For nearly nine years, I was a wedding photographer in the tri-state area and been to many catered affairs. I've eaten at some of the best and worst caterers in the three states. We recently went to a kosher catered affair at a North Shore temple. The rooms were beautiful and the wait staff were highly attentive and went out of their way to please each and every guest. Impressive. As impressive as the staff, that's how bad the food was. The prepared dishes at the smorgasbord stations [reheated sliced pastrami, flank steak, chicken, etc.] were excessively dry - sort of like attempting to eat plaster covered cardboard. The pass around food [pigs-in-a-blanket, pot stickers, etc.] were a hit. When we entered the dinning room, it was beautiful to look at, then the food was served and all hope was lost. The salad was destroyed by the dressing. We had a choice among salmon, chicken or chateaubriand. The fish and fowl were both OVER cooked. The chateaubriand was nearly fork tender but the meat was tasteless and sauce had an odd flavor. There seemed to be a disconnect between the caterer and the band, i.e., many lulls when neither knew what to do next. The band was taking its cue from the caterer and the caterer seemed bogged down in other matters. I would have given this caterer one star but the wait staff raised my rating to two. read more
