Jamba Juice Gives Away Free Summer Smoothies

Smoothie fans rejoice! This week, everyone's favorite over-caloried smoothie joint (I say this with love) is giving away a free smoothie with every purchase of another smoothie. I have not yet tried this out, but certainly plan to this week. I'll be heading to the Columbus Circle/Whole Foods location in hopes that this fabulous offer will include the Peanut Butter Moo'd, an ingenious concoction consisting of fro-yo, chocolate, frozen bananas, and peanuts. Though I'd really rather ignore the caloric intake, I can't help but wonder why it has to be almost 500 calories per 16 oz. Since it's summer time coupled with the fact that I generally deny myself the Juice, I will likely give in to this fantastic deal...possibly more than once. The catch? Download, print, and bring this coupon.

Any other Jamba fans out there? What are your fave flaves?

Gourmet Garage Offers Cheap Eats on UWS

I am constantly trying to find reasonably priced lunch on the Upper West Side. While there are some fabulous restaurants, the ones offering affordable lunch on a regular basis are few and far between. The options typically range from street meat to pizza to a meager salad. As I left the office to grab a slice, a man on the corner was handing out flyers for the new Gourmet Garage on 66th Street. While I typically bypass the flyer-hander-outers, when it's hot out I just feel bad for them and therefore accept the paper as it's thrust in my face. Even more typically, I automatically throw the flyer in the nearest trash receptacle. But this time, I was intrigued. A new lunch option? I'm all over it.

After inspecting the new digs, bypassing the Olive Bar and cheese counter, I settled on a Black Forest Ham and Cheese sandwich. For $6.99 I got a huge sandwich that could easily feed two people for lunch. Instead of devouring the entire thing, I saved half for lunch the next day. It remained in deliciously edible condition and I rejoiced at my new found lunch bargain.

Aruba Travelogue: Happy Hour at Bugaloe Beach Bar

After laying on the beach all day, coating your skin with sand, salt, and sunscreen, there is really no better way to top off the afternoon than with a great happy hour. Though frozen and fancy drink sampling is a must at as many places as possible, my favorite happy hour destination of the week, and the place I went back to almost every evening, was Bugaloe .

Found on De Palm Pier, between the Radisson and the Riu Palace, Bugaloe had the very best sunset view every evening, not to mention delicious, highly spiked, low priced cocktails - a perfect end of day, pre-dinner activity. With a full menu of food and drink, my drink of choice quickly became the Pink Lemonade, essentially an intensely, yet not too overpoweringly spiked vodka, cranberry, and lemonade concoction. Other fab happy hour drinks include Fuzzy Navel ($3.50), Bay Breeze ($3.50), Mojitoes ($4.50), and Amstel Bright ($3.50).

In addition to great drinks and atmosphere, Bugaloe also boasts live music, my personal favorite is a salsa band from Aruba Salsa who performs every Wednesday night from 7-11pm and also offers free salsa lessons, the latter of which I swear I'm going to talk husband into next year because it just needs to happen. Salsafied tunes included Michael Jackon's Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' and Coldplay's Clocks. Bugaloe also features live music almost every other evening of the week.

Bonus 1: Before the live music started, they played fantastic, fun tunes in the form of Michael Jackson hour-long music blocks.

Bonus 2: On the pier, you'll also find De Palm Tours, a popular excursion company specializing in sunset cruises and island tours (also the sponsor of my aforementioned Jeep adventure).