So it looks like I am going to neither the Welcome nor the Farewell dinners. For some reason, I thought the cutoff was the 28th. I must have looked at my calendar wrong. Oh well.

Anyone else not going to the dinner(s)? Are there any good restaurants that are near Fontana? Anyone game for an alternate get-together or maybe even potluck?

 

I'll be in the area on May 7th as we will be coming back that day from Nashville.

 

Last year we went to a good bbq place... I just followed the leader though.. couldn't tell you how to get there. Quite useless info, I know. It was good though!

 

Christy,

My wife and I have no plans for dinner Thursday night. We'd be game to get together but we wouldn't have anything to bring for pot luck.

We'll be tagging along with the Sunshine MINIs crew on Saturday night for dinner at Nantahala Village.

Email me if you want to get together Thursday.

Matt

 

We are going to the farewell dinner. Probably hang with the St. louis crowd on Thusday.

Mark

 

Ill be a tthe farewell dinner. Wont make the Welcome Dinner though as my contingent wont be arriving till late Thursday night..

 

go to tailofthedragon.com, there are links there for local restaurants. I'm sure you'll be able to find a place in Robbinsville.

 

Sweetwater BBQ in Robbinsville...I highly recommend it. Everything's made on-premises and it's very reasonably priced...

 

Thats the place! Gooood hush puppies

 

There's a couple of us from the SotaMINI group that are missing the Welcome dinner but will be going to the Farewell bash.

No idea yet what we'll be doing for dinner on day one.

 

I am not signed up for either dinner, and could meet with you all at the Sweetwater BBQ in Robbinsville on Thursday maybe at 8pm, and I am sure that we can come up with something for Saturday night by late that afternoon.



Herbert

 

If at all possible, if you all decide to mob Sweetwater BBQ (gooooooood BBQ!), give 'em a heads up first (I'd say a couple day notice) so no one is disappointed! It really is a one or two man operation in the kitchen, and if you all decide to go there, you could very well overwhelm them, and eat their entire kitchen inventory!

And leaving Sweetwater hungry would be a sad thing indeed.

Plus, with a heads up, you should be able to get fed quicker!

Just a suggestion!

-Paul!

 

Very good suggestion, Paul! Thanks!

 

Paul,
We can't give them any headsup yet since I am really the first one here that actually said a specific time.

But you are right we should get a head count so we can give the Sweetwater BBQ folks some idea in terms of how many folks might show up in addition to the regular expected customer base.

So who is all in? I'll keep a count.

Herbert

Sweetwater BBQ list:

Moskito
Blalor + 2
PassatDoTD + 1

 

There are 3 of us from Indianapolis that are skipping the welcome dinner (and two who are skipping both). I'd loooove some good BBQ! We're shooting for an arrival at Fontana before 8pm on Thursday.

 

You can count my wife and I in. We're flexible on the time.

 

I'll also add a suggestion or 2 for those who've never been to SWBB. Patience is key..there usually no more than 3-4 waitresses. The whole place holds around 60, if I'm guessing correctly. Feel free to correct this number if you know for sure...in '04, we stayed at the Microtel and ate there alot. The last night we had 35 people in one sitting. We nearly took over the whole restaurant. Those poor waitresses worked hard that night!
Their ribs are killer, as are their hushpuppies, as previously mentioned. In fact, all their food is great. They serve sweet tea! They serve breakfast, too. Dear lord, I'm starting to drool!
Be sure to say hi to the owner (his name escapes me), who's very friendly...but very busy. Eat lots and tip heavily. Enjoy!

 

Will Collins....great guy and good chef!

 

Here's a list of all the restaurants in Robbinsville. The town is so small, you can walk most places from, say, The Microtel. I think there's a Burger King or Wendy's there, too.

Carolina Cat
761Tallulah Rd.
Robbinsville, NC
(828) 479-4143

Phillips Restaurant
146 E Main St
Robbinsville, NC
(828) 479-3332

Sweet Magnolia Restaurant
238 Rodney Orr Byp
Robbinsville, NC
(828) 479-4422

Sweetwater Farm & Garden
1551 Sweetwater Rd
Robbinsville, NC
(828) 479-4177

Super Chinatown Buffet
400 Byp
Robbinsville, NC
(828) 479-3988

Pacefeco Mexican Restaurant
429 Byp
Robbinsville, NC
(828) 479-8448

Subway Sandwiches & Salads
Highway 129
Robbinsville, NC
(828) 479-1530

Sweetwater BBQ
176 Sweetwater Rd
Robbinsville, NC
(828) 479-6862

 

I'm a Memphis girl so BBQ always sounds good! Our group should be in town by 8pm. I will send them an email and see if any of them want to go. I guess we should get a total # by Monday at the latest...give Sweetwater time to order extra supplies from their purveyors if needed. It should also give us time to find another place if they are already booked up.

 

Could dinner be pushed back past 8pm a bit? I'm hoping to catch registration before that closes at 8. This is assuming I'm not completely out of whack on my travel time, of course. The 1pm departure from Indpls is fixed, however. :-)

 

I know a lot of people who are not even registered including me

 

I'm not doing either dinner.. doing the pre-brew bbq on friday pm, but other than that, I have no idea what we're gonna do for "sustanence".. we should all get together and just put a bunch of those places in a hat and draw one.. then we'll all converge on that place.. I dunno.. sounded like a decent plan to me, anyways..

 

BTW.. is the Fontana near any towns with restaraunts or is it pretty much Robbinsville?..

 

It's at least 11 miles (length of the Dragon) away from civilization...at night, it's pitch black...