Slow Roast Prime Rib

Tomah, Wis., well served by 'Mr. Ed's' supper club

IF YOU GO

MR. ED’S TEE PEE: The supper club is at 812 Superior Ave. in Tomah, Wis., about a four-hour drive from Chicago. Amtrak’s Empire Builder stops at the Tomah train station, which is seven blocks from the supper club. The Tee Pee’s hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; (608) 372-0888.

DON’T MISS: The Tee Pee’s banquet hall will host “A Tribute to Elvis and Patsy” on July 16. (Garry and Elaine Wesley covering Elvis Presley and Patsy Cline.) The $30 tickets include dinner and the show. Cocktails at 5 p.m. followed by a 6 p.m. dinner and 7 p.m. show.

TOMAH, Wis. — Mr. Ed’s Tee Pee Supper Club owner Allan “Ed” Thompson remembers sharing a lonely Thanksgiving dinner — made up of leftovers from the neighbors — with his German shepherd, Ace.

It was 1992. Times were beyond tough. The deal he’d cut to lease his beloved supper club had fallen through. He had to evict his tenants.

“I was in financial straits,” Thompson said during a recent conversation over walleye pike at the Tee Pee. “I was dusted. I was down in the cloth.”

But like the fighter this former boxer is, Thompson managed to get back on his feet.

“I told Ace that would be the last Thanksgiving dinner we would eat alone,” Thompson said.

By the fall of 1993, he and his sister/business partner, Juliann, had straightened out their debt and salvaged the supper club that’s become a central Wisconsin institution.

“I was so grateful to the people of Tomah, I wanted to give a free Thanksgiving dinner,” he said.

In something out of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 300 Tomah residents came to the Tee Pee for the free holiday dinner. That number grew to 1,200 last Thanksgiving.

Community is a staple of any Wisconsin supper club. And Thompson is feeding off the energy of Tomah (pop. 8,400) as he faces the biggest challenge of his life.

Thompson, 66, is battling pancreatic cancer, which doctors initially thought was just a blockage.

“I said I didn’t have time for surgery,” Thompson recalled. “I had to march in a parade. Little did I know I had already walked my last parade.”

He was given six months to live. That was in September.

The Konformist Blog: Top 10 Las Vegas Buffets

Waiting in Line: Buffet lines can be long. Going early/late is a way to reduce your wait. Las Vegas tends to be a late-night crowd, so going early for brunch can often make big difference. You can also try to get a line-pass to get in front as a comp if you gamble enough, or are a valued hotel guest. Finally, tipping the hostess has been known to get people in early. Saving Money: If you go towards the end of the lunch schedule you can sometimes stay for dinner too and will just pay lunch prices for the more expensive dinner buffets (depends on hotel policy). Going midweek will get you the lowest buffet prices. In addition, you can find great deals (50 percent off or more) if you go early in the morning for a breakfast buffet. Package deals that include free buffets are often available and offered by travel sites, such as Las Vegas Direct when you book a room. Misc. Advice: Don't fill up on the first thing you see. Start out by taking very small samples of many different items. This is a great chance to experience many types of food. Once you sampled enough dishes, you can pile up on the ones you like best. Be sure to save room for dessert too, since that is often the best part! If your goal is to fill up as much as possible to get your money's worth, go easy on drinks, especially sodas, since they can fill you up fast before you even get started. The same goes with drinking too much soup. If you took an item you don't like, it is okay to just leave it on your plate, but don't be excessively wasteful or you can be charged extra. Finally, this is your chance to be a culinary chef and mix and match food items you may have only dreamed about having together. It can be a lot of fun. Caesars Entertainment offers a 24 hr pass good at 7 different buffets - Harrah's, Flamingo, Imperial Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Rio Hotel, Caesars, and Planet Hollywood. The cost is $44.99 + tax (less if you are a Total Rewards member). You still need to wait in line for each buffet, but you can also buy an express line pass where available to skip the wait. Customers will get a wristband to allow access. Alcoholic drinks are excluded. Free Buffets: Getting a free buffet at a hotel is one of the easier comps you can get. You can often just watch a timeshare presentation to get one.Another way is to fill the demand for a player card and present it each time you play, or insert into slot machines.

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