Back in the Saddle Again

Even though (when I wrote this) our wedding is, like, 408 days away, we are beginning to kick our planning into high gear. Part of this is because wedding planning is more fun than gardening, paying bills, grocery shopping, or working. And part of this is because my job situation is gonna get a little crazy in about six months to a year, with budget cuts and mergers and all kinds of potentially stressful things happening. My big plan is to get the majority of our vendors locked down now, so I can worry about other silly things like employment and finances when I need to. Good plan, huh?

Recently, I picked myself up, dusted my jeans off, and got back on the horse. And by that I mean, I psyched myself up to look into some more caterers. Remember that time I freaked out? Yeah. I buried my head in the sand for awhile but now I have pulled it out of the sand, I'm back in the saddle again, and I am riding into the sunset on my trusty steed. Yippie ki yi yay!

Gene Autry's Back in the Saddle Again

Sufficiently cowgirled up with spurs on my boots and my sharp shooter at the ready, I contacted the General Store Cafe located in Pittsboro, North Carolina.

General Store Cafe

I first discovered this restaurant in the summer of 2000 when I worked as a camp counselor at Camp Royall, a camp for folks with autism spectrum disorder. Then, it was one of the few places in the small by awesome town of Pittsboro (the PBO, for short) that had internet. Now, it still retains it's small town vibe but is a community hub for news, art, music, and film. The food is delicious and they just started catering two years ago! Woo frickin hoo, y'all!

The good folks over at the General Store Cafe immediately invited us out for a tasting. Uh, yes please! We chose to taste their Italian Buffet menu, and they said they would make us some select dishes from it. We were quickly brought out some delicious and lovely starters...

Caesar salad and Caprese Display
(photos from my iPhone, lame I know)

The Caesar salad tasted pretty regular to me, but the Caprese Display was super yummy. And, the presentation is pretty badass too.

Next came the entrees!

On this enormous platter (you can't tell how big it is, but trust me, it was huge!) was:
-Pork Picatta
-Goat Cheese Risotto Cakes
-Eggplant Parmesean
-Pesto Portabello and Zucchini
-Chicken Marsala

And then...

Penne Puttanesca and Rosemary and Garlic Focaccia

Basically, I shoved my mouth full of food and the women trying to ask me questions about our wedding plans and hopes for our menu had to deal with barely coherent answers between me chewing and my gasps of "ohmygodthisissogooooooooddddddddd."

I really loved the eggplant Parmesan (and I am a total meat and potatoes girl, so that says a lot). It was so cheesy and just slightly crispy on the outside - total yum. Also the pesto grilled veggies were delicious. The chicken marsala was good but nothing to freak out over, and the pork was good too...maybe a bit salty.

And guess what? Mr. Magic, the world's pickiest eater, enjoyed the items as well. He even ate some tomatoes out of the Caprese salad. It was like a miracle magic!

We decided our buffet will look something like this:

-Caesar salad
-Caprese display
-Grilled Pesto Portabello and Zucchini
-A Pasta bar! Couple types of pasts with various sauces...yum!
-Eggplant Parm
-Chicken Parm

We got the quote, and it is definitely affordable. I mean, as affordable as a yummy Italian buffet could possibly be, I think. So, we are totally going for it! It feels so amazing to have such a huge item locked down and crossed off the list!

Do you think all the pasta will put everyone in a food coma? :-)