- General Meetings -
The Villages Gourmet In or Out Club consists of Village residents who enjoy good food and the company of other residents,
who also enjoy good food. The club's membership (now almost 400) meets only quarterly on the first Sunday of January, April, July and October
( for 2008 that will be January 6th, April 6th, July 6th & October 5th) at 7 PM in the Gardenia Room of the Allamanda Village Recreation
Center at 1515 St. Charles Place. The notice of the general meeting is published in The Daily Sun on the Thursday before the meeting.
Everyone attending is asked to bring a small gourmet dish to share, such as a home-made
(or - yikes! - store bought) appetizer, snack or dessert. Microwaves are available for re-heating.
Remember to bring serving utensils or toothpicks if necessary. Plates, napkins and plastic forks are provided for everyone.
Hot coffee is sometimes available too. Your own beverages are also welcome. Ocassionally, cooking demonstrations are arranged as well.
The gourmet food adds to the enjoyment of the socialization time at the meeting break. A small fee of $2 per person is requested
to offset the club's expenses. Each couple (or single person) should bring TWO identical 3X5 index cards
containing your names, address, e-mail and phone number. One card is retained by the club leaders,
the other is used in the team selection process. It's a good idea to bring your social calendar
and a note pad with you too. The club is then organized into two sections called the Dine-In Section and the Dine-Out Section, so mark your
index cards according to your dining preference ("Dine In" or "Dine Out"). See the descriptions below. After some
introductions and explanations by the club's leaders, Dan and Dottie, dozens of 8 person "teams" are selected at random from the
collected cards for each section. In all, it's a fun and delicious evening.
- DINE IN Section -
In the DINE-IN section, many "teams" are formed. Cards are selected from the hat at random to form a team of about 8 persons.
The first couple chosen in the team serves as the coordinators and retains the selected cards. Many times the coordinators may first suggest
just a cocktail party at someone's home or a coffee hour inside the Barnes & Noble Bookstore for the team to discuss a theme, host
location and first date. Or this can be accomplished at the general meeting if everyone has their calendars with them.
The members of the that team then agree on a date and time for a great home cooked dinner. The team members plan a dinner at one couple's
house (whoever volunteers or by drawing straws). The host couple usually picks an agreeable food focus such as Greek, New England,
Tropical, Asian, Holiday, Bar-B-Que, Red-White-&-Blue, Southern, Vegetarian, Sweet 'N Sour, Hobo or anything else the members can agree on.
"Progressive dinners" are also possible. Any member's alergies are also noted. The hosts have the choice of
preparing the main entrée or assigning it to other capable team members. In any event, each person on the team prepares a portion of
the meal so that all aspects (appetizer, salad, soup, entrée, vegetables, dessert, beverages, etc.) are included and brought to the
host's home. Each person should be as creative and festive as possible. Store bought items are discouraged. The men are encouraged to cook
too, or at least, choose the wines for each course of the meal! No money is collected or charged. The team then enjoys other
members' culinary skills, some good conversation and sometimes the sharing of secret family recipées. Usually the teams
try to plan 3, 4 or even 5 dinners during the quarter. At the next general meeting, returning members start over and will
find themselves in a new team, with new people, new food and making new friends.
Mark your index cards "Dine-In" if this is your pleasure.
- DINE OUT Section -
In the DINE-OUT section, like above, many "teams" are formed. Cards are selected at random, to form a team of about 8 persons.
Again, the first couple chosen serves as the team coordinators retaining the selected cards. The members of the team gather and agree on a date,
time, price range and restaurant for a future dinner (or lunch). Sometimes the team selects a fine dining establishment within The Villages
and other times a restaurant will be chosen that's in Mount Dora, Ocala or even Orlando or Tampa, whatever the team agrees is a new and unusual
dining experience for them. It could be French, High Tea, Fondue, Hibachi, Italian, Cajun, Dinner Cruise, Night Club, Rail Trip, Sunday Brunch or
anything else the members can agree on. The coordinators plan for reservations, inquiring about separate checks, mandatory gratuities and suggested
attire, providing driving directions for the team and proposing car pooling from a convenient central location. Each couple pays their own check. The
team then enjoys a gourmet dining experience that hopefully is new to everyone, with some stimulating conversation and then comes back to the
club's official website (see below) to critique and document their experience. Each person in the team gets to write a short review about
their individual meal and rate the restaurant on three important criteria (Quality, Service and Value). Usually the teams try to plan 3,
4, 5 or more Dine-Out experiences during the quarter. At the next general meeting, returning members start over and will also
find themselves in a new team, with new people, new restaurants and, most importantly, making new friends. Mark your index cards
"Dine-Out" if this is to your liking.
- Sounds Great! - Can We Join Both? -
It is permissable for club members to belong to both a Dine-In AND a Dine-Out team at the same time (just bring THREE index cards then,
one marked "Dine-In", one marked "Dine-Out" and one marked "Both"). However, make sure your calendar is flexible
enough to handle 6-10 dining engagements (including preparation and possible travel) in a short 13 week period! Some people find it much easier
to switch sections each quarter to get a broader gourmet experience. Single persons can participate even if they have no partner.
We try to pair up singles to keep an even number in a team. We encourage all residents, single, widowed or married, who enjoy good food and the company of others
who enjoy good food, to come to the general membership meetings, submit your cards and participate in some great GOURMET experiences.
For more information, contact Dan or Dottie at DanAndDottie@comcast.net
(or call 638-3019). To receive e-mails from the club, make sure you add these two e-mail addresses to your (un-blocked)
friendly senders list: dananddottie@comcast.net and thevillagesgourmetclub@comcast.net .
- Club Website -
All members of the club, both Dine-In and Dine-Out sections, are encouranged to use our club's Restaurant Review Website
to evaluate dining locations in Central Florida whenever they eat out, even if it's not connected with a club related event.
Also you should use the site to find new and different establishments for your future dining options. The site has over 270 places listed
and is always up-to-date on the latest dining venues and new trends in cuisine around The Villages,
as well as sneak peeks of those "coming soon". We have inside information on restaurants coming to our area that hasn't even been made
public yet! The more our members use the site and post personal findings, the more beneficial it will be for everyone in the club.
Bookmark the site on your web browser. We encourage your regular and frequent participation and ... only club members can post reviews,
so you know the comments come from fellow gourmands! Don't worry, we don't accept reviews of the Dine-In dinners!!!
À votre santé et bon appètit!
"One barrel of wine can work more miracles than a church full of saints. " - Pope Clement V, 1307.
Our database of over 270 restaurants is broken down into three pages:
IN, NEAR and AWAY from The Villages.
The Club Website URL is:
http://thevillagesgourmetclub.home.comcast.net
Return home.
DISCLAIMER: This website is not, per se, an endorsement or criticism of any dining establishment. As such,
it does NOT represent the views of the webmaster or the club's leaders. Instead it gives factual information about area restaurants
and posts member's individual reviews of their own experiences. Your experience and rating may differ, so we encourage you to try the
place out yourself and write a review so others can see your thoughts. All content Copyright © 2006-2008 The Villages Gourmet Club. All rights reserved.