It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...actually it was simply just time to find a caterer. With a week off for spring break, we headed down to the beach to find what we hoped would be the perfect menu for our wedding.
Our tale begins on the mainland, at one of our all-time favorite seafood restaurants. We were greeted by Chenna, who lead us upstairs to the banquet room to begin our consultation out of the hustle and bustle of the main restaurant. Once seated, we were given a special packet that held all the information regarding their menus and options, and boy were there options. She even let us know that if we had something in mind that was not listed in the packet to just let her know and she would speak with the chef about getting it for us. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! REALLY!?! This restaurant used to make the BEST, and I do mean the best, bread pudding, but they quit making it. Next, we did exactly what Chenna told us to do and we asked if that awesome bread pudding could make a comeback at our wedding. Did she seem put off by this question...absolutely not, she acted like it wouldn't be a problem, she'd just ask the chef. Needless to say, all of this sounded beyond fantastic! It was all falling into place. The menu we liked was just as fitting, two seafood options...Grilled Tilapia with Nueces Creole sauce and Blue Lump Crab Cakes with a Cajun Remoulade. For anyone who knows us, you couldn't have hand picked a more perfect meal. Maybe finding a caterer wouldn't be so bad after all. If the next place was half as good as this, the hard part would be making a decision.
As our tale continues, we head out to the island for our next stop. This restaurant, while also another seafood establishment, could not have been more different than the other. This one looked more like the lodging of an old sea captain with a pegged leg and parrot on his shoulder than it did a restaurant. But then again, that's part of the allure of this place. It's known as an island hangout, and boy is it just that! Not to mention, this place has had fantastic write-ups in Texas Monthly about their food. Honestly, I was really excited to see what they had to offer. As we entered the place, we were greeted by Eddie (I don't know if that was really his name, but if I remember correctly, he looked like an Eddie to me, so Eddie it is!) who was standing behind a wooden barrel (maybe Captain Morgan accidently left a barrel of rum when he was booted out of his house). We let Eddie know that we were there to see Patty about possibly catering our wedding. Apparently Patty was in another meeting, so he led us to the bar to wait. Eddie seemed like a nice enough fellow, he offered us drinks while we were waiting and tried to make small talk with us. The conversation is as follows: Eddie - "So, y'all getting married? Is this your first?" SERIOUSLY! Did he really just ask if it was our first marriage? Do we look old enough to have gone through 2 other marriages before wandering into this joint!?! While I was busy picking my chin up off the table and trying to make sense of the comment in my head, my fiancée replies back, "Yes, first and only." As Eddie turns to leave, Peggy, the lady we were supposed to be meeting with, finally makes it to our table to begin the consult. Lets just say the feeling was just not the same as it had been at the last restaurant. First impressions are big to me. You could say I'm looking for that Jerry Maguire moment, you know, the one where you had me at hello. This lady was just not as warm and welcoming as Chenna was. As excited as I was to learn about what they could offer, I quickly learned it was a "take it or leave it" kind of offer. And where was my packet of menu options to take home to compare? Well, it came in the form of a single page, plucked out of her binder, after being asked if she had something we could look at. I'm not knocking the joint, its a spectacular place to hang out, eat, and kick back after a day on the beach. It's just not exactly what we're looking for in a caterer.
Seriously, our experiences with the the two caterers couldn't have been more polar opposite!
