Opa!

Barbiiieee

Is Greek food something most people like, or is it an ethnic style of cooking most people won't eat? My fiance and I frequent a family owned Greek place here, and the food and the service is absolutely spectacular. The owner approched us having dinner last night, and he knows us pretty well and knows we are planning our wedding and offered us a pretty good catering deal. We love love LOVE the food there, but I'm not sure if pickier eaters will appreciate it. We would have appetizers of veggie and meat dolmades, a veggie and pita tray with tatziki and hummus, and a tiropites and spanakopites platter, and dinner would be a buffet with greek salad, mousaka, a chicken dish that is cooked in a lemony garlic butter sauce with artichoke hearts and mushrooms (my favorite), either a lamb or beef dish, and veggies and grilled potatoes as a side. We would have wedding cake and a sweets table including homemade baklava for dessert. Is that an appealing menu for a variety of eaters? I was hoping there were enough vegetarian options. Thanks!

staar987

I am an extremely picky eater, so I wouldn't be too thrilled out a Greek menu. H is meh about it. I would maybe pick at the veggies and potatoes. He would be okay with the chicken as long as the mushrooms aren't cooked with it since he has an intolerance to mushrooms. We would probably be hoping that we liked your cake flavors and that you had things we liked on the sweets table.

I know that I am not the norm in what most people would like for food. You know your guests and can probably guess if they'd like what is on the menu or not.

I'm not sure what vegetarian options you have other than the salad. I'm not to familiar with Greek food so I had to look up mousaka and it seems like that has meat in it too. Is there maybe some kind of Greek pasta dish you could add for vegetarians?

AddieCake

Ditto Star. I would starve b/c I'm so picky. We went to a Greek restaurant for one of my bridesmaid's bachelorette party, and I ordered a cheeseburger. (Thank goodness it was even on the menu!) Not everyone is as picky as me, but I'm not sure Greek food is a "please the masses" kind of menu, either. 

MrsGandthebeag

I would absolutely love it.  Greek food is yummy.  

daria24

I love Greek food but my family would starve. If you make the entrees a bit more mainstream I think you could get away with it, maybe do a lemony chicken without the artichokes and mushrooms. And I would do beef unless your families eat a lot of lamb. Lamb is definitely not something a lot of people eat.

GoodLuckBear14

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_opa?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:6b947889-f6e7-4538-ac24-fbcf6b2ed9d8Post:d81e5165-8c96-4b00-b073-d4e382500e03">Opa!</a>:
[QUOTE]Is Greek food something most people like, or is it an ethnic style of cooking most people won't eat? My fiance and I frequent a family owned Greek place here, and the food and the service is absolutely spectacular. The owner approched us having dinner last night, and he knows us pretty well and knows we are planning our wedding and offered us a pretty good catering deal. We love love LOVE the food there, but I'm not sure if pickier eaters will appreciate it. We would have appetizers of veggie and meat dolmades, a veggie and pita tray with tatziki and hummus, and a tiropites and spanakopites platter, and dinner would be a buffet with greek salad, mousaka, a chicken dish that is cooked in a lemony garlic butter sauce with artichoke hearts and mushrooms (my favorite), either a lamb or beef dish, and veggies and grilled potatoes as a side. We would have wedding cake and a sweets table including homemade baklava for dessert. Is that an appealing menu for a variety of eaters? I was hoping there were enough vegetarian options. Thanks!
Posted by Barbiiieee[/QUOTE]

Okay.  Irish girl who is Greek by marriage here.  We didn't even serve Greek food at our wedding.  It would have been an introduction to a lot of our friends and nearly all of my family of real Greek food. (Skyline chili - aka pastitsio served with a twist - is the closest they have come).  I try different Greek food at every church function and festival.  DH and I have favorite Greek restaurants here and SIL always finds a Greek restaurant whenever we visit or meet up in another city.  I order the same thing every time: lamb chops.  I will taste DH's food but always stick with the one meal I love.  This is definitely not a cuisine for the masses.

For the reception FIL hosted in San Francisco, there were heart shaped kourabiedes.  You might consider this and maybe baklava as part of a dessert table.

lyndausvi

"What do you mean he don't eat no meat? [the entire room stops, in shock] Oh, that's okay. I make lamb."

Hehe.   Love that line.


We would be fine with Greek food, but it's not always universal.  Only you know your guests.

GoodLuckBear14

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_opa?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:6b947889-f6e7-4538-ac24-fbcf6b2ed9d8Post:f4991a9f-8c65-46f6-b418-72469e67073c">Re: Opa!</a>:
[QUOTE]"What do you mean he don't eat no meat? [the entire room stops, in shock] Oh, that's okay. I make lamb ." Hehe.   Love that line. We would be fine with Greek food, but it's not always universal.  Only you know your guests.
Posted by lyndausvi[/QUOTE]

True story from the SF reception:

All of the relatives came charging at me at once with outstretched arms.  One of them tells us a little while later "My two daughters are talking over there.  I ask them.  What are you talking about.  Mom.  They say.  <em>She looks Greek</em>."

reppunzel

I love Greek food, so I would be over the moon at your wedding (and so would FI).

Perhaps there is a way to have some choices that would be more recognizable for those who weren't as familiar.  Keep the lemony chicken and moussaka (I'm assuming that's your FI's favorite?), but instead of lamb, maybe have plain grilled chicken or beef skewers?  Maybe they could also do some veggie kabobs so that there was a vegetarian main dish?  Alternately, consider a simple vegetarian pasta (that again might appeal to those who were a little intimidated by the Greek food.

For the appetizers, I would think the hummus and veggies/pita should be fairly recognizable, and the tiropita (cheese in phyllo) should be accessible ... I may not have a good perspective on that, though, cuz just reading through made my mouth water!

Bottom line:  you know your guests (or the majority of them), so you would know what they will tend to enjoy.  How big is your wedding?  I think a more specialized menu would work better for a smaller group.

NOLAbridealmost

Am I crazy for thinking Greek food is pretty mainstream? The proteins are mainly just roasted and grilled meats with seasonings that, in my opinion, are not at all "out there" and then the salad would be basically a normal green salad with feta and olives added, right? Hummus and roasted veggie trays are about as mainstream as it gets, and then there's snanikopita which is just a spinach dip inside puff pastry.....not weird. Add in some orzo pasta and rice as sides and I just don't see how no one could fill up.... I suggest doing it as buffet style or station style so guests can sample a bit of everything if thy wouldn't be familiar with the names of the menu items and wouldn't know what to select on a RSVP card.

lyndausvi

NOLA - no you are not crazy.   I've never had a problem finding something on a greek menu. I'm somewhat surprised that people don't like it.

I'm not overly adventurous eater.  I would not really say picky.  I have my go to meals, but if they are not on the menu I always find something to eat and most times I say I should eat this more.    I laugh at myself because I rarely do.  If both meals are on the menu I still pick my "safe" meal even though I know I like the "adventurous" one.  

   I have a much tougher time with the Mexican food because I do not do spicy at all.  I also sometimes have problems with Indian and  Asian foods because just the smell of certain spices like curry make me nauseous.

jessicabessica

I tend to agree that Greek food isn't that out-there, especially if you have plainer protein options.  What is the vegetarian entree option?  The vegetable sides?

GoodLuckBear14

If you had a full Greek menu, sure you could find something.  If you are picking two or three options for a hundred or so people, good luck with that.  And, no, a Greek salad is not what you expect.  There is no lettuce.

Xstatic3333

I would love it! I do agree that if you go this route, have some very simple meat dishes and keep it to chicken and beef. I would have at least one of the two, probably the chicken, be very plain. For the vegetarians I would add falafel. Yum! Vegetarian pasta is also a good idea.

MrsGandthebeag

I'm not sure if a greek salad is different in the north and south, but around here a Greek salad does have lettuce.  It's typically lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, peppers, feta and olives.

Ro041

We are thinking of having Greek food (gyros etc), but we are also having Italian food.  We gifure that people who do not want to try the Greek will be able to eat Italian.  I would be worried that Greek wouldbe too specific if that was all we were serving.  

GoodLuckBear14

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_opa?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:6b947889-f6e7-4538-ac24-fbcf6b2ed9d8Post:8ae8d462-c870-4e1b-b15d-d36f24611edd">Re: Opa!</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm not sure if a greek salad is different in the north and south, but around here a Greek salad does have lettuce.  It's typically lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, peppers, feta and olives.
Posted by MrsGandthebeag[/QUOTE]

What American restaurants call Greek salad and what actually is Greek salad are two entirely different things.  OP wants a Greek restaurant to cater her wedding which means no lettuce.

Ella and Pedro

Well....

My fiance and I are both very adventureous diners, who have no allergies or digestive issues (actually, I do sometimes have acid reflux and do have to avoid overly oily or spicy food, but I can do it in moderation, and thus I love Ethopian, Moroccan, Thai, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Greek, Malaysian, Mexican, Portuguese, Spanish, etc. but with any food with spices/curry I ok only as long as I can also have dairy like sour cream or yogurt, and I do go out of my way to avoid the chili pepper items on Thai menus )

So, I'd be like YAY! about Greek (in summary)

On the other hand...

Many of my relatives and his are riddled with preferences, allergies, tolerance issues...

And I would be really careful about:
 
nut allergies (bakalava being prepared in the same bakery or room as cake)

spices/oil/acidic food intolerances (my stepmother has the most boring, bland palette and really can not stand anything more spicy or exotic than Taco Bell)

allergies to other stuff (my FMIL is allergic to grapes!  half a dozen relatives of ours have severe shellfish allergies etc. My FMIL is also allegic to chocolate!  My fiance's cousin is allergic to fish, and nutmeg, and tree nuts, and coconut, and OMG so many things)

THUS...

I'd just go really easy on the menu and get a really good idea of what is possible in terms of food safety.  Food contaimination by using utensils or cooking within the same area is possible in a professional kitchen which is not generally being asked to accomodate the above sorts of issues, and if so, it does not mean they are 'dirty' but maybe just not used to doing big catering events, and so if you have guests with life-threatening allergies to consider, you may want to reconsider?