Best Snack Food?
 

Sorry if this has been brought up before.

Anyway, I'm bout to be starting up a weekly or twice a weekly home game with a couple friends. What is everyone's opinion on the best type of snack food to have available for these? The cheaper the better... looking for snacks CVS or places might have, or something really easy to make. Thanks.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

Popcorn, pretzels, nuts. Easy to handle during games.

Make your guests bring their own snacks.

JMB

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

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Popcorn, pretzels, nuts. Easy to handle during games.

Make your guests bring their own snacks.

JMB

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Problem with popcorn and nuts is they make people's hands greasy and then the cards and chips.
I'd just buy beer for everyone. Sure you'll have to deal with the 'occasional' spill, but people won't play as well since they'll be drunk. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

From my unscientific testing it seems that potato chips (specifically Ruffles) beat out pretzels, peanuts, and chips and salsa. YMMV.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

I'm afraid that, from a messy standpoint, it barely matters what the snack is. Somebody will find a way to get it on the cards and chips and it's gonna be all over the floor no matter what.

Making your own is less expensive than buying, but will you have the time (or ability)?

Best bang for buck/time is popcorn, and I mean the real thing, actually using the stove.

In our home game, we have several regular contributors in the snack department. Some players mooch, some players bring what storebought stuff they can, some players bring leftovers from work. and some bring fantastic homemade delicacies. It all works out on average, and it's a rare night when players go home hungry.

I'd list a menu, but that'd so give away my identity to any other players in my game who visit here. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

Avoid anything that is greasy, that melts, or is coated with seasonings. Makes for a messy table.

Easiest is unsalted peanuts and pretzels.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

Dorritos Munchie Mix is the best snack.

It has a combination of Sun Chips, Dorritos, Rold Gold Pretzels and Cheesies.

It's a little powdery on account of the cheese products, but there is very little grease.

It also has something that everyone likes to eat while drinking beer.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

Thanks, I'll keep all these in mind. For the first night, we went with tortilla chips and salsa. It was good, and there was suprisingly little spillage.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

homemade chex mix!
i also love cape cod chips. unfortunetly, both of the above= costly.

maybe homemade cookies? yummm (and beer!)

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

Forget the mess factor. Grill some wings or drummies, make it an official break, then clean up before playing more.

And the beer will spill on the felt eventually. That's poker.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

Glad to hear it went well. Salsa is delicious, and if you try to keep the food off the table spills should hurt too bad.

I'm sure it's been said before but I HATE when people have drinks on the table, and I hate poker tables with built in cupholders. Just my opinion.

JMB

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

Avoid stuff that sticks to your fingers and mucks up the deck

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

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Avoid stuff that sticks to your fingers and mucks up the deck

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This is key.

The grilling wings idea should be good if people are willing to stay away from the table for that long. Seems like the losing players never want to stop playing.

As far as drinks go, we use napkins for coasters, so far its okay. Trying to limit the drinks to just light stuff like seltzer and water.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

Believe it or not, I have found sushi to be one of the best poker foods to serve. Also, some of the dim-sum chinese varieties are extremely popular.

The reason sushi works so well is that
1) it is finger food
2) it is non-greasy and non messy, you eat it in one bite
3) the fiery hot wasabi pumps people up and is always a fun point of discussion
4) it can be made for a fraction of the cost of purchasing.

I have also served dim sum, which includes dumplings, wantans, and eggrolls, however, these usually take more prep work and time.

If you host alot of poker games, it might be worth it to buy a deep fryer at Target or Walmart. You can buy packaged of deep-fry foods, such as chicken wings, mozarella sticks, mushrooms, onion rings, french fries, etc.
Keep 'em in the freezer, and when they ask for snacks, heat up the fryer and drop em in.

dim-sum is very popular. You usually can buy bag fulls of pork filled buns, egg rolls, spring rolls, vietnamese rice rolls, dumplings, won tons at an asian store for very cheap. They are either served deep fried or boiled. They are, for the most part, a finger food and people just love asian food nowadays.

For a real shocking opener, try serving 1000 year old eggs. They are preserved duck eggs and sell at the China store for like $4. They aren't 1000 years old, although when you walk into the Chinese food store, you will smell things that smell as if they are 1000 years old.

www.foodnetwork.com has some party ideas, and directions for rolling your own sushi. Stick to cooked items and California rolls, as most people wont eat anything raw.
You'll be surprised how far a package of sea-weed wrappers, a bag of rice, and a bottle of vinegar go. You can make like 100 pieces for under $20. Buy canned sea food, like salmon, tuna, or crab meat, mix it with mayonaise and serve it aka California roll.

just some thoughts

-J

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

You have got to be kidding. Show up at one of our games with sushi and I don't think you would ever hear the end of it.

California game?

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

Yeah, at my game no one would play until it was all gone.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

You, sir, are a good man.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

sushi. yum.

I need lunch - NOW!

Can I come to your game?

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

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You have got to be kidding. Show up at one of our games with sushi and I don't think you would ever hear the end of it.

California game?

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Sushi was invented by Japanese gamblers to keep the cards clean while gambling.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

I figured that post would draw some curious responses. Here's a little info:

You buy a bag of sushi rice, no more than 5 lbs. ($3-$5)
You buy a bottle of Marukun Japanese Rice Vinegar ($1-$2)
You buy a package of Nori toasted seaweed ($3), some wasabi paste($3-4), some pickled ginger slices ($2), and some light soy sauce ($2).
You buy a can of lump crabmeat ($4), an avocado ($1), a cucumber ($1), a can of salmon ($3), and a can of tuna fish ($1), and a small jarc of mayonaisse ($3).
You buy a small bamboo mat and wooden spoon which is sold in a kit($4).

You wash and boil the rice. When it is done, you spread it on a tray and fan it cool while you sprinkle on a mixture of vinegar, sugar, and salt.

You take the various seafoods and mix with mayonaise and a little wasabi. You put a nori seaweed sheet on the bamboo mat, spread the rice evenly, spread a row of the seafood salad in the middle and roll the thing up into a tube. Use the bamboo mat to help make it even and tight.

Take a clean sharp knife and cut evenly into 4 or 6 pieces, wiping the knife between cuts.

Repeat until all the sushi rice is gone. Use different combinations of seafood salads and cucumber or avocado, make some with plain cucumber.

Serve on a wooden tray with wasabi and pickled ginger slices on the side with a small dipping thing of soy sauce (you add a little sugar and ginger juice to the soy sauce).

The bamboo mat and wooden spoon you keep and the rice will make several batches. One can of seafood will make 50-100 pieces. The soy sauce, vinegar, and wasabi will last for several batches.

It's something cool to do. Imagine your friends when you serve a platter of sushi.

For your information, when we play, we have a big screen projector with the complete muppet show dvd and south park projected on the wall. Wasabi and seaweed arent the only natural green leafy things available. lol.
lol
-J

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

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Stick to cooked items and California rolls, as most people wont eat anything raw.

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Most people should be kicked in the nuts.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

Raw fish has incredible texture and flavor.

But at a home game you really don't know how they are buying or storing their fish, it might be a good idea to stick to california rolls.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

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maybe homemade cookies? yummm (and beer!)

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I can hardly think of anything less appetizing than washing down a couple of cookies with a couple of beers.

-McGee

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

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I can hardly think of anything less appetizing than washing down a couple of cookies with a couple of beers.

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You’ve never had fresh hot chocolate chip cookies with beer?????? YUM!

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

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You’ve never had fresh hot chocolate chip cookies with beer?????? YUM!

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No. This strikes me as pretty gross. However, I'm willing to try it. What kind of beer goes best with chocolate chip cookies?

-McGee

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

a case of beer

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

Guinness

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

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No. This strikes me as pretty gross. However, I'm willing to try it. What kind of beer goes best with chocolate chip cookies?


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I prefer milk. But if I had to have a beer with chocolate chip cookies, I would go with Kasteel.

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/2...kasteel8bj.jpg

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

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Raw fish has incredible texture and flavor.

But at a home game you really don't know how they are buying or storing their fish, it might be a good idea to stick to california rolls.

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Good point.

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

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Believe it or not, I have found sushi to be one of the best poker foods to serve. Also, some of the dim-sum chinese varieties are extremely popular.


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Wow. Here in Texas we usually just make some brisket...

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

A chocolate stout of course...

chocolate*(chip cookies + stout) = yum!

Re: Best Snack Food?
 

sushi+wasabi+beer = good

beer + chocholate chip cookies = bad