Any good catering suggestions? (Charlotte: budget, jobs, default)

[sent]

I'm looking for some good lunch catering suggestions, preferably with delivery to the Vandy area. We often order lunch for about 16 - 20 people and I would like some variety. Most of my co-workers are males in their late 20s/early 30s and they are a hungry bunch. The group usually likes hearty lunches where no one will go hungry and there even might be some leftovers.

So far we have had good experiences with box lunches from Panera, Bread & Company, and Qdoba. Catering from Whitts, Pizza Perfect, and Olive Garden were also good choices everyone enjoyed. Just Us Girls catering was a little disappointing, and JJs catering was not well received. We did Provence once and although I really like their food, the guys weren't exactly thrilled with the skimpy, non-traditional sandwiches. I also called Boscos and Pancake Pantry and unfortunately they don't cater. I've been having a hard time coording with the catering department at Whole Foods - they almost never answer their phone and they don't deliver! We are trying the box lunches from Honey Baked Ham on Monday.

Let's hear your lunch ideas!

[alleycat]

We've used Honey Baked a few times. I would say it's "good" but not great.

My office seems to alternate between pizza and sandwiches when we have lunchtime seminars. We're used Ham N' Goodys there on West End in the past (another "just okay"). I think we've used Jersey's Mike's a time or two and that went over pretty well (they also have salads). However, if you've got hungry guys, you can go too far wrong with a variety of pizzas. Remember, guys don't care all that much about variety for this time of thing. If they liked the pizza last time, they will like it this month, and the month after.

[LMN]

What about Noshville ???? or Mikes Deli ??

[KathyNashville]

Calypso Cafe is a good choice - lots of variety. How about Jim & Nick's out on Charlotte?

[denawilliams]

If you want to take a chance and try something completely different, there's a place in Antioch called Jehovah Jireh's Bakery & Catering Services. They have a ton of items to choose. I'm sure they'd deliver out to where you are.

[sent]

Originally Posted by alleycat

We've used Honey Baked a few times. I would say it's "good" but not great.

My office seems to alternate between pizza and sandwiches when we have lunchtime seminars. We're used Ham N' Goodys there on West End in the past (another "just okay"). I think we've used Jersey's Mike's a time or two and that went over pretty well (they also have salads). However, if you've got hungry guys, you can go too far wrong with a variety of pizzas. Remember, guys don't care all that much about variety for this time of thing. If they liked the pizza last time, they will like it this month, and the month after.

Is Ham n Goody's still there? I don't think I've seen it recently when I've drove past there. I agree with you on the Honey Baked Ham box lunches we had today - they were mediocre at best. 13 lunches with drinks clearly marked on our order form, yet they gave at least 3 people the wrong drink. Why would you put a can of Sprite in the box when the person very legibly requested water? Well we won't be ordering from then again.

Our guys must be a picky bunch because if we started having pizza at every lunch meeting 2 - 4 times per month, I would have to listen to them start to complain after a while. Our default lunch is always Panera. No one complains when we order from Panera, and they are always affordable if there is any question of budget.

So the list of suggestions so far are:
Jersey Mikes
Noshville
Mike's Deli
Calypso Cafe
Jim & Nick's
Jehovah Jireh's Bakery & Catering Services

I am going to pick up menus from all the nearby places next week.

[alleycat]

Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you were doing this every week. Yeah, even guys might get tired of pizza at that rate.

Noshville is a pretty good suggestion.

I'm not sure whether Ham N Goodys is still there or not. I drive by there two or three times a week but that's a busy little section of West End and I don't really pay much attention.

[Autumn07]

I'm in Arizona But what about CPK- California Pizza Kitchen?
I think they cater and I noticed from there website not to long ago that they finally opened the first CPK in Nashville recently They have awesome food.

[alleycat]

What about Jack's downtown. They cater.

[akm4]

Oooh, Jack's. Great suggestion. They served the lunches on the set my son was on recently. It was outstanding. I usually don't expect much on those things but Jack's was surprisingly good. The best, of course, was Tomkats, but I doubt they do small jobs like what you need. Worth checking, though. Does Baja Burrito deliver? SATCO?