Last night was that tasting! We asked Banks to come with us; we wanted his opinion, but we also knew he'd help make it fun. We showed up at 5:30 and were greeted by Chris, the manager. He showed us to a back corner booth and asked some questions to find out about our wedding stats/ideas.
Patrick, Banks and I are three of the least picky eaters possible, and we were excited to try everything. With each dish, Chris explained the ingredients in detail and acted as an incredible host. We started with the appetizers; he brought out probably 5 samples, including a garlic bread, olive tapenade, pesto bruschetta and firecracker rolls (similar to egg rolls with three different fillings - steak, spicy chicken and one other).
Next came salads; we tried 6 salads: from the traditional caesar salad to a spring salad that had pine nuts, golden raisins, feta cheese, red onion and a sweet balsamic. Patrick took one of the salads that they gave us and asked to change up a few things; they made it, and he called the amazing result "The Sweeney."
The pastas came next. Again, we had 6 different pasta examples. Some were boring; some were unique, but there was a lot of it! After this course, we figured we were finished, but no.. We still had the entrees to come.
Chris brought out 7 different chicken entrees. There was a lemon chicken, a chicken topped with a spicy sausage, chicken marsala, wild mushroom chicken marsala, a chicken dish with creamy sauce and brussels sprouts, spinach gorgonzola chicken and chicken parmesan.
Just when we were stuffed and I couldn't imagine eating anything else, Chris brought out a huge coffee mug full of tiramisu. I laughed under my breath as Patrick volunteered to try it; he doesn't like chocolate, so I was just waiting for the cocoa powder to hit him. Apparently, he either avoided or ignored it, but he LOVED the tiramisu. Yes, my fiance (the guy who doesn't like chocolate, who rarely likes desserts and who had just said he was REALLY full) finished most of the tiramisu. That's how you know it's good!We tried to tip Chris at the end of the meal, and he flat out refused. He said that this is a complimentary tasting, and there's no way he'd accept a tip. We tried again, and he refused again. That impressed me.
By that time, we had been eating for 2 hours. Banks left to meet some friends, and Patrick & I headed to Aldea for our Orientation. Evelyn, the owner, took about an hour and a half to get to know us and explain details we'd need to know and figure out what we were hoping to do with our wedding. I love that she's very prompt when it comes to starting events (just like me) and that she's completely open-minded to helping to make our wedding "US" - whatever that means. She's great, and I love that she takes the time to get to know a bit about each couple getting married at Aldea.
The next meeting at Aldea will be our decorating meeting. I CAN'T WAIT :). Evelyn joked around with Patrick saying he didn't need to be there. He laughed and said that it's the one meeting he DOES need to be at... He's scared I'll choose pink for everything, and he wants to make sure to monitor that ;). I love that he wants to be involved - even it it's only to make sure there's not too much pink!
We have another caterer to try out, and Patrick wants to try some more that aren't on the list of what's included in our Aldea package - as long as it's a complimentary tasting lol. We'll see. The first tasting went much better than either of us thought, and unless the other caterer blows us away, we have a really good idea of who we'll be getting our food from.
I love this.
-Lisa
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