/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

[Anonymous No.6718876]

Hello, /cgl/.

I'm prepping for a con. The hotel we nabbed has a cont. Breakfast, and our room comes with a full-sized fridge and a microwave.

So. Can we have a con food general? How do you fuel yourself? Our party is 5 people, we'll each be splitting food costs. Is WinCo a good place to scope out deals? Which stores do you prefer?

Con food thread? Con food thread.

[Anonymous No.6718879]

I always go to the store and buy premade shit like sandwiches and salads, cut up fruits and veggies. You know, healthy shit you can just grab and go with. I hate prepping food in even a larger hotel room. But I tend to stray away from microwave meals, just because they end up making you feel too bloated or gross when you're running around the con. Don't get stuff that bogs you down.

[Anonymous No.6718893]

>>6718879

Yeah, I don't like microwaved crap unless it's the cafe steamers. Those I like. But they're no cost effective.

Canned soup would be an idea though. . . Kind of sad I can't have yams. I love those things. I like the prepackaged idea though!

[Anonymous No.6718913]

I pretty much run on empty during the con and then crash after. I know it's not healthy but it sure is cheap and easy.

[Hikaru !HIME.ueZ8U No.6718922]

One con, we had a stovetop so made dinner each night, like spaghetti and pasta alfredo and crap. Shit was delish and, yeah, we saved quite a bit of money. We're really bad about it in general though. We bring snacks and some breakfast items, but we'll eat at restaurants for lunch/dinner usually.

[Anonymous No.6718925]

I either bring my own food go out to a restaurant or go to the nearest grocery store.

Buying grocery is a hell of a lot cost effective than the food they serve at conventions.

[Anonymous No.6718932]

Sometimes I bring a small rice cooker to a con along with small bags of rice (16 servings) and canned/pickled vegetables or fish. Pretty much what I eat at home for breakfast anyway.

[Anonymous No.6718942]

This year for PAX Prime, my friend is taking care of sorting out food stuff before we head down from Canada because she cares about our nutrition than we do, haha, and thank goodness! Planning on buying from Costco and taking them down, and buy any more groceries around Seattle.

So far, we are thinking while at the con:
- granola bars
- fruit leathers
- water bottles

Back at the hotel that has a full kitchen, we may have:
- pancakes
- oatmeal
- fresh fruit
- eggs anything
- bread with peanutbutter/jelly/nutella
- orange juice and/or cranberry juice
- yogurt

When it comes to selecting hotels, I strongly prefer to find a hotel that includes a coffeemaker and fridge, and if it's a microwave or a full kitchen, that's super bonus. At least with a coffeemaker, there is some variety of instant food you can make from it that just require hot water (ie. oatmeal, miso soup, noodle bowls, etc.).

[Anonymous No.6718965]

A rice cooker! Hadn't even thought of that. Wow. That just opened up a whole slew of ideas.

We could also get a pizza one night. Always wanted to use the dominos tracker...

[Anonymous No.6718977]

I like to bring a hot pot to heat water with, and a ton of oatmeal. I avoid ramen while cosplaying, it makes me look bloated.

[Anonymous No.6718982]

>>6718876
I pretty much exclusively eat out at cons, but the only reason I can afford to do this is by having about 8-10 ppl in my hotel room to lower the cost, and by not buying very much con swag. I pretty much keep it limited to buttons and stickers, unless I find something truly awesome.

[Anonymous No.6718992]

It depends on where I'm staying. If it;s a hotel with breakfast included in the price, I'll fill up on that and smuggle out some bread rolls and fruit to graze on throughout the day (I'm a major cheapskate). If food isn't included in the accomodation price, I go grocery shopping the day before I leave and buy a bunch of cheap but substantial things that won;t go off over the weekend, like apples, granola bars and stuff like that. Stuff that isn't too crap but is easy to eat if you have a busy day. I love cons where the accomodation has a kitchen, as then I can make actual meals rather than just eating little and often throughout the con. I also love it if there's a grocery store near to the con, as then I can buy fresh food.
It's probably not the healthiest way to do things, but I find it cheap and convenient and I rarely feel sluggish or bloated.

[Uhi No.6718995]

The only thing I eat during cons is seasoned fries. Usually I'm too excited to be hungry

[Anonymous No.6719003]

I don't want to sound mean but... Do people honestly need help with learning how to feed themselves when they go outside of their parent's house? This thread is bizarre.
Go to a shop, buy some food you like, eat it. What else is there to say?

[Anonymous No.6719008]

>Go to con with friends
>"So, did you guys remember to stock up on food for us?"
>"YOU BET!"
>Get to con
>All the food they brought was Twizzlers, potato chips, Red Bull, pocky, soda and Double Stuff Oreos

[Anonymous No.6719015]

>>6719003
Eating out of a hotel for three days is not the same as "feeding yourself when you go out of your parent's house."

[Anonymous No.6719025]

>>6719003
I think this thread is just to share experiences of eating in and out. When the con comes around, some people are too frazzled to think about the food essentials, and end up eating crap and feeling bad.

I find this thread can be useful, especially if someone is going to stay somewhere beyond the comforts of home, so you manage with what you have at the room or just eat out.

[Anonymous No.6719026]

>>6718922
THIS. Bring a little stovetop and a pot for making one-pot dishes for the group.
Get a bunch of these with some thin beef and green onions and eggs and throw it all together.

[Anonymous No.6719028]

>>6719008
That is... terrible. What are they, in their teens? I can understand having some junk food, but one can't rely solely on junk food to get by.

[Anonymous No.6719031]

>>6719008
My stomach hurts just thinking of that.

[Anonymous No.6719043]

>>6719026
Also to add on this if you have a decent size fridge in your hotel, go to your local asian grocery store before you leave, and grab ingredients for a hotpot and just do that for dinners.

[Anonymous No.6719044]

>>6719028
>>6719031
Yeah, for katsucon. I brought animal crackers, nutella, wheat bread, chicken spread, popcorn, and actually semi non junk food

[Anonymous No.6719049]

>>6719026

I want to do this outside of convention time. Sounds pretty good actually.

[Anonymous No.6719058]

>>6719044
>chicken spread
Oh my goodness, you remind me of making tuna sandwiches. Not a sandwich to bring to the con, I'm sure it'd get funky. Another friend and I had it for dinner/late snack, so good.

On another note, consider picking up/pack utensils and paper bowls/plates if the hotel doesn't have any (usually ones with full kitchens have that covered).

[Anonymous No.6719062]

>>6719003
It's not quite the same. Quite often at a con, the local places have hiked-up prices because it;s a captive audience. You may not be within reasonable walking distance of a reasonably priced eating establishment or grocery store. Some of the cons I've been to have been on university campuses where the grocery stores were closed most of the time because there were no students (and therefore very little/no business).
As a second point, when you've forked out for your con badge, accomodation and transport, you don't really want to be shelling out for overpriced food. So a lot of people prefer to bring their own, which has its own problems. If there's no fridge, you can;t really buy perishable goods. Yes you can fill a basin with cold water but it doesn't work THAT well. You also have to buy things that aren;t going to take up too much room in your luggage (this applies more to those who don;t have access to a car for travelling to the con). You also don;t want things that are difficult to make in case there aren;t facilities to make them.
So yes, some people may have difficulty feeding themselves at a con if they don;t want to eat out at restaurants or buy take-out for every meal.

[Anonymous No.6719079]

Guys, you're going to be at a con for three days, you're going to need your energy to manage yourself, stay healthy and active, and not turn into a fucking bitch.

Pack a cooler, lunchbox size or standard cooler size. Hotels have ice machines for free use, and you can bring ice packs. There is nearly no excuse for eating stupid.

[Anonymous No.6719105]

My go-to portable food is fat free string cheese.
For cons I usually buy something like summer sausage or Beef Jerky as well.

I've never had a room with a microwave or fridge, though.

My problem at cons is that I don't want to leave what I'm doing and get too distracted to eat. So I just grab some sources of protein I can keep in my bag so I won't have blood sugar spikes or get incredi-hungry and need to eat right now.