StevenTuck 2 Posted February 28 I felt a need to express my great disappointment in the banquet food on Saturday night. One would expect when being at the Hilton and paying $50 per plate that the food would be exemptional to outstanding. I have nothing to say but awful! I had the salmon and it tasted as if it had been prepared the day before and heated up. The edges were rubbery. You can go anywhere and get a fabulous meal for two people for $50 or less. Those in charge of the event should know. If no one speaks out then no one will know. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ejboyd5 97 Posted February 28 14 minutes ago, StevenTuck said: You can go anywhere and get a fabulous meal for two people for $50 or less. Where do you live? 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Moskowitz 1,296 Posted February 28 Steven, not sure this is the best way to let us know as this is the general forum and not always monitored by us but our apologies about the banquet. We are having a lot of discussion about hotels, cost of food and the quality as well. It has been a concern at our first two events and we feel bad for our members and the hard working folks at the regions who put the show on. They did not prepare the food. Our board of directors have had a lot of emails fly back and forth since Philadelphia and Ocala and the subject is being visited. The solution? Not sure but I can tell you the banquet at Auburn is fabulous and at a much lower cost. Guarantee you that your comments are being taken seriously and if you visit the page on meets and tours you will find others who also had the same feeling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe in Canada 522 Posted February 28 The Philly banquet dinner was great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charlier 209 Posted March 1 1 hour ago, Steve Moskowitz said: Our board of directors have had a lot of emails fly back and forth since Philadelphia and Ocala and the subject is being visited. The solution? Not sure but I can tell you the banquet at Auburn is fabulous and at a much lower cost. Guarantee you that your comments are being taken seriously and if you visit the page on meets and tours you will find others who also had the same feeling. Steve, if the board has not already done so they might consider reaching out to current AACA members who are working or have worked in the Hotel/Banquet industry. My father ran a few Hotel/Banquet operations in the over 50 years he worked in that industry. Someone with experience in that industry will have insights into this situation and could be very valuable in establishing a policy & procedure for regions to follow when evaluating a Hotel/Banquet operation. Also, when a region is deciding on a host hotel, do members of the region have the banquet facility "audition" for the job? IE does the hotel prepare each of the menu items to be served at the banquet for a select group of region members to taste test? If regions are not doing this maybe an "audition" should be a prerequisite before an agreement is signed for banquet services? Many years ago when my sister got married our Father had the final one or two banquet operations "audition" for the job. Needless to say, the one that hosted my sister's wedding reception earned it. If the suggestions above are already being done that is great. If not maybe the Board should consider them. FYI, I just sent in my show registration for Auburn this year. I am looking forward to the Banquet and all the events and museums. Charlie 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevenTuck 2 Posted March 1 (edited) 15 hours ago, ejboyd5 said: Where do you live? Land O Lakes, Florida which is north of Tampa. Two of us just had a meal last night that was great for less than $50. The $45 meal included two appetizers, two entrees and one mixed drink. More than the cost is the quality for what one spends. Edited March 1 by StevenTuck (see edit history) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John_S_in_Penna 2,044 Posted March 1 I agree that, at a restaurant, $50 would cover the cost of TWO people, and the food would be very good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Hill 116 Posted March 1 Thus why I do not attend the banquets when I got to a National Meet. My wife and I go somewhere and have a nice meal (almost always less than the cost of the banquet) and then show up for the awards presentation. Bob 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwells 143 Posted March 1 The meet chairman of another large car club event offered this opinion in a meeting planning manual he subsequently authored: "Avoid plated breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The hotel will give you a better deal on food if you use the buffet line, with more variety and selection of food. Less set-up for them, and no charge by the plate." 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe in Canada 522 Posted March 2 The price of the meal also includes the rental of the hall for the evening for awards or dancing after the dinner. You can not compare the cost to a restaurant to a banquet dinner. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edinmass 2,262 Posted March 2 To be fair... hotel banquet food is rarely great, I buy a ticket and go to the dinner to support the club, and take what I get... the people and the cars are why I attend... not for the hotel food. 7 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John348 809 Posted March 2 I thought the food was pretty good for a catered meal. The service was not the best. They brought out deserts before the salad, no plates for the bread, and I turned to speak to the person seated next to me and my plate was taken with half of my meal still on it. When I finally got the server's attention he said it was too late and asked if I wanted an extra dessert. The cocktails were very pricey for Florida, I think I paid $26 for two mixed drinks. Again none of the catering problems are in anyway the fault of the hosting regions. I know there was a wedding going on as well so the staff might have been "extras" brought in to handle the extra volume. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robert Street 83 Posted March 3 John, I think your dinner was replaced with awards. When I went by your table there must have been half a dozen! Did you bring the whole NY garage down? Robert Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John348 809 Posted March 3 Actually there were five awards, but three of them were for a local guy in Ocala who could not attend the banquet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C Carl 1,285 Posted March 3 Well, congratulations to you anyway, John, my friend! Sure wish I could have been with you guys. I used to get out of this dark, gloomy, damp corner of the country every winter. I would generally spend around two months in Florida, primarily on the East coast most everywhere between Big Pine Key and Merritt Island. Banquet? I think I would eat scrapple sandwiches on Wonder Bread three meals a day if that would be the price I had to pay to get way down yonder for a while. Vicariously enjoying all the postings from the Sunny Southland, Cadillac Carl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
padgett 795 Posted March 3 Well, since I live about three miles from Orlando's "Restaurant Row," my standards are pretty high. Most have great "happy hours" but do not understand the infatuation with the Patagonian toothfish. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robert G. Smits 118 Posted March 4 With my wife serving as president of a large non profit board we are at a banquet once or twice a month. In my limited experience Hilton's are at the bottom of the barrel. I certainly agree that anyone sponsoring a banquet should "audition" the meal. In the final analysis you are there for the people, not the food. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John_S_in_Penna 2,044 Posted March 5 7 hours ago, Robert G. Smits said: In the final analysis you are there for the people, not the food. Thank you for your observations. They should help others. A couple of people have said that we all go to banquets for the camaraderie, not the food. That's true. However, at the same time, we can't excuse mediocre food that comes at ANY price. And often we're paying a HIGH price. Dismissing the food would be like saying, "I paid a lot of money for rechroming, and I'm not satisfied with the result. The chrome didn't turn out well. But I go to car shows for the people, so what I spent doesn't matter!" 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
