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What's next, green stamps? With the cost of food and dining going up, and the economy going down, restaurants are scrambling to find new ways of keeping diners coming in the doors. Both Parasole, Inc. and the Twin Cities Originals have recently introduced customer loyalty programs that use member cards to track purchases and reward customers. With the Twin Cities Originals reward card, you get a point for every dollar you spend at a participating restaurant, and once you reach 150 points you get a $10 credit.

Over 30 independently owned restaurants are in the Twin Cities Originals, ranging from the Dakota, Saffron and Murray's to Vescio's Cucina, The Herkimer and Broder's Pasta Bar. For a complete list of TCO restaurants, click here. The TCO rewards card is also good at participating restaurants in other cities, including Kansas City, St. Louis, Tucson, and Birmingham - see www.PowerCard.com for details.

The Parasole Club program adds another wrinkle: if you spend $1,000 to $2499 per year, you get 1.25 points per dollar, and if you spend $2500 or more, you get 1.5 points. The Parasole chain includes Manny's Steakhouse, The Living Room and Prohibition Bar (all in the Foshay Hotel), Chino Latino, Figlio, Salut Bar Americain, Muffuletta, Pittsburgh Blue Steakhouse, and the Good Earth.

Twin Cities Originals has another money-saving offer: gift certificates for 30 percent off, available for purchase on the PowerCard site. Only a limited number of certificates are available each quarter, and right now most of them are sold out, but a few are still available for The Herkimer, Great Waters and Birch's.