Appetizer to go suggestions [General]

2015 Jan 5
Ok Foodies... I want your brainz... working for me, I mean, not on a platter with Fava beans and a nice Chianti altho i'm certain you all have tasty thinkymeatz...

...what was I talking about? Ah yes... appetisers... here's the deal.... I have a party thing this weekend. I need an appetiser for 30 people. I will not have time to cook, so order/pickup it is.

I'd be interested in your suggestions for something awesome. I want this to blow peoples' minds and tastebuds and leave them demanding to know where I bought such foodie-goodness which they must have to shove into their heads again in the future.

No particular cuisine, allergy or aversion requirements. Anything goes.

No work tho... no mixing, shucking, lighting things on fire, chanting or ritualistic sacrifices. Reheating is fine but preferably in the thing it was picked up in.

Price - $50 would be nice, $100 is my cutoff.

For this same group in the past I have done Golden Palace eggrolls, and assorted smoked fish/seafood from Whalesbone (both were great btw but I can't just lazily repeat greatness).

I can pretty much drive anywhere in Ottawa or Gatineau to get this.

I eagerly await your brilliance.

2015 Jan 6
Hmm...I'm curious to see what others suggest. It's a tight budget that doesn't suit catering IMO.

I'll throw an out of the box suggestion in, what about getting several banh mi subs and cutting them into finger sandwiches and skewering them with tooth picks? At least it's something different, interesting and cheap. I'd be happy with that.

2015 Jan 6
What about something like sushi?

Might not blow peoples' minds and tastebuds, but there would be no reheating needed, and it always looks pretty.

I'll bet 100 bucks would buy some impressive tasting/looking sushi.


2015 Jan 6
Vietnamese rolls ?

2015 Jan 6
Can you take the time to drive to Kemptville?
B&H Grocer makes awesome english style "pork pies", pasties, sausage rolls. We had some awesome lamb pies seasoned with mint & rosemary over Christmas. You may want to call & see what's available but the food has been a hit everytime we show up with it.
**There is a previous link here but I am not great with that...here is the website www.localgrocer.ca/ I originally found them looking for "Melton Mowbray Pie". It is actually a Lancashire style pie they make there but absolutely delicious!
We had a pie party last year with several pies and everyone love them.
Prices are so reasonable it is almost a crime! 5" pies are $4.40 and the tiny pork pies are only $2.40. (A veal/pork tourtiere at Christmas was $8.99-to give you an idea of cost)
And to boot they have British piccallilli and chows to serve with.

2015 Jan 6
chinese pork burger from rice pea. they are a decent size, so you could get 4 or 2 little bite size pieces out of 1. Put a little hoisin and pickle slices inside.....amazing.

2015 Jan 7
Some interesting suggestions... thanks all.

@W.C. those pies are particularly tempting... Kemptville... hmmm...

Anyone else?

2015 Jan 7
YOu could get in touch with the Gals at Red Apron and see if there is anything they can fancy up for you. I know that anything I've had from there has been killer, but I cant say I've ever had appetizers from them.

They have been in the catering business for over 15 years I think, so they should be able to do a pretty good job for you.

2015 Jan 7
I'd definitely second Red Apron! The stilton "pate" from Thyme and Again is amazing but I think they are closed until the 7th. You could also try the Piggy Market to see what the guys could do for you. It would likely be closer to the $100 cut off though...

2015 Jan 8
Seconding Thyme & Again Stilton Pate. Their Smoked salmon one is great too. I believe they are open again today.

2015 Jan 8
OSM I'd second the pork pies. Pic is a little one, Simple Simon, from B&H. They are solid, best served cold, and could be cut in half, fourths or sixths if desired. They are not highly seasoned (salt may be all afaik) so I serve with fg pepper as seen. Good porky flavour. They would be happy to take your order I think, best to call and find out if they are yer 1st choice, friendly small-town folks, all of them there. I had the owner reach into his pocket to overcompensate me when I commented about being charged GST on some deli items that he agreed shouldn't have GST added.
For your needs I also like the look of FF's sushi platter here: ottawafoodies.com
I'd also be keen on some fresh spring rolls such as Francis mentioned.

2015 Jan 8
Thirds on the pork pies and add some scotch eggs. Delicious. They make all this stuff on Thursday and some of it, esp the scotch eggs,sell out quickly.

2015 Jan 9
Chinese BBQ pork from Yang Sheng. Bring some toothpicks. They sell them in take away aluminum platters. For 30 people, 2-3 platters should be more than enough. It is $16 or 18 per platter.

2015 Jan 9
Kowloon sells small vegetarian spring rolls at a ridiculous price (5 for $1 or 2). Pick up a bottle of sweet chili sauce to go with it while you are there. Might want to reheat them and they sell them in paper bags so would need to bring some aluminum paper.

2015 Jan 11
OSM-we are all curious. What did you end up bringing?

2015 Jan 11
Andy-we love the Simple Simon & only $2.40 (same price for the tourtiere small pies before Christmas)

2015 Jan 13
To close the loop, firstly and foremostly, thanks all for your suggestions.

The host told me what he was serving - a massive slow smoked roast - and it made a starter as heavy as pies or pork somewhat redundant, so in the end, reluctantly, i went back to Whalesbone... my reluctance was wholly in the repetition because the smoked fish i got... haida salmon, cold smoked trout, sablefish and octopus, were awesome and vanished. Quickly. The Art-is-In bread didn't hurt either.

That said i have another thing in a few weeks and am still fixated on those pies...