The toys for tots weekends are
Dec 4-5
Dec 11-12

 

Sorry, you may have covered this topic earlier at the Meeting. My fault for getting held up for a half hour by an accident on the freeway. As we experienced last year, the Toys for Tots weekend was very crowded at the Park. It took me about 45 minutes to cover one block when I tried getting to the park last year. Was anyone planning to bring a toy and play at the park, or are we just picking that weekend so we can bring a toy to the TFT drive in lieu or a gift exchange? (As last year). I'll just plan to get to teh park a LOT sooner this year if that is the case. Let me know which weekend we want and I'll contact the restaurant. Maybe we'll have better luck getting a slot. If not, no biggie. I'll just put our name in earlier in the day as I did last year.

Lon

 

Thats what Bret had brought up, Chicken dinner restaurant, TFT in place of gift exchange, visit the park if you want.

I do believe December 4th was the day of choice, although of course ANYTHING can change if we want it to.

 

Far be it from me to mess up a good time but c’mon! Am I the only one that remembers the extremely poor service, **** warm food, and the nerve-wracking gospel music? Not to mention having to practically yell at the people at the other end of the table due to the seating configuration. I’m sorry but long lines, mediocre food, and horrible service all wrapped in a cattle call/cafeteria style setting isn’t my idea of a good time.

 

Yes you are...

 

So i take it you didnt like it?

 

 

I lobbied against it last year and my plea fell upon deaf ears. This year I’m straight up boycotting it.

 

Its not like there is only one restaurant in southern california. Im sure we can find a place that (mostly) everyone will agree on. It is still almost 2 months away, so thats plenty of time.
I say we just go to fantasy ranch and be done with it. They have good nachos and hot dogs as well as "family" entertainment.

 

Large group gatherings anywhere are always much worse than if only two individuals went for a casual dinner. Knott's is about the best your going to get for such a gathering. Otherwise stick to something that secializes in the cattle crowd like Hometown Buffet (Puke), or a little more pricey like Buca Di Beppo's, or even meet somewhere like Dave and Busters, Wild Bill's Extravaganza, a Claim Jumper.

Pinnacle Peaks Steakhouse in San Dimas is always a great place to eat with very casual style seating. Wear a tie and the will cut it off standing in front of the entire resturant and hang it on the wall. Very safe parking and just a fun loud enviroment.

 

lets see if we can get "Ricky&Ronnies" to hold half the resturant for us. The owner seemed happy that we showed up after the meeting. Kinda a cool place. easy parking. could work. Just a thought. any more ideas?

 

A couple of years ago we all went to the Cheesecake Factory in Redondo Beach. Bar none it was the most fun we have ever had! I think we should seriously consider this option.

 

Just tell me where and when.

Looks like this post should have been started before the Oct Meeting.

 

Everyone always bitches about money money money… you know its OK to treat yourself to a nice dinner with good people once a year. Lets raise the bar for once here folks. Lets bypass all of the bottom feeder spots and dive into something a little more refined.

I for one vote for the Cheesecake Factory.

 

...and we stood around for an hour packed in a crowded lobby on a rainy night, had trouble getting a table, valet parking ...etc. At least we finally did get the upstairs room to ourselves.

Honestly, a place like the Cheesecake Factory gets waaaaaay too crowded and noisy during the holidays. Granted, Knott's Chicken Restaurant wasn't great, but it did go a tad smoother and I like the idea of helping out with Toys for Tots.

If someone can come up with a better location, I'm all for it. The consensus at the meeting seemed to be most were fine with Knott's. If that's not the case, and everyone was just being polite, then we need to make a new plan.

I remember Mike talking last year about setting up a banquet room somewhere, good food, dressing up a bit (all of which I am in favor of), but nothing ever went past a post on the message board.

Manny's idea of Ricky & Ronnie's has potential. We would have good parking and it would probably end up being a bit of a car show as well. We might even get them to be part of the TFT drive and we could still contribute. I think this is worth exploring.

After that, I say we try to go a little more upscale along the lines of what Mike is thinking. The problem here though is the cost issue. I don't have a problem with having a nice night out, but others find the cost prohibitive. I'm not sure at the moment what we could do to achieve a happy medium.

 

That sounds like a vote for fantasy ranch to me

Anyways, if we call early enough and let them know we are going to be a large party, im sure the cheescake factory will let us reserve that upstairs room. That way we can avoid the hassle of waiting for tables and being too crowded.

 

Well I personally dont care where we go, but if you want to bitch about the location picked then come up with a new one first. And if you want service, then expect to pay for it or shut your trap. You arent going to get Spago service at McDonalds.

Maybe sometime before December the rest of you whiners can come up with and agree on a new location.

 

Who's whining? Mike brought up he cheesecake factory, Dean brought up 4 places, Manny brought up Rickey and Ronnies. Nobody said they would mind paying a lil extra for better food and service. Whats the problem with new suggestions?

 

Frisco’s, Ruby’s, and Ricky & Ronnie's I would gently place in that incredibly average category. There is absolutely nothing signature about any of these places. As my favorite gentleman caller eloquently stated “ And if you want service, then expect to pay for it or shut your trap”. All of the above are marginally better than McDonalds, Carls Jr, and the mighty Burger King after factoring in the juke boxes and checked board floors of course.

As far as naming a venue goes? I have, The Cheesecake Factory. Pick a date and I’ll handle everything else…

 

The problem is that this was decided at the Oct meeting and now those who did/could not come to the meeting are upset with the choice.
For Dec reservations at a upscale resturant you need to decide NOW. And those who back out later need to expect to pay a cancellation fee.

There is always Sonic. Lots of safe parking, open air atmosphere, small intimate tables (we could do a every 30 min musical chairs for conversation rotation), not too expensive, service at the press of a button, reservations not required (no cancellation fees), might need a coat but no ties required, not far from Knotts so I could drop off any donated Toys,

My last words-give or take a lie or two.

Just tell me where and when.

 

Hey, I'm all in favor of doing something a bit fancy. Jeans and T-shirts should be reserved for the bi-monthly meetings. We're never going to make everyone happy, so let's just pick a joint and move forward.

Now, IIRC, the Cheesecake Factory does not take reservations. Which means, we pick a date and time, show up, and stand around in the lobby waiting for a table. If everyone can deal with that, then let's proceed.

 

Yea, came up with something equally useless about 5 hours later. Sorry that I was late to the party and didnt comment right away this morning when I saw Mike's comment.

I personally dont like the Cheesecake factory either. Sitting around waiting for a table at yet another place that doesnt do reservations and having to demand to have a place to sit at while standing around in the front lobby dodging foot traffic and getting funny looks for an hour wasnt my idea of a good time. The food was nothing to write home about either. If thats the plan and Knotts is somehow worse, consider this my boycott.

I think Bret said it best though:
"We're never going to make everyone happy, so let's just pick a joint and move forward."

I thought we had. Silly me.

 

I’m sorry…I didn’t realize that the venue had already been selected at the meeting. If Knott’s was selected then by all means Knott’s it is! I’m going to go ahead and sit this one out though…

 

I'll go with the majority. There is a Pinnacle Peak Steak House in Garden Grove Right off the 22 freeway. Allen

 

Well....the majority did vote at the meeting,,,,hate to do a GTG without Mikey, but it didn't seem like it was all that great at the Cheese Factory ( even tho I didn't attend) the comments speak for themselves.

 

You guys are always welcome to join us at Lawry's around Christmas time to see the caroler's if you want a little upscale dinner. Always nice around the holidays. You want fancy, then Sir Winstons on the Queen Mary would be the ticket (dinner for two can exceed the cost of the average monthy car payment though). I always just treat the family for dinner up a Orange Hills resturant Christmas Day instead of the cost and preperation time my wife takes to make a fabulous dinner for all the finicky bastards in the family- its easier to please everyone that way, and generally cheaper also.

To me, the whole idea of doing a "club" event is to always do something fun. Dinner is O.K but can be done without a club participation. I have stated in the past that you guys should have a yearly due and that way have funds to schedule any club activities and hold a date with a deposit- such as SpeedZone, a night at Irwindale, A club rally event (driving event of some style), or even reserve a venue for a FUN christmas dinner/show type venue like the Wild Bills thing I mentioned above. Unfortunately there are no real resturant venues left that cater to a "car club" being able to park their cars together right up front at a resturant like the old days- only thing left remotely close to this is Hooters- not a family oriented place for a christmas dinner. So a Christmas dinner thing really is hard to promote around being a car club venue. I can drag my wife to Knotts easy, we've been going there for dinner on average once a month for years. She's not into the car thing at all (I can't blame her, its my thing and I like it that way) so anything else unless fancy will be out of the question for us.

 

I know of that location, I have just never been there. I always go up to the one in SanDimas (I have family near there)

Pinnacle Peaks is a great place to get rid of those crappy father's day neckties you get as presents! and makes for a fun time in the doing. Last time I wore a "Superman" tie and it was hilarious having the gal try to cut off my "man of steel tie" when I had a piece of sheetmetal inserted inside it. Best damn steak in town also- I eat two "trail boss" steaks everytime I visit. (240lbs and I'm still growing)

 

I'm not against changing it if everyone is against Knotts, but lets find a place that really is better first if thats what we are going to do. Dave and Busters aint it either, IMO they suck badly when it comes to handling groups. That and if you have enough people (like us), they'll seat you on a pool table or portable table. Not exactly what I expect for an above average plate cost. I still think you're going to have a hard time setting reservations for 20 with no fees for no shows, that have good food, service, and dont charge diner rates but anyone is welcome to try. Just dont wait, get it done in the next week or two.

 

With referance to Wild Bills. Made reservations there one month in advance was 2nd family to arrive and had I been seated 5 ft further away I would have been out of the resturant. The actors on the stage were about 3 inches high. All the tour groups get front seating.

Medival Times is supposed to have better seating, but these are places to go to be enterained not have conversation.

 

Try this link for Wild Bills

http://www.marvelousadventures.com/Tours/WildBill.htm

Might be a long time to get seated.

Jerry

 

My wife just informed me that she likes Knotts Berry Farm. :hail: Allen

 

I say we all meet in a local parking lot, eat some cold buffalo wings while drinking some 40's (prefeably OE), and have a donut contest until the fuzz shows up.

 

Hi guys! Some gals? I dunno...I just wanted to let you all know I am originally from Los Angeles (Monrovia, CA.) and have been in Cleveland, OH for a couple of years for college. I'm driving my 91 Z-28 350 TPI all 2,200 miles to come back home to Monrovia. I'd like to start becoming an active club member if possible and attend these events regularly. I'm just resolving a few more issues with the car and then I will be leaving on the 27th to head that way. I noticed this thread and became immediately excited to see that you all are so active out there. Especially for our Third Gens. So I guess I will see you all out there near the beginning of november and I'll post all the work done with some pictures when I get out there and maybe get to meet you all too.

Kenny

 

Hi Kenny

Have a safe trip back to Monrovia. I will be looking forward to meeting you. Allen

 

Wave good bye to my relatives when you leave.

 

Very cool and sophisticated name

 

Thanks guys I appreciate it! Just seeing all of the activity that goes on here with the boards and all of the meetings involved with our cars is very encouraging. Since I am a little off subject here i'll switch back. Any idea what ACTUALLY is going to happen for this get -together? Is it gonna be Knott's or somewhere else? Who makes the final decision?

Thanks again...

Kenny, Kenneth, or Ken

but Ken sounds too much like the barbie doll so I'll stick with the previous 2

 

I guess its still Knotts untill otherwise decided.

At least its after the election so we can all be friends again

 

Personally, I prefer Schlitz or Mickey's.