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The Marie Callender pie sale begins Jan. 30 and goes until Feb. 28. During the sale whole pies (excluding cheesecakes and fresh fruit pies) will be $7 at participating locations.

You also pay for the $.50 redeemable tin. Pies are usually $8 to $14-. Their pie menu includes apple, custard, chocolate cream and many more.

Find a Marie Callener's near you. They have shops in CA, OR, WA, ID, NV, UT, AZ, CO, OK and TX. Call to check if your local shop is participating.

To kick off a few new coffee blends, Panera Bread is giving away free coffee all day on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009.

No coupon or code is needed. Just stop in to receive a free small cup of coffee. Panera is also giving away samples (i.e., not full size) of three new grilled breakfast sandwiches and a strawberry granola parfait.

Panera has locations in Northridge and Simi Valley. Find a Panera near you.

I had a friend in college who regularly fell into money, a fact of life that seemed particularly unfair because her family was quite rich.

Yesterday, while roaming the Valley for my final Lincoln Lunch, it hit me that I was the kind of person who falls into bargains.

How else would I have discovered a grand opening special with $.50 tacos and $.99 chili burgers? I'm already cheap, so I felt a twinge of guilt about my discovery. But not enough to deter me from eating lunch at Mighty Burgers, formerly known as Tommies Hamburgers.

At the counter I ordered one carne asada taco, a chili burger, and a small mint milkshake that was $2.35. My total came to $4.16 with tax, making it one of my cheapest Lincoln Lunches ever. Though not a contender for healthiest.

The cashier who rung me up called out my order when it was ready. I fetched it and returned to one of 11 small tables in the eatery. The taco was tiny but tasty, adorned with diced onions, cilantro, plus a lime and radish slice from the salsa bar.

The burger bun was very hot and soft, probably steamed. The patty was thin, the chili smooth, and the onions raw. Eating the chili burger I remembered that I like chili fries a lot more than chili burgers. It did not taste bad, I just don't like chili burgers that much. If I go again I will order four tacos.

The small milkshake was very tasty and had chunks of mint in it. I nursed it all the way back to the office. The grand opening specials end very soon. If you miss them there are plenty of other Lincoln Lunch options on the menu. Many sandwiches, burgers, veggie burgers, and burritos cost less than $5.

Visit Mighty Burger at 16649 Sherman Way in Van Nuys. (818) 782-7363.

The Bakers Square diner and pie shop in Granada Hills is closing on Feb. 1 and will re-open as a Du-par's. But Du-par's will not accept gift certificates from Bakers Square so use them immediately!

Bakers Square in Granada Hills is located at 17921 Chatsworth St. 818-366-7258.

Thanks, Yolanda!

UPDATE: The sushi place nearby IS open. My mistake.

PREVIOUSLY: (my actual lunch) I knew just where to head for a Lincoln Lunch this week after spotting a $5 meal near the sushi place I checked out last week.

The small eatery, Heaven's Kitchen, bills itself as serving "Filipino fast food" that is so good it tastes like heaven. A tall order. The $5 lunch is the only option so your food comes as fast as you can pick which two dishes you want.

There were ten to chose from the day I went. Mussels in broth, barbecue pork skewers, fried whole fishes the size of my index finger, green beans with almonds, a traditional ground beef dish that was bright pink, adobo chicken soup, tamarindo soup and a bitter melon dish with ground meat.

The friendly server recommend the barbecue skewers and while I was debating my choices, he gave me a free taste of a small fried fish. Crunchy and salty.

I chose skewers, adobo chicken, and one scoop of rice (you can get two). I splurged and bought a coke, which brought my meal to $7.21, including tax and a $1 tip. Without the soda it would have been about $6.30.

My two skewers were very tasty, slightly sweet and moist. Tough to get off the stick, however. The adobo chicken came in its own mini soup dish. The chicken was flavored with soy sauce, onions and green peppers. The pieces were very bony so I picked the meat off.

The server also gave me a free taste of tamarindo beef soup broth. It was quite sour and had a strong beef flavor. Very interesting but I don't think I would have enjoyed a whole serving. The rest of my meal, however, was divine. My only regret is not trying one of the vegetable dishes. What a lot of meat!

Visit Heaven's Kitchen at 7605 White Oak Ave. in Reseda. 818-881-8664.

Togo's brings back their $4 sandwich specials through the end of February, maybe longer. Every day one sandwich from their "greatest hits" menu - like turkey and avocado - is marked down to $4. The sandwiches are usually about $6. Browse a menu of the sandwich deals by day for SoCal and a similar daily menu for NorCal.

The specials are part of a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). No idea how they raise money by lowering prices.

Caveats: at participating locations only. Call ahead to check if your local Togo's has this deal.

The Starbucks gold card costs $25 for a year and gives you a 10% discount on almost all purchases, a free drink when you buy the card in a store, a free drink on your birthday and 2 hours of free WiFi access every day.

To get your money back you need to spend $250 a year at Starbucks, which is $4.80 a week. That equals three trips a week if you buy a small brewed coffee, and 1.5 visits a week if you buy a $3 latte or espresso.

The card is accepted at company-owned stores only, which is about 70 percent of the chain. Call your local store to see if they are participating.

You can load the gold card with cash like a gift card and leave your wallet behind when you make a coffee run.

Caveats: the 10% discount does not apply to Starbucks gift cards, publications, digital downloads, membership fees and online purchases.

IHOP has two pancake deals that you might be interested in. One is going on until Feb. 22, the other is on Feb. 24 only.

All-you-can-eat pancakes are $5 until Feb. 22. This deal is not a regular menu item but appears a few times a year. If you don't see it on the menu ask for the Hungry Consumer Relief Plan.

Feb. 24 is National Pancake Day, when eaters can get a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes from 7 am to 10 pm. In exchange, you are asked to donate what you would have paid for the pancakes to their local children's hospital or another worthy cause.