With the reception site selected, we now had to search for a caterer. Luckily or unluckily, the Picnic House has a list of exclusive caterers you have to use. Actually, I would later find out that you can go off the list if the caterer has proof of insurance and you put down an extra security deposit.
So the list has the following caterers on it:2nd St. Café & Catering
Ben Kohen Kosher Catering
Bon Soir
Brenton Catering
Plenty of options for us to find one we like and in our budget. We were looking for sit down service, cocktail hour and four-hour reception, and an open bar for five hours. I started by visiting the web sites of the caterers. And I also scoured the Internet for reviews of those I was interested in. I narrowed the list down to:
Bon Soir
Jacques Exclusive Caterers
Movable Feast
Naturally Delicious
Raging Skillet So I began the daunting task of contacted all of these places to get a rough idea about how much the food, plates, linens, rentals, beverages, and servers would cost. At this initial stage it would prove to be quite difficult. Each place has a different way of quoting prices so it was difficult to compares apples to apples - some include a per server price but don't tell you how many you will need while some give you a per person charge that includes servers. Some even had a difficult giving us a ballpark estimate without having a menu in hand.
Naturally Delicious never got back to me after a phone call and an inquiry submitted through their web site. I guess they have better things to do. So we crossed them off the list.
The Raging Skillet receives great reviews and is said to work with most budgets. They sounded promising. However, when talking to them it was hard to get a ballpark price given the information we knew at that time which was basic - estimated number of people, date, sit down dinner, open bar. I kept them as an option but thought their initial ball park figure was a bit high though they do do a lot of events at the Picnic House.
Moveable Feast also has a great reputation but they said they would send me costs and all I got was an information packet. I figured from the web site and the information sent that they were a bit too much for me.
Bon Soir would allow us to bring in our own alcohol which could be a huge savings. But they were difficult in getting information and trying to set up a tasting. Being that we are in Boston and we have limited time on these trips, I can't be bothered with even a slightly difficult vendor. However, we kept them on the back burner in case we needed to talk with them.
While Jacques would not allow us to purchase the alcohol for insurance purposes (they didn't want their bartenders serving alcohol not purchased by them) they did have a pricing structure that was like a traditional wedding place - flat per person rates. This was what we needed as we could understand these kinds of costs more. Also it was easier to see if they fit within our budget. So far - Jacques was leading the race. We went to a "tasting" in Staten Island and the food was good but it was just a few trays of food and I was expecting a bit more. Also there main offices are in New Jersey and we would have to go out there to have a discussion about price and options; unfortunately we did not have time for that this trip. Also at the time that we tasted Jacques food, we did not really understand that the caterers have a mobile kitchen that they set up in the Picnic House (remember no kitchen) and we were perplexed about how a place with kitchens in New Jersey was going to serve me warm medium rare prime rib (according to Aimee the wedding coordiantor the prime rib is fantastic).
It is after we went to the tasting on Staten Island that we looked into the other caterers on the list that I did not contact. Also it is then that I found out you could go off the list. I begin emailing with a bride-to-be that is using Corinne's Concepts in Catering (not on the list) for her Picnic House wedding. She entered into a contract with them after Jacques gave her the run around and wouldn't honor the price she negotiated with one of the wedding coordinators (who had left Jacques - I do not know the decision was Jacques or the coordinator's). Also, Corinne's got good reviews on one of the wedding web sites I visit frequently. So I begin the price game with them as well. They have an interesting web site. You basically select your menu and submit a proposal to them and then they send the pricing back. Corinne's is also a place where we could purchase the alcohol and they would provide the ice, mixers, and bartenders.
In the email exchange with the other bride-to-be she tells me that she went to FEAST's tasting in Hudson Valley and while it was a long way to drive, the food was awesome. This intrigues us. I begin the dance with them as well. FEAST does not allow us to purchase the alcohol but they called back when they said they would - I liked them already. They sent us an informational packet that had dates of upcoming tastings. We quickly confirmed our attendance at one in late August. AFter a shaky start, we drive three and a half hours to Washingtonville, NY. It was a long drive but we finally were at the tasting. They first showed us the grounds which were beatuiful but not an option. Because we were looking for outside catering, we had to speak to Peter one of the main guys there. But while we waited we began to sample the fare - and it was all good. We sampled sixteen hors d'oeuvres. Of the sixteen, only one item received two thumbs down (see the sheet below of the "notes" I took during the tasting). After each item was tasted, I would mark my opinon and B's. While it sounds dorky, it was quite helpful as all the food became a blur. 
The food was so filling that we turned down the chocolate covered strawberries and other pastries they came around with at the end. We eventually talked with Peter and found him to be very accommodating and flexible. He was honest about the fact that they only do a few weddings a year at the Picnic House but want to more. So after some negotiating, we came up with a fair price for the day that includes all the service, alcohol, rentals, and food. We had a contract drawn up right on the spot.
We are excited to be working with FEAST because they have been so responsive, professional, provide amazing food and service. However, we found another reason to love them (or rather B did) - Peter and most of his staff are rabid Mets fans. We even were taken up to the office and shown the pictures they have from the 1969 World Series and heard about the bets each year that are placed with the vendors that are Yankee fans. In fact, B mentioned that he should have written the deposit check so he could have sent him one of his NY Mets checks (yes they do sell official MLB licensed checks with the Mets logo).
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