We met Michael through a mutual friend. He was catering a function of hers when a light bulb (an environmentally friendly CFL one at that) clicked on over her noggin and she grabbed us to introduce us.
"Uma. Oprah. Oprah. Uma." Well, kind of like that. It was more like, "Don't you just LOVE this food!"
"It's good." (Nom nom nom)
"Well, here's Michael!"
And so began our many month journey together. We (and by "we" I mean, mostly "my planning ninja bride" negotiated a contract and price. We talked about menus. We were looking for something a little Southern (representing the bride) and a little Filipino (representing me.) Yeah, probably not the most common of requests, but Michael took it in stride. He asked if my mom had any recipes. I told him, "I don't think my mom has ever written a recipe down." Instead, I went with my other parent, the Internet, and snagged a recipe for lumpia (fried Filipino spring rolls).
Our final menu looked like this: lumpia, crab cakes, fried green tomatoes topped with goat cheese, tempura shrimp, an antipasto table, chicken kabobs, three kinds of sliders (beef, pork BBQ and falafel) and a mac & cheese bar. Michael initially resisted the mac n cheese bar in favor of a risotto bar, but never, ever underestimate the persistence of a single-minded bride. He eventually relented and finalized the menu. Each item had at least 2 or 3 custom sauces and/or toppings (including some sort of green chimichurri made of angels and unicorn tears, it tasted so good.) Michael even included a custom beverage of our choice which we took him up on, but since we selected Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka cut with water and lemon, it wasn't too labor intensive.
We conducted our tasting at Michael's own house. In order to combat the serial wedding tasters, Badda Bing charges $150 for a tasting which is then put towards the cost of the event should they be chosen. Michael also prepared the entire menu we discussed and allowed us to bring extra tasters (because, hey, we needed back up.) Fittingly, this was the only time I ever tasted and savored any of the food as is because, as those of you married folks know, the bride and groom really don't get to eat much.
My bride worked on the other aspects of the contract from the number of servers to the place setting rentals, etc. In all, it was fairly reasonable. Keep in mind, I'm of the school of "If it costs over $1000, it better have 1080 resolution," but seeing what we were getting for our money made me feel a little better.
My bride made one additional request. After we'd designed the menu, she went gluten-free. She discussed this with Michael; she told him that she wanted to keep the menu as is, but would it be possible to make something for her on the side? "Of course," he replied. And the night of the wedding, he accommodated us with a plate of gluten-free mac and cheese, grilled shrimp, and crab cakes. (Though sadly, I didn't get a chance to try the other stuff since we were sequestered in the back and I only had the GF plate to eat. Oh marriage foreshadowing, what a harsh mistress you are.)
By all accounts, the food was a hit. Everyone enjoyed it all immensely. The Filipinos were impressed with the lumpia. The Yankees wept openly at the mac and cheese bar (toppings included chopped bacon, sour cream, scallions, chiffinade of collard greens with chorizo) while the Southerners nodded in approval. Speaking of Southerners, the fried green tomatoes disappeared even faster than the Jack Daniels we served. In all, there was much joy in the room.
Unfortunately, I'm going to have to end this lovefest with one minor quibble. The mac and cheese at our tasting didn't quite match up with what was served at the wedding. At the tasting, I tasted an undercurrent of caramelized onion while there wasn't any in the wedding day stuff. Now while I'm the only one to even know or be able to notice this since my bride wasn't able to eat the normal stuff anymore, I was mildly disappointed since the mac and cheese went from "transcendent" to merely "awesome." Nitpicky, I know, but I'd dock a quarter of a star if I could. Still, that rounds up to five stars. Thanks Badda Bing! read more