Wedding Caterer #2- Mac's catering

So far Douglas has been the most patient, sweetest partner I could ask for.  He lets me talk on and on about wedding stuff, lets me drag him around to meet people and see things and doesn't complain one bit.  I figured he would probably get a bit more excited when I started dragging him to food tastings, and I can say that we both had a very enjoyable time at our first tasting yesterday!

We met with Peggy who owns Mac's Eugene Catering with her husband Pat here in Eugene.  We met up at their restaurant, which is a cool hangout place to eat some food, have a drink, and is a hot spot for listening to live music.  Their catering company has gotten great reviews and has been in business longer than Douglas and I have been alive.  Experience, check.

We chatted with Peggy for awhile about our wedding and what we'd like to have at our reception, and I was happy to hear that they actually cater weddings at Silvan Ridge winery quite frequently {this weekend, in fact!}  We had the option of choosing 3 appetizers, a salad, and a choice of 2 out of 3 entrees.  So here's what we ate!

First up was appetizer #1: A garlic hazelnut pesto dip with baguette

Garlic Hazelnut Pesto dip with baguette

I have to admit, I'm not the biggest fan of pesto dips, but this one was quite tasty.  Definitely garlic-y and basil-y.  The presentation at our wedding would be in a big bread bowl with tons of bread to serve as a vehicle for getting the dip in our mouths. :)

Appetizer #2: Fruit and cheese kabobs

Fruit & cheese kabobs

Pretty much exactly what you would expect.  Fresh fruit with blocks of smoked cheddar and swiss cheese.  I really like the idea of skewers because it's easy to just pick up one and go, instead of having to stand there awkwardly with your wine in one hand and a plate in the other, while 65 other hungry people are wishing you'd go faster!  Haha.

Appetizer #3: Baked Brie

Baked brie.  'Nuff said.

If you know me at all, you know there's nothing I like more than delicious brie cheese and a glass of red wine.  And baked brie?  Even better!  I wish I would have taken a picture of it after we cut it open, but we were too busy eating it.  Delicious.

Salad course:

Mixed greens with cranberry, feta, and candied walnuts with dijon vinaigrette

I apologize for the blurry picture, but this salad was SO good.  Sweet, tangy, and crunchy.  I ate the whole thing.  Not a big fan of the plating with the random assortment of fruit/veggies on the side, but that could easily be taken off.

Entree course: Salmon, Chicken, and Tri-Tip

Douglas loves salmon, I love steak, and who doesn't love chicken?  So we decided to try them all, although we would have to pick two to serve at our wedding.  The salmon had a very unique flavor to it with a brown sugar glaze, and truthfully I was not a fan.  For some reason sweet and fish don't go very well for me, but Douglas enjoyed it enough to eat both his and my portion.

We tried the chicken next.  They call it poulet bechamel which is chicken baked, topped with swiss cheese and mushrooms, with a bechamel white sauce.  I was a bit skeptical at first because it sounds like it could be kind of blah and boring {I made a TERRIBLE chicken, mushroom and cream sauce dish when Douglas and I first started dating, so I was scared it would remind me of that!}.  Honestly though, it was so delicious.  Everything balanced together really nicely and was flavorful without being overpowering.  A pleasant surprise!

Lastly we tried the tri-tip.  This was interesting because there was no sauce to go with it, but it was so flavorful it didn't need one.  The crust was a mix of several kinds of herbs which really perfumed the meat.  And I love steak, so I was a happy girl.

Sides: Roasted red potatoes and seasoned mixed vegetables

Pretty much what you'd expect.  Potatoes and veggies.  Not sure I like the way that these foods are presented, but they tasted good.

One of the things that I'm kind of picky about is the way that my food looks.  I don't need anything super fancy for my wedding, but I do want it to be simple, clean, and pretty.  It's hard to get a good idea about what this will all look like come the day of our wedding, but she did say that they would serve both proteins on one entree plate with the potatoes and the veggies.  I feel if they did it that way it would have kind of a rustic feel to it, but it might look a little too "buffet"-y for me.  You know what I mean?

Peggy was so great though, she had a really professional and positive attitude about everything and you could tell she was very proud to work for this company.  I bet if we decided to book with them that they would work with us to make sure we got what we wanted and how we wanted it to look.  Maybe it's worth getting mashed potatoes and a different veggie instead?  We don't really know yet.  But the appetizers were simple and tasty, the salad was to die for, and the steak and chicken were flavorful.  The food is good, as long as we can make sure it will look good we may be in business.

The one great thing about going with a catering company over a restaurant that can do catering is that they are very experienced at full services and weddings, and usually have rental items {plates, napkins, silverware, etc} on site so it ends up being more cost effective to rent them.  This catering company will provide us with all the food and non-alcoholic beverages, with seated/plated service, for just under our budget.  I fully realize that some people can spend close to $10,000 for dinner and get super fancy food, but I have to be reasonable and find the best bang for our graduate-student-buck.  I can compromise on a few things, but taste is not one of them.  And the food we tried, although not very fancy, tasted good, would be accessible to hopefully all of our guests, and isn't going to bleed our bank accounts dry.  All in all, a great learning experience and a possible business partnership in the near future.

But of course, we can't stop at just one. :)  Next week we're on to taste food from one of our favorite local restaurants, so more delicious pictures to come!

<3 J