Montrose beach BBQ/potluck - FAQ & SCHEDULE 2015

This will be the 5th year of these beach potlucks and I'm really excited to get started again!

The post following this one will contain the proposed 2015 schedule and themes will be updated as we decide on them. Feel free to comment with theme ideas!

FAQ:

Q: Is there a bathroom nearby?
A: EDIT: At least for now there is a porta potty right by our location, and it didn't really stink all that bad.
Previous answer: We moved locations to be nearer better parking, and a more private secluded location. The closest bathrooms are a 10-15 minute walk or a 2 minute car drive. The ones north of us at the Foster beach are the cleaner bathrooms. For the adventurous there are many trees nearby.

Q: Will I be able to find a place to park?
A: Parking along Simonds Drive is free and just steps from our location. During previous years, my success rate at parking right at our location has been 100%. Typically the parking area is empty when I arrive, usually at or before 11a.m.

Q: What if a BBQ happens to coincide with a special event at the beach? What about parking then?
A: I have made it an attempt to look up the Montrose Beach schedule of events to avoid the busier days. In the past, on busier days some people who arrive later in the afternoon end up parking the the pay lot, which is only 0.3 miles away. If you wish to avoid parking hassles I would recommend you arrive earlier in the day. The lawrence and montrose busses also run into the park.

Q: What food should I bring?
A: Each week will have a theme posted on the event pages. I encourage everyone to post what they would like to make as soon as possible so that others may bring dishes to fill in the holes. This technique works really well as long as everyone posts what they plan to bring, so please do!

Q: How much food/drink should I bring?
A: Last year there were between 10 to 30 people each week. We will have a facebook event page and and LTH event page with a head count, use your best judgement, and the golden rule.

Q: What other non-food items should I bring?
A: Bring anything you may need for your own personal comfort such as: chairs, table, blanket, drinking water. If you are feeling especially generous you can offer to bring a case of water or bag of charcoal. Please announce ahead of time on the LTH thread and/or the facebook page.

Q: Will there be a grill there that I can throw food on?
A: In previous years I brought the smoker and large grill, but unfortunately this year I have no car so I will only be able to bring a very small portable grill. My sister will be there most of the days and will be able to bring a medium size grill with her. If need be, we can coordinate on the thread to make available whatever grilling equipment is needed.

Q: What time should I show up?
A: I like to try to get there around 11am. Don’t feel as if you need me there if you want to get a smoker or grill started ahead of time. Sometimes I may be late. Don’t panic. I will notify the facebook event and LTH event page with any cancellations.

Q: Where is the location?
A: Our idyllic setting is just north of the north tip of the dog beach. Come into the park on Lawrence Ave. Turn north on Simonds Drive (the road closest to the lake). When you see a blue playground to your left (West) park your car. We will be to the right (East) of Simonds near the lake. This link works for most people, http://goo.gl/maps/2isQ8. Also here is a handy dandy map to help you find us.



Q: What if the weather sucks?
A: If the weather forecast doesn’t look good, keep an eye on both event pages. I will let LTH and Facebook know about cancellations as soon as possible.

Q: What about babies and dogs?
A: Both are more than welcome. This is a family friendly location and event. The dog beach is right nearby.

Q: Can I invite other friends?
A: Please do! I don’t feel any sort of ownership over these events, I would like everyone to feel as much part of these events as me. The more the merrier!

Q: Can we bring alcohol?
A: Technically speaking, it is not supposed to be allowed in the park. On the other hand, there has been beer or mixed drinks at every one of these events so far, and nobody has experienced any trouble. It is my thought that as long as nobody is acting like an idiot, the cops will not bother us. Many times the police ride by on bikes while we have beer cans or bottles in plain view, they have always kept on riding by. Even though drinking seems to be overlooked so far, it is technically a ticketable offense. Drink at your own risk. If you are worried, keep your drinking discreet.

SCHEDULE 2015

Sat, May 30 - Cajun/Creole/Lowcountry
Sat, June 13 - Chicago Style
Sat, June 27 - Filipino Boodle Fight
Sun, July 12 - Mexico, Estilo D.F.
Sun, July 26 - Food Memories
Sat, Aug 8 - Border, US/MEX
Sat, Aug 22 - State Fair Fare
Sun, Sept 6 - CANCELED for LABOR DAY

Here are some theme ideas to get us started thinking.

Redneck
State Fair competition
Regional bbq
Cajun creole
Low country
Pre 1960 recipes.
Chicago
Filipino
Texas
Whole Goat + accompaniments
Bo Ssam

laikom wrote:Here are some theme ideas to get us started thinking.

Redneck
State Fair competition
Regional bbq
Cajun creole
Low country
Pre 1960 recipes.
Chicago
Filipino
Texas
Whole Goat + accompaniments
Bo Ssam

babacoa de cabeza?

Looks good.

I'll just put in another plug for non-cuisine based themes as I thought they worked well last year. I like the cuisine focus, but I also like to use seasonal food which doesn't always easily match up with theme.

Here are some non-cuisine specific theme suggestions off the top of my mind. Some of these are general ideas and others are defined by something you can't/must use that allows for some creativity and menu flexibility

-Rolls/wraps
-Food in music (like song titles, lyrics, etc)
-No Salt (all seasoning must come from something other than boxed NaCl)
-Food memories (adapt/recreate an early, memorable food experience)
-Shared seasoning (everyone makes something featuring the same store-bought or home-made spice blend/profile like curry, chile oil, Vulcan fire salt, etc)
-No forks allowed

gastro gnome wrote:-Food memories (adapt/recreate an early, memorable food experience)

I love the idea of recreating food memories!

Also, laikom there's a lot of the pig we bought in my freezer that needs to find a home in some stomachs, we could do something around that.

mbh wrote:

gastro gnome wrote:-Food memories (adapt/recreate an early, memorable food experience)

I love the idea of recreating food memories!

Also, laikom there's a lot of the pig we bought in my freezer that needs to find a home in some stomachs, we could do something around that.

I also love the food memories one. I was just talking with boudreaulicious about how strange guacamole tasted when I was really young. I can picture that flavor in my mind very vividly and accurately, but it's nothing like what it tasted like to me today. I doubt there is any way for me to recreate that, but it's a fun idea to try!

I've always wanted to try an "everything on a stick" BBQ.

nr706 wrote:I've always wanted to try an "everything on a stick" BBQ.

We did that! We called it Skewers!

Oops.

gastro gnome wrote:Looks good.

I'll just put in another plug for non-cuisine based themes as I thought they worked well last year. I like the cuisine focus, but I also like to use seasonal food which doesn't always easily match up with theme.

Here are some non-cuisine specific theme suggestions off the top of my mind. Some of these are general ideas and others are defined by something you can't/must use that allows for some creativity and menu flexibility

-Rolls/wraps
-Food in music (like song titles, lyrics, etc)
-No Salt (all seasoning must come from something other than boxed NaCl)
-Food memories (adapt/recreate an early, memorable food experience)
-Shared seasoning (everyone makes something featuring the same store-bought or home-made spice blend/profile like curry, chile oil, Vulcan fire salt, etc)
-No forks allowed

We have a group of friends who have gathered most summer Wednesdays for about five years at Millennium Park, and we always announce picnic themes. Agreed that some of our most fun themes have been the non-cuisine-specific ones. Some of the more popular events, for your consideration, have been: "Game Night", "The Beatles", "Summer!" (first picnic last June after the miserable winter), and, in honor of a friend who gave birth a few days later, "Babies and Childhood". Some are more time-specific, such as last year's "World Cup" (it was a fun way to research unfamiliar cuisines, such as a delicious Ghaniaian Avocado Salad with Groundnut Dressing") and, for fourth of July, "Bread, White, and Blue". People especially enjoyed the themes that had multiple interpretations and options. For example, for Game Night, we made both a chess pie and a lamb dish. One friend made cupcakes frosted in primary colors and set them on a plate to look like a Twister board, and another friend cut a small cake to look like Pac Man and lined up chocolate truffles to look like the dots. For the Babies night, we made baby back ribs and baby vegetables, and other people interpreted with their favorite dishes from their childhood. Beatles' night was interesting in that, in the way you hear the prettiest girl didn't get invited to prom because everyone assumed someone else invited her, not one person brought a Strawberry Fields'-inspired treat. My husband, however, made an incredible Octopus's Garden Ceviche! Enjoy!

I think your picnic people should join us!!!!

State Fair sounds awesome! I am also partial to memories/childhood, Cajun/Creole and Low Country. I also know I can't make the first one due to a prior committment.

Thanks for getting the ball rolling.

boudreaulicious wrote:I think your picnic people should join us!!!!

Thank you, will definitely keep it in mind! Have never been to an LTH event. Cheers! -Shari

Smassey wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:I think your picnic people should join us!!!!

Thank you, will definitely keep it in mind! Have never been to an LTH event. Cheers! -Shari

Never been to a single one? What a shame, you should definitely try to make a few of these, they are so much fun.

laikom wrote:

mbh wrote:

gastro gnome wrote:-Food memories (adapt/recreate an early, memorable food experience)

I love the idea of recreating food memories!

Also, laikom there's a lot of the pig we bought in my freezer that needs to find a home in some stomachs, we could do something around that.

I also love the food memories one. I was just talking with boudreaulicious about how strange guacamole tasted when I was really young. I can picture that flavor in my mind very vividly and accurately, but it's nothing like what it tasted like to me today. I doubt there is any way for me to recreate that, but it's a fun idea to try!

Esp. when your mom made it with mayo and pepperoncini in the 80s. If this theme happens and I can be there, be warned...

Smassey wrote:

gastro gnome wrote:Looks good.

I'll just put in another plug for non-cuisine based themes as I thought they worked well last year. I like the cuisine focus, but I also like to use seasonal food which doesn't always easily match up with theme.

Here are some non-cuisine specific theme suggestions off the top of my mind. Some of these are general ideas and others are defined by something you can't/must use that allows for some creativity and menu flexibility

-Rolls/wraps
-Food in music (like song titles, lyrics, etc)
-No Salt (all seasoning must come from something other than boxed NaCl)
-Food memories (adapt/recreate an early, memorable food experience)
-Shared seasoning (everyone makes something featuring the same store-bought or home-made spice blend/profile like curry, chile oil, Vulcan fire salt, etc)
-No forks allowed

We have a group of friends who have gathered most summer Wednesdays for about five years at Millennium Park, and we always announce picnic themes. Agreed that some of our most fun themes have been the non-cuisine-specific ones. Some of the more popular events, for your consideration, have been: "Game Night", "The Beatles", "Summer!" (first picnic last June after the miserable winter), and, in honor of a friend who gave birth a few days later, "Babies and Childhood". Some are more time-specific, such as last year's "World Cup" (it was a fun way to research unfamiliar cuisines, such as a delicious Ghaniaian Avocado Salad with Groundnut Dressing") and, for fourth of July, "Bread, White, and Blue". People especially enjoyed the themes that had multiple interpretations and options. For example, for Game Night, we made both a chess pie and a lamb dish. One friend made cupcakes frosted in primary colors and set them on a plate to look like a Twister board, and another friend cut a small cake to look like Pac Man and lined up chocolate truffles to look like the dots. For the Babies night, we made baby back ribs and baby vegetables, and other people interpreted with their favorite dishes from their childhood. Beatles' night was interesting in that, in the way you hear the prettiest girl didn't get invited to prom because everyone assumed someone else invited her, not one person brought a Strawberry Fields'-inspired treat. My husband, however, made an incredible Octopus's Garden Ceviche! Enjoy!

Women's world cup starts in 2 weeks!

Also, a lot of these sound like creative and fun ideas. Seconding the merging of picnic people.

Any theme where I can make something with a two-year-old bag of marshmallows....

leek wrote:Any theme where I can make something with a two-year-old bag of marshmallows....

"Old and New"? "Hard and Soft"? "Clean Out the Cupboards"?

Theme: B B Blues ?

Grilled berry pie?

Blue food rules!

I'm not sure how many I'll be able to make . . . I only made a few last year . . . and there are already some great theme ideas, but a couple of more I'll add:

fused cuisines - you have to mix 2 types of food, for example French/Mexican, German/Chinese or Thai/Jewish deli . . . or whatever combinations people like.

Books/movie/tv - foods inspired by your favorite non-food-centric book, movie or tv show, including an interpretation or copy of foods featured in the book/movie/tv show.

I vote for Food Memories for Jul 26. That should elicit a wide variety of dishes.

Have to say that theme just doesn't excite me. But I'll go with whatever you come up with. Just bummed I'm missing "get your goat"!

Do we have a date for the goat yet?

I did a dish @ the picnic one year based on the name of the band Kid Creole & The Coconuts. Excellent band. My Creole kid, not so much. It was still fun.

Almost this season again...

I was wondering about a 2016 schedule too!

I am anxious too! Teresa and I are looking forward to another year great year of these. I have learned from previous years that trying to start too early results in too many cold and rainy days, and a few canceled, so this year I decided to wait until after memorial day to start the potlucks.

Stay tuned for a schedule!

laikom wrote:I am anxious too! Teresa and I are looking forward to another year great year of these. I have learned from previous years that trying to start too early results in too many cold and rainy days, and a few canceled, so this year I decided to wait until after memorial day to start the potlucks.

Stay tuned for a schedule!

good call