Main Course

Address:	175 Main St, New Paltz, NY 12561, USA
Phone:	+1 845-255-2600
Site:	maincoursecatering.com
Rating:	4.3
Working:	Closed 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–9PM 9AM–9PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Steve Zink

This is a review for our wedding catering which took place October 12th in Rhinebeck NY. Let me just say that my wife is totally amazing! And this was the best party Ive ever been to, the best day of our lives. We had an outdoor ceremony on a sunny day with rolling hills of fall foliage for a backdrop surrounded by 144 happy family and friends. Our designer, wedding site, rental agency, dj, and band were some of our many awesome vendor experiences. Main Course, was, unfortunately, a dud. Bruce, the head chef, is a very talented cook who has decades of experience and uses an elaborate network of local producers and local fresh ingredients. Bruce was pleasant to talk to in the first meeting and promptly disappeared from involvement after that. The organization of this catering business was very poor in our experience. Over the final several months leading up to our big day, it was very difficult get quality time on the phone or in person with Main Course Staff. When lobbying for our business, a Main Course selling point had been that Bruce said he would be there for our whole event, he was conspicuously absent on wedding day. Later when confronted on this point, Bruce said he was there for the setup. At the wedding, Main Course provided good appetizers and a nice harvest table but the main entrees and soup had much diminished flavor when compared to our wedding tasting date. The butternut squash soup was not thick and richly flavored, the mother of the bride thought it was celery soup it was so watery. The serving sizes of the entrees and the family style vegetables were very small compared to what was discussed at the tasting. Heather, one of the Main Course staff, had asked Kathleen if she wanted flowers on the cake, we had answered yes. Kathleen ended up using her bouquet to decorate a flower-less cake just before the cake cutting. Later Bruce said it was our responsibility to plan any flowers for the cake with a florist. Moreover, many dozens of rental units of our dinner rental, including more than 100 dessert forks went missing at our event. Main Course was very difficult to work with after the event; it took them 14 days to respond to my email and a full month to set up a phone meeting. Main Course added many required rental charges one week before the wedding including an expensive stove and a caterer tent. They up-charged staffing for the event and up-charged vendor meals. Main Course ice/mixers are priced at $10pp, our friends who were married in August in upstate NY paid $4 for ice/mixers pp. The wedding was the best day of my life, but, for you, I would recommend recruiting one of the many other talented Hudson Valley Caterers who seem eager to work with you. You should be able to find this at or below $71 meal pp we paid! Good Luck:)

David Corbett

Neither my wife nor I were from the Hudson Valley area, where we chose to have our wedding (because its so beautiful and many of our friends live there or nearby). We were truly flying blind. Our venue (Glynwood Farm) recommended Main Course, and it was one of the best decisions weve ever made. Amanda, our contact person, and Bruce, the chef, were a delight to work with -- easy-going but professional, creative but responsive -- and their menu was imaginative, true to the season, varied (with something for everyone), and most importantly -- delicious. The pre-ceremony refreshers were popular all around, and the bar service was perfect -- superb wine and champagne offerings and a full bar. People almost stuffed themselves on the delicious appetizers -- the tomato tartlet, spanakopita, lobster roll, mushroom tart, duck mini-BLT, and goat-cheese lollipop were particular hits -- but when it came time to sit down and have dinner, believe me, no one said, "Im full." We had short ribs and monkfish for our entrees, and they were both perfect, plus the barley-stuffed butternut squash and spoon bread were big crowd favorites. The dessert table was another joy -- chocolate truffle lollipops and apple cider donuts and cookies and more -- and the cake (vanilla custard, chocolate ganache and yellow cake) was simply delicious (and beautiful). Even more importantly, the staff responded brilliantly when the weather turned everything upside down. Rain and cold made impossible our original plan to have the ceremony outside. Bruce quickly conferred with his staff and the DJ and within a half an hour everything was arranged so the ceremony could be held just outside the tent (the rain had stopped by then), with heaters warming everyone in their seats and the Hudson Valley hills as a backdrop to the ceremony itself. It ended up perfectly and beautifully. Weve had so many people tell us that if this was one of the best weddings they ever attended, and Main Course had a huge role in that. Were exceedingly grateful and feel very, very fortunate to have had them for our caterer. Highly, unequivocally recommended.

Ateet Mathur

I dont usually write reviews but in this case I felt I had to show my appreciation. I was coming from New York City and had to plan a last minute event in the area. I called Main Course for catering options on two days notice with no real direction other than two of the 10 members were gluten free. The level of service was beyond what I expected and the food they prepared was a hit. The smoked salmon with a tart aioli, smoked turkey with chipotle spread and the summer squash with mozzarella and roasted tomato jam were raved about. One of the attendees said it was the best gluten free bread he has ever had. I also recommend the lavender and the cucumber dry sodas. Our guests took all the extra bottles. Overall, we were all highly impressed with the quality of food and I, personally, greatly appreciated the customer service and their willingness to accommodate my last minute request. I will definitely be back the next time I am in the area and recommending Main Course to everyone I know. Thank you Main Course for an amazing experience and keep up the great work!!

Anonymous User

Bruce and his staff are extremely unprofessional. Not returning phone calls, waiting until the last minute to send documents. Calling the bride 4 hours before the wedding to make final decisions! Then they gave an estimate that was off more than 7 THOUSAND DOLLARS! Staff had no customer service skills, talking back, not following through on requests for drinks, ignoring. Do not have your wedding or special event with this company! You will highly regret it! The trickle down effect from management shows because no one had any pride or respect for their work. All that was shown was animosity and attitude. Worst of all they never apologized or recognized their poor attitude and service.

Dan Africk

For a farm to table place, there are surprisingly few vegan options. The menu and ordering process are confusing, its hard to tell what they have and when your food is ready- Im fine with no waiters, but theres got to be a better system.. It can often be crowded and hard to find a seat, and the outdoor chairs are metal, a terrible idea if its cold out. That said, the food is pretty healthy, there are some options for everyone, and they do have some beer (bottled). Its not a terrible place, but its a lot of hassle and not cheap for mediocre food, and I think other options in town are better and more enjoyable.

NewPaltz Review

Main Course has a great philosophy behind their kitchen and their menu. But I recently took some visitors to the area to this place and the three things we notice were: Dirty tables. Shitty staff. Cold food because nothing came out together. And a side note: 1$ for bread with the soup? Penny pinch much??? This place could be good. If youre moving to our area and looking for the best chefs please spend time asking around and youll find that Main Course is good at promotion and bad at follow through. If Main Course was in the middle of a small town in the Midwest it would be the best game in town...