I was describing my wedding to someone the other day, and I mentioned that we’d had a taco bar for the food at our reception. Aghast, my friend said, “A taco bar for a wedding? Weird!”
She was certainly not the first to react this way, but it got me thinking. Why, exactly, do we have such specific ideas of what constitutes special-occasion food? Does a multi-course, chicken-breast-and-side-of-veg dinner menu really read “wedding” more than a plate full of salsa, shredded pork and piles of melty cheese? From my own experience, the answer is a lip-lickin’ “no.”
My husband and I chose to have a taco bar at our reception—provided by the amazingly delicious Midtown Taqueria located at the corner of 38th and J streets—for two reasons: one, we went there a lot and loved the food; and two, we realized that it would be an easy, tasty and unique way to feed our guests that could please a variety of palates and dietary needs. What more could you ask for from reception food?
The taco bar was a hit, and more than one guest came up to us during the course of the night to tell us how ingenious the idea was—“A taco bar? At a wedding? Cool!”
In lieu of a giant cake, we had a table full of cookies (provided by Cookie Connection in Loehmann’s Plaza) that was also mighty popular. Through both unexpected food choices, I realized that people might not have the stodgy expectations of what constitutes food for a celebratory occasion as much as I’d anticipated. It seems that as long as people get to stuff their faces with yummy things while they’re cutting a rug and enjoying your presence, it doesn’t really matter what you serve as long as it’s, well, yummy. And if you and your intended like a particular kind of food that makes you “you,” it seems only fitting that you should get to chow down on whatever that is on the most hectic—though memorable—night of your life.
Tacos have never tasted better.
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