Georgia-Atlanta

Allow me a minute to vent on the topic of "Catering"


Hi All,

Not only am I having the hardest time finding and deciding on a venue but I am blown away by some by these catering fees.  My preference would be to let my family cook and that way I know everyone will enjoy the food.  However, the fiancé would prefer the event to be catered so that the family can “enjoy” themselves and not have to “work”. 

With that being said, my first dilemma is that these catering prices are ridiculous.  Secondly, I don’t want to spend a bunch of money on food that I know most of them may not eat.  I’m fine with fruit trays, fancy cheeses, carving stations and pretty little entrees on a plate however, my family likes southern cooking.  And since I know that’s what they like, I would like to provide that for them.  Not saying they wouldn’t eat what is being served but I would like them to really, really enjoy the food.  The problem is that I can’t seem to find any caterers that specialize in this type of food.

Knotties, if you know of reputable caterers (or restaurants that will cater) that offer fried chicken, macaroni & cheese, and other southern dishes, PLEASE let me know.  I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for listening.

Vent is done.

Re: Allow me a minute to vent on the topic of "Catering"

  • mjlchamblessmjlchambless member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    A catering (and also a great place to eat) company that kind of does southern cooking with a healthy/unique twist is Flying Biscuit.  There are several locations in the Atlanta area, and they have wonderful food.  Don't let the name fool you, they have lots of dinner entrees.  You can look them up online for their catering menu and they are reasonably priced.  Hope this helps!
  • theanalysttheanalyst member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    mjlchambless, thanks so much for your input (and for listening to my rant).  I've always seen Flying Biscuits as I drive around the city but never knew what type of food they serve.  I'm definitely gonna check it out!  Thanks!!

  • BekkersBekkers member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I second that! When the fiance and I are in town, we eat at the Flying Biscuit a minimum of twice in a weekend. There is something for everyone there, including any vegetarians in your family. 
    My rant of the day has been catering too. I was actually just kvetching to my mom about that 20 minutes ago. I, too, am blown away by catering prices. We are trying to keep our wedding inexpensive, and so far our estimate for food and drinks is 85% of our (hoped for) budget. Guess we'll be dipping into the credit cards more than expected. Good luck! I hope it works out deliciously! If you go with the Biscuit, it will definitely be yummy. 
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • edited December 2011
    Try this http://108bevents.com/documents/home.html The are catering my wedding and they are VERY resonable. You can name your price!

    I hope this helps....!
  • bbyckesbbyckes member
    5000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    The Flying Biscuit is gross, in my opinion.  Not everyone wants black bean patties and stuff like that.

    First you need to decide on the type of food you want to serve.  I'm in the same boat as you -- we're going with a Southern theme and we're having mac n' cheese, green beans, etc with a seafood and chicken entree -- Catering will cost me less than $500 -- and my mom or family members will not have to serve anything.

    If you want more details pm me, but you can also see my vision in my bio under "Taste"
  • edited December 2011
    I was at Gabriel's this weekend choosing a wedding cake and I was surprised to see how wonderful their catering menu was.  I don't think it would be your cheapest option but they do a fair bit of southern style food (maccaroni and cheese bites, chicken salad in a pie shell, barbeque pork on a sweet potato biscuit, the all essential cheese straws).  They're also super nice people so that's a plus.  It's been a while but you might see if 'Our Way Cafe' is still in business and if they cater, as I recall they made a mean collard greens.  
  • theanalysttheanalyst member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011


    Ladies, THANK YOU so much!  I appreciate all the feedback.  About to look into all of the options you presented.  Look like there's hope after all.  Yay!

  • edited December 2011

    Here are a couple of other Southern food options:
     1. Avalon Catering (my caterer) does a lot of more "gourmet" Southern food (ex/ we're having a grits station, with different toppings you can put on your grits). They might be pricier than you like, but I think the food is good and they use lots of local ingredients.

    2. We also considered Low Country Barbeque - they do a lot of weddings. We didn't choose them because they weren't the best fit for our wedding, but I would feel comfortable hiring them for another event.

  • edited December 2011
    I'm not sure where your wedding is and just how casual you're comfortable going but there is a place in Tucker called Matthews Cafeteria. They serve all southern home style food at a very reasonable price. I think their catering menu is priced around $10/person. That is a meat and a couple of side. I've never used them as a catering service but I do eat there relatively frequently and it's delicious.
  • edited December 2011
    Glorious Events (my probable caterer) has a lot of good Southern menu options. They are also relatively inexpensive compared to pretty much every other pro caterers I've found. 

    I've heard Carole Parks does southern well, too.
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards