Posts By / 17th Street BBQ

17
Oct

Catering Display Inspiration

Posted by on . -- Design, Entertaining, OnCue Consulting

Beautiful display inspired by personal collections and Pinterest

Becky Streuter, our catering manager, has a large collection of vintage and retro items from which to choose. These layered linens, cut glass dishes, and jadeite serving pieces create a beautiful table. The damask-covered slipper chair belonged to my grandmother.
© Ken Goodman

We eat with our eyes first and when people attend 17th Street catered events, we want our guests to be delighted when they see our set-up. From events held in our private rooms and Warehouse facilities to OnCue seminars, we love setting the stage with unique items from our collection.

When you hold an event at The Warehouse, you can rent almost anything in our prop room with which to decorate and add a signature touch to your celebration. We can also suggest  local event planners who can help create a special look. Here are some of my favorite tablescapes from recent events.

fresh fruit on a tiered jadeite stand

A jadeite cake stand atop a brass plate holds a variety of fruit on the breakfast table.
© Ken Goodman

One of the topics of our OnCue Catering Master Class discusses how to properly set up a catering line and how to make it look fabulous. These photos are from various OnCue Consulting events.

Cut glass, jadeite, vintage linens

Photo © Amy Mills

Vintage linens create a colorful backdrop for a breakfast table. Weathered wood, old tin canisters, an antique scale, and cast iron create texture and interest.

The kissing booth

Photo © Ken Goodman

Clever, colorful, and sweetly delicious – this kissing booth display was both a candy bar and a photo booth where guests could pose for pictures.

Bulleit bottles, twine, fresh rosemary and mason jars

Photo © Ken Goodman

Sometimes simple is best. This display uses Bulleit bottles tied with twine, slices of wood, and mason jars filled with sprigs of rosemary clipped from a huge bush that grows outside our back door. The tablecloth is layered with a kraft paper runner.

Inspiration for one of my favorite displays came from this photo of painted antlers I saw on Pinterest. I couldn’t justify paying $78 for one painted antler, so we put out the call for antlers and taxidermy to our family and friends. Turns out that these trophies are precious to some and they didn’t want us to paint them? Go figure! We ended up with an abundance of them and here’s how we used them.

Serve-yourself wine and bourbon tables

Photo © Ken Goodman

Our serve-yourself bourbon bar and wine station featured old wooden tables and boxes, a vintage Stag sign, and lots of antlers, both loose and mounted.

Buffet table with light fixture made with an old ladder and several pairs of antlers

Photo © Ken Goodman

There are so many layers of goodness on this buffet table designed by Becky and local event planner, Cindy Wilson. They suspended an old ladder and tied on antlers, illuminating it with a string of mason jar lights. Natural elements such as pine cones, fresh rosemary, and wood slices mix with cast iron and tin.

While this display is fairly masculine, I did get my painted antlers, reinterpreted just for me by Cindy …

Antlers that have been painted and bedazzled

Photo © Ken Goodman

Not only are they painted, she fancied them up with a bit of iridescent sparkle, rhinestones,and marabou trim, and tucked them in and about several displays to add just a little girly touch amongst all of that manliness.

What are your favorite items to use in catering displays?

To book your next event at 17th Street, please call Becky at 618-684-8902.

For information on our upcoming OnCue events, email Amy. Just a few spots remain in our Catering Master Class on November 4–5, 2013 and the Whole Hog Extravaganza/Brisket Bonanza/BBQ MBA on January 20-21, 2014. 

13
Sep

Big Apple Barbecue Block Party: Our Outstanding Pit Crew

Posted by on . -- On The Road

Amy packs for the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

Amy’s essentials: Pappy, Hooker’s House, and bling.

The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party is our most highly anticipated event each year. We begin planning in January and packing up in May.
Sexy dancer on top of the 17th Street BBQ pitsJust prior to hitting the road, Phillip marks the beginning of the journey with his traditional sexy rib dance atop the Ole Hickory pits.
17th Street BBQ pits on the road on the way to the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party17th Street BBQ rigOur crew from Southern Illinois starts the drive on Tuesday. The convoy includes our trailers and Ole Hickory Pits, pulled by our Chevrolet trucks, and a box truck. Each vehicle is stocked with snacks and a chatty person to keep the driver awake and we plan strategic stops at various barbecue restaurants along the way. Navigating from New Jersey, through tunnels and over bridges, is the trickiest part of the journey. Tire blowouts, mechanical issues, and traffic delays all make for a good story on the other end of the trip.
The Hotel RogerUpon arrival we’re welcomed warmly by the gracious staff at the Roger, the host hotel for the past six years. Located just blocks from the Block Party site, it’s a veritable Who’s Who in the lobby as pitmasters, chefs, staff, and speakers congregate.

17th Street BBQ Pit Crew takes cover from the rain at the Big Apple Barbecue Block PartyWe’ve been incredibly lucky with the weather for the past 11 years and this year driving rain made the Friday set-up more than a little challenging. This was a huge storm and it rained sideways into the early morning. We purchased all of the rain ponchos we could find and vinyl banners, anchored with Coke cans, became tents under which to huddle while loading the pits.

17th Street BBQ Core Pit Crew on day one at the Members of the 17th Street BBQ pit crew putting rub on the ribs at the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

Our core Pit Crew: Jenn, Laurie, Sara, Becky, Mike, Amy, Woody, Faye, Luke, and Brent. Phillip is not pictured; he had the night shift and was not on site when we had a minute to take these photos.

Fortunately the rain stopped and the weekend was gorgeous. Our booth alone fed almost 13,000 people and it takes many hands to produce and serve that quantity of barbecue. Our core Pit Crew totally rocked it and we were joined by some of the best volunteers ever.

17th Street BBQ Pit Crew on day two at the Members of the 17th Street BBQ pit crew putting rub on the ribs at the Big Apple Barbecue Block PartyHere’s our group on day one.

17th Street BBQ Pit Crew on day one at the Members of the 17th Street BBQ pit crew putting rub on the ribs at the Big Apple Barbecue Block PartyAnd here’s most of the extended crew.

Shane and Lawson Linn from Townsend Spice {blenders of our Magic Dust®} were a huge help every step of the way. David Bogan, die-hard barbecue enthusiast and attorney from Connecticut has volunteered to help us for the past eight years. Randy Kane, a Manhattan management consultant whom I met on Twitter, and Daniel Farrish, Brooklyn resident and son of one of our former Las Vegas managers, worked their third stints. Mike Mrva, John Hulslander, and James Pryor have been participants in multiple Oncue Consulting programs. This was Mike’s second tour of duty. I have to give a special shout out to John Hulslander who pretty much worked around the clock the entire weekend, even in the driving rain, with a huge smile on his face the entire time.

Members of the 17th Street BBQ pit crew people watching at the Big Apple Barbecue Block PartyThis is the best crew we’ve ever had and the many skilled hands made it possible for everyone to enjoy the event as well as work it.

Members of the 17th Street BBQ pit crew putting rub on the ribs at the Big Apple Barbecue Block PartyEach evening we prepped ribs and even though the quantity was huge, we cut no corners. Each rib was inspected, trimmed, and seasoned just the way we do it in our restaurants every day. Part of our crew included pitmasters and restaurateurs who came to volunteer with us and see what this party is all about. Wayne Mueller and Frank Ostini {bottom photo} were a welcome addition to our crew as well.

17th Street BBQ Pit Master Phil sauces ribs at the Big Apple Barbecue Block PartyWayne and Phillip  doing a bit of final saucing and seasoning.

Members of the 17th Street BBQ pit crew cutting ribs at the Big Apple Barbecue Block PartyBecky and I were tremendously proud of our daughters, Faye Landess and Sara. They cut ribs for hours with smiles on their faces – clearly graduates of the Mike Mills School of Strong Work Ethic.

candid photos of Mike Mills, Amy Mills, and the 17th Street BBQ pit crew at the Big Apple Barbecue Block PartyOne of the real gifts of an intense event of this kind is that the relationships within our crew grow even stronger. Working and playing side-by-side, around the clock, for almost a week means learning how to best work together, lots of deep conversations, and strengthened bonds – benefits that last far into the future.

Read more about our Big Apple Barbecue Block Party adventures here. 

Photos by the outstanding Ken Goodman.