Some of my friends are surprised that after three years in my apartment I’ve just had my gas turned on.  Like “Sex in the City” heroine Carrie Bradshaw, whose oven served as storage space for sweaters, I didn’t have much need for cooking at home.   Before joining the ranks of the laid off I frequently ate three meals a day at the office, and my career as a recruiter and recruiting manager came with many evening receptions and dinners.  I used to joke that I doubled my compensation in the amount of free food I consumed at business events.  When I ate at home it was most often microwave fare or delivery from Szechuan Delight.  I’ve now re-discovered the joys of boiling pasta and Key Food specials where multiple boxes of spaghetti and ziti can be procured for $3 or less.

My newfound enthusiasm for cooking (or should I say boiling?) doesn’t mean that I’ve given up on dining out.  I have more time to travel to friend’s offices to visit them for lunch, and I try to focus on eating breakfast or lunch out rather than more expensive dinners.  And then there’s brunch, the obsession of many foodie New Yorkers, and one of the best opportunities for leisurely networking and catching up with employed friends and former colleagues. I’ll still be searching for new brunch spots when my unemployment insurance runs out and they come to foreclose on my apartment. One of my favorite bargain brunches is the all-you-can- eat buffet at Aunt Suzie, Southern Italian restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn.  As the recession wears on it keeps getting better and better too.

Aunt Suzie began offering an all-you-can-eat “champagne brunch” for $15.90 in 2008. The allure of the buffet enabled me to get lots of Manhattan-centric folks to venture out to Brooklyn, many of whom were amazed that buffets came in any other cuisine than Indian or were served outside of hotels. When I first started visiting I thought the buffet was a great deal for a spread that included four types of pasta, salad, chicken, bagels, waffles, crepes, eggs, bacon, desserts and unlimited coffee, juice, soda, bloody marys, bellinis, or mimosas.  Returning a few months later, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the restaurant had lowered prices.  The brunch was available for $9.90 with coffee, $12.90 with orange juice or soda, and only went up to $15.90 if one opted for unlimited alcoholic drinks.  I always tried to arrive at the beginning of the 12pm-3pm seating, but one Sunday discovered that arriving near the end was an even better deal.  My friend Amanda - whose job as an Admissions Officer at a top business school makes her one of the busiest and most securely employed people I know - was running late after a morning visit to church.  We sat down at around 2:30, and while stuffing ourselves full of tri-color tortellini with peas were greeted by a waitress wielding plastic containers.  “The buffet is closing soon, and there’s still plenty left,” she said.  “Please help yourselves to leftovers.” We happily joined a line of people who were finishing brunch while gathering their free dinners-to-go.

The Sunday buffet runs from 12pm-3pm, with prices starting at $9.90. The dinner menu can also be a bargain. It features an array of pastas for $7.90 and a special “really cheap” section with meatballs parmigiana at $9.90 and chicken parmigiana, cacciatore and marsala at $10.90.  Aunt Suzie’s newsletter, available at the restaurant, will also direct you to coupons for future dining and highlight the merits of its cuisine in a troubled economy.  “Southern Italian food IS recession food,” it declares.  “Italian cooks can teach some important lessons on waste and frugality to corporate jet setters.  We take our stale bread and put it in the meatballs. We cook with anchovies because their sharpness and saltiness mocks the taste of more expensive cheeses.  We know what to do with leftovers…”  I can’t guarantee that you’ll be urged to take a doggie bag if you arrive late, but I’ve been told that it happens periodically.  The restaurant’s owner, Irene, is also debating sending leftovers to a nearby soup kitchen.  Either way, the delicious remnants of this Sunday feast will be going to help someone impacted by our difficult economy.

Aunt Suzie Restaurant is located at 247 5^th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, between Carroll and Garfield Streets.  For more information please visit www.auntsuzie.com

-By Janet Raiffa, Contributing Writer, Member & Recruiting Manager