Lately. I've been lucky to have had a variety of events for my criticl
care nurses chapter which has allowed me to pick menus and caterers for
smaller functions and "test drive" them a bit, but not pay the bill
personally! LOL,
I spoke with a caterer today who is preparing a proposal for us for a
cocktail party with about 150 guests.My food budget is aprox. $5,000.
Some of the munchies we included in the "wish list" includes a sushi
bar, seasonal fruit and cheese displays, jerk chicken sticks with mango
peach salsa, ham on sweet potato biscuits, beef kababs; Asparagus
wrapped in filo dough (forgot what goes with that) stuffed mushrooms
were asked for, as well as a hummous bar with pita chips. I understand
small shrimp cocktails in jiggers go over well. I am anxious to read her
proposal and if all of it can be done on the budget I provided? We
listed probably twenty items she could include and play around with to
balanace the budget. I'll get her proposal on Tuesday. I can't wait!
She can also supply us with a full bar (top shelf brands) at $14/pp, and
they will refund unopened bottles and credit us for them. At that price
it comes to $2100. just for the liquors/mixers. I think we can make a
significant savings by purchasing the alcohol at the military Class Vl
store. THe caterer has no problems nor additional fees for using our own
obtained liquors. I would need some guidance as to what types of liquors
to buy-what is most popular and how much to buy? The caterer will
provide 2-3 bartenders for the event at $100/each. I think that is very
reasonable.
Ill share the planning stages here with you all (or what few might be
interested?) as I learn and decide on what I want and what alterations
might need to be made to suit the budget.

Has anyone here provided the booze for their functions and how did you
determine what to buy?? How much??

Goomba38 wrote:
> Lately. I've been lucky to have had a variety of events for my criticl
> care nurses chapter which has allowed me to pick menus and caterers

Stop right there. Caterers. Pfffft! Off Topic. Shame on you!

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

In article >,
Goomba38 > wrote:


> Has anyone here provided the booze for their functions and how did you
> determine what to buy?? How much??

My suggestion would be to ask the caterer. She would probably know
better than anybody here. Preferences vary according to location.

Hopefully things will go better for you. My wife and I worked for the
US Army many years ago. My office had several parties. Some were at
the local (military) yacht club, a few hundred feet from where I worked.
My wife worked at the same (satellite) base. The person who organized
the parties found that we could provide the booze, but had to pay the
yacht club to pour it. I don't know if the bartenders wanted to get out
early, or what, but they poured very heavily. I talked to a woman there
who made three trips to the bar. She wanted a bourbon and mixer. The
bartender almost filled the large glass (8 oz?) with bourbon, and then a
splash of mixer. She couldn't drink it. She made a second trip,
requesting a weak drink. She got the same thing. On the third trip,
she requested just the mixer, no booze. She got it, and could drink it.
That was probably 12 oz of bourbon just abandoned and wasted. I watched
the bartenders, and that was what they did for every drink. Out of the
probably 100 people who were there, maybe two could walk home. The
others had to drive. That was pretty irresponsible.

In article <dabel-080EB5.08292411082007@c-61-68-245-
199.per.connect.net.au>, says...
>
> > Has anyone here provided the booze for their functions and how did you
> > determine what to buy?? How much??
>
> My suggestion would be to ask the caterer. She would probably know
> better than anybody here. Preferences vary according to location.
>

Caterers can certainly help but be aware that they plan for wild
parties, at least in my experience. When we catered our wedding
reception the caterer told us how much booze they were planning on and
our jaws dropped right to the floor. We cut that in half and still had
at least half of what they brought left over.

You know your guests - are they a thirsty crowd or more the sipping wine
type?


--
Peter Aitken

"Peter A" > wrote in message
...
> In article <dabel-080EB5.08292411082007@c-61-68-245-
> 199.per.connect.net.au>, says...
>>
>> > Has anyone here provided the booze for their functions and how did you
>> > determine what to buy?? How much??
>>
>> My suggestion would be to ask the caterer. She would probably know
>> better than anybody here. Preferences vary according to location.
>
> Caterers can certainly help but be aware that they plan for wild
> parties, at least in my experience. When we catered our wedding
> reception the caterer told us how much booze they were planning on and
> our jaws dropped right to the floor. We cut that in half and still had
> at least half of what they brought left over.
>
> You know your guests - are they a thirsty crowd or more the sipping wine
> type?
> --
> Peter Aitken

Peter is on the mark. I still have remnants of booze left over from a
catered do five years ago. Of course, it's mostly because I don't know many
rum-drinkers, but still ...

Felice

Dan Abel wrote:
> In article >,
> Goomba38 > wrote:
>
>
>> Has anyone here provided the booze for their functions and how did you
>> determine what to buy?? How much??
>
> My suggestion would be to ask the caterer. She would probably know
> better than anybody here. Preferences vary according to location.

I'd say the caterer would know, yes. But ask the caterer to help you
end-run the caterer on booze purchases? Hmmmm. Also, would the base PX
or whatever OP suggested would be cheaper (probably) refund unused booze
(probably not, I'd say) like the caterer would?


--
Blinky RLU 297263
Killing all posts from Google Groups.
Except in Thunderbird, which can't filter that well.
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://blinkynet.net/comp/uip5.html

On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 05:43:38 -0400, Goomba38 >
wrote:

>I understand small shrimp cocktails in jiggers go over well.

Better known as "shooters".... I've never heard of shrimp shooters
though. I'm only familiar with raw oyster shooters.



--

A husband is someone who takes out the trash and gives the impression he just cleaned the whole house.

"Blinky the Shark" > wrote in message
...
> Dan Abel wrote:
>> In article >,
>> Goomba38 > wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Has anyone here provided the booze for their functions and how did you
>>> determine what to buy?? How much??
>>
>> My suggestion would be to ask the caterer. She would probably know
>> better than anybody here. Preferences vary according to location.
>
> I'd say the caterer would know, yes. But ask the caterer to help you
> end-run the caterer on booze purchases? Hmmmm. Also, would the base PX
> or whatever OP suggested would be cheaper (probably) refund unused booze
> (probably not, I'd say) like the caterer would?
>
A local liquor store we buy from frequently has signs up in the store
reminding customers that they will take back and refund unopened bottles.
So it's worth asking about.

An article I read a while back (probably in the Chicago Tribune) talked
about how the trendy thing to do these days is to have a Signature Cocktail
at an event. So at John and Mary's wedding they'd have something called
"John and Mary's Nuptial Bliss" or the like. These are supposedly new
cocktails, but I suspect that often they are tried-and-true recipes with new
garnishes.

At any rate, a signature cocktail for your event might mean you could cut
back on some of the hard liquor, since folks who would normally drink
margaritas or old fashioneds might instead drink Critical Care Delights.

Booze seems to be always a problem. Sometimes it seems everyone is drinking
wine and beer and the niext time you can;t get the martinis poured fast
enough.

Anny

On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 05:43:38 -0400, Goomba38 >
wrote:

>Lately. I've been lucky to have had a variety of events for my criticl
>care nurses chapter which has allowed me to pick menus and caterers for
>smaller functions and "test drive" them a bit, but not pay the bill
>personally! LOL,
>I spoke with a caterer today who is preparing a proposal for us for a
>cocktail party with about 150 guests.My food budget is aprox. $5,000.
>Some of the munchies we included in the "wish list" includes a sushi
>bar, seasonal fruit and cheese displays, jerk chicken sticks with mango
>peach salsa, ham on sweet potato biscuits, beef kababs; Asparagus
>wrapped in filo dough (forgot what goes with that) stuffed mushrooms
>were asked for, as well as a hummous bar with pita chips. I understand
>small shrimp cocktails in jiggers go over well. I am anxious to read her
>proposal and if all of it can be done on the budget I provided?

do i have to be a nurse to come? to the party, i mean.

your pal,
blake

Anny Middon wrote:

> An article I read a while back (probably in the Chicago Tribune) talked
> about how the trendy thing to do these days is to have a Signature Cocktail
> at an event. So at John and Mary's wedding they'd have something called
> "John and Mary's Nuptial Bliss" or the like. These are supposedly new

Man, even when I was drinking Far Too Much I would have drawn the line
somewhere before any drink with "nuptial bliss" in the name. Or even
"bliss" by itself. Bring on the sterno!


--
Blinky RLU 297263
Killing all posts from Google Groups.
Except in Thunderbird, which can't filter that well.
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://blinkynet.net/comp/uip5.html

ChattyCathy wrote:
> Goomba38 wrote:
>> Lately. I've been lucky to have had a variety of events for my criticl
>> care nurses chapter which has allowed me to pick menus and caterers
>
> Stop right there. Caterers. Pfffft! Off Topic. Shame on you!
>
How do you figure caterers/menus are off topic?

Dan Abel wrote:
better than anybody here. Preferences vary according to location.
>
> Hopefully things will go better for you. My wife and I worked for the
> US Army many years ago. My office had several parties. Some were at
> the local (military) yacht club, a few hundred feet from where I worked.
> My wife worked at the same (satellite) base. The person who organized
> the parties found that we could provide the booze, but had to pay the
> yacht club to pour it. I don't know if the bartenders wanted to get out
> early, or what, but they poured very heavily. I talked to a woman there
> who made three trips to the bar. She wanted a bourbon and mixer. The
> bartender almost filled the large glass (8 oz?) with bourbon, and then a
> splash of mixer. She couldn't drink it. She made a second trip,
> requesting a weak drink. She got the same thing. On the third trip,
> she requested just the mixer, no booze. She got it, and could drink it.
> That was probably 12 oz of bourbon just abandoned and wasted. I watched
> the bartenders, and that was what they did for every drink. Out of the
> probably 100 people who were there, maybe two could walk home. The
> others had to drive. That was pretty irresponsible.

LOL... I think I can say from my experiences that that is an unusual
experience?
The caterer is fine with us bringing in our own liquor. The fee is the
same. There is no benefit to them to make the drinks either too weak or
too strong.

Felice Friese wrote:

> Peter is on the mark. I still have remnants of booze left over from a
> catered do five years ago. Of course, it's mostly because I don't know many
> rum-drinkers, but still ...
>
> Felice

If we were planning on purchasing the liquor through them, they'd credit
back to us any unopened bottles. I'll check with the military liquor
store about the return policy on unopened bottles. I suspect there will
be more beer and wine consumed than hard liquor anyway...? We're hoping
to get a keg of Yuengling, and I suppose bottles of one other type of
beer? Undecided at this point which one though?

sf wrote:
> On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 05:43:38 -0400, Goomba38 >
> wrote:
>
>> I understand small shrimp cocktails in jiggers go over well.
>
> Better known as "shooters".... I've never heard of shrimp shooters
> though. I'm only familiar with raw oyster shooters.
>
lol..last big work party I went to we had jello shooters! Damn those
were a fun "blast from the past" treat and they went fast. I made them
myself in fact.

The caterer says the small glass shot glasses contain cocktail sauce and
two shrimp each. She said they go very quickly.

Anny Middon wrote:

> An article I read a while back (probably in the Chicago Tribune) talked
> about how the trendy thing to do these days is to have a Signature Cocktail
> at an event. So at John and Mary's wedding they'd have something called
> "John and Mary's Nuptial Bliss" or the like. These are supposedly new
> cocktails, but I suspect that often they are tried-and-true recipes with new
> garnishes.

She mentioned this, and talked about how the couples pick drinks to
"match" their color schemes. I can imagine some of the drinks being
downright foo-foo? The only drinks I personally can imagine serving as a
"special" would be a mojito or something similar?
>
> At any rate, a signature cocktail for your event might mean you could cut
> back on some of the hard liquor, since folks who would normally drink
> margaritas or old fashioneds might instead drink Critical Care Delights.

LOL... I can think of a lot of funny names for drinks if I was naming
them to fit the assembled drinkers.
>
> Booze seems to be always a problem. Sometimes it seems everyone is drinking
> wine and beer and the niext time you can;t get the martinis poured fast
> enough.
>
> Anny

I hope that isn't going to be the case, but since you mention it I'll
relax and realize that it doesn't have to do with the party planning
itself as much as luck of the day??

blake murphy wrote:

> do i have to be a nurse to come? to the party, i mean.
>
> your pal,
> blake
>
I think you'd be welcome anytime, Blake-who might strive for the deadpan
presentation but has smiling eyes which give him away!

On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 19:24:05 -0400, Goomba38 >
wrote:

>blake murphy wrote:
>
>> do i have to be a nurse to come? to the party, i mean.
>>
>> your pal,
>> blake
>>
>I think you'd be welcome anytime, Blake-who might strive for the deadpan
>presentation but has smiling eyes which give him away!

Ooh..I know!!! I sat opposite him at the Ethiopian dinner... And he
even let me try some of his raw beef.!!

Blake would be welcome at any gathering I hosted!!

Christine

Goomba38 wrote:
> ChattyCathy wrote:
>> Goomba38 wrote:
>>> Lately. I've been lucky to have had a variety of events for my
>>> criticl care nurses chapter which has allowed me to pick menus and
>>> caterers
>>
>> Stop right there. Caterers. Pfffft! Off Topic. Shame on you!
>>
> How do you figure caterers/menus are off topic?

Just because I *can*.

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

On Aug 11, 10:29 am, Dan Abel > wrote:
> In article >,
>
> Goomba38 > wrote:
> > Has anyone here provided the booze for their functions and how did you
> > determine what to buy?? How much??
>
> My suggestion would be to ask the caterer. She would probably know
> better than anybody here. Preferences vary according to location.
>
> Hopefully things will go better for you. My wife and I worked for the
> US Army many years ago. My office had several parties. Some were at
> the local (military) yacht club, a few hundred feet from where I worked.
> My wife worked at the same (satellite) base. The person who organized
> the parties found that we could provide the booze, but had to pay the
> yacht club to pour it. I don't know if the bartenders wanted to get out
> early, or what, but they poured very heavily. I talked to a woman there
> who made three trips to the bar. She wanted a bourbon and mixer. The
> bartender almost filled the large glass (8 oz?) with bourbon, and then a
> splash of mixer. She couldn't drink it. She made a second trip,
> requesting a weak drink. She got the same thing. On the third trip,
> she requested just the mixer, no booze. She got it, and could drink it.
> That was probably 12 oz of bourbon just abandoned and wasted. I watched
> the bartenders, and that was what they did for every drink.

People are bad enough about wasting stuff that they themselves
ultimately pay for. When it's someone else's tab, it can get
disgusting.

> Out of the probably 100 people who were there, maybe two could
> walk home. The others had to drive. That was pretty irresponsible.

I was a good boy on Friday night. I knew I'd be getting good'n drunk,
so I took the bus there, and a cab back from the party I attended.

--Bryan

On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 13:39:37 -0500, "Anny Middon"
> wrote:

>"Blinky the Shark" > wrote in message
t...
>> Dan Abel wrote:
>>> In article >,
>>> Goomba38 > wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Has anyone here provided the booze for their functions and how did you
>>>> determine what to buy?? How much??
>>>
>>> My suggestion would be to ask the caterer. She would probably know
>>> better than anybody here. Preferences vary according to location.
>>
>> I'd say the caterer would know, yes. But ask the caterer to help you
>> end-run the caterer on booze purchases? Hmmmm. Also, would the base PX
>> or whatever OP suggested would be cheaper (probably) refund unused booze
>> (probably not, I'd say) like the caterer would?
>>
>A local liquor store we buy from frequently has signs up in the store
>reminding customers that they will take back and refund unopened bottles.
>So it's worth asking about.
>

i once complained to a friend at the liquor store that i had dropped
and broken a bottle of liquor. he said i should have saved the neck -
he could have replaced it if the tax stamp over the cap was intact.
but it could be that would mean he would just bilk his wholesaler.

in maryland (or at least montgomery co., which runs all the liquor
stores), they don't seem to have the tax stamp.

your pal,
blake

On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 17:35:53 -0600, Christine Dabney
> wrote:

>On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 19:24:05 -0400, Goomba38 >
>wrote:
>
>>blake murphy wrote:
>>
>>> do i have to be a nurse to come? to the party, i mean.
>>>
>>> your pal,
>>> blake
>>>
>>I think you'd be welcome anytime, Blake-who might strive for the deadpan
>>presentation but has smiling eyes which give him away!
>
>Ooh..I know!!! I sat opposite him at the Ethiopian dinner... And he
>even let me try some of his raw beef.!!
>
>Blake would be welcome at any gathering I hosted!!
>
>Christine

i wish i could be in n.m., i truly do.

your pal,
blake

Goomba38 wrote:

> Has anyone here provided the booze for their functions and how did you
> determine what to buy?? How much??

Try to find a caterer who brings back the excess wine and makes you pay only
what you actually consume. Here around (north Italy) it is a feature that
almost any caterer offers, expecially with wine and water.
--
Vilco
Think pink, drink rose'