Whatever happened to the Canberra dinner party?

Dinner parties are always problematic due to food allergies and freegans.

bronal said :

Ghettosmurf87 said :

damian said :

GenX & GenY expect the catering work to be done by others, not themselves. Many wouldn’t know how to cook for a dinner party anyway. They want to be out “being seen” in “cool” places with noisy music, exorbitant prices and easy alcohol on tap.

As opposed to whatever generation Damian is from who prefer to make sweeping generalisations about the populus, bemoan the “youth” of today, lust for the distant past where everything was rose-tinted and are no doubt yelling at passing clouds while they are at it?

Or perhaps, just perhaps, dinner parties were only really a thing for a small subset of society, not something everyone did.

Or perhaps today’s generations are time poor but money rich, so it makes sense to outsource the catering etc to a restaurant so that you can just enjoy your time with your friends, rather than trying to find extra time to set everything up

In using the term ‘dinner party’ I didn’t mean to imply something elaborate or grand (although people did put a fair bit of effort into them). Usually just two or three couples, etc getting together.

Mostly ours with friends are pot luck for 10+ people or making making something simple like tacos or curries.
My mum cooks for 9 for family dinner + attachments once a week and my partners family once a week. Are family dinners counted as dinner parties cos then we hit 2 a week guaranteed.
Doing a regular dinner party for 6 plus people is effort for the host. So for our regular 10 people it’s usually out (once a fortnight) cos finding a house to cater for that for mainly share houses is hard.

bronal said :

In using the term ‘dinner party’ I didn’t mean to imply something elaborate or grand (although people did put a fair bit of effort into them). Usually just two or three couples, etc getting together.

Well, if that’s the case, they happen more often than you might imagine, though it’s not necessarily something that is everyone’s cup of tea.

Ghettosmurf87 said :

damian said :

GenX & GenY expect the catering work to be done by others, not themselves. Many wouldn’t know how to cook for a dinner party anyway. They want to be out “being seen” in “cool” places with noisy music, exorbitant prices and easy alcohol on tap.

As opposed to whatever generation Damian is from who prefer to make sweeping generalisations about the populus, bemoan the “youth” of today, lust for the distant past where everything was rose-tinted and are no doubt yelling at passing clouds while they are at it?

Or perhaps, just perhaps, dinner parties were only really a thing for a small subset of society, not something everyone did.

Or perhaps today’s generations are time poor but money rich, so it makes sense to outsource the catering etc to a restaurant so that you can just enjoy your time with your friends, rather than trying to find extra time to set everything up

In using the term ‘dinner party’ I didn’t mean to imply something elaborate or grand (although people did put a fair bit of effort into them). Usually just two or three couples, etc getting together.

pink little birdie said :

We had 40 friends over for a delicious spit roast on Saturday night.
Usually dinner parties are a weeknight thing. All quite civilized mainly alcohol free and early finishing because work in the morning.

That is an awful lot of car keys to sort through!

damian said :

GenX & GenY expect the catering work to be done by others, not themselves. Many wouldn’t know how to cook for a dinner party anyway. They want to be out “being seen” in “cool” places with noisy music, exorbitant prices and easy alcohol on tap.

As opposed to whatever generation Damian is from who prefer to make sweeping generalisations about the populus, bemoan the “youth” of today, lust for the distant past where everything was rose-tinted and are no doubt yelling at passing clouds while they are at it?

Or perhaps, just perhaps, dinner parties were only really a thing for a small subset of society, not something everyone did.

Or perhaps today’s generations are time poor but money rich, so it makes sense to outsource the catering etc to a restaurant so that you can just enjoy your time with your friends, rather than trying to find extra time to set everything up

bronal said :

dungfungus said :

Was the Bacchus Tavern you are referring to the one in the basement of an office block on the corner of University Avenue and Marcus Clarke Street?
The man-food there was superb. The only better steak in town was at (Angelo’s) Minos Tavern at Griffith shops.
I think I imperilled my liver function at both of these places.
The introduction of the fringe benefits tax saved me.

Not quite (but nearly). It was in the basement of the building that used to be known as the ‘Minter Ellison’ building next to the small car park opposite the Canberra Club building.

That’s the one!
From memory, there was also a great restaurant on the first floor of Canberra House on the Western side. For many years, the Canberra Club ran an superb restaurant as well as the bistro. I haven’t been associated with the Canberra Club since they closed that restaurant.

dungfungus said :

Was the Bacchus Tavern you are referring to the one in the basement of an office block on the corner of University Avenue and Marcus Clarke Street?
The man-food there was superb. The only better steak in town was at (Angelo’s) Minos Tavern at Griffith shops.
I think I imperilled my liver function at both of these places.
The introduction of the fringe benefits tax saved me.

Not quite (but nearly). It was in the basement of the building that used to be known as the ‘Minter Ellison’ building next to the small car park opposite the Canberra Club building.

Was the Bacchus Tavern you are referring to the one in the basement of an office block on the corner of University Avenue and Marcus Clarke Street?
The man-food there was superb. The only better steak in town was at (Angelo’s) Minos Tavern at Griffith shops.
I think I imperilled my liver function at both of these places.
The introduction of the fringe benefits tax saved me.

GenX & GenY expect the catering work to be done by others, not themselves. Many wouldn’t know how to cook for a dinner party anyway. They want to be out “being seen” in “cool” places with noisy music, exorbitant prices and easy alcohol on tap.