Sunday, April 11, 2010

NYC Fat Tour Recap: Part I, PLANNING!

philadelphia, we have returned! this weekend marked the completion of our first official new york city FAT TOUR. all told, our group sampled food from 12 different locations over 1.5 days. to compile our final list of FAT TOUR stops, we relied heavily upon the recommendations of our resident ny foodie, kahee (yay, kahee) and various contributions from the group.

our original list had over 10 destinations and while that felt a bit aggressive, we were determined to taste as many of the delicious specialties that new york had to offer. to ensure we could sample each fat tour item, we PLANNED. we were efficient, organized, HUNGRY, and flexible and that made all the difference. before the full recap, here are some helpful hints/suggestions when putting together your own fat tours.
  1. make a list - prioritize the long list of foods/locations your group wants to try
  2. plot the stops and plan the best route - google maps is invaluable for this. also, in the case of an nyc fat tour, the nyc subway map
  3. have a group BANKER - since you'll be sharing all of the food, it's easiest to have everyone contribute money at the beginning of the day and then "reload" once it looks like you'll need more funds. we started with $10 each, but reloaded another $10 towards the middle of the day. 
  4. bring your own beverages - this can be alcoholic or water/soda. we stuck to non-alcoholic drinks all day. having a bottle of water or soda with you on the tour is beneficial for many reasons. it lets everyone have their own favorite drink with them, the water kept us hydrated as we walked the many blocks to the next stop, and generally speaking, will be cheaper to purchase in bulk beforehand than separately at each location.  
  5. designate a NAVIGATOR - self-explanatory, really. it's always easier to have a shepherd leading the flock of sheep. :) 
  6. be flexible - even though we had a few hiccups (some of the restaurants were closed by the time we arrived and we were several hours late starting the tour because the MoMA kept us distracted for longer than anticipated), we went with the flow of things at each stop. so although we had to drop the last place on our list and the one restaurant was closed, we added a couple of impromptu stops to our tour and they were fantastic!
  7. don't over-order - mind the portion size. this is extremely important, especially depending on how many destinations you have on your list. pay particular attention towards the beginning of the day because filling up at places at the top of your list will definitely take away from your experience as you move further down the list. 
  8. FB or twitter your progress - haha this helps other friends know where you are along your tour list AND makes them feel regret for not joining you like they should have done! 
  9. enjooooooooooooooooooooooooyyyy
one additional note about group size: we ended up having a base group of 7, but had several friends join us at different stops on the fat tour. 7 was a great number, but 6 or 8 would be ideal. it makes the group large enough to justify ordering several items at certain locations, and the even number helps you pair off to share/take bites of items that aren't easily "cut up."

this is how we make it official.


FAT TOUR LIST

To be continued.... Part II, friday fun & festivites.
Posted by mk at 6:25 PM
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