Graduation galas, pool parties, summer weddings — the high event season soon will be upon us, once Easter and Passover have passed. Unless you’re a pro at throwing parties or you’re going potluck, odds are you’re going to need a caterer. And in a city so full of catering companies, how do you choose a reliable one? How do you know if the food is good or if the bartenders will show up?
Consider EOW your go-to friend with all the great catering recommendations. After all, most of the companies below are caterers we’ve either interacted with ourselves at countless parties and events, or caterers which came highly recommended from other industry professionals.
And the best thing about having a city full of great caterers is that there’s one to suit nearly every need. Such as…
Chef James Ashley is a fixture at both Cafe Luz and the City Hall farmers market as well as his food truck, Bare Bowls. But he also runs a catering company, Pure Catering, which applies his same cooking principles for parties: All of his food is organic and locally sourced from Houston farmers markets or area farms, such as Warfel and Mia Bella. No one makes vegetables taste as good as this guy, or makes a prettier plate of organic goodness.
Also keeping it local is Simpleton’s, a branch of the multi-tasking catering outfit Banquet Depot. Much of Simpleton’s food is seasonal and local — think Texas venison sausage bites with raspberry chipotle sauce or fried Gulf oysters with house-made tartar sauce — and all of it is exceptionally elegant. It even offers bread service from local bakers such as Slow Dough Bread Co. and Kraftsmen Baking.
Keeping kosher? Jenny Tavor Custom Catering has you covered, whether it be a bris or a bar mitzvah. All of the food is prepared to the highest standards, under HKA supervision at United Orthodox Synagogues and — of course — includes plenty of parev choices, too. That doesn’t mean Jenny Tavor’s food is limited, however: You can get everything from mock crab cakes to adorable miniature latkes.
Husband-and-wife team Barbara and Lance McKnight restored the historic Cochran-Hofheinz House in Montrose when they started their catering company, Culinaire, 12 years ago. Today, you can have your event there in the gorgeous mansion, or Culinaire can come to you. And Culinaire offers more than just catering: Barbara McKnight’s capable team can also take care of event coordination, decor, bartending and even entertainment. Oh, and the food itself? Is downright divine.
In a nutshell — from its own website — this is what I love about A La Carte Catering: “Want to serve only orange and white food for a University of Texas event? We’ve done it, including a refreshing cantaloupe agua fresca.” If you want to, say, wow out-of-town wedding guests with serious Texan food, A La Carte Catering can do everything from Tex-Mex to house-smoked barbecue. And yes — it’s all very good.
If you’ve been to an event at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, you’ve been to a City Kitchen event — they’re the museum’s exclusive caterer, but you can solicit their services too. City Kitchen specializes in both seated dinners and events with passed apps and/or food stations, and has an extensive wine list it can bring along as well. Got picky eaters? City Kitchen also has a huge selection of fun foods for vegetarians and pescetarians, such as Cuban black-eyed pea fritters with Creole tomato sauce, fried nopales dusted with cumin and crispy Japanese eggplant with a crawfish tails and Creole remoulade.
Michael Nee’s catering company is truly as elegant as its name implies, with dishes from chef Fernando Hernandez that tweak classics and standards just enough to make them stand out from a crowd: curry crab strudel, pulled barbacoa popovers and agave-grilled salmon with citrus salsa verde are just a few examples of his fine work. Want to try the food ahead of time? Check out The Cafe, a reservation-only dining facility offering a three-course meal to all Houston Grand Opera or Houston Ballet patrons.
Sure, it’s going to cost you. But A Fare Extraordinaire has been dazzling Houston partygoers for nearly 30 years. Owners Karen Lerner and Rachael Volz offer a host of services under one big white party tent in addition to custom catering: bartending, entertainment, photography, floral design, luxury transportation, staging, lighting — you name it, they do it. Now go see if you can book them before the next big-name Houston socialite does…
Another long-time Houston caterer, Mélange has been at it for 25 years and can handle any event you throw at them, be it an office luncheon or a gala wedding. One of the reasons that Mélange has been so successful for so long is the variety of menus it offers, which run the gamut from basic Tex-Mex to Indian feasts. But if you’ve got a crowd that craves comfort food, Mélange can do that too: from Daddie’s Grilled Chicken with caramelized onions and chipotle barbecue sauce to Mom’s Old School Meatloaf.
The Woodlands-based Wicked Whisk Catering is the new kid on the block, but is already getting buzz for its modern menus and clever wine pairings. Turning Japanese? Check out Wicked Whisks’s sushi and sashimi display with yellowfin tuna, salmon, eel, diver scallop and Gulf snapper nigirizushi paired with wild mushroom gyoza with chevre, habanero dashi and fried chives. And that’s just for starters: Wicked Whisk’s menu is extensive, and they’ll even make you breakfast.
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