This is kind of bittersweet — the third in the Austin Food Deals series. Thanks to everyone that shared their tips in the cocktail throwdown post. Thank you again to Moriah Butler for the research assistance.

Random Tips

This one is from Adam — If you get a meal at Wendy’s you can upgrade from a soda to a Frostee for 15 cents.

If you happen upon a farmers market about an hour before they close, there may be discounts on over-ripe or slightly imperfect fruit and veggies that are perfectly good. David Alan of the Tipsy Texan shops late in the day at farmers markets for bruised produce to use in his “garden to glass” drink creations.

TRIO at the Four Seasons provides iced tea ice cubes when you order iced tea. They also offer simple syrup on the side.

You can volunteer at Central Market cooking school in exchange for free classes. The number of hours varies depending on the class you want to take. For more information, call 512.206.1014.

ZEN – Japanese Food Fast offers a program to the community called Team Zen co-sponsored by RunTex and Team Brain and Spine. Every Saturday morning at Auditorium Shores, Team Zen participants walk or run with friends and family and enjoy a complimentary Tokyo breakfast and coffee after.

Buy a GoLocal card for $10 at any participating local business and enjoy discounts for a year on many of the items you purchase regularly while supporting tour economy.

Mondays are dollar mania at Dart Bowl ($1 per game, $1 for the shoe rental, and $1 for food specials after 9 p.m.). I believe that Westgate offers the same pricing during their dollar daze on Sundays starting at 9 p.m.

For a low key night out, head to Little Deli in Crestview for pizza and sandwiches. Buy beer and wine across the street at the IGA and the staff will offer you a bottle opener, chilling pail, and plastic cups while you eat.

Keep an eye out for Restaurant.com coupon deals — regular pricing is normally $10 for a $25 gift certificate. However, a couple times a year they have 90% off deals so you can buy a handful of coupons for less than $5 to great restaurants in town.

Crowdsourcing and more Insider Tips

Visitors and residents of Austin alike may want to see where other local food lovers are eating and great places to do that include: Yelp, Chowhound, and Dishola.

I’ve also been known to keep the number for a certain fancy schmancy hotel on my phone’s speed dial. They have never asked whether I was a guest or asked for my room number. Now that I always have my iPhone with me, I have a digital concierge.

For those active on Twitter, I recommend following Austin food tweople — many of whom find and share Austin restaurant deals and coupons regularly.

Thank you for reading this series on Austin Food Deals. If you missed them, the first two are Freebies & Groceries and Apps, Happy Hours, Price Fixe. I’d love to know if any of these tips have been helpful to you. Please feel free to share your insider tips as well!