Thursday at Tuesdays

 No offense Marty but I don't really see a banquet type setting being the same.  I think it would feel too much like a wedding.  I hate weddings! 

Just to throw in my suggestion would be the Linden Dinner across the highway from Ruby Tuesday's.   They have a large room in the back and I haven't had a bad meal or service there yet And we have been there a few times. 

My group (somewhat small - 6 of us) ate at Cheddars on Thursday.  Food was OK for most of us, I believe, but they messed up a bit when serving in terms of timing.  Some interesting adult beverages were consumed, so that was at least one mark in the "positive" column.

Most of our meals came with 2 sides.  You can count a salad as a "side" for a small up charge (vs. the cost of ordering a salad separate), several of us did so. 

Problem is, we all got our salads and main entree's all at the same time!!  This obviously is not optimal since your main meal sits there getting cold while you eat your salad.  This was a big mark in the "negative" column.  (it also made it a bit of a cramped table with salad dishes and entree dishes needing to all be on the table simultaneously)

Might not be a global problem with the restaurant, could have been server based, but seemed relevant to the discussion.  Maybe some others ate there while at York and can chime in.

-Dave

That's a good point Marty.  As long as no one does the "chicken dance" I'm good!! 

Maybe we can get people to do the "Chicken Sweeper" Dance! 

-Dave

Then they're out of the mix John

 

Originally Posted by gunrunnerjohn:

The Old Country Buffet ... . One downside, no adult beverages.

 

Rest assured, Lionelbill, that adult beverage service will be a basic requirement for whatever place is selected (at least as far as I and about 150 of my best friends are concerned).  

If I might intrude, it would be great if the adult beverage selection included Guinness! 

Matt,

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you. I was trying to keep an out out for you. Hopefully next year. 

I to had a not so pleasant experience in October; I got there a bit later, and found a seat with Buzz Lee, as his wife was leaving. I got the attention of a waitress and asked for a menu, and she never returned. I did meet several forum members this meet, who I either recognized from a forum picture, or the badge holder. 

Don

I thought the food was great!  However the service was awful.  Our waitress did her best but she was just overwhelmed as was the kitchen.  I am glad to see that another venue is planned for the future.  BTW, I will not go anywhere where I cannot get a draft beer.  Also the Old Country Buffet in my opinion is terrible.  The food is just to plain and very uninteresting  and not worth it.  I like Quaker Steak but I feel the service will be similar to Friday's and Ruby Tuesday's.  Good luck to whom ever is in charge of finding a new location.  I live in York and would be happy to help in any way I can.

Paul Edgar

Logan's roadhouse service, food, cleanliness, and atmosphere was impeccable. Not to mention they served every type of beer known to man. We attended on Friday night and the place was

packed, they knew exactly how to run there service business. Our get together is always on a Thursday night which I'm sure will be a much quieter night, they will be able to service us with ease.

      A wonderful night with fantastic people !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think if you are going to drop in for  dinner and a few drinks with about a 150 or so friends. Someone should let the manager know a week or so ahead of time so they have the food beer and staff ready.

You can be quite sure the management at Ruby Tuesdays was notified in advance. Just didn't make any difference, for whatever reason. Future arrangements will also be made well in advance of the date.

Since you're a "local", Paul, I'm sure your recommendations/suggestions would be welcome.

I think if you want guaranteed service...then, you have to guarantee a number...then, the venue can plan accordingly.

Just saying 150 folks are going to "drop by" is no guarantee...I am sure they know the York TCA crowd is a little more than fickle.

Ouch, how long was the wait 1 1/2 hours for food after a long day or bargain hunting.  Normal behavior of the North American male in regards to shopping is to get in purchase whatever is on the list and get out, this is exception to the rule. From the picture it seems everyone had a great time socializing. I would like to thanks the folks that took the pictures for posting them.  What is this Oct meet that I hearing about?

York happens two times a year, the next meet is Oct 22-24 2015.

While my food and drinks took a long time, at least the food was hot and tasted good. However, I went for the people. Like Peter, I spent 10 years growing up thinking that I was odd for liking trains, and knew of nobody in the area  that openly liked trains (there were a few closet train fans, who had toy trains hidden, but they didn't want other people to know). When I found this forum, it opened up a whole new world to me, expanding the hobby and helping me make a lot of friends. I just wish I could go to more forum events!

Great pictures guys !  Seeing the pictures is nice, but there's nothing like being there with 100+ train people.  If any of you have never been to the OGR "Thursday at (wherever)" event, c'mon and join us!

I'm wondering, as Marty said, that after the issues with TGI Friday's and Ruby Tuesdays that any other chain restaurant anywhere would be any different.  I'm more tolerant and patient than most, but no matter where the event is held moving forward, I'll be there as long as it's with all of you guys!

 "I'll be there as long as it's with all of you guys!"

Well said Brian. This event is all about a meet and greet of the Forum members in attendance at the York Meet. The food and beverage is absolutely secondary. You do make a good point about another chain facility having the necessary capability to handle our needs. There must be other choices of local restaurants that have sufficient room and staff to take care of us.

In any event, we are looking forward to October.  

Yes the service was less than perfect, yes dinner took a long time, yes, they could have done a better job but since this was the first time I have been to York in 15 plus years it was nice to meet old friends, make new ones and generally enjoy the time spent with hobby people. 

Yes, I was annoyed that the it all took a long time - but at the same time talking trains, baseball, hockey with Gerry, Jim, John, Chuck, Mike and John - it was worth it. 

With apologies to Melina Mercouri, the title of this thread should be changed to Never on Tuesdays.

I posted in another thread how my wife & I arrived by 5PM and the greeter thought 50 people were going to show up after 7pm.  I tried to insist more folks were coming and sooner but I guess they did not believe me!  I saw three waiters and one bartender.  Sure glad we arrived early and sorry to hear others had to wait so long for food and drink.  

I had the pleasure of sitting with Allan Miller of OGR at the OGR Staff Table @ Ruby Tuesday's. We sat down around 6:00PM, ordered not only our drinks but our meals also. We received our drinks at 7:15PM, and we were about to leave at 7:30PM when our meal arrived.

Several members of the OGR Staff went to the Quaker State Restaurant and they had very fast service, and they hardly had any wait for drinks or food. One of the OGR Staff said they waited no more than 5 minutes to get a table, less than that for drinks, and the food was on the table in about 10 minutes from the time they ordered.

My opinion, let's go to Quaker State which is next door to Ruby's and have a better time and less headaches. Again, this is just my opinion but I did have a great time with the people around our table, but 1 hour and 15 minutes for drinks and 1 ½ hours for receiving the food order, this was unacceptable.

If anyone has any opinions, please respond in kind. And, maybe, I can again receive an invitation to sit at the OGR Staff Table and get a group picture of the same. As I tease Allan Miller with my expression, OGR Magazine, the Magazine Of The Truth.

I was just informed from another Forum Member about Logan's Roadhouse. The service, food, cleanliness, and atmosphere was impeccable, and not to mention they served every type of beer known to man.

The Forum Group attended on this place on Friday night and the place was

packed, they knew exactly how to run there service business. Also, being a steak house, a larger selection of steaks, etc.

Maybe this could be the alternative to Ruby Tuesday's as opposed to Quaker Steak.

Any Comments from those who went to Logan's Steakhouse?

Mike, a "Sgt At Arms" must pay careful attention to detail.  The restaurant is "Quaker Steak & Lube".  I suppose one could get well-oiled ("lubed") there so you're not far off.

IMO a dedicated wait and kitchen staff at any establishment we go to is a must.  It won't work any other way with a group as large as we have become.  A separate section or private room too. 

As I said the OGR guys are aware of what needs to be done but it doesn't hurt to add suggestions.  Personally a more open floor space is preferable to me so that it makes socializing easier. 

RJR, I placed another post saying that we should go to the Logan's Roadhouse. The service, food, cleanliness, and atmosphere was impeccable, and not to mention they served every type of beer known to man.

Since I have received some posts via my e-mail, I recanted the idea of going to Quaker Steak & Lube.

Also, I was able to see the menu on-line and it will definitely out perform Uaker Steak & Lube.

Mike, problem is that a really good restaurant fills up nightly, and can't handle a herd as large as ours.  A lousy restaurant, on the other hand, can withstand a stampede.  Happily, I am not the one to find a suitable place to graze in October.

Logan's Roadhouse works for me. I've been to the one in Dallas and loved it. Ironically, I've never been to the one near my house. Go figure.

RJR, please be aware that this location was notified well in advance as to the number of patrons. Last October, we had over 80 people and no one had to wait as long as some of us did.

So, Logan's Roadhouse will most likely become the place for the Forum to meet. And I am sure that they will be notified well in advance and have the staff to take care of the OGR Group (80+ People).

With this said, let us wait for October York and let the fun begin again.

The reviews of Logan's in York are all over the place from good to slow service and good to bad food.  So I suspect on any given day your mileage may vary.  All you can do is try and see what happens.

No doubt being forewarned of the ensuing crowd is key to being prepared.  I would suspect that 100+ is a more realistic number as it grows every York.

Definitely concur on a separate room with a more open floor plan.  I went to four different events this time; LCCA social, DCS meeting, OGR social, and the Legacy meeting.  I go to these events to meet like-minded people and I always learn something.  I do not mind if the service and food are not the best, although Ruby Tuesday this year seemed really poor.

The DCS and Legacy meetings were in entirely different settings, but both were in dedicated rooms and had larger tables that allowed one to meet and talk to several other people.  This allowed me to meet some new friends.  The LCCA and OGR gatherings were in the dining area of the restaurant with mostly 2- and 4-person booths, with a few larger tables that filled up with members of one club/group.  I arrived early at the LCCA gathering and wound up sitting by myself in a 4-person both (I did shower before going), and a little late at the OGR gathering and sat with one other person.  I enjoyed talking to him but it would have been nicer to have sat with several folks.

So, I do not care where the OGR gathering is held next year but do think it would be great to have a separate room with a more open floor plan and tables that seat 8 or more folks.

Both TGI Friday's and Ruby Tuesday's were notified well in advance also.  That's not the problem, it's the venue supplying adequate staff for a large group that arrives nearly at the same time.  It's highly unlikely any chain restaurant would be any different that what we've experienced already.

The Wyndham Hotel ballroom held nearly the same number of people for the DCS meeting on Wednesday night and there was plenty of room.  

Doesn't matter much to me as I'll attend no matter where the gathering is held!  It's that much fun!

I know this would be more work, but what about a local firehall? Some of them do dinners on special occasions. 80-100 people could be a good fundraiser for them

The adult beverages will be the main sticking point. The next will be variety of food.  I suspect a restaraunt with a bar makes it easy on everyone involved. They have everything they need. The best option here is an establishment with a private or sectioned off room. 

Folks can can order all the drinks they want and have a menu full of choices. 

If I might intrude, it would be great if the adult beverage selection included Guinness! 

Yes...or Watney's....or Bell's Two-Hearted

Bully!

The Quaker lube guys said they could do it, they have experience with car clubs and such. the food and service was fantastic. They got this grouchy old mans vote.