Are you looking for somewhere romantic to take your loved one to eat this weekend for Valentine’s day or somewhere to celebrate being single with your friends at a delicious happy hour? Where do you find the best restaurants in town? Once one would have possibly said a recommendation from a friend or a local magazine or yellowpages.com or google searches… well there’s a new friend in town, Yumfinder.com. They have done their research and found 50 of the top restaurants in Portland [currently 25 up on the site and more added weekly] and not only that, but they want to reward you for eating out! What better than a night out for delicious dinner and earning rewards towards a $80 spa gift card or 100 level blazer tickets! Want to know more? We met up with Paul of Yumfinder.com to tell you more….enjoy!

Champagne: What is Yumfinder.com? 

Paul: YumFinder.com is a free website promoting Portland’s top 50 locally owned restaurants.  Each partner restaurant on YumFinder.com is recognized for their culinary excellence by local media and dining critics.  On the site you can learn about each of these restaurants including watching a video with the chef/owners. 

Champagne: What is a Yummy?

Paul: A Yummy is a diner who uses the YumFinder.com website and purchases the gift certificates offered on the website which can be applied towards dinner, lunch or happy hour.

Champagne: How does someone get started earning rewards? 

Paul: Yummy’s can start earning Rewards points just by purchasing either a $20 dinner or $10 lunch and happy hour gift certificates online at YumFinder.com.  For each $10 spent on gift certificates a Yummy earns 1 Reward Point.  It works very similar to the miles reward program many of us participate with for airlines or credit card purchase miles.

Champagne: How much does a membership cost? 

Paul: YumFinder.com is FREE website.  There is no cost to discover our great restaurants on the website and no cost to sign up to be a Yummy and take advantage of the great rewards program.

Champagne: What types of rewards do you offer? 

Paul: Yummy’s can earn free $20 dinner gift certificates, spa and salon visits, free golf at The Reserve, Gift certificates to NW wineries, Trailblazer tickets (level 100 seating), and hotel/resort stays.  For example it takes only 4 points to redeem a $20 dinner gift certificate.  Or you can accumulate 10 points and redeem for a $120 gift certificate to one of our NW wine partners.  Please see the website for the complete rewards table.  The Rewards are redeemed on the Yumfinder.com website.

Champagne: How do you pick the restaurants on your site? 

Paul: We select and invite the best of the best based on local media publications and dining critics.

Champagne: What’s your favorite restaurant of the moment? 

Paul: I am still trying to make my visits to each of the restaurants.  It’s difficult to pick a favorite, as they are all outstanding.  [I am taking the 5th on this one!]

Champagne: How do the gift certificates work? 

Paul: On the .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) website you can purchase a $20 dinner, $10 lunch and $10 happy hour gift certificate.  You order, pay and print right from the convenience of our home or office computer.  The only rules we have on certificates purchased on YumFinder.com is that you can only use one gift certificate per visit and there is a limit of one per couple and 2 per table.

Champagne: Anything else you’d like to share with our readers? 

Paul: YumFinder.com is essentially a co-op of the top 50 restaurants that want to reach out and have you learn about them.  These are locally owned establishments and many of them are chef owned.  Through YumFinder.com they hope you will discover their restaurants and come visit so they can cook for you.

In addition, if you are already spending money dining out why not be rewarded handsomely in the process.  Who does not like the opportunity to earn some FREE dining certificates, spa and salon visits, golf, winery products, Trailblazer tickets and hotel/resort stays?  Using YumFinder.com is being really smart about the value of the money you spend.  Get more for doing what people love to do, dine out!

Champagne: Thank you, Paul, for telling us more about Yumfinder.com! Now to begin earning points, where to eat first!

Cheers,

Mandi & Rachelle

Make sure to enter our love story contest! Details here. We will be announcing a winner on Sunday, February 14th, 2010.