Omnivore - Deals revealed: BLT Steak 5 at 5
How good is a dining deal, really? I set out to find out.
- James Camp
I’ve been checking out a lot of the dining deals available around town recently, and over the next few weeks I’ll be posting my impressions of those deals. Many restaurants have special deals on particular nights or at certain times that are designed to lure in cost-conscious customers. Most of these deals look great on paper, but I’ve found that many of them have their downsides or are not exactly as they seem or are advertised. I’ve also found that despite this, some of them are still great value.
So let’s begin with BLT Steak’s 5 at 5.
The deal: From 5 to 7 every night, $5 small plates and drinks at the bar.
Upsides: This deal has a lot going for it. First, it doesn’t require a huge commitment. $5 gets you a drink, or a snack, or $20 gets you two drinks and two snacks. Second, it’s available every night. Third, it includes booze. This is a big bonus for many cost-conscious diners, including me. If you’re out for a good time on the cheap, you don’t want to have to sweat the cost of alcohol with your cheap meal.
- Besha Rodell
My friend and I ate two small plates each and had two drinks each and got out of there, full and happy, for $40 pre-tip. The food was super tasty, especially the hot dog and the sliders, which at 3 for $5 were practically a meal in themselves. Crabcakes with meyer lemon was a smaller portion, but light and flavorful and perfect for a foil to the meatier options. Whenever you eat at BLT you also get their huge popovers, which are all eggy and stretchy and bready goodness. A herbaceous version of a greyhound (vodka and grapefruit) is probably the best $5 cocktail in town, if only for those two hours per day.
Downsides: As with many dining deals, the problem is not with the idea but with getting the staff on board with the idea. 5 at 5 is a promotion that came from the national level - BLT restaurants around the country offer the same deal. And it seems the bartender on duty the evening we were there wasn’t too thrilled with having to, ahem, deal.