Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Jacob Frey's City Council Campaign Launch Party - at a Restaurant!

He called it the The Jacob Frey Best Campaign Launch Party Ever - but if I were judging it based on the food there, I would not be able to agree!  It was not the best food ever.  Anyway, I decided this would be a neat Field Trip because A) I wanted to go check it out anyway, B) I needed one more field trip experience and this was the only thing happening on the last night that this assignment was due that I could think of, and C) I think it's a pretty interesting question:  what does the food look like at a campaign launch party that's hosted at a well-established restaurant by a well-positioned and financially-robust Minneapolis city council election candidate?

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The restaurant? Nye's Polonaise.  A well established restaurant and bar that offers the best polka dancing in town (hearsay).  The factors?  Well obviously cost would play into the type of food being served - too extravagant and he'd come off as a wasteful campaign, too cheap and he'd seem... cheap.  No food was advertised on the facebook's page but I charged ahead regardless.

Another factor was impression.  Was Jacob going to make an impression with the quality of food he was providing?  Or was it supposed to just be an after-thought - besides, the drinks being poured would be high quality, but then again that's because people had to pay for them...!  Another factor was context - this event wasn't about the food even though it was at a restaurant and so food would just make people more comfortable but it wouldn't draw people in to the event to begin with, so it definitely wasn't a centerpiece.  Thus, I guess I'm not too surprised to find out what was offered.


 First off, to clarify my statement about this not being the best campaign launch party ever because the food wasn't the best food ever, I do want to say that it seemed to be a good campaign launch party - and I definitely enjoyed the food.



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          enjoying intently
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The spread included swedish (polish?) meatballs that were apparently super delicious as they were gone by the time I got there. It also included a bowl of chips with a white sauce that seemed to be too close to the chip bowl to be for the veggie platter but too weird to be for the chips (polish?).  Of course then there was also a veggie platter which included uncooked cucumber, cauliflower, carrot, and broccoli to dip into some ranch-like dip (which was obviously placed for the veggies).  In a sense, it was a good variety.  Clearly, good party food because it attracts a diverse crowd; as in there was something for everyone - small portions, salty/tangy/healthy/sweet, and finger food (though I used a fork, please).  This was also probably a pretty cheap spread.  I think I was most disappointed probably because I had not yet eaten dinner and was looking for something more substantial, heh.  Maybe I should have just gone upstairs and ordered myself some dinner then...!


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On the right:
Former Vikings player, marriage equality activist, singer, and chef at Seven downtown, Esera Tuaolo - maybe I should have asked him what he thought about the food given that he's a chef, heh.

It made me question myself, what would I have served?  I'd say, big batches of vegetable-mixed-pasta or skip the pasta and just serve loads of roasted vegetables, with an alternative of raw vegetables.  I'm tempted to say that he should have served cookies, brownies, ice cream, and cake... but I know better ;)

What would YOU serve to a large crowd at an event you're hosting?  Can you think back to your grad party?

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