Hot Deals Club of Boston

Welcome to the Hot Deals Club of Boston! This website is updated 2-3 times daily. Only a few deals get posted each day, because we only post the deals that we deem to be "hot deals" after careful scrutiny by our editors. This site was created to help you get the most for your dollar, because we are tired of people constantly getting ripped off. Although an ad may appear on this site to help offset its operating costs, the Hot Deals Club is a non-profit organization. The information herein is provided for informational purposes only. We do not profit from our visitors' clicks on links in any way, so as to not sway our decisions of which deals are truly hot enough to make it to this site. Please use these coupons and deals wisely, and at your own risk. If you wish to send an email or submit a hot-deal to the Hot Deals Maniac, use maniac@HotDealsClub.com (text only; NO fancy HTML!). Hot Deals Club privacy commitment.

last updated: Friday, April 13, 2001, 6:30pm (EDT)

FOOD & DRINKS

Whiskey's - good deal on appetizers
- All appetizers on the menu are $2.50 from 4pm through 7pm at the bar only.
- Bufalo Wings are $0.10 each at the bar only, 4pm through 11pm Sunday through Thursday.
This is a noisy bar environment, with plenty of beers on tap. Good place to hang out after work. Whiskey's is located at 885 Boylston St. on the corner of Boylston St & Gloucester St. in the Back Bay, across the street from the Prudential Building.

Blue Cat - great drinks, great food
They make some of the best mixed drinks and Martinis in Boston. For food-lovers, I recommend the Hanger Steak and the Pan-seered Tuna. There are two sides, the resturant and the bar. Food and drinks are served in both sides. The bar can get kind of smokey when crouded. Sunday through Wednesday is usually a relaxed environment, with good "hang-out" Jazz music. The bar can get kind of crowded on Thursday nights, and becomes very crowded on Friday and Saturday nights. You can usually find me there in the evenings on Tuesday's and Thursday's. Drinks will run you about $7 each and entrees up to $17. Blue Cat is located at 94 Mass Ave next to Urban Outfitters by the corner of Mass Ave. and Newbury St. in Back Bay. They do have valet parking for a $10 fee.

Joshua Tree - great food, great beer selection
This restaurant/sports bar has some of my favorite food. The combination of good food, huge portions, friendly staff, 5 TV's, and 32 beers on tap makes this a fun place for all. For the meat-lovers, I recommend the Blackened Cajun Prime Rib served on Sundays, or any of the regular meat entrees. I also recommend the Buffalo Chicken Ceasar Salad. One of my favorite beers, Magic Hat #9, is on tap. The Joshua Tree is located at 256 Elm Street in Somerville, located in Davis Square across the street from the Burren, and a few doors down from Red Bones. If you have trouble locating a parking spot in the area, here's a hot tip for you: Joshua Tree customers can park in the small "private" parking lot located directly behind the Joshua Tree on Herbert St. Even though the parking speaces say "reserved", note the sign on the brick wall which says "Joshua Tree customers may park here from 7pm through 2am".

TRAFFIC

SmarTraveler - live traffic reports
SmarTraveler is a free service, giving you live traffic reports for most major roads, highways, and the T. If you are at work or home, log on to SmarTraveler.com or call 617-374-1234 to get live traffic reports. Or, if you are on the road, dial *1 from your cell phone to connect to the live SmarTraveler report. The *1 call is completely free of all airtime and charges. If you connect to the website, you can not only get live traffic reports, but also see realtime traffic cameras.

When connecting to the SmarTraveler service over the phone, you'll be asked to enter a route code. I put together a handy list of route codes here.

Here's a little tip for you regarding traffic around the Boston area. Avoid driving on the roads in the Boston region on non-holiday Friday's from 5pm through 7:30pm. This is because everyone likes to head home by 6pm on Friday's, thus packing the roads with commuters eager to get home quickly. In addition, I strongly suggest you avoid driving through areas of downtown Boston, Back Bay, Cambridge, and Allston on Friday's from 6pm through 10pm, unless you know what you're doing. Friday evenings are usually the worst time to be driving in the areas right around Boston, because not only do you have to deal with the tail-end of the rush-hour traffic, but you also have to deal with the crouds of traffic entering the city for the weekend. The Friday night traffic is usually made worse by a Friday night event, such as a Red Sox game or an event at the Fleetcenter. If it is rainy during a Friday evening, traffic is usually twice as bad. Take my advice, if you are new to the Boston area, try not to drive in downtown, Back Bay, Allston, and parts of Cambridge on Friday evenings. If you are an out-of-towner driving into Boston for the weekend, try to arrive in the afternoon on Friday or Saturday morning, unless you know what you are doing.

Ted Williams tunnel open to all traffic on Weekends: During the week, traffic on the Ted Williams tunnel is usually restricted to commercial vehicles only. However, on weekends it is usually open to all traffic. Since the Ted Williams tunnel is never backed up, it can be your best bet to getting to/from the Airport. Check with SmarTraveler to see if the Ted Williams is open for all vehicles.