Tradeshow Food

A week from today I will (hopefully) be in Las Vegas getting my booth set up and ready to go for the show that starts a week from tomorrow. Today the better half and I took all my tradeshow stuff down to my workspace and got it set up on the pallet and ready to be picked up tomorrow. If everything goes according to plan, it will be in my booth waiting for me when I get off the plane next week.

So now I need to refocus my tradeshow energy on an equally important piece of tradeshows - FOOD. In the past this hasn't been a major concern because I've typically had another person helping me in the booth which meant one of us could go out in search of food that was relatively healthy and not too expensive for lunch. This year I'm by my lonesome so I'm having to do a little pre-trip planning. The Las Vegas show actually isn't too bad with regards to food. My better half will be in Las Vegas next week as well for business of his own and can always get me food if needed. And in Vegas you can pretty much find anything you're looking for. Granted, it's going to cost you, but if you want a smoothie to start the day off because you just can't choke down any more carbs then you can have your smoothie. It'll cost you $8 but that's the price you have to pay on the fruit hunt.

I'm actually trying to use the Las Vegas tradeshow as a dry run for the Chicago show in early October. But, I hear you saying, Chicago has great restaurants and amazing food! And it does. I spent 2 years there for grad school and know that the city is a veritable foodie paradise. However, while the show is advertised as being in Chicago, it's actually in Rosemont which, if you're not familiar with it, is the "middle earth" area right around the airport. And if you're like me and too damn cheap to rent a car, that leaves you with VERY limited eating options. Toss in the fact I don't eat red meat (in a section of Illinois that still prides themselves on their meat packing heritage) and I'm almost completely S$*t out of luck!

As such, I've made up my shopping list of food I'm going to bring with me to Las Vegas to test out my 'nutrition' plan. Like any endurance event, nutrition is key and tradeshows are no exception. I'm going to bring some pretzel rolls for bread and some sliced turkey and cheese to make sandwiches with every day and bring to the show for lunch. Toss in an apple a day as well. Then I'm also hoping to bring some of my very favorite Gary Poppins popcorn in White Cheddar flavor: http://www.garypoppins.com/. Seriously delicious! And that should take care of the salt fix. And then toss in some Chukar Cherries: http://www.chukar.com/ and I've got the chocolate/sweet fix figured out as well. Since they have cherries in them do you think the Chukars also count as fruit?

I'm hoping this plan will help keep me fed and in good humor during the day. Night dining in Vegas is easy. Chicago (c'mon - it's Rosemont!) will be another story alltogether. Now if I could just figure out a bathroom plan since I'll be manning the booth by myself...