Food at Oshkosh, what kind and how much?

[skeeter_ca]

I'm taking my teenage son and me to Oshkosh this year. We are camping with minimum equipment, since flying in a large aluminum tube, which means no cooking, utinsels or anything related to eating will be brought. How much should i figure to spend on me and the boy, which is very large, for 7 days of eating at the show and maybe surrounding eaterys? What are going to be the available eating places on the airport or close by? The last time i went to Oshkosh was about 22 years ago and i don't even remember eating.

skeeter

[Zack Baughman]

Just to be safe, I would budget at least $10 per person per meal. Most food vendors on the grounds have prices similar to a MLB ballpark - $5-$7 for a hotdog, $3 for a bottle of water or soda, etc. That being said, if you can squeeze in a small cooler, perhaps packing some of your equipment in it to save space during the flight, you can buy some ice, some bottled water, a loaf of bread, and some sandwich meat from the campground store here on the grounds and eat on the cheap all week. I've done it before myself.

As for restaurants nearby, we have two pub-type restaurants right on the border of the North 40 - Friar Tucks and the Charcoal Pit. A bit further away (but not much), we have West End Pizza, a Hardies, Durangos Mexican Restaurant, an Arby's, a Subway, and Eaton's Pizza and Sandwich shop. Further down the frontage road are a variety of places to eat such as Applebys, Culvers, McDonalds, Taco Bell, a new Olive Garden, and a few others.

There are many other places to eat, but most of these that I have listed are the closest.

[keen9]

You can also buy a dirt cheap grill and a foam cooler from the nearby Wal-Mart or Target and leave it in the dumpster when you go.

[Kevin O'Halloran]

EAA is setting up a food venue on the N40, partnering with Kodiak Jack’s (see http://www.kodiakjacksrestaurant.com/home.php). details are not set in stone, but the expectation is this venue will be open in the morning for breakfast service and the evening for dinner service. Target location is approximately mid-way between the two shower houses on the south side of 9/27 (site planning is already underway).

[steve]

We camp in the North 40 every year. It's breakfast ($12 buffet) at the Hilton on the north side of 9/27. Usually an apple ($0) or a frozen fruit cup thing ($4) or a brat ($4) purchased on the field for lunch. Plan on up to $25 for dinner depending on the venue.

[Kyle Boatright]

The answer is "it depends". I don't like to wait in lines for county fair like food (overpriced hotdogs and burgers), and don't mind eating boring food. So I go to the camp store and get a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. That can provide breakfast and/or lunch for several days. When I'm not in the mood for that, I'll grab a doughnut at the ultralight HQ for breakfast and scrounge for lunch.

I usually eat dinner at the tent just off the grounds on the West side of the field, near the museum. Dinner is <$10 for something tasty, but decidedly unhealthy. Beer is extra. IMO, there are also a couple of dinner places on-site where you can get something pretty good for <$10.

So, if you do it on the cheap, you can survive on $15 a day. I figure I spend $30, counting the beer and the fried cheese curds at the off-site tent.

[Hangar10]

Fried cheese curds... July seems sooo far away.