It seems the days of finding a deal, well, anywhere, are gone. Do even the dollar stores have anything under a buck anymore?

Still, it was with great optimism that I ventured out to find two frosty pints and two happy-hour meals for a measly $20.

I wanted to find a classy-ish place -- one I wasn't afraid to enter without a sizable male. And one that skews away from 25-cent beers and buffet hot wings.

And wouldn't you know: The place where I usually find great beer specials, decent food and noncreepy company had changed its prices and exchanged cheap drafts for sponsored mixed drinks. Sigh.

The mood

I'm not huge on the traditional, scantily clad (and expensive) club scene. And so, Hayden (the boy) and I went to our favorite place -- the Broad Ripple Tavern, where sweatshirts, tube tops, jeans, miniskirts, ties and flip-flops all ..... beat as one.

This substantial pub has walls full of garage-doorlike windows, great for rolling skyward and allowing customers to watch people -- on a nice day, that is. We happened to visit during a storm.

The front portion of the BRT is cozier: A fireplace is tucked into a corner, with flat screen TVs all around.

The rear bit is where the party happens (at least on the weekends). A second bar, pool tables, more boob tubes, arcade games, another fireplace and even a wee stage all fit, with room to spare.

The food

Not only were we scouting cheap eats, we needed cheap booze, too.

BRT has drink specials every day, even on weekends. Beer used to dominate the list, but now shares the limelight with a few liquor drinks.

Tuesday: Goose Island 312. Not bad, for $3.

You can get nearly anything your heart desires here -- and it isn't half bad, either: ballpark pretzels, nachos, strawberry chicken salad, Italian beef sandwiches, veggie panini and even steak.

I ordered the chicken fingers and subbed their fantastic potato salad for the fries ($6.99).

Hayden chose the Nickel Plate burger -- a burger so sloppily delicious that even he, the King of the Condiments, added nothing. It's loaded with Cajun spices, grilled onions, pepperjack cheese, tomatoes and lettuce and squashed between grilled Texas toast.

The drinks

Two Gooses ($3 each). Does that qualify as a gaggle?

The damage: $21.77

Maybe it's good we ran out of money, because we had certainly run out of stomach space.

Broad Ripple Tavern

Address: 745 Broad Ripple Ave.

Telephone: (317) 257-6030.

Parking: Lot/street.

Hours: 11.a.m. to 3.a.m. Monday through Saturday, 11.a.m. to midnight Sunday.