CRAFTkitchen Catering
Chopped Cobb Salad – Eggs, Applewood Bacon, Grape Tomatoes, Romaine Lettuce, Avocado, Point Reyes Bleu Cheese
Roasted Vegetable & Quinoa Salad with Tomatoes, Zucchini, Feta Cheese
Crudite Platter with Housemade Hummus, Pattypan Squash, Asparagus, Grape Tomatoes, Zucchini, Carrots
Chicken Salad on Jalapeno Profiteroles
Roast Beef & Boursin Cheese on Pretzel Roll with Tomatoes, Arugula, Horseradish Cream
Applewood Ham, Swiss Cheese, Aioli, Whole Wheat Roll
Peach Kouign Amann
Blackberry PopTarts
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Walnut Brittle
Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Chocolate Chunk Brownies
Lemon Meringue Tarts
Having stated before that if locally owned Restaurants wish to snatch back some of the money Big Pharma pours into chains they only need to make their offerings more accessible it was on Thursday that a presenter who had been to CRAFTkitchen for Brunch several times finally learned of their catering menu, Chef Jaret Blinn both creating and delivering a spread that even managed to best two prior #supportlocal lunches from his place down in Henderson.
Working with both budget and time constraints, a need for items that could go unrefrigerated for several hours without suffering yielding three Appetizers, three Entrees and several Desserts including many dishes suited for Vegetarians it was nearly twenty minutes prior to the designated time that a dozen perfectly arranged trays were delivered fifteen miles from the kitchen that produced them, each carefully unpacked and the only “difficulty” deciding where best to invest appetite amongst so many great choices.
Standing back to watch a sometimes picky staff make their selections first, the avoidance of a refreshing and texturally pleasing Quinoa Salad not unexpected from younger workers who seem to subsist on Popeye’s, Del Taco and Cup o’ Noodles when lunch is not catered, it was with a heaping scoop of this plus Cobb Salad topped in Avocado and Blue Cheese that things started lightly, a bright tray of Vegetables largely showing off sourcing save for the Housemade Hummus that several claimed was the best they’ve tasted including afternoons when Chickpeas or Parsley Mediterranean have delivered.
Moving next to two past-favorite Sandwiches, housemade Roast Beef with just a touch of Horseradish Cream and herbed Cheese showing well on Blinn’s top-notch Pretzel Rolls while slices of Ham and Swiss on Cereal Bread also went quickly despite some initial skepticism about “green Cream” from one receptionist, it was nonetheless a new creation that had everyone talking throughout the rest of the day, creamy Chicken Salad with bits of Red Onion absolutely delicious on its own but even better on housemade Pate a Choux tinged in Jalapenos that held up without much sog for at least eight hours.
Never one to pass on Baked Goods or Desserts, particularly when involving the talents of Chef Blinn and Beth Ryan-Small, suffice it to say that an off-menu Kouign Amann was proofed and crisp enough that one had to question whether Jaret had sent a gift from his recent trip to b.patisserie in San Francisco while the Blackberry PopTarts specifically requested by a recent Brunch visitor proved once again to be the best of their kind whether here or in any city that an “artisan” version has been tasted to date.
Happy to see CRAFTkitchen’s Carrot Cake included, a few extra slices of bold Spices and tangy Frosting used to brighten the day of someone hospitalized at St. Rose Dominican next door, it was from an assortment of Cookies, Brownies and Lemon Tarts that everyone got their Sugar fix, the fudgey squares with Dark Chocolate Chunks better than ever before while the Cookies sticky with Caramel were messy but even more enticing after a few seconds in the microwave.
N/A: Making it blog policy to not ‘rate’ places based on catering alone there is no doubt Jaret and Tami put just as much time, effort and passion into off-site events as they do inside of CRAFTkitchen, the timely delivery and exceptional presentations consistent across three events with each even better than the last.
RECOMMENDED: Roasted Vegetable & Quinoa Salad, Chicken Salad on Jalapeno Profiteroles, Ham Sandwich, Peach Kouign Amann, Blackberry PopTarts, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Chunk Brownies, Chocolate Caramel Cookies.
AVOID: N/A.
TIP: See the website for sample catering items or contact the Restaurant directly with a budget and let them do what they do best.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
www.craftkitchenlv.com
