It’s that easy to persuade me.  I guess I’m just lucky he didn’t say, “You should send me your SSN and mother’s maiden name.”  OK.

Today I think the best cheapest eat is the 3-courses for 20 bucks deal at Spoleto. If I’m understanding the Web site correctly, it’s not even a separate menu.  Aside from some items that have an upcharge attached to them, you otherwise have the entire Spoleto to choose from.

PLUS!  I see they added back my favorite item from the older Spoleto days, chicken and sausage bow tie pasta!  Holy Hell is that ever delicious.  The chicken is cut up into bite-sized morsels, the sausage is lightly spicy and ground up.  THEN, then…this is the best part, the snap of those green peas and their  lingering sweetness on the palette is combined with a light tomato cream sauce and then tossed with tender bow tie pasta.  And the thought of getting that with the garden salad topped with the always delicious creamy fresh herb dressing and a mixed berry sorbet for twenty bucks is just a healing balm during these dark economic days.

I hope more restaurants follow Claudio’s suit.  We’ve stopped spending.  Okay, I’ll speak for myself.  I’ve stopped spending.  But I’m not alone.  I can’t afford to go out the way I used to.  No way.  So it’s nice to have the incentive of a great meal at a more affordable price right now.  I’m sure restaurants are feeling the pinch now too and they need to bring us diners in more than ever.  Deals like this create the feeling that we don’t have to wait for that special occasion.

For the price and deliciousness and overall eating experience, I rate this cheap eat four out of five empty wallets.