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| - I first learned about Dream Dinners when my friend Camie invited me to a private event there. To sign up, i had to go the Dream Dinners website, find the session/time, enter the "secret password" (ours was "mimosa" which was a good sign!) and then select the meals you want to make. A few observations/facts from my ordering experience:
*You order in 3- or 6-serving increments
*The minimum order is 36 servings
*The average price per serving is somewhere between $3 and $6
*Virtually every option had meat as a main ingredient
Given that I'm a fish-eating vegetarian and I don't have kids, I'm probably not squarely in the middle of Dream Dinners' target market. But Camie really wanted me to make it to the event and insisted that I give Laura, the owner, a call. So I did. She was very helpful and accommodating and told me that not only could I sub fish or shrimp for any of the meat or chicken options (although it might be an extra charge), but they also had soy strips available at no extra cost. Plus, she agreed to let me do an 18-serving trial. Sweet! There's nothing I love more than a business owner who will go that extra mile to earn my business.
Well, the event itself was really fun. Mimosas were a-flowin' (they let the event host bring alcohol with no extra fee) and my sister, Abigail O, and I had a lot of fun assembling all of the ingredient bags. Making the calzone was also really fun! The facilities themselves were super clean and well air-conditioned, and it was just a great, easy experience. The staff was also on hand to help with any missing ingredients or answer questions.
The other highlight of the event was showing Laura the features of Yelp for business owners. From the looks of the business listing, she's gone in and taken full advantage of them. I really respect business owners that will experiment with new ways to get customers and I welcome her to the Yelp community :)
Oh, and you're probably wondering whether the food is good. I'm happy to report that the things I've tried so far have been good. Being totally obsessed with spicy, flavorful ethnic food, I don't think I'd have Dream Dinners every night, but the convenience, solid, dependable flavors and great service are definitely going to make it an option for me in my busy life!
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