Cheap shots

These days, a deal isn’t truly a deal unless it maximizes your dollar power, so we asked four Metromix readers to take their cash to the limit. Whoever gets more bang for their 25 bucks in one night wins. The Deal Breakers met our challenge with inexpensive theater, carnival games, greasy eats and turtle races, plus $1 PBRs at the same cheapskate destination.

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Allison Yates and Colette Syputa
Status: Roommates

They’re baaaack! Two-week reigning champs Allison and Colette return after dominating last week’s Mardi Gras challenge, proving the Big Easy easily can be channeled on a budget thanks to Southern-inspired comfort food and Chicago-style Latin tunes. Could the Deal Breakers title be within reach?

Entertainment: To start our night, we attended Tony-winning musical "Into the Woods" free—well, almost free. Quest Theatre Ensemble, which performs at the Blue Theatre, asks for donations, so we threw in $5, though the hours of entertainment are worth much more. We got lost in Quest’s version of the fairytale story, the incredible music and elaborate staging. Next performances: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Total spent: $5 (donation)

Drinks: Feeling merry from the musical, we hit up Goldie’s to wet our whistles. This small but comfortable pub pours $1 PBRs pints and $4 pitchers every day, so we bought a PBR pitcher and a couple of pints. We brought out our competitive side with a game of darts. Total spent: $9, with tip

Food: To finish the evening, we headed to Diner Grill, the perfect greasy-spoon destination when you have a buzz. We ordered two $4.50 cheeseburger plates with fries and made quick friends with the folks around us. Total spent: $11, with tip

Best deal of the night: $1 PBRs and free games at Goldie’s. With a deal this good, you can spend hours at one place and have a blast. (Just make sure you get dibs on the Super Nintendo before everyone else.)

Time elapsed: 5 hours, 45 minutes   

 Total spent: $25

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Jackie and John McCloskey
Status: Just married

When it comes to board games, newlyweds Jackie and John can get pretty competitive. "He doesn’t let me win ever," Jackie says, "so if I win, I’ve earned it." They kept tally during their "night of gaming" (Jackie won Rummikub, John took darts), and though John won overall, Jackie says she still gets the title of "thriftiest team member." 

Dinner: First up, we visited one of our favorite Wrigleyville haunts, Vines on Clark. We picked the Friday night special: a tasty half-price large cheese pizza for only $4.50. Total spent: $5.75, including tip.

Drinks: On to Guthries Tavern, where we downed two Heinekens and challenged each other to a game of Rummikub, all for $7.25 including tip. Next stop: Goldie’s for free darts and $1 PBR pints. Total spent: $9.75

Entertainment: Sluggers Sports Bar houses some of our fave carnival games. For $1.50, two rounds of Skee-Ball and one air hockey face-off earned us a handful of prize tickets, which we traded for a plastic flute, a finger puppet and two bouncy balls. Rounding out the night were Friday Night Turtle Races at Big Joe’s. A $7 PBR pitcher, which includes a string of raffle tickets, bought us a chance to race a turtle. We missed out on competing but loved cheering on the "athletes." Total spent: $9.25 with tip.

Best deal of the night: You can’t go wrong with turtle races. Get there early to grab a table and toss some free darts before it gets crowded.

Time elapsed: Four hours, 45 minutes 

Total Spent:  $24.75

WEEK 3 WINNERS: Jackie and John. These thrifty spenders stretched their $25 to score a full night out at a whopping five spots.

After two weeks of deal-minded challenges—the first was based in the Deal Breakers’ respective neighborhoods, the second centered around Mardi Gras—we gave our cheapskate competitors simple instructions for week three: Go big or go home.