Burger van

[Darlo_Manc]

Forget promotion, forget getting our own stadium in Darlington, forget results and performances on the pitch, forget having a football club to follow at all, what ACTUALLY matters is the quality of burgers from a burger van, how "busy" our home shirts look, and the shameless adding of 20 fucking pence to our matchday programme.

I despair at times.

Especially considering the proximity of HP to other places selling food, plenty of choice. Don't like the burger van then don't use it.

Like you say, always find something to snipe at the club about.

[Spyman]

Forget promotion, forget getting our own stadium in Darlington, forget results and performances on the pitch, forget having a football club to follow at all, what ACTUALLY matters is the quality of burgers from a burger van, how "busy" our home shirts look, and the shameless adding of 20 fucking pence to our matchday programme.

I despair at times.

Precisely.

I fucking despair at the state of some of our support, picking apart every single decision, criticising every move.

Funnily enough, these criticisms normally relate to price and that age old sense of entitlement that seems rife among Darlo folk.

Someone actually commented that they won't be using the van again because it didn't do chips. Get a fucking grip.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[lo36789]

Don't like the burger van then don't use it.

Might do a few waistlines a favour at the same time...

[Maurice_Peddelty]

The adverse comments mainly relate to the burger van - I didn't use it, so I can't comment. However, I did have the pie(homemade) and peas from the beer tent and they were excellent. The price (£3.50) might be a bit steep for some for a mid-afternoon snack but for me it was a late lunch and it certainly did the trick. They also do hot roast roast beef buns at £2.50. Again didn't try, so can't comment.

[poppyfield]

I'm not getting into this again.

It's a burger van at the end of the day and we need to promote the club in the best possible professional way as we all possibly can - for the benefit of the club and no one else.

Surely the provision of decent food is a key aspect of club promotion. I recollect my sister and brother in law from the states coming with me to football game. They told me that in the states, even at minor league level food is a massive part of the minor league 'matchday experience' and I think we need to recognise that people come to games for a variety of reasons. I was brought up on pathetically awful facilities at Blackburn but it didn't bother me as all that mattered to me was what went on between the white lines and still does. Things are different now and we can't get away with second rate service.

The unadulterated feedback I have had on facilities is that (i) the cheesburger was utterly rubbish (ii) no chips - huge mistake for a high margin product, (iii) the burger on its own was fine albeit basic and the beer tent was excellent. The programme received positive comments. I intend to pass these comments onto the club as we need to get this right.

I agree food is an important part the match day experience, i did buy a coffee
from the van, but i did not like the look of the food, so i didnt buy anything, the van looked tatty and not that clean. in this day and age we expect things to be of a better quality, its everyones choice though.

[Darlo_Pete]

Food is too expensive now at home games, especially if you have 2 or 3 kids with you. I went to the Sainsbury's petrol station on Saturday and told my step daughter that she could have one chocolate bar. Much cheaper than a naff burger.

[Robbie Painter]

Forget promotion, forget getting our own stadium in Darlington, forget results and performances on the pitch, forget having a football club to follow at all, what ACTUALLY matters is the quality of burgers from a burger van, how "busy" our home shirts look, and the shameless adding of 20 fucking pence to our matchday programme.

I despair at times.

Precisely.

I fucking despair at the state of some of our support, picking apart every single decision, criticising every move.

Funnily enough, these criticisms normally relate to price and that age old sense of entitlement that seems rife among Darlo folk.

Someone actually commented that they won't be using the van again because it didn't do chips. Get a fucking grip.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

I can't comment because I didn't have any food/drink at HP on Saturday but I'm sick of posters slagging off people that raise legitimate complaints.

Price matters. Quality matters. Yes complaining about 20p extra on a programme is ridiculous but the cost/quality of food is important.

[DarloOnTheUp]

Forget promotion, forget getting our own stadium in Darlington, forget results and performances on the pitch, forget having a football club to follow at all, what ACTUALLY matters is the quality of burgers from a burger van, how "busy" our home shirts look, and the shameless adding of 20 fucking pence to our matchday programme.

I despair at times.

Precisely.

I fucking despair at the state of some of our support, picking apart every single decision, criticising every move.

Funnily enough, these criticisms normally relate to price and that age old sense of entitlement that seems rife among Darlo folk.

Someone actually commented that they won't be using the van again because it didn't do chips. Get a fucking grip.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

I can't comment because I didn't have any food/drink at HP on Saturday but I'm sick of posters slagging off people that raise legitimate complaints.

Price matters. Quality matters. Yes complaining about 20p extra on a programme is ridiculous but the cost/quality of food is important.

I haven't slagged off anyone who has made a legitimate complaint.

[PaulMJohnson]

Surely the provision of decent food is a key aspect of club promotion. I recollect my sister and brother in law from the states coming with me to football game. They told me that in the states, even at minor league level food is a massive part of the minor league 'matchday experience' and I think we need to recognise that people come to games for a variety of reasons.

You're not comparing like with like though. Your sister and brother-in-law are right, the food at minor league level is important (I regularly go to watch the San Jose Giants baseball team - effectively in the 4th division and the food is great), but all American sports are stop/start affairs, which means people can realistically be going for food/drink all the time during the game.

With football it's different. There's 15 minutes when the food stalls would do good business, then the rest of the time be empty. How much time should the clubs spend on something that will be used for so little of the time.

It's also worth noting that at the San Jose Earthquakes games (Major League Soccer, so effectively their Premiership(!)) the food is shite, for the same reason it's not really a priority at English games - there's not much time to use it.

This whole thread is a little ridiculous. If the reason you went to the game on Saturday (i.e. the football) was crap, complain. Anything else is just fluff.

[DarloOnTheUp]

I'm glad someone brought this up.

The burger van is only a small symptom of a much bigger problem, I bought a bacon sandwich from that so called burger van today and it was too dry, very poor value for money at £2.50. This coupled with the fact that the price at the gate was raised by £1 with out me knowing, it seems just as we take a step forward on the pitch we take two back.

I also resent paying an extra 20p for a match day programme, again poor value for money as it looks exactly the same as last seasons.

Very poor service by the club, I personally question the need for a burger van it is clearly a needless drain on finances to hire, theres a KFC and supermarkets outside, we don't need it. Get rid.

And another point: first you complain about the van, then you say we don't need it because it's a) a drain on resources and b) there are other food sources nearby.

Well then how about you do my brain a favour and get your food from these other sources if the quality/price from the burger van is so fucking life altering, and let the club decide if the van is a drain on resources or not!

[Quakerz]

I can't comment because I didn't have any food/drink at HP on Saturday but I'm sick of posters slagging off people that raise legitimate complaints.

Price matters. Quality matters. Yes complaining about 20p extra on a programme is ridiculous but the cost/quality of food is important.

Totally agree with the bolded bit.

However...

This is whingy, predictable Darlo folk we are on about here. People who always seem to want something for nowt. Are their price/quality criticisms even legitimate?

I had a large hot dog on Saturday, it cost me £2.20. That doesn't seem particularly expensive or over the top to me. It's what you pay, and more, when you eat out. It is what it is.

[Jazz Maverick]

Half of these knicker twisting dullards seem to genuinely think food inside a sports ground should be priced the same as a normal high street outlet.

It's impossible to argue a point properly with people who have such a limited understanding of how the world works.

[AndyPark]

Only at Darlo could people sit and whinge about a fucking burger van rather than a home win!

[PaulMJohnson]

Half of these knicker twisting dullards seem to genuinely think food inside a sports ground should be priced the same as a normal high street outlet.

It's impossible to argue a point properly with people who have such a limited understanding of how the world works.

Absolutely right. It sounds like the cost here is not massively different to the cost of a Big Mac, which I believe is about £3 now. That's not bad when you're a captive market in a sports ground.

Compare with what I put up with in the US. A Big Mac here is $4.56 at the moment, yet you wouldn't get a burger for less than $9 at any sports event.

There are a number of people in Darlington who's mentality is whine first, ask questions later.

[Jazz Maverick]

Half of these knicker twisting dullards seem to genuinely think food inside a sports ground should be priced the same as a normal high street outlet.

It's impossible to argue a point properly with people who have such a limited understanding of how the world works.

Absolutely right. It sounds like the cost here is not massively different to the cost of a Big Mac, which I believe is about £3 now. That's not bad when you're a captive market in a sports ground.

Compare with what I put up with in the US. A Big Mac here is $4.56 at the moment, yet you wouldn't get a burger for less than $9 at any sports event.

There are a number of people in Darlington who's mentality is whine first, ask questions later.

I find it incredibly hit and miss in the US with sports food and pricing. It can be cheap and excellent or expensive and wank.

My family live in NC - food and drink at Bank of America stadium during a NFL game is extortionate and a bit wank, but at least the portions are huge. On the flip side the food is excellent at Durham Bulls stadium (AAA league i think?) and pretty reasonable and also well tasty (fresh BBQ on the concourse no less!).

[PaulMJohnson]

I find it incredibly hit and miss in the US with sports food and pricing. It can be cheap and excellent or expensive and wank.

My family live in NC - food and drink at Bank of America stadium during a NFL game is extortionate and a bit wank, but at least the portions are huge. On the flip side the food is excellent at Durham Bulls stadium (AAA league i think?) and pretty reasonable and also well tasty (fresh BBQ on the concourse no less!).

The food at the San Francisco Giants is notable in being both staggeringly expensive (food for two and a beer each and you're not going to spend less than $50) but also staggeringly good. Go over the Bay to the Oakland A's, and it's cheap and "functional"!

Where we really hit the jackpot is at the hockey (San Jose Sharks). It's expensive, but they do a beef sandwich that is as good as I've had anywhere. The challenge there is to only eat one of them!

[shawry]

Only at Darlo could people sit and whinge about a fucking burger van rather than a home win!

Surely if they want to whinge about a home win then there is an even bigger issue?

I thought the point of the burger vans were that they werent a drain on our resources at all? we make money, then the retailer charges what they like/need?

The problem is that based on last years prices, then its a bit of a hike, coupled with the lack of the 'oh so important' chips people will complain.

Now, knowing the club would have got at least £8,400 for our league games (if we used the same supplier as last year, and assuming the figures in this thread are true) then at least we can say the club is getting more than that for absolutely no effort, meaning we need 50 less season tickets to break even.

[princes town]

Surely the provision of decent food is a key aspect of club promotion. I recollect my sister and brother in law from the states coming with me to football game. They told me that in the states, even at minor league level food is a massive part of the minor league 'matchday experience' and I think we need to recognise that people come to games for a variety of reasons.

You're not comparing like with like though. Your sister and brother-in-law are right, the food at minor league level is important (I regularly go to watch the San Jose Giants baseball team - effectively in the 4th division and the food is great), but all American sports are stop/start affairs, which means people can realistically be going for food/drink all the time during the game.

With football it's different. There's 15 minutes when the food stalls would do good business, then the rest of the time be empty. How much time should the clubs spend on something that will be used for so little of the time.

It's also worth noting that at the San Jose Earthquakes games (Major League Soccer, so effectively their Premiership(!)) the food is shite, for the same reason it's not really a priority at English games - there's not much time to use it.

This whole thread is a little ridiculous. If the reason you went to the game on Saturday (i.e. the football) was crap, complain. Anything else is just fluff.

thanks - I'm sure the comparison is flawed. I do recollect to my horror my US family missing the first 20 minutes of the second half because they were scoffing so it sort of alerted me to the 'food part of the deal' in the american sporting psyche. Doesn't matter how good the burger is I wouldn't miss one minute of football but I also recognise that food and drink are a key part of the craic for many. Keep it simple but good is my motto with football food. For example, the pies they used to serve at feethams when I first started going in 1992 were damn decent. So it doesn't have to be over-fancy.

[quaker4life]

Nice to things are as they were on here.

I'm glad someone brought this up.

The burger van is only a small symptom of a much bigger problem, I bought a bacon sandwich from that so called burger van today and it was too dry, very poor value for money at £2.50. This coupled with the fact that the price at the gate was raised by £1 with out me knowing, it seems just as we take a step forward on the pitch we take two back.

I also resent paying an extra 20p for a match day programme, again poor value for money as it looks exactly the same as last seasons.

Very poor service by the club, I personally question the need for a burger van it is clearly a needless drain on finances to hire, theres a KFC and supermarkets outside, we don't need it. Get rid.

And another point: first you complain about the van, then you say we don't need it because it's a) a drain on resources and b) there are other food sources nearby.

Well then how about you do my brain a favour and get your food from these other sources if the quality/price from the burger van is so fucking life altering, and let the club decide if the van is a drain on resources or not!

You gullible man.

[quaker4life]

And another thing why does that league table on here say we're second when we're bloody fourth! Get it sorted out!

[Spyman]

Forget promotion, forget getting our own stadium in Darlington, forget results and performances on the pitch, forget having a football club to follow at all, what ACTUALLY matters is the quality of burgers from a burger van, how "busy" our home shirts look, and the shameless adding of 20 fucking pence to our matchday programme.

I despair at times.

Precisely.

I fucking despair at the state of some of our support, picking apart every single decision, criticising every move.

Funnily enough, these criticisms normally relate to price and that age old sense of entitlement that seems rife among Darlo folk.

Someone actually commented that they won't be using the van again because it didn't do chips. Get a fucking grip.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

I can't comment because I didn't have any food/drink at HP on Saturday but I'm sick of posters slagging off people that raise legitimate complaints.

Price matters. Quality matters. Yes complaining about 20p extra on a programme is ridiculous but the cost/quality of food is important.

No, fair point.

But I've never (or not from what I remember) been to a football ground, or any similar place, where I've felt the food offering was a) good food, or b) good value.

I've also never noticed much variation in quality.

Without having experienced it first hand, I find it hard to believe there is much difference in quality between the old and new vans, which leads me to think that this is another case of people with hidden agendas.

If the food/price is that bad, either the standard will improve, the price will drop, or he'll get no trade.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[Bogratsteve]

To be fair the curry and chips last year was top notch scran on a cold winters night and was very popular but hardly worth getting in a twist over.

[loan_star]

I find it incredibly hit and miss in the US with sports food and pricing. It can be cheap and excellent or expensive and wank.

My family live in NC - food and drink at Bank of America stadium during a NFL game is extortionate and a bit wank, but at least the portions are huge. On the flip side the food is excellent at Durham Bulls stadium (AAA league i think?) and pretty reasonable and also well tasty (fresh BBQ on the concourse no less!).

The food at the San Francisco Giants is notable in being both staggeringly expensive (food for two and a beer each and you're not going to spend less than $50) but also staggeringly good. Go over the Bay to the Oakland A's, and it's cheap and "functional"!

Where we really hit the jackpot is at the hockey (San Jose Sharks). It's expensive, but they do a beef sandwich that is as good as I've had anywhere. The challenge there is to only eat one of them!

The food on offer at New York Red Bulls was overpriced and not up to much too, in fact similar to the stuff usually on offer at football matches here. Last seasons offering was quite good but even they didnt get it right first time. The new lot deserve a chance and I'm sure they'll work on any feedback they get.

[WeAreDFC]

This thread has more posts than the one about the actual match.

[Lawman3]

That's mostly due to the people complaining about people complaining. Time to move on I think.

[charlie]

Not knowing how to post pics on here, just seen an interesting titbit on twitter Stevenage FC sell cheesy chips for £4 and for your money you get a small portion of frozen fried chips with a processed cheese slice dumped on top

[PaulMJohnson]

For example, the pies they used to serve at feethams when I first started going in 1992 were damn decent. So it doesn't have to be over-fancy.

Oh yeah, those pies were excellent! The peas seemed to be radioactive green as well. Awesome!

In my memory, I've got it that they were Taylors pies, but it's quite possible I'm making that up.

[anus]

I'd like to see us selling savouries in a bun..the same ones they do in the indoor market. They'll be cheap to make,they'll sell well and they taste lovely. The only downside is they make you Fart but that should help create more noise in the tin shed and the main stand. Everyone's a winner.

[charlie]

I'd like to see us selling savouries in a bun..the same ones they do in the indoor market. They'll be cheap to make,they'll sell well and they taste lovely. The only downside is they make you Fart but that should help create more noise in the tin shed and the main stand. Everyone's a winner.

Lol actually Sam from the diner has just seen the pic of the cheesy chips and said she needs a savoury trailer lol

[anus]

I've just noticed the same company offer a full English breakfast for a quid! Surely these guys should be drafted in ASAP. Instead of paying £3.50 for a burnt pie and illuminous peas..for the same price fans can enjoy a sausage,2 rashers of bacon,beans an egg and a pint of beer. Either that or a gas inducing savoury. Hopefully the board will take note!