I felt like it met all the priorities for the PPD : It could accomodate a large crowd, it was priced affordably so it didn't exclude anyone on a budget, and it was family friendly. There were quite a few forumers there with kids as I recall, and I bet a few under-21's who came on their own. I really like the fact that the East PPD makes inclusivity a priority and doesn't shut out the underagers. Please keep doing that.
These are the top things I'm trying to keep in mind for the dinner this year. Primarily, I will start scouting out the week of Thanksgiving around Faneuil Hall since that's where the PokeCrawl primarily kicks off.
Are non-forumers welcome at this dinner? My wife and kids are coming up to Boston with me, and while they don't do PAX, I would like to eat dinner with them on most nights.
What is the price per plate that you try to aim for? I'm just starting to figure out how much I need to set aside for when I'm at Pax.
Well... The thing is that prices / arrangements may vary from place to place (and year to year) so it's hard to say. That being said, last year a ticket was about 25$. Again, everything is subject to change. Here is the important blurb/details from last time, I don't remember if that included tips. I believe the prices and setup was somewhat similar the year before that as well.
All dinners are started with a House Salad
Choices of the following:
Roast Beef
Grilled Chicken Breast
Cheeseburger
Fish & Chips
Vegetarian: Pasta Primavera
Vegan: Salad
Gluten-free: Any meat option without any bread
All entrees are served with Corn Bread & French Fries
I enjoyed Dugin Park. To echo previous commenters, it was nice that it was inclusive, that it was close to and well timed for pokecrawl, that the space was plenty big enough for all of us, and that the staff seemed friendly and accommodating. My food was (as several others have said) lackluster, but I agree with Lexicongrrl that food is a secondary priority so it's not a big deal. It was just great to get to meet forumers before PAX even started. I had a blast. Thank you for organizing again, acumen!
browncoatbeth on
"The bass, the rock, the mic, the treble, I like my coffee black just like my metal." - MSI
The food at Durgin Park wasn't outstanding, but they were friendly and helpful enough, and the company was good. Thanks for hosting this again, Acumen. Hopefully this time you won't have to stay on your feet for the whole hour and a half.
Durgin Park is an average restraunt, If you don't order the Pot Roast, Fish or Baked Beans you will be disappointed. Other then that, it is one of my favorite restraunts in Boston because of the Baked Beans.
If your looking for something closer to Pax (which is not near downtown) might I suggest probably the best seafood place in Boston.... The No Name Restraunt. Reasonable Prices and fish comes off the dock next door to the restraunt daily.
By the way, I always went for one day (easter sunday last year) and I go to the Turbine Party. What is the Pokecrawl and are there details yet....Sorry to Hijack
Any updates on this event? There's a fair amount of restaurants open in the south boston waterfront area that may be worth a try depending on how they deal with groups. Jerry Remy's and Whiskey Priest comes to mind.
Moocifer dragged the group of us there last year, the three guys weren't regular forum goers (though, I lurk). Durgin park was a good restaurant, I had pork chops and they were almost as good as I make at home, so that was a big plus. We were upstairs, while the bar is downstairs. They had many fine beers on tap, including one that was specific to the restaurant by a local brewer (can't recall if it was harpoon or sams)
That was the first place we really heard the *boston* accent, it was so thick we thought it was fake. First time to pax, first time in a city that size in nearly a decade, I was looking forward to going again and meeting more people at dinner, rather than the subway ride back
Dinner, then tabletop gaming at the Westin was a great way to kick off pax east this year, really hope to mix it up with some people again next year.
Hey guys, sorry for the lack of an update. Work has been crazy, to say the least. I had intended to check out both Durgin Park and Dick's Last Resort in person around Thanksgiving, but I didn't get the chance. I'm checking both of their menus over the Internet and seeing what would give us the better value. I mainly want to stay around the Faneuil Hall area, as that's where the PokeCrawl is going to kick off, so that really limits my options.
Just as an FYI and to mix things up a bit, there's a new-ish restaurant in the Durgin Park area (on Atlantic ave., mere yards away from Fanueil Hall on subway access) called Granary Tavern . My office is set to have its holiday party there next week (approx 20 people). I'll let you know if its worth investigating further based on how my group is treated. Having eaten there for lunch in the past, I can say the House burger, chicken & waffles and Fish & Chips are highly recommended.
Last year I set a soft cap of 75, with a hard cap of 100. I might go less to take it easy on the staff of the place I choose.
I'd vote against cutting the numbers - if anything, it probably needs to be bigger. However, not making the restaurant staff hate us is a noble goal so how about instead, finding other ways to make it easier on the staff? I mean, if you give the restaurant plenty of forewarning that a group that big will be there and you're communicative with them, then it's their professional responsibility to ensure that there's adequate coverage for the group that night. But ... there might be ways to make it easier on the staff when handling a big crowd.
I'd suggest working with the final restaurant to see where their pain points are going to be, then finding ways to mitigate the burden. Preordering, definitely - but maybe tracking the preorders and having chits printed out to hand to the diners as they arrive? Prepayment? etc... There are a ton of options and ideas to make it work smoothly for a big crowd instead of cutting down the number of attendees.
Oh yeah, and underscore on the get yourself a helper thing this year. (EDIT: not that you didn't do a bangup job last year, but you were working so much you didn't get to enjoy the dinner. Get somebody to share the burden because you're awesome and some of us want to hang out with you at the dinner. )
First off, I'm sorry I haven't updated as often in the past; work has been crazy lately. So I'm going between Durgin Park and Dick's Last Resort. I plan on having a place reserved before the end of the month.
I'd love to come if it's on Thursday night but assuming we get the details finalized before the day of.
Might be cool to meet some people beforehand anyway
I didn't get into Boston in time to make this last year, but I'm seriously considering doing the red-eye (or a ridiculously early flight) this time around so I can hopefully attend this, and maybe even catch part of the MMT.
i'd prefer durgin park. i understand some were unimpressed with the food (mine was good), but i agree with previous statements that food is secondary to experience. while i did not attend the pax dinner at dick's, i generally dislike the atmosphere there based on other past experiences.
I went to the pre-PAX dinner last Prime and had a good time. I've never been to Boston, but I was looking through Yelp and found Lucky's Lounge as "Good for groups". From the pics on their website it looks like it has a large private room and an event menu for large groups. Anyone local familiar with this place?
I went to the pre-PAX dinner last Prime and had a good time. I've never been to Boston, but I was looking through Yelp and found Lucky's Lounge as "Good for groups". From the pics on their website it looks like it has a large private room and an event menu for large groups. Anyone local familiar with this place?
Looks pretty good upon investigation. I'm close to Boston so I can take a train in and check it out with a few friends. It definitely has caught my eye.
As much as I didn't like the fish from Durgin Park, I would still prefer Durgin Park over Dicks Last Resort. Durgin Park gives more of a Boston atmosphere than whatever u wanna call the atmosphere at Dicks.
Was Dicks the one from like 2 years ago with long tables and seemed jam packed? Whatever the place was last year, I liked it more. Wasn't as crazy with people and you could get up and walk around to people if you wanted.
I'm not 100% sure I am doing the dinner, but that is my opinion.
Will the ticket price include gratuity or are we expected to throw a couple bucks in each for a tip (would be a pretty nice tip if there are 60+ people )
Posts
These are the top things I'm trying to keep in mind for the dinner this year. Primarily, I will start scouting out the week of Thanksgiving around Faneuil Hall since that's where the PokeCrawl primarily kicks off.
PAX East 2015: -Pass [X] -Hotel [X] -Time off[X]
twitter: acumen101 | fb: fb.com/acumen101
Steam: acumen101 | xbl/psn: caseBlaster101
Well... The thing is that prices / arrangements may vary from place to place (and year to year) so it's hard to say. That being said, last year a ticket was about 25$. Again, everything is subject to change. Here is the important blurb/details from last time, I don't remember if that included tips. I believe the prices and setup was somewhat similar the year before that as well.
Choices of the following:
Roast Beef
Grilled Chicken Breast
Cheeseburger
Fish & Chips
Vegetarian: Pasta Primavera
Vegan: Salad
Gluten-free: Any meat option without any bread
All entrees are served with Corn Bread & French Fries
Includes Soft Drink (Soda/Coffee/Tea) & Ice Cream
Cash bar available
"The bass, the rock, the mic, the treble, I like my coffee black just like my metal." - MSI
Switch: SW-7634-0399-6788
Same section of this forum. A lot are already posted.
If your looking for something closer to Pax (which is not near downtown) might I suggest probably the best seafood place in Boston.... The No Name Restraunt. Reasonable Prices and fish comes off the dock next door to the restraunt daily.
By the way, I always went for one day (easter sunday last year) and I go to the Turbine Party. What is the Pokecrawl and are there details yet....Sorry to Hijack
There probably won't be a thread for 2013 'til a bit closer.
That was the first place we really heard the *boston* accent, it was so thick we thought it was fake. First time to pax, first time in a city that size in nearly a decade, I was looking forward to going again and meeting more people at dinner, rather than the subway ride back
Dinner, then tabletop gaming at the Westin was a great way to kick off pax east this year, really hope to mix it up with some people again next year.
PAX East 2015: -Pass [X] -Hotel [X] -Time off[X]
twitter: acumen101 | fb: fb.com/acumen101
Steam: acumen101 | xbl/psn: caseBlaster101
I think around 200? I could be off by 100.
PAX East 2015: -Pass [X] -Hotel [X] -Time off[X]
twitter: acumen101 | fb: fb.com/acumen101
Steam: acumen101 | xbl/psn: caseBlaster101
I'd vote against cutting the numbers - if anything, it probably needs to be bigger. However, not making the restaurant staff hate us is a noble goal so how about instead, finding other ways to make it easier on the staff? I mean, if you give the restaurant plenty of forewarning that a group that big will be there and you're communicative with them, then it's their professional responsibility to ensure that there's adequate coverage for the group that night. But ... there might be ways to make it easier on the staff when handling a big crowd.
I'd suggest working with the final restaurant to see where their pain points are going to be, then finding ways to mitigate the burden. Preordering, definitely - but maybe tracking the preorders and having chits printed out to hand to the diners as they arrive? Prepayment? etc... There are a ton of options and ideas to make it work smoothly for a big crowd instead of cutting down the number of attendees.
Oh yeah, and underscore on the get yourself a helper thing this year. (EDIT: not that you didn't do a bangup job last year, but you were working so much you didn't get to enjoy the dinner. Get somebody to share the burden because you're awesome and some of us want to hang out with you at the dinner.
PAX East 2015: -Pass [X] -Hotel [X] -Time off[X]
twitter: acumen101 | fb: fb.com/acumen101
Steam: acumen101 | xbl/psn: caseBlaster101
Might be cool to meet some people beforehand anyway
XBL/PSN-Polaris314/Twitter/DJ P0LARI5
Looks pretty good upon investigation. I'm close to Boston so I can take a train in and check it out with a few friends. It definitely has caught my eye.
PAX East 2019!
Badges [X] Hotel [X] Time off request [X]
https://www.pinnypals.com/pals/Streetlight345
... Wait, what are we talking about?
I'm not 100% sure I am doing the dinner, but that is my opinion.
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PAX East 2015: -Pass [X] -Hotel [X] -Time off[X]
twitter: acumen101 | fb: fb.com/acumen101
Steam: acumen101 | xbl/psn: caseBlaster101
Thanks for continuing to do the work on this
PAX East 2015: -Pass [X] -Hotel [X] -Time off[X]
twitter: acumen101 | fb: fb.com/acumen101
Steam: acumen101 | xbl/psn: caseBlaster101
PAX East 2015: -Pass [X] -Hotel [X] -Time off[X]
twitter: acumen101 | fb: fb.com/acumen101
Steam: acumen101 | xbl/psn: caseBlaster101
3 Day Pass: [x] // Travel: [ x] // Time Off: [ x] // Hotel: [x]
Twitter: @amysophie
Twitter: amysophie
Gamertag/Steam: Vixen Valentine
Shame! Was good to meet you, last year. Now I guess I just have to hope I get as lucky as I did last year in meeting awesome people at the dinner.
I think you'd have to try hard NOT to meet cool people :P
Edit: bought tix for me and the bf. two for Team Fish & Chips!