WisCon 40

Your new and improved Con Suite!

3 Comments

Con Suite

We have gotten a lot of feedback about how to improve the Con Suite, and we’ve been working hard to incorporate your suggestions to make the Con Suite a great experience for all our members.  The Con Suite is not just about fun and hospitality — though we’re big fans of both! It’s also an important accessibility and affordability measure, because it’s a way we can make Wiscon more financially feasible for people as well as supporting folks with special dietary needs. So here’s what we have in store for you….

What to expect

Grab & Go options! If you’re in a hurry to make that next panel and you need a fast meal, we’ve got you covered. We will offer a small set of one-dish meals and quick, protein-heavy snacks pre-packaged in takeout containers. And they’ll be right by the door so you really can just grab and go!

Meaningful veg*n options! You told us last year that you wanted more vegetarian and vegan options. We heard you, and we’ve got some wonderful plant-based chow in the works! We’re especially excited about Friday night’s aloo saag (spinach and potato curry) and grab and go options like squash and bulgur salad with pumpkin seeds!

Gluten-free snacks and meals! You told us that you wanted more gluten-free (GF) options. You got it! We’ll have gluten-free options at every meal and gluten-free snacks available all the time, too.

Coffee and tea room! Need a pick-me-up? You can get your caffeine on with coffee and tea available from 8am to 1am every day in room 626!

More info about the food! We will post menus on the wall outside of the Con Suite every day. We will also have signs inside listing ingredients.

Changes in the Con Suite hours.  To improve food safety and help us stay organized to serve you better, the Con Suite will close for cleaning twice a day on Saturday and Sunday, 2pm – 4pm and 7:30pm – 8:00pm. the Con Suite will also be closed during Opening Ceremonies, Guest of Honor speeches, and award ceremonies so our volunteers don’t miss out. But we’re also open later! We’ll have snacks and drinks available until 1am Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. If this seems complicated, not to worry! the Con Suite hours will be posted outside the room and by registration on the 2nd Floor.

Comfier, more accessible space.  We want to make sure everyone can get in and out of the Con Suite easily when it’s crowded, so everyone can get what they need and then get where they need to go. So we’ll have smaller tables and more open floor space. And we’ll have a dedicated zig-zag blue tape accessibility lane that leads straight to the main meal service area. We ask that, like in the 6th Floor hallway, all members keep that lane open and available for folks trying to get something to eat rather than just hang out. There is plenty of socializing space in the rest of the the Con Suite, and we welcome you to hang out with us there as much as you like. To make it easier to understand where everything is, we will also have signs up pointing the way to our different service areas — meals, snacks, drinks, et cetera.

We hope these changes will make the Con Suite more welcoming, comfortable, and accessible for everyone. We want to keep getting better, so we welcome your continued feedback! We’ll have a suggestion box in the the Con Suite, and please keep an eye out in June for an email with our post-con survey. See you in the the Con Suite!

Menus for the weekend

Grab & Go (pre-packed in take out containers)

  • Cheezy pasta salad (vegan)
  • Squash & bulgur with pepitas (vegetarian)
  • Turkey & parmesan pasta salad
  • Two-bean quinoa salad (vegan, GF)
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Hummus

Daily Breakfast

  • Coffee & tea
  • Bagels
  • Cream cheese & Tofutti spread (dairy free, vegan, & gluten free)
  • Doughnuts & Kringle
  • Cereal
  • Instant oatmeal
  • Hard boiled eggs

Friday dinner

  • Chicago style Italian beef on rolls (GF rolls available) MOVED TO SATURDAY LUNCH
  • Aloo saag/spinach & potato curry (vegan, GF) MOVED TO SATURDAY LUNCH
  • Ian’s Pizza! Expect a mix of the weird and mundane, including GF and vegan pizzas.
  • Creole roasted sweet potatoes (vegan, GF)
  • Gingered veggies (vegan, GF)

Saturday lunch

  • Chicago style Italian beef on rolls (GF rolls available) Moved from Friday dinner
  • Aloo saag/spinach & potato curry (vegan, GF) Moved from Friday dinner
  • Potato salad (vegetarian, GF)
  • Three bean salad (vegan & GF)
  • Carrot slaw (vegan & GF)
  • Jerk tofu (vegan, GF)
  • Turkey & ham cold cuts MOVED TO SATURDAY DINNER
  • Sliced cheese
  • Sandwich bread (including GF bread)
  • Sunbutter (nut free)
  • Peanut butter
  • Jams & jellies

Saturday dinner

  • Ian’s Pizza! Expect a mix of the weird and mundane, including GF and vegan pizzas.  MOVED TO FRIDAY DINNER
  • Turkey & ham cold cuts Moved from Saturday lunch
  • Garlic lovers pasta salad (vegetarian, GF)
  • Kale (vegan GF)

Sunday lunch

  • Potato salad (vegetarian, GF)
  • Curried potato salad (vegan, GF),
  • Kale (vegan, GF)
  • Jerk tofu (vegan GF)
  • Turkey & ham cold cuts
  • Sliced cheese
  • Sandwich bread (including GF bread)
  • Sunbutter (nut free)
  • Peanut butter
  • Jams & jellies

Sunday dinner

  • Chili night (beef & vegan)
  • Maple roasted vegetables (vegan & GF)

Monday lunch

  • Potato salad (vegetarian, GF)
  • Curried potato salad (vegan, GF)
  • Carrot slaw (vegan, GF)
  • Jerk tofu (vegan GF)
  • Turkey & ham cold cuts
  • Sliced cheese
  • Sandwich bread (including GF bread)
  • Sunbutter (nut free)
  • Peanut butter
  • Jams & jellies

Staples available all day

  • Popcorn (butter, cheese corn & kettle corn)
  • Potato chips & pretzels
  • Assorted cookies (including GF)
  • Assorted candy
  • Assorted fruit
  • Raw veggies
  • Pop Tarts
  • Crackers (including GF varieties)
  • Sandwich bread (including Udi’s GF bread)
  • Sunbutter (nut free)
  • Peanut butter
  • Jams & jellies
  • Assorted sodas & fizzy water

3 thoughts on “Your new and improved Con Suite!”

  1. The menus look good, but just wondering – for those of us with food allergies – will a full list of ingredients be available?

    I know there are many people with wheat, milk, soy, and nut allergies (I’m not one of them), but I generally avoid almost all vegetarian and vegan-friendly offerings because I am highly allergic to Bell Peppers, and over the years I have run across several prepared foods that list everything BUT bell peppers in the ingredients.

    This is one of the reasons I’ve stuck pretty much to the hot dogs in the Con Suite in years past. I understand the reasons for not having hot dogs, and I agree with them – I just have to be real careful with what I eat.

    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Food allergies & prepared food can be difficult to navigate. Our goal is to have full ingredient lists for everything we serve in the Con Suite.

      Willy Street Co-Op is providing most of our side dishes including vegetarian and vegan items. They are providing us with complete ingredient lists for everything we buy from them. There will be table top ingredient lists & a binder which will have lists for all the meals so you can plan in advance. The ingredient lists from the pre-packaged food we buy will also be in the binder.

      I can tell you up front that the chili on Sunday night will have green peppers (they’re in the seasoning mix). On Friday the Italian beef & spinach curry both don’t have bell peppers. Saturday the pizzas from Ian’s will have a variety of toppings. I have just e-mailed them to see if they can give us complete ingredient lists. I imagine that bell peppers might be lurking in one of their sauces.

      I hope that this information will help you find things that you can eat in the Con Suite.

      Reply

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