Food stations

November 24, 2014

Next to the second clothing display was the other food station, a cutout of an Airstream-trailer-turned-diner-car intended to evoke traditional roadside Americana. On the menu were bite-size hot dogs in mini brioche buns with ketchup or mustard; porterhouse beef burgers with cheddar cheese; burgers made with a black bean patty and guacamole; and spiked milkshakes made with bananas, chocolate ice cream, and rum.

Photo: Anna Sekula/BizBash

Adjacent to the City Break vignette was the first of the event's food stations, a farm stand designed to recall what travelers might find on the side of country roads.

Photo: Courtesy of Old Navy

25th Anniversary Fight Night

Fight for Children's signature Benefit, Fight Night, took place on November 13 at the Washington Hilton. The ringside V.I.P. tables ranged in price from $50,000 to $100,000 each and came set with a raw seafood tower and bottle service.

Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com for BizBash

"In 2013, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago had a winter gala with an industrial/warehouse theme. Jewell Events Catering brought in several inventive food stations that matched the theme, but the one that I remember best is a soup station with servers ladling chili and butternut squash soup out of trash cans—clean ones, of course." —Jenny Berg, senior editor

Photo: Alain Milott

"The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles gala is known for its envelope-pushing details. And for 2013’s marijuana-theme bash, those details included some pretty wacky catering: A so-called '4/20 buffet' was meant to evoke the kind of food a stoner with the munchies would scarf down in bulk: Chinese food, hot dogs, mac 'n' cheese, pizza, and junk food like Cheetos and Doritos." —Alice Dubin, West Coast editor

Photo: Nadine Froger Photography

"For sheer exoticism, Dos Equis wins with its Bazaar Noir event staged in Miami in August 2013. The menu consisted of daring fare you won't see at most events: shark tamales, frog wontons with shrimp and sweet-and-sour eel sauce, and chocolate-covered scorpions, crickets, and worms." —Beth Kormanik, news editor

Photo: Courtesy of Dos Equis

"By far one of the coolest catering concepts I've experienced was for TEDMed's 2013 conference dinner at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. United Kingdom company Gastrophonic worked with Occasions Caterers to design multiple flights of food and drink that combined the taste and smell of the small plates with your senses of sight and sound through lighting and music. As the music got bolder, the combinations of flavors in the food and drinks did too. With the food all placed on shelves at illuminated stations, it was an amazing, full-sensory experience." —D. Channing Muller, contributing editor

Photo: Pepe Gomez/Pixelme Photogaphy

"It's got to be the popcorn at MKG's summer party this year. The Pee-wee's Playhouse-inspired event had a lot of weird things going on—including a bar that could only be reached by wading through a ball pit. But the station where guests could top their popcorn with butter pumped from lotion bottles may have been the wackiest. As odd as it was, most people were pretty game." —Anna Sekula, editor in chief

Photo: Courtesy of MKG

Rammy Award Gala

Around 1,900 people attended this year's Rammy award gala, held in July by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. Food pavilions were sponsored by Chile, Peru, and Argentina and served dishes like gazpacho in cocktail glasses.

Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com for BizBash

Fox’s 'Simpsons' Kwik-E-Mart

Fox created a food truck version of the convenience store from the cartoon The Simpsons, coordinated by Jordanah Events, and handed out free slushie drinks, or “Squishees,” to guests for two days during SXSWi.

Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Photo: Paul Loftland

Brûlée Catering

At Philadelphia-based firm Brûlée Catering, executive pastry chef James Rodebaugh creates a summery spread called "Pastry Patio Picnic." The desserts array offers sweets shaped like classic American snacks, and items include "French fries" made of toasted pound cake and "burgers" made with chocolate-ganache pound cake topped with sliced kiwi (meant to look like lettuce) and mango gelee that resembles cheese.

Photo: Courtesy of Brulee Catering

Pretzel Bar

Offering a pretzel bar with several varieties puts a spin on the classic snack. Paramount Events Chicago has a pretzel station with plain, sea salt, cheese, and pepperoni pretzels that hang from a stand. Accompanying sauces include whole-grain mustard and tomato-bacon jam.

Photo: Courtesy of Paramount Catering and Events