SANS Lunch horror stories

TechGromit

Just completed my first day at SANSfire training today and let me tell you lunch was no fun. After getting out of class 5 minutes late, every lunch place nearby (and there's are not many) was pretty crowded. Anyway, picked a Pizza place and waited a good 10 minutes to order and another 40 minutes for my food. By the time I got my take out order of food, I was already 1 minutes late getting back to class. I had to rush back to my room, woof down 3 slices of pizza and a soda in under 5 minutes and was good 10 minutes late for class. I was talking to a San instructor over dinner and he said one place they had a conference at, there was only one place to eat, and the food was horrible, to the point three of the instructors got food poisoning. They go so sick, they had to run out of the room to the bathroom in the middle of a lecture. I let SANS know on the comment card I wasn't happy with the number of places to eat nearby for lunch, and it's something they should consider next time the book an event. The size and number of rooms is great, but the number of food options nearby is limits, especially since we have to contend with the local area lunch crowd too. Has anyone else had issues with getting something to eat and returning to class at a SANS event? The Capital City Hilton two years ago was great, downtown Washington DC easily had 50 places nearby to get lunch at.

They are also still giving out the same crappy bags again this year. The Blackhat backpack I got last year is far better and isn't as rough on my hands holding it for any length of time.

JoJoCal19

I started making sandwiches on hoagie rolls for lunch at the last SANS I did.

Ertaz

The one I did in Baltimore had lots of great food within walking distance. It was just very pricey.

scaredoftests

Where was it this year?

adrenaline19

Pack your lunch like a proper school kid should!
Sandwich, banana, snak pak, and two carrot slices.

You can carry it in a nice lunch box too. My Ninja Turtles lunch box is all the rage at every conference!

bigdogz

Ahh, the plight of the grass through a goose with a hint of @#$@$%.

You may want to see if there is a restaurant that delivers.
Another option... you can eat a good breakfast, light lunch, and follow up with a decent dinner.

Good Luck !!!!
Which class are you taking?

TechGromit

SANS 610, it's pretty tough, I'm wondering if the exam they will ask me to analyze assembler code. Took the Metro down to DuPont Circle for dinner today, lots more restaurant choices, I didn't time it, but it might be doable to get there and back for lunch.

scaredoftests

In DC? doubtful. LOL

BillHoo

If your looking for a place to eat AFTER class, I recommend the Florida Ave. Grill for great Southern and soul food. Horace and Dickies for a huge fish sandwich (used to be cheap, but since Food Network they have been packed!). Also near Horace and Dickies is Dangerously Delicious Pies where you can get savory (Steak and Kidney, Shepherds Pie, etc.) or sweet (killer cherry pies, Apple, rhubarb, etc.)

If you want to venture into NoVA, I'd be happy to meet up with you. We've got great Vietnamese, Chinese, Salvadoran, and Afghani food in the area. If you want to treat yourself to a steak, Ray's The Steak is great.

cyberguypr

When short on time and options at SANS events I do Grubhub, uber eats, the Yelp one, or similar. Let the food come to me! May be worth exploring if that area is served by these.

BillHoo

Go to any Army Navy Store and buy a few military rations MREs (Meal Ready to Eat, Meals Rejected by the enemy, Meal Rejected by Ethiopians, etc.).

Or just pack a Pogy Bait Bag filled with canned Chef boyardee, chips, canned soft drink, fruit, etc. Shelf stable stuff in case you decided to eat locally.

My fav is a cold can of corned beef hash with a pot of black coffee.

If staying at hotel. Get room service with specific delivery instructions for time.

shochan

for as much as you pay for the training, the food should be catered in daily by someone that actually makes good food.

NetworkNewb

The one SANS event I've gone to the snacks they had out during the breaks (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) were huge and almost didn't even need to eat lunch.

BillHoo

I think they have started skimping out on the snacks. The last one put out less stuff than the conference I went to 2 years prior. Maybe it was the hotel that it was hosted at?

Ertaz

BillHoo wrote: »

I think they have started skimping out on the snacks. The last one put out less stuff than the conference I went to 2 years prior. Maybe it was the hotel that it was hosted at?

It may be the hotel. The one I went to in October balled out. The snacks were amazing.

EagerDinosaur

Training courses with meals provided seem to be a thing of the past in the UK. 20 years ago every training course I went on was at a training centre with an in-house restaurant, which was usually pretty good. 10 years ago we were just given a handfull of luncheon vouchers (usually a fairly generous handfull) and told to make our own arrangements. I think it's partly because training centres are less permanent these days, sometimes just being a small suite of offices rented for a short period.

On the very rare occasions my employer pays for me to attend a course these days, delegates are expected to find and pay for their own lunches. I never aim for anything more than a quick sandwich for lunch. Free packets of biscuits (small ones, almost always in a tartan wrapper) are the only perk.