Food Update...

[steveknapp]

We've been slackers, and that's going to change.

 

So I thought I'd start a thread to document for ourselves what's going on, what we need to do, and so on. Plus this way others can comment.

 

A note to myself, and Karen..but wanted to keep you in the loop on what's going on.

 

From searching the web a bit the place for pizza seems to be Sonny's Pizza. Voted best pizza by the local paper a few times over.

 

Sonny's Pizzeria Inc

119 N Main St

Eureka Springs, AR 72632-3428

Phone:  (479) 253-2329

Business Types: Caterers, Restaurants, Pizza Restaurants

 

I'll call them tomorrow and ask about food for about 125 on 7 Oct. Get a price estimate delivered to the Iron Horse. Make sure it's sane. See if we can get anchovies on the side.

 

BBQ for the 9th:

 

- Bubba's BBQ

- Smokehouse Cafe

- Big Daddy's BBQ

- Cowboy's Barbecue

 

Any prefrence for any of these places? I'll call em all and see what they say.

 

We'll also get coffee makers, 2 big ones? Cups, sugar, creamer, stirrers.

 

Anything else on our plate? Anyone? Bueler?

[Jake]

I think we ought to nominate our man-about-town to go sample the BBQ plates, one right after the other! Ya in, Murray?

 

I can speak firsthand about Bubba's (fair enough), but I hear that the Smokehouse Cafe gets the nod for the locals.

[David]

And, just to document what I sent earlier:

 

Last I heard, you folks were struggling a little with finding some options for dinner.

 

First, we ate at the Iron Horse for lunch today. Our honest assessment was that it was small time and the food was mediocre. I'm not sure how they'd handle a big group.

 

Second, we drove around and asked around, and here's another option.

 

Paul Komarek

General Manager

Forest Hill Restaurant

3016 E. Van Buren

ES, AR 72632

479/253-2422 phone

479/253-4954 fax

479/253-6363 cell

paul@foresthillrestaurant.com

 

The food was good at this place, and it's big and professional. They said they could handle 200, either there or catered. Just another option for you.

 

Paul is the manager, and he was eager to help. Great pizza, too.

[steveknapp]

David, did you and Paul have in mind eating at the IH, or at Forrest Hill?

 

 

[David]

It could be either, actually, though I think the restaurant would be easier. It's pretty nice, btw, and about 2.5 miles west of the Iron Horse.

[steveknapp]

For Thursday, Knappy sez Bubba's. Any comments, objections?

 

Here's the story. Smokehouse Cafe doesn't do large orders. Bubba's does, pretty often. I talked to the owner and he seemed on top of things.

 

They don't cater, I'll pick it up. I'll also grab plates and whatnot from the local food service supply store.

 

Pulled Pork, Beef, hot links, sauce, beans, slaw, potatoe salad, buns...$7-10 per person was the rough estimate. Seem reasonable? Throw a few bucks on there for plates n' stuff and drinks?

 

They need a weeks notice. And will require a deposit, cash or check, they don't take plastic. I can take care of that.

 

Now here's the big questions about Thursday:

 

How many? 110?

 

What do we do for drinks? BYOD? Or coolers stocked full of pop and whatnot?

 

What to do about the veggie people? This is BBQ, meat.. I've got ideas for some great things we could bring. But don't know what the facilities would be for storing and heating stuff. We'll be staying at a house, with a fridge and oven and the like. So we could always transport it from there to the IH.

 

Tuesday is still up in the air. Having it at the resturant would be easier. But having it at the Iron Horse has a certian charm to it as well.

[Jake]

What did Sonny's say? (WDSS)

 

[steveknapp]

They ain't open.

[David]

Steve, that price seems very reasonable. I'd tack some onto it and include soft drinks and water or iced tea or whatever. It'll be easier for people. And then just let people bring their own beer. What people drink would vary greatly, and we'd have some liability serving alcohol.

 

If you want me to write a check from our funds, both as a deposit and to you so that you can buy stuff, that's no problem.

[steveknapp]

Thursday's plan is forming..

 

- BBQ for 110 (I'll call and get a final quote)

- Veggie Lasagna for 15-20 ($70 for the pan, we'll store and heat it at our place ahead of time)

- Sides from Bubba's

- We'll bring a couple BIG coolers and buy pop and ice there.

 

David, thanks for the offer of the funds. I'll cover the "stuff" for now, it will be easier, but if you could send the deposit to Bubba's that would be GREAT.

 

 

[murrayg]

Sorry I was AWOL there for a minute. Real life was intruding on the fun. Bubba's BBQ will do the trick. Folks that want real good BBQ will have to scoot on down to Ozarks on one of their rides. Let's also keep this in mind, Bentonville BMW is going to fire up burgers and dogs on Wednesday on the oft chance that some of our folks might wander over. I know you can't tell it by looking at me, but I'm not much of a pizza eater so if the local write up says Sonny's I second that motion.

[Jake]

As I think this through, eating at the Forest Hill on Tuesday has some real upside. It's close to the IH, and having an indoor meet and greet will really make for a nice sit-down atmosphere - a la El Paseo I. It's had its tires kicked by David and Emerhoon, and nothing beats a good look into someone's eyes on the confidence scale.

 

The downside IMHO is that we all have to ride out of there, so the boozin will have to wait until the campfires start. Fine, but we'll lose some members in that exchange. That's ok tho, plenty of time left in the Un after that.

 

The controlled indoor environment would allow us to do some things, like door prizes for longest ride, etc. And we could set a price to be collected at the door. If 110 turns into 140, we'll know earlier that day, with plenty of time to adjust.

 

I like it. Easy on us, good for all. What does the peanut gallery say?

 

[steveknapp]

I like it. Easy on us, good for all. What does the peanut gallery say?

 

When I talked to her, she's still on the fence. Might go, might not... I suggested she go, and deal with angry babysitters when you get back.

 

Oh, the food!

 

I've got fond memories of the informal onsite pizza of the Un. I remember walking around a bit with a plate of pizza and a drink. The picnic style invites more mingling IMHO, makes it more "un". IMHO we need one informal group meal at the IH.

 

Taking prefrence for food out of this...here's what logically makes sense to me. And this hurts me to say....Skip the BBQ. Get pizza one night for an informal walk around meal. Eat at the resturant the other.

 

Why? BBQ is more a sit down meal. It requires serving trays. Plates, cutlery, sauce... Pizza comes in a box. You can eat it with one hand. If it rains you just close the lid. It's about as easy, and only slightly higher class, than handing out powerbars.

 

Having not seen the IH, I don't know what facilities we'll have. But I can say that we can get by with a lot less serving pie than BBQ with trimmings. Hence it's lower risk to do pizza than BBQ at the IH.

 

Why not? Pizza vs. BBQ. Duh.

[David]

Just to add a little more to the data bin, the lunch place spec'd for one of the rides is supposed to be one of the best BBQ places in Arkansas. So they'll have it at least once, for lunch.

[Yeeha! Stephen]

"Let's also keep this in mind, Bentonville BMW is going to fire up burgers and dogs on Wednesday on the oft chance that some of our folks might wander over."

****************************************************

 

If anyone wants to do this, get the word out to get there early in the day.

 

They did the same thing for the Dallas & Ft Worth BMW Club's Fall ride last year. The locals (not Emerson... he was with us) got wind of a free feed, and it was all but gone by the time we arrived at the scheduled time. I got a burger on plain bread, but all the trimmings and condiments were GONE with the WIND.

 

Oh well, it left room for a big dinner that night.

[Jake]

OK, we're all over the road on this.

 

Pizza from a box delivered to the Un on Tuesday sounds great, but only works if we can get Sonny's on the phone.

 

Bentonville BMW lunch was voted down a long time ago.

 

BBQ pick-up from Bubbas could be a lot, I say A LOT of work, maybe we supplement the Forest Hill thingy for Thursday.

 

What say ye?

[steveknapp]

All over the map...let's get on the same page.

 

I'll get sonny's on the phone. If not pizza isn't a rare food.

 

We don't mind the work involved for BBQ. We would enjoy doing it so people can have a great time. The hard part, the planning, is done.

 

My concern remains the IH. 110 people who will need places to sit to eat BBQ, buffets to eat from. David's post in the other thread didn't give me a warm fuzzy. Jake, you've been there. Tell me otherwise.

 

We can fix that, rent a canopy, tables, chairs. Another BBQ place with more seating. A local park with a picnic area? Nothing is Un-possible. Say the word and it's done. I don't mind the work, I mind the complexity, the risk.

 

From what I've heard about the IH so far my suggestion remains that we do an informal pizza thing on Tuesday and the Forrest Hill on Thursday.

 

My alternate suggestion is to replace Forrest Hill with BBQ somewhere with the needed facilities.

[murrayg]

Pizza Tuesday

Do what you please on Wednesday. Btw, there is a cool resturant overlooking Beaver Lake, maybe 15 miles from IH called the Horizon Resturant. It would be a nice place for riders and their SOs nice ambiance and not terribly pricey. It can't hold 115 of us.

Forest Hill Thursday

By Thursday if people aren't up talking to each other over a meal it's not the meal's fault.

[steveknapp]

Pizza is set!

 

Pizza, large 1.5' pizza feeds 4 people (2 big pie-shaped slices) - 30 pizzas

 

First round at 6pm. 3 rounds (10-12 per), about 20-30min apart (all drive time, I'll probably help with that).

 

$16.95 per pie / 4 = $4.50/person ($508.50 total). Includes plates, napkins, plasticware, and loan of serving tools (I gave my word we would bring them back). Price seemed very reasonable, or am I too used to paying megabucks for frufru Chitown pie? $5 even would give us $60 for drinks.

 

I figured we'll pick up pop and the like. I've got two huge coolers from my buddy David West for the drinks.

 

Wanting to keep it simple:

5xSupreme (everything)

5xVeggie (all sorts of veggie stuff)

5xRoman Supreme (Spinach/Feta, veggie, but I know many like spinach)

5xCheese

5xSausuage

5xPeperroni

 

We can order more as we go along should they underestimate our eating power.

 

We've got the whole shop to ourselves on this day. No delays because of other orders. But the pizza output isn't as high as a Pizza Hut. Real stone ovens, not the conveyor. Lance sounded like he takes real pride in his work.

 

Lance Thomas

(479) 253-2307

SMWTh 11-9

FS 11-11

 

I'll stop by Saturday around 2-3pm to pay and meet up. He didn't want to take my CC until then. We can also update the numbers (food registrations are rising).

[steveknapp]

First off for the size group we'll be split into two groups.

 

From talking to Paul, the best option is their bufffet - $9.25/per-person, inlcudes drinks and gratuity.

 

The other option would be to have people pre-order their food from a short list. That seemed like more hassle than it's worth. Plus it was $13-15/per.

 

Buffet would have a selection of meat, fish, pasta, soup, salad, sides. They would need to talk to the chef for specifics. From what David has described I think we'll be ok. But also we'll need to report in a few days ahead with the final count and I'll double check that we're not eating liver and gizzards then. A meatless dish was no problem.

 

Karen called WalMart, they only make doughnuts. She put in an order for all three days. We're going to look for other options. In addition still working on solving the coffee situation.

[Jake]

Fine work Stevie!

 

FYI to the rest - the IH had no problem with us gorging ourselves on Sonny's pizza in their presence. They also have a local on standby for firewood orders.

 

I am going to be out this weekend starting in a few hours, and back on Sunday eve. So, please feel free to make command decisions that save the world.

 

I think we ought to have people pay for pizza at registration, then dinner at the Forest Hill at the door on Thursday. Don't know why really, it just seems to be the easy thing to do so we won't have to keep track of 2 meals.

 

We'll need to update the members with the latest dinner plans. I'll be happy to do it if we are all good with the pizza/FH plan.

 

Please chime in!

[David]

Sounds like a really good plan to me. Good work, Steve.

[steveknapp]

We'll need to update the members with the latest dinner plans. I'll be happy to do it if we are all good with the pizza/FH plan.

 

You work out what you need the final costs to be and go from there. Post and update the web page?

[Jake]

Just back from getting sunburned in Marco Island. I posted the dinner change to the board.

 

Brant...Brant? Any way to weave this in to the UnSite??