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Dine Around – Dish on Local Cuisine

Dine-arounds are informal dinners at local restaurants that provide an opportunity for networking, stimulating conversation and peer learning. They have been a staple for meeting planners who must feed a crowd. Dine-arounds are an intimate way for meeting and event groups to engage, not only with each other but with the host destination.

Location, Location, Location

Most event destinations offer a central area or neighborhood that works well for dine-arounds. Many times, that’s downtown where many restaurants can be found in central walkable area, which minimizes transportation needs. The best place to start when planning a dine-around, is your local Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, or Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau. These event destination experts know their city best and are often willing to help plan a dine-around free of charge. Event Destination Experts are not only familiar with the best geographic area but often also have established relationships with the restaurants in the event area that require reserving space and are knowledgeable of the menus and price point to plan your budget, saving you time and money.

Take the Dine-Around to Attendees

If your event destination is better suited for a single local event location, take the dine-around to your attendees. This provides a great way for attendees to mingle and taste local specialties in one location. Start by sourcing a meeting venue or event space that allows offsite catering. Host a variety of local food trucks, restaurants, or catering companies offering small plate catering stations of cuisine unique to your location.

Local Cuisine Experience

Dine-arounds can highlight regional cuisine that allows event attendees to experience menus they can’t savor anywhere else.

Planning an event in Colorado? Consider serving the legendary Rocky Mountain Oysters.
Planning an event in Iowa? Consider serving the celebrated Iowa breaded pork chop sandwich.
Planning an event in Minnesota? Consider serving the infamous Juicy Lucy hamburger.
Planning an event in Wisconsin? Home of fried cheese, you must be amiss to not include fried curds.

Casey Romano, Publisher | meetingpages | casey@meetingpages.com

Creator of digital platform meetingpages complete event planning directory and resource delivering leads and national, regional and local exposure for event venues, suppliers and destinations in MN, WI, IA & CO markets. In her free time, this 19 year industry veteran enjoys dance, group fitness, and training her young golden retriever dog in competition obedience and confirmation.