So this is part of the reason that holding an event at Rockefeller Hall is soo expensive. You must use their caterer. Apparently, they used to not have a required caterer, but they had trouble maintaining the quality of events so they have an exclusive relationship with Abuso now.
For your standard dinner party, the cheapest option at under $30/adult includes one entre, two side dishes, one salad, bread, peach iced tea and coffee. Serviceware, silverware, china, and kitchen staff are also included. Additional entrees and hors d'oeuvres are extra per person. We had enough vegetarians that we definitely wanted a non-meat option. And we just wanted hors d'oeuvres so people wouldn't get hungry waiting for the dinner buffet.
They do have a meat-carving station option which could be easily combined with "make your own pasta" station, but we worried people would be standing in line especially at the meat-carving station waiting a while. They also have a hors d'oeuvres-only menu (fiance was not a fan) and a Sunday brunch menu (a cheaper option, but not cheaper than Dharma Cafe).
All of this info was given to us when we considered Rockefeller. We met with Kitty 3 months before the event and had a free lunch tasting (up to 4!) with Cami in which we tried out our menu. Cami came to our final meeting with Rockefeller for our reception schedule and final head counts. Jillian worked the reception.
They were very professional, friendly, and attentive. We made changes to our menu after the tasting. Cami offered to prepare my fiance's & my dinner plates for maximum efficiency and to draw us away from guests so we could eat. Jillian brought the last of the hors d'oeuvres to our sweetheart table so we could have a bite of them if we hadn't already. The food was excellent and they wrapped up leftovers in large foil containers for my family to take home and wrapped up extra dinner plates (on their plates & included a fork!) for my new husband and me so we could eat leftovers later.
Our menu was delish: chicken satay, spicy beef empanadas, brie in puff pastry hors d'oeuvres; chicken crepes and orecchiette pasta provencal entrees; spinach salad, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans almondine, and bread. A little more salt than I'm used to eating, but it was all good and a lot of the guests told our parents they loved it.
My parents were upset that for the money we spent, we weren't really getting any special meets like beef and fish, and they could have made Asian food, but it would have cost a lot extra. I was still very happy overall with the food and the service and would consider them for future events, maybe when I actually start earning money and can throw lavish soirees. read more