DR.com Events and Calendar

[hillvalley]

Now that we are done with our first dr. com event I thought I would fill you in a little about what is going on behind the curtain.

I am in touch with a number of restaurants, industry specialists and generous people in the hopes of planning different events. Some events will be informal like our picnic while others will be more formal affairs. Stay tuned for details.

Please feel free to contact me if you have an idea for an event. For now I am going to ask that you check with me before any dr.com events are organized. Thanks!

Currently there are at least five different events in different stages of planning. When details are finalized I will start a thread for each event.

In the mean time you can check our calendar for local events. If you know of any that should be included please send me the information and I will post it.

Restaurateurs: please feel free to email me any date-specific PR for consideration, but please word your emails concisely and precisely as they should be presented on the calendar so I can avoid editorial headaches.

I now return you to your regular restaurant threads.

[Stretch]

For now I am going to ask that you check with me before any dr.com events are organized. Thanks

Don't worry, I think we all recognize the need for the regulation of socializing.

Edited May 26, 2005 by Stretch

[JPW]

Don't worry, I think we all recognize the need for the regulation of socializing.

In the interest of keeping things neat, this thread will be moved to the DR Policy Discussion Forum.

[hillvalley]

A few other things worth mentioning:

-Please feel free to contact me about any event. I cannot be reached during workday hours by PM and cannot guarantee a response in 24 hours. You all are a needy group, be patient

-If you would like to attend an event but do not want your name posted on the board please let me know. Announcing your attendance is not a requirement.

-Many events will require prepayment. Failure to prepay is a forfeit of your reservation at the event. If you pay and cannot attend it is your responsibility to a) let me know and in most cases find your own replacement, unless I have a waiting list. Restaurants put on these events for us and expect to generate a certain amount of revenue.

-Prepayment will be through PayPal and sent to the email you used to register. Please make sure that you pay using the same email to create less confusion.

Thanks,

Y.L.C.D.

Edited May 27, 2005 by hillvalley

[Jacques Gastreaux]

-Many events will require prepayment.  Failure to prepay is a forfeit of your reservation at the event.  If you pay and cannot attend it is your responsibility to a) let me know and in most cases find your own replacement, unless I have a waiting list.  Restaurants put on these events for us and expect to generate a certain amount of revenue.

Thanks,

Y.L.C.D.

Right on, brother.

edited to add: I mean "sister"

Edited May 26, 2005 by Jacques Gastreaux

[hillvalley]

There have been a couple of questions about which events on the calendar are dr.com events and which are organized by an outside force. To eliminate confusion I have put a * next to the events that are ours and chats will be listed in green.

Enjoy,

Your local calendar diva

[hillvalley]

About half of our membership was not around when this thread was active so I thought I would pop it back up.

Again, there are a number of events in the works "behind the scenes" so keep an eye on the calendar and for new threads.

That being said, I am always looking for new events to hold. If you are interested in holding a dinner for us at your restaurant please contact me. Specifically I would like to do an event or two that is a little less expensive than the "blow out" dinners we have planned but I am open to just about anything.

If you have any questions or happy comments about the picnic, cheese tastings or any other event please feel free to contact me.

[hillvalley]

Now that we are done with our first dr. com event I thought I would fill you in a little about what is going on behind the curtain.

I am in touch with a number of restaurants, industry specialists and generous people in the hopes of planning different events.  Some events will be informal like our picnic while others will be more formal affairs.  Stay tuned for details.

Please feel free to contact me if you have an idea for an event.  For now I am going to ask that you check with me before any dr.com events are organized.  Thanks!

Currently there are at least five different events in different stages of planning.  When details are finalized I will start a thread for each event. 

In the mean time you can check our calendar for local events.  If you know of any that should be included please send me the information and I will post it. 

Restaurateurs:  please feel free to email me any date-specific PR for consideration, but please word your emails concisely and precisely as they should be presented on the calendar so I can avoid editorial headaches.

I now return you to your regular restaurant threads.

bump

Once again we have a plethora of new users so I wanted to bump this thread up and remind people how our events work. Don and I work with a number of different restaurants behind the scenes to plan dinners and other food related events for our members. In the past events have included cheese tastings, picnics and special dinners just for Dr.com members.

Since we have so many different events in the works behind the curtain I would appreciate it if you talk with me before planning an event or even approaching a restaurant. This ensures that there are not overlaps in dates, among other things. Keep an eye on the Restaurant thread for announcements about new events.

If you would like to see an event held at a specific restaurant please let me know. Chefs, owners, restaurant PR people, please don't hesitate to contact me. I am always looking to develop new relationships between the board and the restaurant community.

Feel free to PM me with any questions or concerns. As our community grows hopefully the number of events and members involved will too. Theses dinners are a great way to put screen names with faces and discover that we really aren't that scary and will only laugh at you a little when you admit to loving McDonald's

[Scott Johnston]

HV, When you mention "Keep an eye on the Restaurant thread for announcements about new events" Does that mean there will be a separate thread for each event, one that will be easy to find, or a addition to a thread already started for that restaurant?

Also, feel free to call upon the huddled masses if you need help!

[hillvalley]

Each time I announce a new event a new thread is started, regardless of whether or not a thread on the restaurant already exists. Check out the Ray's the Steak dinner or our fall picnic for examples.

The exceptions to this rule are the On a whim, Some Dim Sum Sundays, and $20 Tuesdays. These events are informal, do not require prepayment and the restaurant has not prepared a special menu just for us. Infact, unless they read the board, the restaurant usually do not know we are there.

Members can make sure that they do not miss a new announcement by using the subscribe to this forum feature at the top of the forum. This will send you an email every time a new thread is started. From there you can track the thread by clicking on the track this topic button that is found at the top of each thread.

Thanks for the offer to help. I'll holler when I need it

[squidsdc]

Members can make sure that they do not miss a new announcement by using the subscribe to this forum feature at the top of the forum.  This will send you an email every time a new thread is started.  From there you can track the thread by clicking on the track this topic button that is found at the top of each thread.

This is the first I've heard of this! Please help me out here...I'm a bit technically challenged. I know how to subscribe to individual topics, but I just looked at all the pages, and do not see anywhere "subscribe to this forum" at the top of the forum. Maybe I'm not the only one who needs to be walked through it? Do I need to click on My Controls or My Assistant to see this option? TIA

[hillvalley]

Once you know what to do it's really simple.

Enter the Restaurants and Dining Forum. On the right side of the screen find where it says 0 New Messages (or however many you have). Below that is a blue button that says New Poll. Directly below that is Subscribe to this Forum. Click where it says Subscribe to this forum and follow the directions. You can do this in any forum, here and on eGullet, to name a few.

Let me know if you need more help! I promise you aren't the only one who didn't know. I had to teacher a certain board founder about that feature

[hillvalley]

/big 'ole bump/

A couple of people have approached me this week about organizing different events, community building activities (ropes course anyone?) etc. They are great ideas and we are slowly starting to plan them. I'll post more details as they become available.

If you have an idea for a dinner, blow out or otherwise, or any other event related to food you would like to organize let me know. We (I) always need new ideas to keep the events fun and different. I try to have a dinner or big event every 6 to 8 weeks. Right now we need ideas for a holiday party/gathering/debauchery inducing day.

Most importantly, A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who put in way too much time behind the scenes to pull off the picnic and other recent dinner. This board would not be the place it is without you. /insert great big group hug./

[hillvalley]

The following is the response to brettashley01's question and ScotteeM's response regarding food allergies and restrictions.

Hello all, first time poster but long time lurker, and very curious about this dinner! Question though- with events such as these, are allowances made for food allergies- and preferences? (And no, I'm not saying no carbs, but I do have allergies and do not eat red meat/pork for specific health reasons.)

Unfortunately there is not an easy answer to this. The easiest answer is to check with me as events come along. It really depends on your food limitations and the event.

This event, for instance, has at least three major ingredients that you would not be able to eat. With that many restrictions with food the chef is featuring, we wouldn't be able to work around your allergies.

It also depends on the event and the chef. Our dinners with Michael Landrum at Ray's the Steaks is a good example. For one dinner at RTS, Michael was able to make substitutions for a member with a list of food restrictions. A few months late, at the "Coaching for College" benefit, Michael was basically running a one-man show and therefore was unable to make substitutions. But he did offer at fish option for those who don't eat red meat.

Hi Brett Ashley! Nice to make your acquaintance.

The answer to your question is: It depends on the event. In some cases, there is flexibility in the menu, in others, not so much. Often, the menu is a surprise and is not revealed until the diners are seated at the tables. You may be able to check via PM with the organizer(s) to see if this event would be acceptable given your dietary restrictions. If it is not, then wait for more event announcements, and perhaps one will be right for you. Or, perhaps you might want to volunteer to organize an event that would match your requirements. I think you can check with Hillvalley or Crackers about doing that.

Members should always feel free to contact me about hosting an event. Help is always needed and appreciated. Even if you don't have a specific idea, but would like to help with the organizing, please let me know. Events such as the picnic require help from many and it's always great to have new people join us.

My only request is that you contact me before announcing any event that either a) involves a special menu and/or a meal arranged by working with a restaurant (including major dinners, some $20 Tuesdays, etc., prepayment for the event, c) hosting a public event in your home. This way we avoid having too many events at one time. Please note that except for the occasional happy hour, such as the two holiday celebrations, Happy Hours are not included. We are always looking for a new place to explore so please offer up suggestion in the On a Whim thread.

[hillvalley]

Our Event FAQ is another good resource for event information.

[crackers]

The donrockwell.com Calendar, maintained by our very own Calendar Girl, mbk, lists all the upcoming $20 Tuesdays, Dim Sum Sundays, classes, formal dinners, etc. and all the members' birthdays (that we know about). The new Invision version makes it super easy to see everything that's going on. To get to it, use the tab in the upper right of the home page. And thanks, mbk, for doing such a great job with keeping it going!