A couple of new discount sites have entered the scene in Austin since 2009.. which is really exciting for me as a discount queen.
The first is
Groupon.com. This site offers a daily discount to a restaurant, store or services in the Austin area. For example, today for $10 you can buy a groupon that entitles you to $20 worth of food & drink at Chango's. That's 50% off! Check the details to see when your groupon expires and if anything is excluded.
Next is
LivingSocial.com. This is a very new deal site and I haven't yet seen them post a deal for a restaurant (so far it's been deals for services and stores, like today's deal for a 90-minute massage for $39) but they do say that restaurants and bars will be among the deals they offer. LivingSocial is similar to Groupon in that you purchase the deal immediately and use it later.
An oldie but goodie and favorite of mine:
Restaurant.com. I can't even tell you how many times I've used this site. You can get certificates here for $10 off a $20 meal, $25 off a $35 meal, $50 off a $100 meal, and so on. The certificates are listed as costing $4 and up, but don't pay that for them- get on their mailing list for emails with promo codes that entitle you to up to 80% off the price of the certificates. You can end up buying a $25 certificate for only $2!
Finally, something that you probably know about if you have kids but have forgotten about if you don't:
Entertainment books. Remember selling these in school as a kid? If you don't know any kids you can easily buy the book through their website. They are chock full of coupons and discounts to various restaurants, stores, theaters, museums, and services around town. After using just 2 or 3 coupons the book will have paid for itself!
Lift Cafe is tucked into an apartment building just south of downtown. You can't miss it due to the massive size of the sign on the front window. They've got free parking at the building, and the interior of the shop is really cute. 
Just look at that stool. I told you it was cute. The menu is filled with coffee, coffee smoothies, fruit smoothies, and some basic food items.
I dream about queso all day and all night. Have I admitted this before? I barely had it before moving to Austin. Now that I'm here, it's a constant inner battle to keep myself from eating it at every meal. Zuzu has basic but tasty queso and crisp chips. $3.95. 
Any time we're in San Antonio, we always have to come and eat at the Riverwalk. It may be a little touristy, but it's gorgeous and nothing beats relaxing with some food and drink on the water. There are a number of different restaurants to choose from, everything from fine dining to the requisite Tex-Mex.
Yes, this really is a coffee shop inside a shipping container! La Boite Cafe is the first ever shipping container cafe in Austin and we had to check it out. The coffee is great, and the pastries are downright delicious. So flaky and fresh and hot (popped in the oven briefly before being given to us). This place is promising and we hope it sticks around.
