Plan: 2010 Heartland Gathering

[torakris]

I will definitely be there! (If I can get a ride, that is)

Since I won't have a car is there anyone driving by the east side of Cleveland that can give me a lift? I can probably have someone drop me off somewhere, I will be closest to the Beachwood exit of 271 but can easily get to somewhere on 480, or even 71 or 90 downtown.

Also on Sunday, if there is anyone that can drop me off on the west side I would really appreciate it. I have our annual family reunion in Middleburg Heights that afternoon...Again a central location is also fine as I can have someone come pick me up.

[edsel]

Kristin, I can give you a lift back to Cleveland on Sunday. Middleburg Heights isn't far out of my way.

[prasantrin]

Please add me as a maybe. My usual +1 will be abroad this summer, so I'm not sure if it will be worth it for me to do it solo.

[Kerry Beal]

Please add me as a maybe. My usual +1 will be abroad this summer, so I'm not sure if it will be worth it for me to do it solo.

I can't believe she'd go abroad when there is a bread workshop!

[torakris]

Please add me as a maybe. My usual +1 will be abroad this summer, so I'm not sure if it will be worth it for me to do it solo.

If you're not there who am I going to lounge about with when everyone else is working?

[torakris]

Thank you Edsel!!

We can work out the details when it gets closer.

In the next 2 months I have trips to Hawaii, San Francisco and a 4 day camping trip to the Hocking Valley,so my brain isn't quite functioning in terms of this event yet...

[chris a2]

I will be coming, and my wife will be joining in if we can line up babysitting.

[boagman]

I should at least be able to partially attend, since I'm up in Waterford, and might bring a guest with me. Certainly I'd be in for the dining out, but I'd feel a bit bad going for the cooked-by-us meals, since I'm not that great in the kitchen, though I'm just fine with setup or dishwashing, or something like that!

[tammylc]

I should at least be able to partially attend, since I'm up in Waterford, and might bring a guest with me. Certainly I'd be in for the dining out, but I'd feel a bit bad going for the cooked-by-us meals, since I'm not that great in the kitchen, though I'm just fine with setup or dishwashing, or something like that!

We cooks never mind having eaters to cater to. And dishwashers are among my favorite people. You should totally join us for the Feast - it's the centerpiece of the whole affair, and everyone is welcome, cooks and non!

[Alex]

As of today, I'm still in for Friday mid-morning onward (I'd volunteer for SELMA, but I'll be driving in from GR that day and 6 a.m., or even 8, would be pushing it) and Saturday. Having lived in Detroit for many years, I probably wouldn't be interested in a Friday driving tour, but if there's something interesting in A2 or a workshop, I'd be up for that. Grange is a great idea for Friday dinner (and I'm sure some of us would hit the place beforehand for happy hour). I certainly can do a cooking thing again for Saturday's Feast -- possibly my take on gazpacho, given that we'll be in prime tomato season.

[Alex]

Please add me as a maybe. My usual +1 will be abroad this summer, so I'm not sure if it will be worth it for me to do it solo.

But it'd be worth it for the rest of us...

[boagman]

Well, thank you, Tammy. I guarantee you that I'm a good eater (though cultured dairy products and I really don't get along), and I don't mind *at all* contributing to the work, if at all possible, even if it's just washing dishes.

It's funny. At church yesterday, my dad approached me with an offer to pay me to cut his lawn and other tasks in the weeks following his upcoming hip replacement surgery. I was unhappy that he would think that he'd have to pay me for such things (who would accept money from their father for something like this?), but he was rather insistent. I came up with a great, and very reasonable solution, especially with mom sitting right there: I told him that I didn't want him to pay me, but that I'd be only too happy to let them cook for me! My mom was *all about* this idea, since I tend to mooch a dinner once a week or so as it is. At 37, I have no shame! So as you can see: "Will work for (good) food!"

[Sam Iam]

Re-Re confirming -

Joyce & Sam will be there. Party on!

[tammylc]

Please add me as a maybe. My usual +1 will be abroad this summer, so I'm not sure if it will be worth it for me to do it solo.

If you're not there who am I going to lounge about with when everyone else is working?

If tradition holds, you'll be too busy tempura-frying something for Fat Guy to have time to lounge.

[Kerry Beal]

Figure I'll bring my Thermomix. I'd like to make an appetizer and a light dessert as my contribution. I was able to free up Thursday to travel up to Ann Arbour so if anyone is interested we could do a workshop on Friday - focusing on using the Thermomix in the confectionery kitchen.

[CaliPoutine]

So we're set on the dates right? I'm going to do my priceline deal in the next few weeks.

I just got a priceline offer of some bonus cash so I started bidding. I went up to 50( 40 with 10 bonus cash) for Ann Arbor and was denied. I said " screw it" and went to the airport zone. I paid 30( plus 10 bonus cash) for the Crowne Plaza( 3 star). I'm ok with the 30 min drive to Ann Arbor since I'm saving so much money on the hotel!!

[tino27]

So we're set on the dates right? I'm going to do my priceline deal in the next few weeks.

I just got a priceline offer of some bonus cash so I started bidding. I went up to 50( 40 with 10 bonus cash) for Ann Arbor and was denied. I said " screw it" and went to the airport zone. I paid 30( plus 10 bonus cash) for the Crowne Plaza( 3 star). I'm ok with the 30 min drive to Ann Arbor since I'm saving so much money on the hotel!!

CaliPoutine --

Is there a link you can provide for the "airport zone"?

Thanks!!

[LuckyGirl]

I just stumbled upon this thread. My husband, Steve, and I will likely attend most of the events. I will read over the details of the weekend in the next few days and report back with the specifics of what we'll attend. I'm excited!

[CaliPoutine]

So we're set on the dates right? I'm going to do my priceline deal in the next few weeks.

I just got a priceline offer of some bonus cash so I started bidding. I went up to 50( 40 with 10 bonus cash) for Ann Arbor and was denied. I said " screw it" and went to the airport zone. I paid 30( plus 10 bonus cash) for the Crowne Plaza( 3 star). I'm ok with the 30 min drive to Ann Arbor since I'm saving so much money on the hotel!!

CaliPoutine --

Is there a link you can provide for the "airport zone"?

Thanks!!

Hey, if you go to Priceline, and use Detroit as the city, the airport zone is Romulus. I had to use the bonus cash on a 3*, but you could get 2 or 2.5 for cheaper. Check out betterbidding.com( look at the Michigan board for a list of hotels and winning bids). The owner of BB.com is an Egullet member as well!!

[Alex]

So we're set on the dates right? I'm going to do my priceline deal in the next few weeks.

I just got a priceline offer of some bonus cash so I started bidding. I went up to 50( 40 with 10 bonus cash) for Ann Arbor and was denied. I said " screw it" and went to the airport zone. I paid 30( plus 10 bonus cash) for the Crowne Plaza( 3 star). I'm ok with the 30 min drive to Ann Arbor since I'm saving so much money on the hotel!!

CaliPoutine --

Is there a link you can provide for the "airport zone"?

Thanks!!

I think Randi meant that she added the airport area to her bid on Priceline. (If you get turned down for a bid, you can rebid the amount right away if you add an area.) There's a whole bidding strategy for Priceline. A good resource for both Priceline and Hotwire is betterbidding.com. If you decide to use Priceline or Hotwire, click through from the betterbidding web site; it gets them a little remuneration if you book a room.

BTW, that's a great price. Tammy's place is an easy drive from the airport -- pretty much all expressway and four-lane divided highway.

(Edited to add: What Randi said...)

Edited May 21, 2010 by Alex (log)

[LuckyGirl]

I'm in for the bread workshop and would also love to do a workshop with Kerry Beal.

Not in for a Jiffy Mix tour.

Would like to go to Grange for dinner Thursday or Friday night.

I think Tracklements is a must see for a lot of the folks who will be in for the get together. It is not a big shop so maybe a trip with the entire group wouldn't work but maybe it would. In any event, folks who enjoy smoking fish and meat should be sure to stop at Tracklements. Folks who enjoy eating smoked fish and meat should make it a point too

http://www.tracklements.com

Polish Village Cafe in Hamtramck makes amazing pierogies. If the main group or subgroups don't include an stop there on Friday I will pick up perogies from there to serve at the gathering meal. In fact, it is a pretty small pace (hard to squeeze groups into) and they don't take reservations so maybe I should just plan on getting perigee from there for the gathering meal.

Also, to consider for a Friday afternoon in Detroit is Slow's BBQ. Probably a must stop for BBQ lovers.

http://slowsbarbq.com/

Another Detroit spot that is worthy of consideration is Scotty Simpson's for fish and chips. Not your run of the mill fish & chips and definitely a Detroit institution. I have "boagman" to thank for turning me on to Scotty Simpson's via another food board.

http://www.scottysfishandchips.com/

Back to Ann Arbor, Cafe Japon is supposed to have a wonderful tea selection. I imagine that I would make a stop there at some point with White Lotus so any other tea drinkers let me know and we can try to figure out a time to go that doesn't conflict with any of the other festivities.

[tino27]

Kerry Beal: Do we want to stagger our workshops on Friday, so people can attend both? I'm not worried about kitchen space, as the main room has those wonderful long tables, but I will need the ovens (at least one and both if I can get them).

Everybody: Per usual, I will be happy to supply any of the breads required for our usual Saturday afternoon noshing as well as for dinner. I'll be baking off the breads for Saturday's activities on Saturday morning (in lieu of the market visit), so as you begin to plan your appetizers / dishes, if you have a specific bread component, shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to work something out.

In about a month, I'll start posting more details (along with attendees) about the bread workshop. So far I've got LuckyGirl and Darienne. Sadly, we won't have prasantrin's +1 joining us this year.

[Alex]

Kerry Beal: Do we want to stagger our workshops on Friday, so people can attend both? I'm not worried about kitchen space, as the main room has those wonderful long tables, but I will need the ovens (at least one and both if I can get them).

Everybody: Per usual, I will be happy to supply any of the breads required for our usual Saturday afternoon noshing as well as for dinner. I'll be baking off the breads for Saturday's activities on Saturday morning (in lieu of the market visit), so as you begin to plan your appetizers / dishes, if you have a specific bread component, shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to work something out.

In about a month, I'll start posting more details (along with attendees) about the bread workshop. So far I've got LuckyGirl and Darienne. Sadly, we won't have prasantrin's +1 joining us this year.

In an earlier post from Tammy in reply to your Friday bread workshop proposal, she said the common house was reserved for Saturday but didn't mention anything about Friday, so I recommend checking back with her about that.

[Darienne]

Figure I'll bring my Thermomix. I'd like to make an appetizer and a light dessert as my contribution. I was able to free up Thursday to travel up to Ann Arbour so if anyone is interested we could do a workshop on Friday - focusing on using the Thermomix in the confectionery kitchen.

I would like to be able to take not only the bread workshop but also a confectionery workshop with Kerry. I don't have a Thermomix...in fact I just looked it up to see what it was. Would it still be useful to take a workshop for a non-owner?

Also Scotty's Fish and Chips sounds like a good bet. I do love fish and chips.

[tino27]

Alex, I'm pretty sure Tammy has also booked that space during the day on Friday for the workshops. At least that was the impression I got from what she said earlier upthread. Tammy, would you mind verifying that?