Thanks for the report back! This is why I stick with eating only the tapas from La Paella. Strangely, despite their namesake, they have never been able to cook a paella properly for me.
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Really yummy apps. My favorite chicken croquettes.
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Guerrilla Tacos, Brodard & Home Cookin’… Mmm mm!
Holy Basil was the original plan for catering but they are delivery-only and the more guests added to the list the more the hostess (me) wanted full-service. Final tally was 34 adults (all vaccinated!) & 4 chowpups! 
Hailey & Justin aka The A-Team
We did a 4 Taco Package plus Guac & Chips. GT setup everything (compostable plates & utensils), prepared, dressed & served each taco (no do-it-yourself condiments), cleaned & pitched-in to help setup dining tables, light candles, etc. The catering manager, Aaron, was very responsive and did great helping me select the right package & menu for our group. He also talked me into & out of a couple selections - the roasted chicken tacos I thought would be boring were sooo good! Everything was deliciously on point and guests were raving! Highly Recommend. 
http://www.guerrillatacos.com/catering
It gets better…
DIL’s mom brought Brodard (Shrimp & Vegetarian Cha Gio, Grilled Pork Spring Rolls, Shredded Chicken Salad) and Homemade Veggie & Soy Spring Rolls, Vegetarian Chow Mein and a Vegetarian Rice Dish that was completely devoured.
Peeps were all over this table, but I managed to squeeze in a few snaps! The homemade dishes were seriously as good as the restaurant dishes. Even the carnivores were coming back for seconds. Question: how long do you have to know someone before you start hawking them for their recipes? 
Vegan Desserts - Tres Leches Cake, Cupcakes & Tart
Again with the “Delicious! This is vegan?”. Especially impressive was creating the Tres Leches without real Leches! It’s from Grain Cafe on Pico in Mid-City. 
It was a celebration of our son’s birthday, he & his fiancé’s recent marriage and both reaching career milestones. It was the perfect occasion to start creating that bond between new families & friends.
Aww… okay, enough mushy gushy. Let the fun begin…
Let there be lights!
Turning our backyard from a jungle with rickety patios into a functioning environment has been a long work in progress… one that’s still ongoing… we don’t have lights on the lower patio yet! So I strung these myself! There’s more on the other side. 
Oh and if you want to prevent the bug sitch from turning into mosquito-gate, these 3 items are your friend…
Music took care of the city noises.
Happy Backyard Partying!
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Now that’s a party! Beautiful light job on that patio!
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What a wonderful celebration!
With regards to recipes (because I own a little old Vietnamese lady of my own), I can assure you that they are probably not written down. They are probably more like guidelines stored in her memory. You might be better off asking her for a grocery shopping and cooking adventure where you take notes and video. That way you know exactly what packaged products she uses…because they all are not created equal. And it’s high praise and a source of pride for you to compliment so much that you ask for cooking techniques. She’ll be thrilled.
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Okay!
Thanks! A shopping, cooking adventure is a great idea! I also want to pick her brain about how she made the soy products taste so good! Carnivores were tearing it up!
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but what about the smog sitch?
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Big trees, babe… big trees. 
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Resurrecting this thread. Looking for a good but not crazy expensive catering option for 25ish adults. Would love to keep it close to $750 and def under $1K. (Booze budget separate and likely to be bank-breaking.) Anyone had catering they loved in recent years?
The last time I posted in this thread (2019), we ended up going with Cafe Vietnam Truck which was affordable and a huge hit. Can’t repeat that though. Guerilla Tacos looks good based on the above but has a $1K minimum. Holy Basil sounds tasty but currently looking for something prepared on-site since that’s a bit more fun.
Would love any tips folks have. Wanting to avoid the ubiquitous taquiza option, although I suppose one doing pastor off a trompo could be fun.
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Maybe a delivered whole suckling pig lechon? Buy some tortillas and salsas and have a lechon taco bar.
There’s a lot of pizza places which will bring an on site oven to cook pizza. You can find them on Instagram.
I know some restaurants in little mumbai will cater and bring a tandoor oven to cook naan and chicken on site.
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Speak Cheezy is still catering their pizza.
I want to cater in from African Chop Truck because I love their food.
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Quarantino pizza I believe is right around that price range.
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Thanks all. Should def have mentioned that we did the pizza oven thing a year ago via Los Angeles Pizzeria Co. and would want to switch it up
Love the lechon and tandoor ideas
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Hey there! I catered in for 30 people using African Chop.
The food was a great hit and I feel I got a very high quality product for reasonable pricing.
What I got
Sauteed spinach
Jollof rice
Black beans
Sweet plantains
Suya (beef)
a jar of the #beloved hot sauce
Except for the beef all of the food was vegan - it was delivered to my house by Chef Opportune divided into smaller trays divided just as requested. I had a delayed service and wanted to be able to refresh the food as necessary.
I highly recommend using this kind of food (and this business!) for anything that is buffet style serving.
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Love it.
Their mackarel is 
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Consolidating info. $200pp 8 person min. 15 person max.
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FTC meetup buyout?!
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