Mm Mm Good!

The last big vendor that we have to schedule for our wedding is the food. I don't know if you are aware of this, but food is expensive! Many menus that we looked included something like the following: "A grain of rice, 1/8 a piece of chicken and a thimbleful of sauce: $85. Forks: extra. Knives: extra. Plates: priceless."

We didn't want to have super fancy food - that's not really our style. But wanted to have some passed appetizers that were delish, and some solid dinner food too. I am actually all about the snacks beforehand and the dessert afterwards, so that is my focus. ;)

Our site gave us a solid list of preferred caterers that they had worked with before, and so we started there. Many of the places sounded too fancy pants for us, except one, which was called BBQ Boys. We kind of liked the idea of BBQ (something we love), it was well within the budget and it would fit our desire to have something casual. After all, this is pretty much a backyard wedding.

We started doing a bit of research on them on yelp.com. They only got 3 stars (out of 5), so I started reading the reviews. Hard bread. Raw meat. Lackluster service. No thank you!! They're off the list!

We went back to the list and just started emailing. We heard back from a company and scheduled a tasting, which we went to yesterday. We asked Em and Nick to come with us - second opinions are always important! It was quite a setup. They had a table for 4 set up for us, complete with linens, plates, etc. We went through their entire proposed menu, which included 4 appetizers that were TO DIE FOR!!! Some of the deliciousness included....

Freshly baked sourdough bread

Tuna Tar Tar on a toasted pita chip (topped with finely chopped and marinated olives)

Chain Tacos (marinated taco meat on a tortilla chip)

Cinnamon chicken salad on a brown butter crostini (topped with creme fresh)

Toasted baguette with melted gorganzola cheese and a poached pear and toasted pecans

YUM YUM YUM

The dinner part was good too (Like I said, I love my appetizers and my dessert!)

2 yummy salads

Chicken Piccata

Wild Rice Pilaf

Braised Beef tenderloin

MASHED POTATOES!!!!! (Those were so good - she had to bring us a second bowl...)

She was willing and able to change/adapt the dishes to fit our needs (less anchovies in the caesar dressing please...and onions on the side for Rick!!)

We sent them an email last night asking them to cater for the wedding. As soon as we hear back, it will be confirmed: all of our big vendors are DONE!!!

Emily and Nick were up, we also reunited the puppies - Zoe and Taiko. They love love LOVED seeing each other. I wasn't there when they first saw each other again but I guess they were pretty tripped out (probably not used to seeing doggies their own size!) They ran around and tackled each other all afternoon!! Taiko is quite the tank, but Zoe definitely held her own!! I am glad that they will have each other to play with every now and then. We are looking forward to bringing them to SB for our engagement photos in a few months - I hope they love the ocean!!

We are still working on figuring out when Taiko needs to go outside - it's miraculous that he still has to "go" even after not having food and drink for a few hours. It's enough to blow your mind! But he has been really good so far.

It's funny because we live on the top floor of our condo, and for the past few days, Taiko hasn't walked up the stairs . He was pretending he couldn't or he was just being lazy...I think he just didn't realize how big he was. So, when Zoe was here yesterday, I look, and she is hauling butt up the stairs! I told Taiko - "she's smaller than you! You can definitely do this." But still, he would stop at the stairs, even if we went up and offered him a treat. He likes to go under the stairs, not up them....

So last night, out of nowhere, we were coming back in from Taiko's bathroom trip, and he just starts going up the stairs! We were so proud! Then this morning, I went to the trash bins to throw out the doggie bags, and I look back - Taiko is nowhere to be seen. After a moment of panic, I look towards the house. Taiko is going up the stairs. He was done with being outside, and so he started to head back on his own!! So funny! I knew he could do it - the big faker!

He's been an awesome addition to the family