ded of tired

*yawn*

I'm completely knackered, but can't go to bed just yet.  See, we left to go to dinner about about 4:30, which meant crating Darwin.  We got home around 10:00, which means five and a half hours in the crate.  What does this mean?  It means I'd feel guilty as hell for shoving him BACK in the crate so soon after letting him out.

So, we went to the Kahuna Grill tonight, and were not disappointed.

First of all, their mango iced tea pwns all.  (It's not mango "flavored," but rather a black tea with dried bits of mango in it -- I bought one similar from a tea shop and loved it then.  This was excellent.)

For an appetizer, we got pan-seared poke and pepper/ginger encrusted seared Ahi, both of which were to die for.  OMG.  No kidding -- sit me down with a plate of seared tuna, and I'm a happy girl.

Then, Tora-kun got a ribeye, encrusted with peppercorns, I got mahi-mahi with a crab cream sauce, and Mom got kalua pork.  Mom was disappointed in her dish, though I was a fan of it.  George wasn't impressed either, but again I say -- I liked it quite a bit (sooo tender).  My fish was very good (again, nice and tender), and the steak was also very tasty.  No complaints at all.  The service was phenomenal.  Totally worth the trip. I'm not sure if we'd drive out to Orlando specifically to go there, but if we happen to find ourselves in Orlando, and in need of a place to go eat, we'd totally go back.

However, dinner did have an interesting outcome.

Apparently, rather than having them drop off the food, we're having it fully catered.  This is actually quite funny, because when I started down this road of wedding-planning, I was all, "Very simple reception -- cake and champagne and maybe coffee and that's it."

Then it became, "Hmm, maybe some finger-foods."

Then:  "Huh, some BBQ might not be so bad."

Then:  "Nah.  Let's do Polynesian.  Something simple that they can drop off and we can set up."

Now:  "OMGWTF ROAST PIG!"

Yeah, this place's claim to fame is that they're the only place in Central Florida who'll do a roast pig.  You know -- luau style.  Yes, really. 

And, provided certain conditions work out, we'll be doing this. 

Now, I have mixed feelings about this.  On the one hand, they bring the stuff, cook it on-site, and serve it; they bring their own linens, plates, silverware, etc; they clean up after they're done.  They bring their own decorations.  (I am unclear as to whether they only decorate the buffet area, or if it's an all-encompassing decorating thang.)

To me, this means:  No paper plates for me to buy, no tablecloths to buy, no clean up, and potentially no decorations for me to buy.  Did I mention the no clean-up?  All good things, right?

However, it ... kind of means that the whole "Chinese zodiac" theme is... sort of out of place now, if it's a whole luau thing.  I'm actually a little bummed about that, because -- well, because I thought it was cute and cool and I was looking forward to it.  And if they're going to decorate with a Hawaiian theme (even if it's just the buffet area), then zodiac stuff might not work with the rest of it.  I've got to get a better idea of what encompasses "decorations" for this thing.  I may be getting bent out of shape prematurely.  Our waitress mentioned that they bring along a lot of the tropical flowers they use around the restaurant, so I may still be able to do the zodiac stuff.  Hopefully.  We'll have to wait and see.  What do y'all think?

*yawn*  My god.  So. Tired.

Opinion Time!

Okay.  I've heard from the catering manager and found out that, yes, if we do the roast pig (!) then we can opt out of some or all of the other entree options and substitute them for more side dishes, which is good.  However, I'm unsure of something.  When you have 30 lbs of pig (!), should you even offer a second entree option? 

I say yes.  Mom says no. 

Now, bear in mind that there are no vegetarians on the guest list, and there's no one for whom pork is a dietary restriction.  The pig (!) is an a la carte item and is meant to be incorporated into the other catering "packages."  Mom's opinion is that the pig (!) is practically an attraction in itself, and it's silly to have a second option at all.  My opinion is, I'd be pissed off if I went to a party where the only food option is a meat I positively despise.  I don't know if anyone on the list has strong feelings against pork -- though, with as small as the guest list is, I suppose I could call around and find out.  I mean, it won't cost anything extra to offer, say, teriyaki chicken alongside the pork.  I'm not falling into that "trying to please everyone" mentality, but I also don't want to be rigid and unflexible.

And I've already decided that if anyone (*cough*like Mom*cough*) gives me crap about my final decision, there will be no catered dinner -- like I said at the start of this odyssey -- and there will be a post-ceremony caravan to Whataburger.

Yeah, you just think I'm kidding.

Of course, they're willing to brew the mango iced tea and bring it, and for that alone I may make certain concessions.  Because, damn.  That was good tea.

Anyway, let's try the poll option, shall we?

[Poll #745630]