FOOD MATTERS

Cashing in with the coupon queen

Plus: New from Restaurant Jezebel, Piranha Killer Sushi, Olivia and more

Coupon expert puts savings into action

Coupons can be a hassle, but not for Susan Samtur, author of "Cashing in at the Checkout," who has made a career out of showing people how to cut their grocery bills by more than half. Last week, Samtur was in Austin, where she used coupons and store discounts to reduce a Randalls grocery bill from $239 to $34.

Samtur says the key is buying only what you have a coupon for or what the store has on sale. "It's so easy; you just have to look," she says as she spies a buy-one-get-one ("bogo" in coupon lingo) offer for cake mix. Every week, she scans newspaper inserts, or circulars, to see what each store has on sale and clips every coupon she can find, including from Sunday papers, in bins at the fronts of grocery stores and online at sites such as coupons.com, redplum.com, smartsource.com and Samtur's site, selectcouponprogram.com (which costs $4.99 a month). She files them by category in a small accordion file and makes a list of what items to buy based on what coupons she has. "You have to be brand flexible," she says, and make dishes based on what products, including meat and produce, are on sale. Make sure you are getting the most out of coupons by shopping at stores that double or triple their value, she says, but don't expect jaw-dropping savings like hers unless you can get coupons for free products, which you can often get by signing up for mailing lists on manufacturers' Web sites and sending off for rebates and coupons advertised on the fronts of packages.

— Addie Broyles

Piranha bites into Austin's sushi scene

It's hard to escape the giant cartoon jaws of the fish above the door next to Max's Wine Dive downtown. Piranha Killer Sushi is set to open any day , adding to the restaurant crossroads at Second Street and San Jacinto Boulevard that already includes Max's, P.F. Chang's, Fogo de Chao, Rio Grande, Le Café Crêpe and others. Piranha, which has two restaurants in Arlington and one in Fort Worth, follows a traditional sushi model of pieces and rolls, with specialty rolls such as a Love at First Sight (charbroiled fish over a California roll) and Marry Me (shrimp tempura, ginger cream, avocado, tuna and strawberry), with prices hovering in the $7-$14 range. Appetizers include Bahamian conch salad and crab cake with mango salsa, and main courses besides sushi encompass ginger beef with sweet potato and asparagus tempura and Korean grilled steak with grilled asparagus, with prices from the low teens to low 20s. (207 San Jacinto Blvd., No. 200. 473-8775, www.piranhakillersushi.com.)

- M.S.

On tap for Jezebel owner-Chef: Tapas

Parind Vora of Restaurant Jezebel has had an interesting couple of weeks. First, he was aboard a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Houston on Aug. 3 that was rocked by turbulence that injured several dozen people (he was unhurt). When he finally got to Austin, his house was flooded from a plumbing leak. But there's some good news, both for Vora and for fans of his restaurant at 914 Congress Ave. Sometime in early fall, Vora will open a tapas restaurant called Simplicity Wine and Eats at 4801 Burnet Road. Tapas - small plates named for the Spanish practice of using them as covers to keep debris out of wine glasses - will be $3.95 and no glass of wine will cost more than $8, said Vora, known at Jezebel for a well-curated wine list and $19-$37 main courses such as veal with green Thai curry and seared filet with truffled goat cheese. Tapas will include croquettes (salmon, chicken, crab and more), spreads (roasted red pepper, Nutella with cacao nibs), sliced jamón serrano, cheeses, even 3- to 4-ounce pieces of fine chocolate. "The idea is to make it old-school, without the pretense," Vora said. "I'm going to make sure the wine is good and that it's always worth more than the money." Simplicity will be open from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. or midnight six days a week, with paella and sangria on Sundays from early afternoon to about 9 p.m., Vora said.

- Mike Sutter

Restaurant briefs

• The September issue of Bon Appétit magazine has named Olivia, which opened in August 2008, one of its top 10 new restaurants in America. The restaurant (2043 S. Lamar Blvd., 804-2700, oliviaaustin.com ) and chef James Holmes drew praise for fresh, produce-based cooking and "riffs on comfort-food classics, like spaghetti cooked in red wine and the milk-braised pork shoulder." Other restaurants on the list include Bar Jules in San Francisco, Mado in Chicago, Feast in Houston and Cakes & Ale in Decatur, Ga.

• Through Aug. 30, four Carino's Italian Restaurant locations in Austin will collect school supplies to help 12 area elementary schools. People who donate an item from the "School Supply Menu" (8 oz. bottles of white glue, pencil boxes, No. 2 pencils, crayons, 12-inch rulers, wire-bound notebooks, blue or black ink ballpoint pens, notebook binders, folders with pockets or backpacks) will receive coupons for free kids' meals and free desserts for teachers. The four participating locations are 5601 Brodie Lane, No. 1600; 12901 N. Interstate 35; 9500 S. Interstate 35 and 11620 RM 620 N. in Cedar Park.

- M.S.

Wheatsville set to celebrate new space

Wheatsville Co-op's yearlong renovation is nearly finished, and although the official grand opening won't happen until Oct. 10, the store is hosting a party from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday to celebrate. In addition to samples from Austin producers, employees will be giving tours of the new space at 3101 Guadalupe St., which has doubled in size. Enjoy live music, as well as a kids' show and craft area.

- A.B.

Faraday's event boasts prizes, food, fun

Faraday's Kitchen Store, 1501 RM 620 in Lakeway, is hosting its fourth annual Foodie-Palooza on Saturday and Sunday with door prizes, special discounts and for the first time, a salsa contest. On Saturday, brush up on your kitchen skills with free demonstrations throughout the day, and on Sunday, help pick the winner of the salsa contest. If you want to submit a salsa, register online by Friday and drop off your salsa between noon and 2 p.m. on Sunday. www.faradayskitchenstore.com.

- A.B.

Openings and closings

• Open: Bella Sera, a sister location of the Marble Falls Italian restaurant at 11905 Bee Cave Road (263-0455 ).

• Open: Promise Pizza, an organic pizzeria at 1500 A. W. Grimes Blvd. in Round Rock (www.promisepizza.com, 512-674-2642).

• Open: El Chilito, the second location of the Manor Road taqueria at 1025 Barton Springs Road (609-8923, www.elchilito.com).

• Open: Sushi Zushi, the first Austin location of a San Antonio-based sushi chain at 1611 W. Fifth St. (www.sushizushi.com, 474-7000) .

• Closed: Peacock Lounge, a bar at 515 Pedernales St.

abroyles@statesman.com; 912-2504;msutter@statesman.com; 912-5902