- $40 a Day
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$40 a Day
Title card from 2002 to 2003Genre Travel, food Created by Rachael Ray Starring Rachael Ray Country of origin United States No. of episodes 77 Production Running time 30 minutes Broadcast Original channel Food Network External links Website $40 a Day is a Food Network show hosted by Rachael Ray.[1] In each episode, Rachael takes a one-day trip to an American or European city with only US$40 to spend on food. While touring the city, she finds restaurants to go to (often based on local recommendations), and usually manages to fit three meals and some sort of snack or after-dinner drink into her small budget.
The show premiered on April 1, 2002, some five months after the debut of 30 Minute Meals, making it her second Food Network show. Production is currently on hiatus. Clips are sometimes used in Ray's later series, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels. Another Food Network series, Giada's Weekend Getaways starring Giada De Laurentiis, is similar in format. The show is currently being rerun on The Travel Channel.
Contents
Details
According to Ray, visiting a fast food restaurant, particularly those of national chains, is considered cheating (she says so explicitly in the Orlando episode). On occasion, smaller sit-down restaurant chains (such as Bahama Breeze in the Las Vegas episode, or Bongos in the South Beach episode) are visited. Generally, non-food items and non-food-related activities are not included in her budget.
Rachael always offers tips on what to see in the various cities, as well as hints on how to save money and find bargains while traveling. She also emphasizes researching whatever city she plans to visit through the Internet and asking the local citizens for their recommendations.
Initially, Rachael only used item prices against her $40 limit. She started including applicable taxes and tips during the first season. On occasion, she does go over budget; however, during her trips to Philadelphia and Arizona, she did so on purpose. Her cheapest day was in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2003, when she spent just under $25 USD including taxes and tips (at the time, less than $40 Canadian, although she budgeted for $40 USD). On occasions, she has had to get creative to stay on-budget; for example, she accidentally blew half her budget on her second meal in her first Miami episode.
The pilot, shot in Los Angeles, had a 12-hour limit, but subsequent episodes raised it to 24 hours. Usually episodes begin in the morning with breakfast, occasionally brunch. Episodes almost always feature four paid meals, but on at least one occasion, in the Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC), she did five meals. Also on rare occasion, only three meals are paid, and a fourth ends up being free. On only one occasion, in Antigua, she partook of a hotel's free Continental breakfast, but she still did four paid meals in that episode.
On her first visit to Las Vegas during the first season, Rachael began with dinner and stayed overnight, ending with breakfast.
She did several episodes in Europe when the euro was still valued less than the U.S. dollar. She has not visited Europe since the U.S. dollar has fallen under the euro in value. She has also visited several island locales, including Bermuda and Antigua, both of which generally accept the U.S. dollar.
Ray has occasionally drawn controversy when some meals end up calculating with less-than-traditional tips.
Episodes
Season 1
№ # Title Directed by Written by Original air date Production
code1 1 "Los Angeles" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayApril 1, 2002 AD1A01 2 2 "Napa" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayApril 24, 2002 AD1A03 3 3 "Florida Keys" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayMay 1, 2002 AD1A06 4 4 "Vancouver" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayMay 15, 2002 AD1A08 5 5 "San Francisco" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayMay 22, 2002 AD1A02 6 6 "Orlando" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayMay 29, 2002 AD1A05 7 7 "Seattle" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJune 5, 2002 AD1A09 8 8 "Miami" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJune 12, 2002 AD1A07 9 9 "Monterey" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJune 19, 2002 AD1A04 10 10 "Portland" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJune 26, 2002 AD1A10 11 11 "San Diego" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJuly 10, 2002 AD1A12 12 12 "Las Vegas" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJuly 17, 2002 AD1A11 13 13 "Santa Barbara" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJuly 28, 2002 AD1A13 14 14 "Rome" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayAugust 14, 2002 AD1A17 15 15 "Paris" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayOctober 2, 2002 AD1A14 16 16 "Amsterdam" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayOctober 9, 2002 AD1A16 17 17 "Cooperstown" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayOctober 16, 2002 AD1A26 18 18 "Florence" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayOctober 23, 2002 AD1A19 19 19 "Charleston" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayOctober 28, 2002 AD1A21 20 20 "Tuscany" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayNovember 6, 2002 AD1A18 21 21 "Savannah" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayNovember 28, 2002 AD1A20 22 22 "Atlanta" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayDecember 4, 2002 AD1A22 23 23 "New York City" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJanuary 8, 2003 AD1A25 24 24 "Philadelphia" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJanuary 15, 2003 AD1A24 25 25 "Washington, D.C." Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJanuary 29, 2003 AD1A23 26 26 "Brussels" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayFebruary 12, 2003 AD1A15 Season 2
№ # Title Directed by Written by Original air date Production
code1 27 "Dallas" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayMarch 7, 2003 AD1B07 2 28 "Vermont" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayApril 23, 2003 AD1B01 3 29 "Oahu" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayApril 30, 2003 AD1B04 4 30 "Cape Cod" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayMay 14, 2003 AD1B02 5 31 "Hawaii" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayMay 21, 2003 AD1B05 6 32 "Boston" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayMay 28, 2003 AD1B03 7 33 "Corpus Christi" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJune 4, 2003 AD1B09 8 34 "Memphis" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJune 11, 2003 AD1B10 9 35 "Maui" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJune 18, 2003 AD1B06 10 36 "Austin" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJune 25, 2003 AD1B08 11 37 "New Orleans" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJuly 2, 2003 AD1B11 12 38 "Nashville" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJuly 9, 2003 AD1B12 13 39 "Laguna Beach" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJuly 23, 2003 AD1B13 14 40 "Sedona" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RaySeptember 3, 2003 AD1B15 15 41 "Palm Springs" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RaySeptember 10, 2003 AD1B14 16 42 "Milwaukee" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RaySeptember 17, 2003 AD1B17 17 43 "Tucson" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RaySeptember 24, 2003 AD1B16 18 44 "Chicago" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayOctober 8, 2003 AD1B18 19 45 "Montreal" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayDecember 10, 2003 AD1B24 20 46 "Denver" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJanuary 7, 2004 AD1B21 21 47 "Aspen" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJanuary 21, 2004 AD1B22 22 48 "Portland" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayFebruary 25, 2004 AD1B23 23 49 "Santa Fe" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayMarch 10, 2004 AD1B20 24 50 "Adirondacks" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayApril 2, 2004 AD1B25 25 51 "Cleveland" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayApril 9, 2004 AD1B19 26 52 "Saratoga" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayApril 16, 2004 AD1B26 Season 3
№ # Title Directed by Written by Original air date Production
code1 53 "Park City" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayAugust 20, 2004 AD1C02 2 54 "Grand Canyon" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayAugust 27, 2004 AD1C04 3 55 "Durham" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayAugust 29, 2004 AD1C08 4 56 "Las Vegas" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RaySeptember 10, 2004 AD1C05 5 57 "Bermuda" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RaySeptember 24, 2004 AD1C06 6 58 "Sun Valley" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayOctober 15, 2004 AD1C01 7 59 "Chattanooga" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayOctober 29, 2004 AD1C10 8 60 "Hilton Head" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayNovember 12, 2004 AD1C07 9 61 "Asheville" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayNovember 19, 2004 AD1C09 10 62 "Telluride" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayNovember 26, 2004 AD1C03 11 63 "Newport" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayDecember 17, 2004 AD1C12 12 64 "Martha's Vineyard" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJanuary 7, 2005 AD1C13 13 65 "The Hamptons" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayApril 22, 2005 AD1C11 Season 4
№ # Title Directed by Written by Original air date Production
code1 66 "Mystic" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJanuary 21, 2005 AD1D02 2 67 "Nantucket" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayFebruary 4, 2005 AD1D01 3 68 "Salem" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayFebruary 18, 2005 AD1D03 4 69 "Jackson Hole" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayApril 12, 2005 AD1D06 5 70 "Mount Rushmore" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayApril 19, 2005 AD1D07 6 71 "Ashland" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayMay 3, 2005 AD1D05 7 72 "Coos Bay" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayMay 13, 2005 AD1D04 8 73 "South Beach" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJune 10, 2005 AD1D09 9 74 "Ft. Lauderdale" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJuly 8, 2005 AD1D10 10 75 "San Juan" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayJuly 22, 2005 AD1D11 11 76 "Antigua" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayAugust 12, 2005 AD1D12 12 77 "New York City" Don Colliver Peter Field
Rachael RayDecember 2, 2005 AD1D08 External links
References
- ^ "$40 a Day". Food Network. http://www.foodnetwork.com/40-a-day/index.html. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
Categories:- 2000s American television series
- 2002 American television series debuts
- 2005 American television series endings
- Food Network series
- Food travelogue television series
- English-language television series
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