Takeout dinner for 60, Albany Park

Hi LTH,

My daughter's class is responsible for providing dinner for 60 teachers during report card pickup next week. Last year they did Pompeii, which was a big hit. They are also considering Wholly Frijoles. Here are the parameters:

Albany Park (although willing to go as far as Taylor Street)
60 people, some vegetarians, varying degrees of adventurousness
Alas, the teachers are tired of Middle Eastern food, which would be a natural since the school is in Albany Park.
Our budget is $400-$500.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated!

Cheers, Jen

How about Bahn-Mi from GNR Nhu Lan Bakery?

As much as I like Wholly, food for 60 would be taxing for them.

How about Tamales Garibay or 5411 Empanadas?

As much as I like Wholly, food for 60 would be taxing for them.

How about Tamales Garibay or 5411 Empanadas? As an added thought 5411 and the also great Tamale Spaceship both have food trucks and for your size order they may very will bring the food to you.

Great ideas, thank you! Banh mi might be a little too adventurous, although I love them.

For empanadas, how many would constitute a dinner serving? Two? Three? We might be able to flesh them out with sides from Costco.

Cheers, Jen

Pie-love wrote:Great ideas, thank you! Banh mi might be a little too adventurous, although I love them.

For empanadas, how many would constitute a dinner serving? Two? Three? We might be able to flesh them out with sides from Costco.

Cheers, Jen

5411's offerings may see small but 2 or 3 are pretty good for most people. I usually go for 4 different ones because I'm always intrigued by variety and then end up staring at the 4th (and I'm 5'-10" and about 180lbs).

Also, for the vegetarians, Tamale Spaceship's vegetable/cheese tamales do not use lard in the outer masa layer. Not sure about their non-vegetarian offerings.

I'm a big fan of 5411 Empanadas also. For 60 people, I'd just order 180 (3 per person) - a little bit all of the types.

There's that new place Johnny Casserole, at Irving and Damen . . . and they deliver if that matters.

Smoque?

trs23 wrote:Smoque?

Smoque was my first thought but it can be pricey for 60 people. We did takeout the other day for 6 and it was over $100.

spinynorman99 wrote:

trs23 wrote:Smoque?

Smoque was my first thought but it can be pricey for 60 people. We did takeout the other day for 6 and it was over $100.

True-- we love our teachers, but our budget is only about $400-500. Thanks for the suggestions everyone though-- even if we don't use these places this time, there is always another lunch!

Cheers, Jen

Most Asian restaurants can do pans of food for groups even if they do not specifically post catering menus. These days Chinese and Thai cuisine generally appeal to even less "adventurous" eaters, and appeal to vegetarian diners. I haven't tried Great Sea for a large group, but it's an obvious place to start in Albany Park.

Smassey wrote:Most Asian restaurants can do pans of food for groups even if they do not specifically post catering menus.

The same is true of Smoque. Your budget might go further than you think.

stevez wrote:

Smassey wrote:Most Asian restaurants can do pans of food for groups even if they do not specifically post catering menus.

The same is true of Smoque. Your budget might go further than you think.

Alas, Smoque's catering menu is really just their regular pricing (meats by the pound, quarts of sides, etc). That's generally how we order. And it adds up quickly - you can scale back and keep it at $9-10/person (without beverages and likely sales tax) but that's much higher than the alternatives.

http://smoquebbq.com/catering.html#CateringMenu

And the salad (which is a very good house salad) is about the only option for the vegetarians.

We had a carryout dinner from Rub's Backcountry Smokehouse Barbeque

It came out at about $360; although we ordered for 26 and actually had 32 people (portions are generous). There were still leftovers (but not of the meat - that was amazingly popular).

Jared (a frequent LTH contributor) and his staff did an excellent job - I accepted the compliments, but Jared & Co. really deserved them.

I think if you loaded up on starches and veggies (all of which are excellent - especially the Texas Caviar, if you like spicy food), you could easily feed your crowd within your budget.

spinynorman99 wrote:

stevez wrote:

Smassey wrote:Most Asian restaurants can do pans of food for groups even if they do not specifically post catering menus.

The same is true of Smoque. Your budget might go further than you think.

Alas, Smoque's catering menu is really just their regular pricing (meats by the pound, quarts of sides, etc). That's generally how we order. And it adds up quickly - you can scale back and keep it at $9-10/person (without beverages and likely sales tax) but that's much higher than the alternatives.

http://smoquebbq.com/catering.html#CateringMenu

And the salad (which is a very good house salad) is about the only option for the vegetarians.

Except that they do everything custom for large groups and would, very likely, if you told them the audience, be able to work with you on price and quantity. If it's something you're interested in, I wouldn't avoid them because of a posted menu. That's merely a starting point.

They also do cole slaw, amazing Mac & Cheese, Cornbread and Peach Cobbler that are vegetarian.

boudreaulicious wrote:Except that they do everything custom for large groups and would, very likely, if you told them the audience, be able to work with you on price and quantity. If it's something you're interested in, I wouldn't avoid them because of a posted menu. That's merely a starting point.

They also do cole slaw, amazing Mac & Cheese, Cornbread and Peach Cobbler that are vegetarian.

Hey, I love Smoque. We order from there frequently. I just think that it's not an across-the-board answer. And really, cornbread mac and cheese and slaw as an answer for vegetarians? The slaw and mac & cheese are fairly pedestrian and I think it's an inconsiderate accommodation.

Anyhoo, didn't come to argue, just to suggest. Love, love, love Smoque but it didn't click as the solution to this problem.

GNR Sun Wah will do the trick nicely for vegetarians and omnivores. I did a big birthday part there for 50+ a few years ago with way too much food. PM me if you want menu suggestions.

They are lovely to work with.

Oh and grab a few pies from GNR Hoosier Mama pie. Paula does NOT use lard but butter for her crusts.

How about one of Albany Park's Serbian delis like Lalich or Sandy's? Sandy's has a bakery and restaurant. They do catering. They make all kinds of sausages, cevapcici, roast pork and lamb. They also make a variety of salads, as well as fresh breads with spreads like ajvar (eggplant and peppers) and kajmak (soft cheese) as well as cheese, spinach and mushroom bureks for the vegetarians. They could probably make vegetarian cabbage rolls or stuffed peppers with rice and mushrooms. They do a weekend buffet at their restaurant, so they are equipped to set up a smorgasbord for many people. I am sure they could do something for < $10/pp.


Edit: I guess Sandy's is actually in Jefferson Park.