From the view of anyone looking for a free meal, it was the handiwork of a genius.

When Frank Giuffrida sold his restaurant the Hilltop Steak House in Saugus, Mass. in 1988, he negotiated a deal that would give him and his family free meals -- for life. No waiting in the long lines at the popular restaurant, "unlimited" free quantities of food and drink for his family and guests, at the restaurant, lounge and adjoining butcher shop, and again -- for their entire lives, according to the Associated Press.

Giuffrida founded the restaurant, with its giant neon cactus and plastic cows, in 1961 and sold it in 1988, but he kept the land. The new owners, who took over in 1997, say the privileges expired when the land was sold in 2004, shortly after Giuffrida died at age 86 in December 2003.

Did you ever think we'd see the day when people would beg for airline food? Yet here we are.

In mid-August, United announced it would start forcing coach passengers on international flights to pay for their meals. Customers went ballistic. First U.S. Airways makes people pay $2 for so much as water, and then United deigned to lock people up in a steel tube for eight hours without providing free grub. United rebuffed the complaints saying the changes were "necessary."

The new "test" charge was supposed to begin on many transatlantic flights as of Oct. 1. But after fierce feedback from would-be customers that the airline politely described as "candid" but were actually downright scalding, United announced Tuesday that it would not, after all, charge customers to eat on long-haul flights. Some passengers who protested the new fee, many of whom travel for work, were e-mailed a capitulation today ("We heard you," it reads, "and have decided not to move forward," before prattling on about its business class amenities).

Meijer has a cool new site they recently launched called Meijer Mealbox, which wraps recipes, meal planning and coupons into one slick easy to use package. Mealbox is currently in beta but anyone can use it to get a better handle on meal preparation and grocery shopping. The service revolves around a widget which lets you browse recipes, complete with nutritional info, and add them to a weekly planner under breakfast, lunch dinner and other to plan the week ahead.

As soon as you add an item to the meal planner the ingredients are automatically added to the shopping list for the week. This is where Mealbox really starts to shine -- the grocery list is grouped by ingredient type so that you only need to look at one section of the list as you go through the store. No more realizing you needed shredded cheese at the last minute because you wrote it next to deodorant on your list. It gets better -- anything you add to your list that is on sale that week is marked on the list with the sale price. Finally, if there are any coupons available from Meijer or the manufacturer for the items on your list, the coupon is embedded right below the list so it prints out at the same time.

As a regular Meijer shopper, I can't wait to add this tool to my weekly routine of grocery shopping. I love the fact that I can sort the recipes by meal type, ingredients or by special diet requirements to find what I am looking for. I wish I could sort by recipes with sale items this week so that I could get the best bang for my buck. My only other complaint is that I can't change the serving size of the recipe to reflect the fact that we are cooking for two. Still, the service is in beta and I can easily adjust the quantities on the shopping list for the time being. This is an excellent tool and is a prime example of a company that "gets" its customers. Now if only they would implement a tool attached to my cart that would push all those annoying "aisle talkers" out of my way!

During the holiday season when money is seeping out of your pockets as you buy presents for everyone on your list, here's a great way to save a buck: crash parties.

Think it can't be done? Let me regale you with tales of my latest exploits. This week I attended a talk by former Vanity Fair and New Yorker editor Tina Brown, at the Harvard Club in New York City. For a mere $20, my friend and I were treated to a lecture about the travails of Princess Diana as detailed in Brown's book, "The Diana Chronicles." The talk was followed by an open bar and delicious hors d'oeuvres.

From there, we took a subway up to the Columbia Journalism School for a forum on free speech put together by the BBC. After catching the tail end of a fascinating discussion about the media and freedom of the press, we were feted with free wine and munchies.

Oh, and we also hobnobbed with the rich and famous: I had a long conversation with noted Constitutional law expert Floyd Abrams, and my friend chatted at length with Brian Lehrer, the erudite host on the city's public radio station, WNYC.

From this example, you can see the basic rules of the crashing game:

Get there when the event is at least halfway over. Both of these events had a guest list. But if you get there late enough, no one bothers to check your name. And that's about when the booze and food start flowing freely.

Dress the part. (Don't forget the watch and shoes test – that's what a Mercedes Benz executive told me is what car dealers look at when they want to see if someone is truly a prospective buyer or is just looking for a joy ride.) Remember, most clubs, such as the Harvard Club, have a dress code that includes no jeans.

It helps to act like you belong there. I had a friend who was at the BBC event and that helped me walk in with confidence.

So next time you find yourself with an empty wallet but an appetite for some stimulating conversation and tasty food, check out your local listings for an upcoming event that you might be able to crash. And have a great time. But don't tell them I sent you...