Cheap Thrills

We are terrible at managing money. It’s always feast or famine—either we're livin’ large the closer we are to pay day or slumming it pauper-style on the opposite end of the spectrum. Payday is Friday, so today it’s all pauper, all the time. Fret not, because it’s Wednesday, the day when you can have a night out in Old City for less than $20.

The poor person's Wednesday night is as follows:

Drive into town and park your car in the lot on Second between Chestnut and Walnut. After 5 p.m., it’s only $1.

Take a leisurely stroll over to Philadelphia Fish & Company. Sit down at the bar, smile at your friendly bartender, and she’ll give you a bar menu. Choose any of the five delicious items on the menu - four of which only cost $6 - and prepare to be amazed at what six bucks can do for your stomach. The portions are the perfect size, just enough so that you’ll eat everything on your plate, but not so much that they’ll need to roll your ass out of the restaurant.

Don’t forget, it’s happy hour, so $3 will get you a glass of wine or the well drink of your choice. We suggest that you live a little. If you’re only paying $6 for dinner, you can probably afford to put Goose in your French Martini rather than Bankers.

After you’ve sated your appetite on fine dining and drinks, march on over to any of the three Ritz theatres. Why are you marching? You feel like you got over on the man, having eaten so cheaply. Plus, you want to get that food digesting so there’s room for drinks after the movie.

Choose the artsy film you’ve been dying to see, and hand over another $6. Shows at the Ritz are six bucks all day on Wednesday. Add that to the parking and dinner, and it's a nice little package called synchronicity.

When your movie is over, if you’re not ready to go home, head over to Society Hill Restaurant and Bar, where a Strongbow tall can is only $5.50. You’ll creep slightly over your $20 limit, but it’s hump day. You deserve it.