Only bad thing with the corn is that you can't smile at anyone for an hour or so after consuming....
Only bad thing with the corn is that you can't smile at anyone for an hour or so after consuming....
Water. There were lots of very nice bubblers around, with provisions for filling up your water bottle. Water is good and what you (or at least I) need. Along with the occasional A&W Root Beer Float. A&W was also offering fruit instead of chips in the basket. I also had corn, but I can't remember where (I got it at Tall Pines, but somewhere else, too.) Then you could always take the North 40 bus which lets you off at Friar Tucks and several other restaurants next to the Hilton. Lots of options.
I'll put in my plea to go back to fountain soda in the waxed paper cups. There were two sizes and you could get ice, and the soda was always cold. Now, you have to buy a 20-ounce bottle, and it's not always cold because sometimes they sell so fast and the coolers are refilled so often that the drinks don't have time to chill. I saw a lot of plastic bottles in the recycling, but I also saw a lot in the trash. Very eco-unfriendly! I want to put in a plug for A&W, though...I could always get a cup of ice from them, and they were super-friendly.
The creamery ice cream just north of the Brown Arch was excellent, but the lines were ridiculous. I'd like to see more of those stands around the grounds. I'd also like to see something like the Vintage Restaurant come back by the Vintage Barn...the selection at Goolsby's was really limited.
Goolsbys....yes that is the name. Awful. The Cajun chicken tasted just like last nights hamburger. Hope they go bye bye. A&W....they were an oasis of taste.
And...sorry, I will haul and cook food before I feel the need to HAVE to leave the field just to eat. That is a lot of tram/bus/line/waiting from Vintage. Been there...done that.
Larry Nelson EAA 35011
President EAA Chapter 821
Springfield, MO
PA 30 / Cessna 195
As a first timer to AV I want to add my perspective to this conversation. Spending Saturday through Saturday for the full experience. . I came to AV on a pretty tight budget and some planning worked to keep the costs down. I always ate breakfast and dinner in camp. Well, I did eat at the UL area on Monday - having a second breakfast - I was REALLY hungry. I had quality snacks during the day and ate a light lunch if at all. I found the selections reasonable but grew tired of brats as I had some in camp. Getting to a store was imperative and the kind neighbors invited me to Walmart to get food for the week. The camp store was very limited and convenience store priced. I bought 2 of the disposable coolers and doubled them up for more insulation. I was able to keep ice all week with 3 bags total. . I was able to cook one pot meals on a single burner stove for both meals. Buca di Beppo looked interesting but most things on the menu had some form of milk - and off my choices list. I liked the subway fairly near the forums/homebuilts area and made 5$ stretch a bit. I think the choices were pretty successful.
Last edited by Jim Heffelfinger; 08-03-2014 at 08:48 PM.
I share your thoughts. I wasn't able to attend last year and was surprised with all the plastic bottles. I too prefer fountain drinks with ice. Although I will admit that sometimes the fountain line was the choke point in getting food sometimes.Originally Posted by BeagleOne
Constructive criticism, food was pretty bad this year.
I travel light, so I don't bring a kitchen with me to cook at camp, I rely on food on sight. All or the restaurants on the flightline are good for lunch. Machine Shed was great, A&W, Subway, all good quality. Everything was pretty much all "do you want fries with that?". Lunch was well covered. The pizza down by homebuilts was dreadful.
Breakfast was a joke. Celebration way had cold eggs, cold english muffins, and cold sausage on order. Buca had paper thin bacon on cold muffins. I opted for cereal at camp.
Dinner options were very thin too. Aces cafe went from having a different meal every night available, to having pasta bowls available, every night. Everyone else had the same lunch options available. Do you want fries with that?
By the end of the week, the bad food, bad weather, and the Thunderbird line had me leaving early. I had a blast while I was there, but going to town for meals was no longer an option with the boggy campgrounds. It seemed that even last year had more variety than this year. Like I said before, lunch options were great, but if you are eating three meals a day on the line, it was a pretty rough week.
Well, as a 5-year veteran, I have tasted both the before and after-rehab of the food. Here's my take on it: Once again, Buca di Beppo was the best dinner food there. The best breakfast was Tall Pines Café, as usual. Both were good tasting, good portion size and good price. A&W was the best for a cool snack during the day. The best lunch was still the Church group at the front gate. All the rest was just average county-fair grub; either too expensive, too small or too pricey. Someone mentioned how Ace's Cafe' used to have a different dinner every night. True, but it was always low-grade dogfood IMHO. I would like to see more places for good dinner food like Buca di Beppo. Man cannot survive on Italian alone. Other than that, the food this year and last was much better than the pre-2013 days.
Take a tram south to the Tall Pines Café. Only jokes there are from the friendly people, both servers and patrons.
+1 on all points! With the added bonus that the Sacred Heart Parish stand outside the gate is also much less expensive then anything on the grounds.
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