Best Birthday Freebies: My Experience at Denny's and Benihana

You can find many lists of birthday freebies online so I do not want to replicate lists. What I want to do is give you two actual experiences with two freebies and a couple of hints.

The first hint is to tell you that freebies are not necessarily applicable at all locations of a chain. So if you look up a chain restaurant make sure you note what locations the freebie is good at.

The other hint is to make sure you know if you need an online print out. For example, it does not clearly state at the IHOP website that you need a printout. I called two different IHOP restaurants and was told that I needed a print out; since I was in my car that wasn't possible.

I started out my birthday on January 4 at Denny's. Believe me I swore after my last experience at Denny's that I would never go there again. The experience was outside Bar Harbor, Maine where I was told I couldn't have a cheese omelet. I would have to have a western omelet. When I asked if I could just take the entire "western" out of it, I was told no. Then the waitress, when I said I would just have an English muffin, asked me if I wanted it toasted. I don't know about you but does anyone eat English muffins "raw?" Ok so maybe this was the waitresses first day!

We decided we would give it another try since I would get a free Grand Slam. I do not eat sausage or bacon so I figured I would just get pancakes and eggs. I was so surprised when I was given a menu and saw that I had a whole lot of choices for a Grand Slam. Some of the choices included whole wheat pancakes, biscuits, hash brown, grits, oatmeal and a few other non-meat items. I got eggs, pancakes, hash browns and a biscuit and I ate every bit. I can honestly say the breakfast was really good even if I hadn't saved the approximately $6.00. My husband got a Grand Slam and chose grits. This wasn't a side dish. It was a full serving of grits. I showed the clerk my license as we paid and was wished a happy birthday. This freebie is good only on the day of your birthday.

Benihana offers the birthday person up to $30.00 off on their meal. In spite of having to drive 45 minutes to 3602 Southeast Ocean Boulevard in Stuart, Florida, we went. The website suggested that we make a reservation so we did.

This freebie is good only during the week but for the whole month of your birthday. Needless to say it seemed that every table had at least one birthday person there. We sat with a party of five who did not have a reservation and even with one we waited so our hibachi table could be filled.

If you have never been to a hibachi, the chef you have will delight you with his tricks with his utensils and the food. Ours, for example, was able to catch shrimp tails in his hat. You'll have a choice of chicken, beef julienne, filet mignon, steak, scallops, lobster and shrimp. You can make this a combination. I had lobster, shrimp and scallops for $34.95. I figured $4.95 was a great deal for my meal which included soup, salad, shrimp appetizer, white rice (chicken fried rice is extra), and my meal. The meal was excellent. Benihana is a great place to go for dinner with friends or a special occasion. It may be a bit expensive for a regular meal.

So there you have it. A real life review of two birthday freebies.

Oh wait - I forget the best par of my Benihana meal - well not really but it really put the frosting on the cake - the chef and wait staff sang and gave me ice cream with hot fudge and whip cream with two spoons. My picture was taken and printed out, put in a frame and given to me. What a great deal.