Monthly Archives: January 2012

I decided to end my alcohol-free month a couple of days early. I really wanted a glass of wine (okay fine, two glasses) with dinner last night. Aside from the two glasses of wine that I had two weeks ago, this was the first time that I’d drank in about a month. Four drinks in a month doesn’t sound like such a little amount, but really it is. There were two specific times when it felt really weird not to drink – one when we went out for a friend’s birthday to a wine bar and then to a pool hall and the other was when we made sushi at a friend’s house. Basically, when Jason and I were alone, it wasn’t weird not to drink because the other person wasn’t either, but when we were with friends that did drink, it did feel odd.

When I say the high cost of drinking, I’m not talking about cost as in risk; I’m talking about the actual cost. I didn’t really think about it before, but alcohol can be really expensive. The primary thing that I noticed about not drinking wasn’t that I was losing weight (I maybe lost a pound) or that I felt better (although I did, but I typically don’t drink so much that I get a hangover), it was that when we went out to dinner, the bills ended up being so cheap!

While I was unemployed, we got into the habit of almost solely going to restaurants that had a Scoutmob deal available. It was a fun way to try new places and it was cheaper. The way that Scoutmob works, if you are unfamiliar, is that you get 50% off your total bill up to a certain amount. Restaurants are usually anywhere from $10-$25 depending on how pricey the restaurant is.

Last night, we decided to go to Urban Pl8, also on Scoutmob. I’d been there once, probably a year or so ago, and Jason had never. We got stuck in some horrible traffic on the way there and didn’t get there until 8:45. The restaurant closed at 9:30, but it was still packed, so we went in anyway. I always feel sort of bad going to a place right before it closes, but why are they only opened until 9:30 on a Friday night?

Urban Pl8 is really off the beaten path. It’s in a trendy area, but way down this random street and you’d never know it was there if you didn’t know about it. The interior is small and industrial looking.

There was a little bit of a wait, so we started out at the bar, where I ordered the aforementioned glass of wine.

For my entree, I had the veggie burger. It was on the smaller side, although you can’t really tell that in the picture, but it was good.

I don’t usually post pictures of Jason’s food, but he declared his cheeseburger one of the top five that he’s had in Atlanta which is a major compliment as he likes to fashion himself as a cheeseburger aficionado.

Our bill ended up being $37 after the Scoutmob discount which is pretty decent for a nice place. However, you know what our bill would have been if we hadn’t been drinking (I had two glasses of wine and Jason had three beers)? $8. Yes, $8. Both of our entrees were on the less expensive side at $8 each so 50% of that would have been $8. So we spent nearly $30 extra dollars on alcohol. Part of the issue is that I get wine which is anywhere from $6-$9 a glass (I usually don’t get glasses that are more expensive) and while I only have two, sometimes three, that adds up!

If we didn’t drink when we went out, or at least drastically cut down, think of all the money that we would save! And with that saved money, we can buy expensive ice cream instead!

FYI – I thought it was too icy and minty tasting.