny Y, Vanessa L, Jenni M, and Syd C. Check your e-mails! And an extra winner on our Twitter page: @athenahoya.

2 for 1 Coupon @ Pinkberry

Pinkberry is offering you -- yes, you! -- a buy one get one free coupon that you can use through Friday. With toppings. OMG.

Okay, it's way too cold for this.

Cheap Classes On... Everything... At Brooklyn Brainery

Last year, Brooklyn Brainery launched a series of collaborative classes on anything and everything. Seriously.

Registration just opened for the new season and all of their classes will fill up quickly. So what's the catch? Well each class meets four times and costs a total of only $25. Do the math. That's $6.25 a class. Click on each class below for more information. Spring classes include:

Meat!: Learn the difference between top round and a tenderloin, the nuances of braising, and where to find cow's lung.

Beauty School Dropout: Freshen up your cosmetic skills - we'll cover history and chemistry along with the theory behind what looks good on who.

Paper Arts: If you think paper is just for crumpling up in movie scenes about writer's block, you would oddly be incorrect: we'll cover paper-making, bookbinding, paper planes, origami and a billion other neat things.

Introduction to Gardening: Whether you have a backyard or a windowsill we'll figure out how to make it grow green.

Free Coffee All Month Long From SeamlessWeb

SeamlessWeb has been giving away free cups of coffee all month long. This week, the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side get their share. Check out the entire month's calendar here which includes all participating locations.

Free Italian Ice at NYC's First Rita's Location

Talk about an icy Valentine's Day! Rita's Italian Ice opens its first-ever New York City location today at 2486 Broadway between 92nd and 93rd on the Upper West Side. All visitors will receive a free regular-size Italian Ice from 11AM - 11PM. Special Valentine's-themed flavors for the day include Wild Black Cherry, Passion Fruit and the worldwide debut of Chocolate Chocolate Chip.

Additionally, the first 100 guests to visit Rita's newest location will receive free Regular Ice for an entire year!

$2 Beers @ Brewskee-Ball National Championships

All weekend long, the Brewskee-Ball National Championships will be taking place at Full Circle Bar (318 Grand Street) in Williamsburg. They'll be serving $2 Genesee Cream Ale all night long in addition to the following drinks before 9PM today and tomorrow: $3 Full Circle Wheat Beer, $4 Well Drinks, $4 Moo Thunder & Pork Slap Beer, and $4 BROTY Mary.

Get your drink on and check out some of the area's best skeeball players.

Swing by

Free Gelato Near Grand Central Station

According to Grub Street, Golosi (125 Park Avenue) will be giving away free scoops of strawberry gelato today from 12PM - 2PM. It might be a little cold out... but we say... what the heck!

Free Admission To EastVille Comedy Club This Weekend + A V-Day Special

You know the drill: Mention NYCDAILYDEALS when you make a reservation for the 9PM and 11PM show on Friday or Saturday night at EastVille Comedy Club (phone at 212-260-2445 / e-mail at eastvillecomedy@yahoo.com) and they'll waive the $20 cover charge. This weekend, there's a bonus show on Sunday evening for Valentine's Day (can you say cheap date?). Beverages start at $5.00 so you'll have no problem meeting their 2 drink minimum.

Performing Friday & Saturday Night at 9PM and 11PM:

Mike Britt, D.C. Benny, Nicole Korkolis, & Geno Bisconte



Performing Sunday Night at 8PM:
Ted Alexandro, Harris Stanton, Esther Ku, & Rachel Feinstein

Two Events You Can't Miss: Village Voice Choice Eats + Sixpoint Anniversary

Nearly every deal on this site is free or costs no more than a few dollars. Well today, we're taking a day off from being cheapskates to tell you about two amazing upcoming events.

Perhaps our favorite event of the entire year is The Village Voice Choice Eats. It's one of the city's most unique food events featuring sizable portions from NYC's most sought after restaurants. Last year, the event sold out three weeks in advance. Participating restaurants this year include: Dumont, Egg, Fette Sau, Hummus Place, Max, Mercadito, Motorino, Porchetta, The Vanderbilt, and many more. There is also an open bar. It takes place on March 22nd and you can click here for tickets ($45) and more information.

Next Wednesday, there is a great event taking place at one of Brooklyn's top restaurants. Sixpoint Craft Ales is celebrating their 5 year anniversary at Roberta's. There will be three hours of unlimited Sixpoint beer and unlimited Roberta's pizza + organic salads and assorted dessert offerings baked with Sixpoint beer. You can click here for tickets ($34) and more information.

If you're going to splurge on two events, we strongly suggest going to both of these. They will sell out and you will feel left out when everyone is talking about them. Hope to see you there!

UPDATE! Neither in your budget? Fear not. Swing by Brooklyn Bowl this evening for FREE Sixpoint beer, food, and bowling from 6PM - 8PM. Details below.

Cheap & Free Music Downloads

Amazon.com is offering you 100 digital downloads for only $5 each this month. Artists include Andrew Bird, Owl City, Everclear, RJD2, Mos Def, Muse, Johnny Cash + the new Vampire Weekend album, Contra. See the whole list here.

If free music is more your style, you can download more than 50 free cover songs by the Decemberists including songs by Cheap Trick, Pink Floyd, Neutral Milk Hotel, Velvet Underground and more.

13 Undergraduate Scholarships From Answers.com

Answers.com, based in NYC, is awarding 13 scholarships worth $1,000 - $5,000 each. Answer 50 questions of your choice at Answers.com, submit them to the review panel, and you could put a major dent in your college tuition bill next school year. Details and application form can be found on the scholarship program page.

Sponsored Posting

8 Cent Chocolate Cake At Market Cafe All Week

Another great deal from our friends over at 8coupons.com. Click here for a free mobile coupon you can redeem at Market Cafe (496 9th Ave) for 8 cent chocolate cake through this Sunday. Did we mention it usually costs $9.00 a slice? Not too shabby.

2 Pop Burgers for 88 Cents in Midtown

Grab a late lunch today and take advantage of 8coupon.com's Ocho Loco deal: two burgers from Pop Burger (14 E 58th Street) for 88 cents! The deal is good from 2:00 PM - 6:30 PM. More details here.

Where To Fill Up Your Growlers On Super Bowl Sunday

I hereby proclaim 2010 the year of the growler! Yes -- the growler has been back for a while, but don't be surprised if more people show up to your Super Bowl party with growlers than six packs. A New York Times article from last month (The New Old Way to Tote Your Beer) provides a pretty good list of places where you can get your fill on, but here are a couple of places you might want to hit up today:

L'asso is offering customers $5 growlers with the purchase of a large pizza pie today only. The $5 price tag includes the growler itself and the 64 ounces of beer to go with it. They have Southampton Double White, Lighthouse Ale, Oreilly's Stout, and Coors Banquet on tap.

Personally, I'll be heading over to Whole Foods on Houston Street where my favorite brewery -- Sixpoint -- will be pouring six of their beers from 1PM - 5PM. A growler will run you about $13.99 and the line-up includes: Sixpoint Redd, Double Sweet Action, Bengali Tiger, Diesel Stout, Righteous Ale, Mason's Black Wheat.

Let's go... Saints!!

Winter Jam In Central Park This Afternoon

Just in time for the snow! Swing by Central Park this afternoon for their annual Winter Jam. From 11AM-4PM there will be a rail jam for snowboarding, a snow field for skiing, a winter market with snacks and free samples + much more! Enter at 72nd Street and head over to The Bandshell. More details here.

10 Oscar Nominated Shorts - $5 Screening

All of the films nominated in the Live Action and Animated Short film categories will be screened on Saturday, 2/27 at the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International. This popular event began in 2003 and has sold out every year since then. Tickets are only $5 ($3 for students) and can be purchased here.

Free Pizza @ Smartass Rock Trivia

Every Thursday from 7PM-9PM, swing by Fontana's on the Lower East Side to show off your knowledge about rock and roll. Four rounds of ten questions each could land you some awesome prizes. There's always free pizza from Rocket Joe's and $3 beers until 8PM.

City Bakery's Annual Hot Chocolate Festival

City Bakery kicked off it's 18th annual hot chocolate festival earlier this week. Every day this month there is a different flavor for you to try. From Bourbon Hot Chocolate to Vietnamese Cinnamon Hot Chocolate, there is sure to be something to spruce up your palate. Check out all the available flavors here or below.

Wednesday, February 3: Chinese Cinnamon Hot Chocolate
Thursday, February 4: Espresso Hot Chocolate
Friday, February 5: Ginger Hot Chocolate
Saturday, February 6: Banana Peel Hot Chocolate
Sunday, February 7: Caramel Hot Chocolate
Monday, February 8: Vanilla Bean Hot Chocolate
Tuesday, February 9: Earl Grey Tea Hot Chocolate
Wednesday, February 10: Introducing….Moulin Rouge Hot Chocolate!
Thursday, February 11: Tropical Hot Chocolate
Friday, February 12: Bourbon Hot Chocolate
Saturday, February 13: Milk Chocolate Hot Chocolate
Sunday, February 14: Love Potion Hot Chocolate
Monday, February 15: Vietnamese Cinnamon Hot Chocolate
Tuesday, February 16: Hi Ho Pistachio Hot Chocolate
Wednesday, February 17: Milk Chocolate Hot Chocolate
Thursday, February 18: Darkest Dark Chocolate Hot Chocolate
Friday, February 19: Creamy Stout Hot Chocolate
Saturday, February 20: Happy Hot Chocolate
Sunday, February 21: Sunken Treasure Hot Chocolate
Monday, February 22: Ginger Hot Chocolate
Tuesday, February 23: Arabian Nights Hot Chocolate
Wednesday, February 24: Ode to the Polar Bear Hot Chocolate
Thursday, February 25: Beer + Brown Sugar Hot Chocolate
Friday, February 26: Shangri-La Hot Chocolate
Saturday, February 27: Banana Peel Hot Chocolate
Sunday, February 28: Festival Finale TBD

Although not cheap, you might also be interested in stopping by Clinton Street Bakery for some pancakes this month. They'll have different types throughout the month:

Feb 1st, 2nd, 3rd: chocolate & blood orange pancakes w/candied orange glaze
Feb 4th, 5th: poached pears with vanilla bean whipped cream & warm maple butter
Feb 8th, 9th: fresh coconut pancakes with passion fruit syrup and bananas
Feb 10th, 11th: roasted apples with candied walnuts and warm maple caramel
Feb 12th, 15th: chocolate chunks, fresh raspberries, and raspberry-caramel sauce
Feb 16th, 17th: brown sugar pecans, bananas and cinnamon maple butter
Feb 18th, 19th, 22th: classic chocolate chunk
Feb 23th, 24th: fresh blackberries, pecan streusel, warm maple butter
Feb 25th, 26th: crunchy bananas with cinnamon-chili-chocolate sauce

Meet Aziz Ansari At The Apple Store In Soho

At 7PM this evening, funnyman Aziz Ansari will be at the Apple Store in Soho to promote his comedy special: Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening. Check it out. And after... run back home for the season premiere of LOST!

Free Belgian Chocolate & Coffee In Financial District

Swing by Leonidas (3 Hanover Square) today or tomorrow and you'll be treated to some free Belgian chocolate and free coffee. Enjoy!