Our First Tasting

Steve and I had our first tasting two nights ago...at our rehearsal dinner venue! We finally picked a place after researching/visiting restaurants in and around our Brooklyn neighborhood. We were looking for the perfect spot that fit our criteria:

1) Private room
2) Space to rehearse (since we won't be able to rehearse at our venue)
3) Delicious food
4) Affordable per person rate (since we're hosting the rehearsal dinner ourselves)

It wasn't hard to find places with private rooms and ample space to rehearse. Delicious food is also not hard to find in Brooklyn because there are so many wonderful restaurants. Our problem was with satisfying #4. Some places charge way too much per person for family style/prix fixe menus. At other restaurants, the rates are reasonable but they require a bigger group to use the private space. We're having a small, intimate rehearsal dinner with just 17 people.

One option we really wanted but didn't think we could afford at first is a nearby Italian restaurant called Scottadito. We actually went to a wedding there last summer (it was our officiant's wedding...more on that soon!) and the food was AMAZING. It was served family style and it was just so, so good. After ruling out a bunch of other places, we reconsidered Scottadito and realized that with a little extra saving (which Steve and I have been doing all along to cover random wedding expenses), we could totally pull it off. And it fits the rest of our criteria. They have a wine cellar room in the basement with a large table that seats up to 22 people. It's cozy, with wine bottles lining the walls and candlelight.

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On the side of the room without the table, we'll be able to run through our ceremony before dinner. And the food. OMG, the food. Our family style menu will consist of warm Mediterranean olives to munch on, bread, mesclun salad with cherry tomatoes, a pasta course (homemade ricotta and spinach gnocchi, sage and butter--their specialty and SO tasty), a meat course (chicken with mushroom ragout--also delicious and not too mushroom-y), mashed potatoes, string beans, and for dessert, a flour-less chocolate cake they make in house that is TO. DIE. FOR. Steve's not normally a chocolate cake person but he was eating more of this cake than I was last night! Besides the cake, we got to taste the bread, pasta, chicken and mashed potatoes. We wiped every plate clean and felt so happy afterward.

I wish I could show you pictures of the food. I tried taking a few on my phone but the lighting wasn't working out for me. You'll just have to take my word for it that the presentation was lovely.

At first, we wondered if we should just cave and spend the extra money to have an extra pasta and meat dish but we ultimately decided not to. There will be more than enough food for our small group (since it's family style) and we're very confident our guests will love what we've chosen. We have one vegetarian in the group and they'll make something for her to substitute for the chicken.

The best part is that our rehearsal dinner is taking place in Brooklyn, our home. Once we're married, we'll be able to eat at Scottadito and reminisce about our rehearsal dinner. Maybe it'll even become our anniversary spot :)

We ordered rehearsal dinner invitations off Etsy, because while we're in the midst of finishing up our wedding invites, we didn't want to take on another invitation design project. They're simple, inexpensive and will do the trick. I'll show them to you after we send them out!