Boyer's 2nd Post - Now Boarding for Charleston

It’s 9:15 AM EST and I’m sitting at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. At the bar. Which doesn’t open til 10:30 or whenever they find a bartender. Geez!

I’m on the way to see my new granddaughter in Charleston, SC. She was born Aug 4^th and I haven’t seen her yet. Been looking forward to this trip for a long time. Will be there for three days of fresh seafood, hanging out with my son and his girlfriend, and spoiling the heck out of Emma.

Flew out of Milwaukee at 6 this morning (correct, the bars at Billy Mitchell Int'l weren’t open either). So we left Madison last night, drove to Milwaukee and checked into the Best Western by the airport. They have a great deal. Stay there, leave your car for free and get a free shuttle ride to and from the airport. All for $89. Free parking!

Also stopped and had a Super George burger and a cup of chicken-flavored noodle soup at George Webb’s. I can’t believe there are people who haven’t been to George Webb’s.

Eating breakfast now, Chicken Hash & Grits. This restaurant has the best fried chicken ever but aren't serving it until 10:30. I wish it was 10:30.

So a little about the new food stuff at the park this year. We are having our first tasting of new products next Monday at Rookies. A couple of the food brokers/distributors are bringing in some samples of what they think they need to sell us this year. Then on the 29^th we’re going to the Sysco Complex in Baraboo for them to present us with new ideas.

Which reminds me, all you Mallards fans in need of a more substantial baseball fix than you’re getting from SportsCenter need to stop out at Rookies and see all the new stuff Steve has put up since the end of the season. And spend some money please.

By the way, thank God the BoSox signed John Smoltz.

Boyer's Thanksgiving Special - 1st Post

Being a very old person, I’m not sure what this blog thing is all about but we’re gonna give it the old Mallard’s try.

So Jerrad says I should talk about how some of the menu items come about.

First we look at what we did last year, what was a good seller and what wasn’t. Move some items around, look at any new areas we have for concessions, what those menus should look like etc.

The sales staff at Sysco Foods have been an awesome team helping us with dealing with distributors, suggesting new ideas and getting samples for us to try. Mike Riese, Ron Neusen and Paul Schulz are a great team that provide us with outstanding customer service.

I get all the samples delivered to Rookies in Black Earth by the end of the year. Liz and the boys come out one afternoon and we cook it all up and try it. We sit around the table talking about what we like, how the production fits into the schedule, (is it fried, grilled, or baked, etc). All of which needs to be considered so game-days go smoothly.

There’s Suite food, Tailgate, Duck Blind, and Concession menus all to be considered, revised, changed or sometimes even scrapped.

My favorite part is the daily and weekly specials. Steve & Vern have given me a lot of latitude on trying stuff, some of it sold well, some of it people looked at me like I was crazy. The White Trash Special is a good example. Fried egg sandwich sold well, PB&J didn’t.

And we steal stuff. The Glazer Bacon Cheeseburger was done by a team somewhere in Ohio. There is time spent researching this. All the front office staff are really good about shooting me emails with some great suggestions they’ve heard about.

And you fans always have some great suggestions. Big thanks to Dave Sindberg & the Hockey Guy for all of your help! We’re always willing to try something new.

So of all the stuff we’ve tried in the last 5 seasons I still think the best idea I’ve had is the Dashboard Maynard Bobblehead. Maynard in long flowing robes with a crown of thorns and stigmata.

Now THAT will make ESPN.