Freepers are making hay with this lunch story....

[nose pin]

Please don't kill the messenger (me). Just giving a heads up.

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/KerryEdwards_menu-31Jul04.htm

Was the real lunch choice Wendy’s or fine dine

While Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards, and their families were having a “lite” lunch at Wendy’s in the Town of Newburgh Friday, drumming up local support right after the national convention in Boston, their real lunches were waiting on their bus.

A member of the Kerry advance team called Nikola’s Restaurant at the Newburgh Yacht Club the night before and ordered 19 five-star lunches to go that would be picked up at noon Friday. Management at the restaurant, which is operated by CIA graduate chef Michael Dederick, was told the meals would be for the Kerry and Edwards families and actor Ben Affleck who was with them on the tour.

The gourmet meals to go included shrimp vindallo, grilled diver sea scallops, prosciutto, wrapped stuffed chicken, and steak salad. The meals came to about $200.

The entourage had also expected to stop at the Alexis Diner at Route 9W and North Plank Road in the Town of Newburgh. In fact, the Kerry advance team had ordered 125 lunches for the team and supporters. Their buses drove right by the diner on I-84 and proceeded straight to Wendy’s.

snip (only one more small paragraph snipped to comply with usage rules)

[BlueStateGirl]

1. So, the total for 19 "gourmet lunches" was $200?? That's less than $10

a lunch! Wow.

Wonder how often their boy has dined at Wendy's over the course of his life?

[nose pin]

4. I know

That's pretty cheap for a Yaght Club lunch. I should check that place out some time.

[MsUnderstood]

I think it is $200 per meal

With a name like Yacht club and the items on the plates, it doesn't sound like $10 a plate. . .

[BlueStateGirl]

9. LOL!. You're probably correct, but the article isn't clear. I just reread

the article and was thinking you can't get a Chicken Caesar salad for less than $10 these days.

[nose pin]

12. I pay 10 bucks

for a crappy Chinese buffet lunch....

[shanti]

20. it specifically says

"the MEALS" came to $200.

[DIBL]

22. It's $16-20 per entree. Do some googling...

http://cityguide.pojonews.com/fe/Dining/stories/dn_nikolas.asp

Given that some of the people had already eaten at Wendy's, it's fair to assume that some those expensive "meals" ordered were simply salads or soups that cost less than $10. The total must have been somewhere in the $200-300 range for the entire order.

Sounds like the Kerry people have a good taste in restaurants.

[VOX]

24. I did this (see #19 below), but original poster now thinks it's $200/per.

I say that it's not possible, unless you eat like a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

WTF???? :shrug:

[Cocoa]

2. they're millionaires

they eat really well, I think everyone knows that.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. Honestly, this along with the bogus terra alert is all they got.

[Liberal Veteran]

5. I'm sure Laura and Grandma Bush slave over a hot stove for hours....

...to produce meals worthy of the little emperor and his father.

[Mr_Spock]

6. Yawn. 1) where's the story? 2) how is this "new" or "news"

Yawn.

[BloodyWilliam]

7. $200 plates are scandals, but $10,000 plates aren't?

[Wickerman]

8. Sounds like light fair

you wouldn't make it through a presidential election campaign as the front runner if you survived on Wendy's. Never miss a chance to bash...

[olddem43]

10. They have a lot of staff that have to eat also.

Maybe they had the gourmet meals. This is crap anyway. I'm sure if Sen. and Mrs. Edwards go to Wendy's every year, they eat what they get. What's next - checking the candidates excrement to analyze what they do eat?

[mdmc]

11. wow, how did you find this info?

mid hudson news is pretty small! Nikola's is really only 1/2 a star at best. Still expensive.

[nose pin]

13. Two RW sites

freepville, and the site which cannot be named.

[mdmc]

15. well , feel free to post back

that it was 200.00 bucks for all the food, and that the yatch club is lame, middle class tripe.

[nose pin]

17. I don't post at either

Just recon lurking.

[mdmc]

14. and it was 10 bucks per meal

not a big deal at all.

[koopie57]

16. well

I think they were entitled to a celebratory dinner after the week they put in. And I wonder how much they actually get to eat in a public restaurant like Hardees. And maybe Ben Affleck ordered it as a thank you or anyone supporting them with a bit of money. I'm glad that all the freepers have to grumble about it an uneaten meal or splurging on a celebratory dinner.

These freepers don't seem like the smartest critters, I wonder why in the world they would be so loyal to bush. Do they think they are the "haves" or the "have mores".

[Clyde39]

18. Why do Freepers only focus on fluff and junk?

Maybe it's because if they found out the truth about their beloved Bush Co. they might have to actually think about the real issues!

[VOX]

19. This is a goddamn lie. Entrees at Nikola's are $16-$20...

http://www.pojonews.com/enjoy/reviews/nikolas.htm

How in the hell does each individual rack up another $180 for lunch at this restaurant?

This is bullshit.

[nose pin]

21. $19 for a bowl of chowder?

The menu in the article could easily rack up to 200.

[VOX]

23. $200 per person??? For lunch??? No way, unless you eat like Fat Bastard.

Say, for argument's sake, $20 for chowder. $20 for an entree. Say another $20 for another entree. And say $10 for dessert and $10 for a beverage. I make that $80, and at that point, you'd be so full that you'd have to go out and puke.

The lunches in the article were probably **servings** sufficient for 19 people, and that usually means a price break.

[TexasSissy]

25. Obvious - It was only the Edwards family that ate lunch @ Wendy's.

The rest of the crew obviously opted for something else.

I wouldn't want to eat at Wendy's, either. Just because John and Elizabeth eat there every year for their anniversary doesn't mean everyone else has to.

It never crossed my mind that EVERYONE in the campaign had eaten there. And the photo I saw showed only John & Liz and one of the little ones.

[latebloomer]

26. Wouldn't you?

I'd take the menu at Nikola's, if I could. The Wendy's thing may be a tradition, but the Edwards' have probably realized that shit'll kill you. Maybe they saw "Supersize Me".