The Best Cheap And Free Deals In Town

[February 3rd, 2010]

Got a great deal? Email it to us at deals@wweek.com.

I LIKE THOSE ODDS : Downtown restaurant H5O, a moderately glitzy sort of place where you can eat tiny, inexpensive portions of tuna tartare and pork belly from a table shaped like a human head while reclining against fuzzy brown pillows, is offering a ludicrously good deal. At the end of your dinner on Tuesday nights, your waiter will ask you to call a coin toss. If you win, you get your food for free (you still have to pay for drinks). If you lose, you pay. Do you feel lucky? 50 SW Morrison St. inside Hotel Fifty, 484-1415, h5obistro.com.

LENS FLARE FOR FREE : Portland Parks and Rec hosts a free screening of J.J. Abrams’ unbearably bright Star Trek prequel at the Multnomah Arts Center. A set by cheery acoustic sextet Keep Your Fork There’s Pie will precede the movie. There will be bottomless bags of popcorn. 7688 SW Capitol Highway, 823-2787. 7:30 pm Friday, Feb. 5.

ATSA CLASSY MEAT PATTY: Metrovino, the oenophilic bar and restaurant where the wine is poured by robots and the food plated so beautifully that, were it not so darn tasty, we’d just as soon frame as eat it, is appealing to the Cheapskate demographic with an effervescent Monday-night deal: from 6 to 9 pm, burgers are just $5 at the bar; a glass of really good Champagne is just another $5. 1139 NW 11th Ave., 517-7778, metrovinopdx.com.

ROCKIN’ MARITIME METAPHORS : Aspiring rock bands in Los Angeles face a hard-knock life. But Sea Wolf is conquering the feat like Jay-Z. The Angelenos’ sophomore album, White Water, White Bloom, is noticeably more orchestral and studio-savvy than Sea Wolf’s 2007 debut, Leaves in the River. Jumping across the quartet’s polished pop-rock tracks is frontman Alex Church’s strong, stringy tenor. Don’t be surprised if Church’s voice makes your ears do a double take—he sounds like an amped-up version of Conor Oberst’s modest grumblings. The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie Ave., 890-0408, thewoodsportland.com. 6 pm Thursday, Feb. 4. Free. 21+.

I’LL TAKE TWO: The Beermongers, a new bottle shop and bar at the edge of Ladd’s Addition, carries five rotating taps pouring $3 pints of such rare brews as Three Creeks India Black Ale, Fish Brewing 10 Squared Fish Tale Anniversary Ale and Blue Mountain Semi-Dry Cider. 1125 SE Division St., 234-6012, thebeermongers.com.

INTERNATIONAL WOOD-TURNING EXPERT: Aw, yeah! Chris Pouncy (known to wood turning fans as C-Pounce), an expert turner for U.K. wood-turning tools maker Robert Sorby, will give a free demonstration of the favorite hobby of sawdust-covered retirees the world over at Rockler Woodworking and Hardware. And if that isn’t enough to get you juiced, get this­—Rockler is throwing a one-day-only 25 percent off sale on Sorby tools. 11773 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, 672-7266, rockler.com. 10 am-1 pm and 2-5 pm Thursday, Feb. 4. Free.