Elgin Public Museum and "De La Cocina al Ojo" Exhibit

Mandoline Vista Catering was honored to be selected to provide some authentic Mexican appetizers for an art exhibit at the Elgin Public Museum. It's a wonderful exhibit in the EPM located in scenic Lords Park in Elgin, Illinois.

We were able to provide roasted vegetables, salsa verde, salsa rojo, and fresh guacamole. Our header page is a view of our display.

Here is a link regarding the story that ran in the Elgin Courier News. A log-in is required but can be done in minutes via your email or various social media passwords.

Courier News Story "Elgin Museum Go-ers Can Get Eyeful of Food Photos"

It's easy to get additional information on booking a party with us! Just send us an email at mandolinevista@gmail.com or give us a call at 847.767.4459. We can cater your need with just a simple fruit platter or a full plated dinner.

We'd Be Happy to Tend To Your Event

We have posted several pictures over the last few months of some of our menu items anddisplays. Please feel free to comment on any post on this site or call us for more information on menu's or booking a party. We travel well and as the subject line states, we would rather stay to tend to your function. Our goal is to tend to your event so that you can spend more time with your guests.

A different take on Au Gratin potatoes. These are Boursin Cheese Au Gratins

We can make good use of any prop we may see fit!
This picture is from a recent wedding in a home. Love Is All You Need.

Our famous Grilled Shrimp Cocktail.
Rarely will you find Shrimp Cocktail quite like this.

We stay and tend to your function. We know it is important to you. We are not about just dropping off food in tin foil pans. We can do "Drop Off" catering, if you would like, fruit trays, Pinwheels, etc.

 To follow up a little on the above photo. We would *rather* stay and tend to your event so that you can spend more time with your guests. We do, however, understand that sometimes all you need are a few things dropped off. We can do that as well. Sometimes it's just setting out a few trays that we have meticulously prepared or we can leave detailed instructions as to how to prepare the food we have prepared for you.

We can make any office luncheon a plentiful bounty!
A recent party at a Law Office in Elgin.

We will bring chaffer dishes, baskets, linens, and any needed supplies
for your function.

We can also be reached by email at: mandolinevista@gmail.com

Presentation, Presentation, Presentation

 We specialize in the presentation of our catering productions. An adage we learned long ago was that "people eat with their eyes before they eat with their mouth." While our culinary delights are indescribably wonderful, they are also artfully displayed.

One recent display. Pinwheels artfully layers, Bruschetta, and
Fresh Fruit and Cheese.

If you would like to book a party please do call us at 847.767.4459. 

We can also be reached via email at: mandolinevista@gmail.com

Our famous Ground Turkey
Meat Balls. We serve them with Cranberry Orange Glaze
or a Citrus Barbeque Sauce.

Keep Mandoline Vista in mind for your next event!

With the spring season here and Graduation "season" coming up, please keep Mandoline Vista Catering in mind when looking to book your next function. We can Keep It Simple, or put on the Fancy Pants and prepare a wonderful meal of your choice. See our Facebook Page of photos (linked to the right & "Open to the Public") for more photos. To book a party, ask a question, or go over some menu ideas, please call us at 847.767.4459. Here are some recent pictures.

The use of risers, floral arrangements, baskets and other props make this more than just "brownies"

A nice salad arrangement, choice of dressings
and a buffet of delicious hot food.
Contact us for some menu ideas
847.767.4459

Fresh Carvery of Flank Steak, Grilled Shrimp, Bruschetta, Fruit & Cheese, Grilled Vegetables
The use of greenery, baskets, linen, risers, add so much more to your dining  experiecne
than just some foil pans on a table.
We tend to the little things!

Mandoline Vista Catering Productions December '11

Are you looking for an economical way to entertain guests? We can provide the professionally prepared food and displayed in such a way to make most cruise ships envious. We take the time to meticulously prepare your event with the utmost care and in a very professional and cordial manner. Here are a few pictures from one of our most recent events. Thanks for stopping by, thanks for taking a look. Impressed? We thought so.

Tilted basket of bread

Note the use of props in our displays.

Brownies and cheesecake on a mirror as opposed to some tin platter

We can make any table look like a plentiful bounty!

Platter of Grilled Vegetables displayed on a ceramic platter (NOT plastic)

Arrangement of domestic and imported cheese & fresh fruit.

Please see the right margin for information to make preparations for your next event. You can reach us by phone or email. Please visit our Facebook Mandoline Vista Catering Page. that is set for the "Public" for similar pictures. We are insured and have all the necessary Health and Sanitation Licenses.

Catering Productions December 2011

The holiday season brings Christmas Parties, Madrigal Dinners and all sorts of Festive Activities for the rest of us.  Mandoline Vista Catering is no exception. Here are a few recent photos of our catering displays from recent catering events from December 2011. Please see our contact information in the right-hand margin to book your party or event. Also, the link for the Mandoline Vista Facebook Page is set up for the "Public" to view. You don't even have to be our "friend". You can see more photos of our eye appealing displays there if you click on the highlighted link. Thanks for visiting. Stay hungry!

View of Fruit and Cheese. The chaffer has risotto.

Bruschetta (foreground) and Melange of Grilled Vegetables.

Caesar Salad and Carvery Station

Fruit & Cheese, Grilled Vegetables

Crab Cakes.  Wonderful.

Another view, the sauce for the Crab Cakes is Mango Coulis

Villa Verone Person of the Week

As we explore scenes from an Italian Restaurant in Elgin we find a great place, Villa Verone. Villa Verone is nestled on a small city block on Douglas Ave. A great place for dinner, the occasional live band, or even just to stop for a drink or even a gourmet cup of coffee. After all, we all know that coffee just tastes better in a ceramic cup and a saucer.

Around this time last year, the owner, Pietro Verone began the idea of having an "Elgin Person of the Week" each Thursday night. The EPOW (as it has become known as) is just a great occasion to honor someone or organization in town with a night of friendship, conversation, camaraderie, some appetizers, drinks, and karaoke. It was with great honor that I was chosen for this event on July 21st, 2011. Thanks to Pietro and all the staff at Villa Verone for letting me, on behalf of Rediscover Records, be the guest of honor. Thanks to all of those who attended, thought about attending, or even wished they had intended. I even tried my hand as bus boy and bartender to help out. When I couldn't even make a kiddie cocktail I was kicked out from behind the bar!

I was even coaxed into singing karaoke for the first time in my life. While I may have strummed, fumbled my way through a song or two on my guitar at an open mic, I had never sung karaoke to "canned" music. With a person with very little range, is there something in a person's range who has no range? I looked through the karaoke handbook and found one song by Kris Kristofferson, "Why Me". It was the only Kristofferson song in the entire book of literally thousands of songs! Fortunately, or unfortunately, depends how you look at it, it was one I thought I could sing.  While thankfully, there seems to be no evidence, other than a phone photo or two, of video of this strange singing occurrence. Truth be told, it was probably just okay, I probably just sounded like a guy who never sang karaoke and rarely sings in public.

Here is Kris Kristofferson with the original version of "Why Me".

Lords Park Museum "Reflections of Mexico Art Exhibit"

On April 9th 2011 we had the honor of being asked to participate in the launching of "Landscapes of Mexico". "Landscapes of Mexico" is a photo exhibit in the Lords Park Public Museum to showcase Mexico's Biodiversity.  The exhibit runs until May 29th, 2011. Please make time to visit the exhibit. The Lords Park Museum is conveniently open on the weekends from 12-4 Saturdays and Sundays.


There were also distinguished guests there including; Ed Schock Mayor of Elgin, Federal Judge Manuel Barbosa, President of LULAC Helen Lopez Strom, Manuel Rodriguez-Arriaga the Consul General of Mexico, and local Historian E.C. "Mike" Alft. Other notable guests included Elgin Chief of Police Jeff Swoboda, Elgin Commnunity College Trustee John Dalton, and Elgin Councilwoman elect, Anna Moeller. In addition, there was a crowd of over 100 people to enjoy the festivites. The Folklorico Ballet was fantastico. A very special thank you goes out to Peggie Stromberg and the staff at Lords Park Museum for having us. Great hosts!


We were flattered to able to supply the Hor d'oeurves for the event. Here are a few of the photos from the event. Most of these feature the idea of different props in our display to reflect the theme of the event. There are various native to Mexico bowls used for the food, Mexican books, coffee cups, a Cafe Tacvba CD, and various Elgin History items from our own collection.

Chips and roasted tomato salsa

Since this was an Elgin event, we often use appropriate props like a menu from the Elgin National Watch Factory "National House" from Thanksgiving 1921

Full view of the display. Grilled Shrimp Cocktail, Fresh Fruit
and Sliced Cheese, Medley of Grilled Vegetables

Black and white view of the display, just for a different look

A nicely skirted table (Thank you Peggie Stomberg and EPM)
with a full view of two of the art pieces,
"Reflections of Mexico"

Once again, the use of props appropriate for the event, Spanish - English books,
Mexican rock band Cafe Tacuba CD's, Elgin History Books

Los Chivas!  Viva!

Just another look at the utilization of props in our Catering displays.

Post Concert Dinner at Barrington United Methodist Church

Mini Cheesecakes & Brownies

We recently had the privilege to cater a dinner at Barrington United Methodist Church.  It was a post-concert dinner held at the church.  The menu included Grilled Chicken Breast with Basil Tomato Cream Sauce, Red Bliss Potatoes with Roasted Garlic, Fresh Cut Green Beans with Grauffrette cut Carrots, Crisp Fresh Mixed Greens of Salad (with choice of dressings) and Mini Cheesecakes and Brownies for dessert.  The event was a success and we were thrilled to be there.

If you notice the middle chaffer is on a riser.
It's just an inverted break rack to create a
little elevation.

We would also like to thank some of the volunteers at the church in clean up.

Fresh Bread

Coffee at Patricia Harkin's for Anna Moeller for Elgin City Council

On Sunday, March 20th, 2011, we had the privilege of catering an event for Patricia Harkin.   Patty was sponsoring a fund raiser & coffee meeting for Anna Moeller, who is running for Elgin City Council.  If you are an Elgin-ite and reading this before the April 5th election, please consider voting for Anna Moeller.  The Harkin's home is a wonderful "Painted Lady" of a home in the Historic District of Elgin's magnificent "north end" near where the old Sherman Hospital was located.  Here are a few pictures of the events menu selections.

Brie Cheese Display

Fresh Display of Bruschetta, table centerpiece.

Display of wonderful domestic and imported cheese

Carvery Station, marinated flank steak, wheat and white rolls, horseradish sauce, Boursin Cheese.

Display talbe at a distance.  The Harkin's home is a Grand Painted Lady of a House located in the Historic District of the North End of Elgin

Medley of Grilled Vegetables

With Anna Moeller (right) and Holly Weiderman

Catering Productions

Greetings! We will continue to update this blog, maybe not as much as a music blog as it has been in the past, but more of an amalgam of Mandoline Vista Catering Productions, music as always, sports, and periodic news regarding Elgin, Illinois.

This photo is from a recent event we did. It's a fabulous display of fresh seasonal fruit and sliced gourmet cheese. We take great pride in displays and our food production. We try to remember the idea that people eat with their eyes before they eat with their mouth. Eye appealing as well as taste appealing.

Mono Vs. Stereo

While the Mono vs. Stereo may not have the same cache as Godzilla Vs. Rodan (an analogy so nice, I've used it twice) I've listened to both Beatles box sets enough since their release on September 9th, 2009 that I've come to just a few conclusions about listening to them. The Stereo Box, in my humble opinion, or IMHO, (for those of you keeping score at home) is far superior than the Mono Box set.  Granted, both have their redeeming qualities and it is fun to compare and contrast.  The Stereo box is like looking at the Sistine_Chapel after the restoration they did in the 1990's, nearly 500 years after Michelangelo first laid on a scaffold.  The Stereo box is like digging at the "X" on the treasure map you had as a child!  While the Beatles catalog hasn't suffered the same fate as 400 plus years of Papal elections, soot, candle wax, and tourist photography as the Sistine Chapel the entire catalog was long overdue for being remastered.  What?  You say the original CD's and vinyl feel fine?  I thought the same thing.  I thought it was a revelation the first time I heard "She's A Woman" in 1988 on a radio station in Ft. Lauderdale.  Then I heard McCartney's count off of "I Saw Her Standing There" to kick of "Please Please Me" on the stereo remaster and I was sold.  Admit it, hearing the Beatles for the first time on CD in the late 1980's with the records sequenced as the Beatles released them was like rediscovering them.  I don't care if I ever hear The Beatles songs cataloged on records named "Second Album" "65", "Meet" or "Something New" ever, ever, again.  Once I heard the complete UK version of Rubber Soul I felt like I had been duped, hoodwinked and ripped off by the bastardized US versions tossed down on throats all those years.  Butcher shot, indeed.  And to think The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson was influenced by the US version of Rubber Soul to create Pet Sounds.  What kind of masterpiece would he have created had he heard the British Rubber Soul?

The Beatles on the stereo box just jump to life.  They attack the you, they attack your senses.  Listen to the guitar break on "Bad Boy".  Crisp, clean, and a great example of less is more.  The horns on "Magical Mystery Tour" almost blow your hair back like those old Maxell cassette print ads.  John Lennon's Martin guitar never sounded better.  Paul's harmonies on "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" are beyond reproach.  "Two of Us", "Nowhere Man", "Ask Me Why", are just a couple songs that sound great.  Interesting to note, as pointed out in the liner notes, listen to Paul's harmony on the stereo "If I Fell" and the second time he sings, "vain" he can't quite get the note.  The best thing is to just listen to them for yourself.  You don't have to buy the box set, just pick up one of your favorite Beatles records in the remastered form.

The Mono Box is a little more sweetly packaged than it's stereo counterpart.  Each record has it's own little inner "record sleeve" as well as protective outer plastic sleeve.  Also, the Mono versions of this collection can only be bought as the box set.  You cannot buy the CD's ala carte, so to speak.  If you want the Mono versions, you have to buy the box set.  Beware of bootlegged box sets that look eerily like the real deal.  The versions of the mono set just sound a little, canned, if I can say that without getting struck my lightning.  There are differences, different jet noises on "Back In the USSR", a shorter version of "Helter Skelter" (sans Ringo's famous "I've blisters on my fingers!") and no hand claps on the intro of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da".  "Help" sounds dramatically different in John's vocal.  Paul has a scat style vocal that can be heard at the end of "Sgt Pepper's" reprise.  The list goes on, I could cite probably an example or a revelation with each spin of the CD's, but those are just a few.

There are those who will tell you the Mono set is the way The Beatles intended their early music to be heard.  It was the way music was released back then.  "Stereo" was for a few elite music aficionado's.  Kids listened to records and music on tinny one speaker systems.  Even Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, as pointed out in the liner notes, was first mixed for a mono release.  I can't argue with this premise of listening in the mono format.  Some fans will tell you the vocals in the stereo mixes are too far in one channel, or speaker.  I can see this, turn the balance on your stereo all the way to the right or left (especially on the early recordings) and you can completely lose the lead vocal, save for except maybe some echo.  However, for my hard earned Beatle spendin' dollar, I'll take the stereo releases.  Now, go home and crank the stereo version of "Hold Me Tight" and listen to the hand claps.  It's like they are in the room with you.

Here's the stereo version of "Bad Boy" from YouTube.  Now Junior, behave yourself.

6moons audio reviews: GEM Dandy Hydraulic Record Cleaning Apparatus

Here's a little more hubris regarding record cleaning. It's very important information for us vinyl-o-philes. Also, quite frankly, I just wanted to try out my new "blog this" feature through all things Google.

I'm gonna paraphrase something I read on the Sundazed records site a couple years ago. Show me someone cleaning their records with the D4 record cleaner and I'll show you someone using Windows 3.1.

6moons audio reviews: GEM Dandy Hydraulic Record Cleaning Apparatus

The Outdoor Type

For those who know this song, has there ever been a song on more mix tapes, or in this day and age, playlists, than The Lemonheads version of "The Outdoor Type"? I say The Lemonheads version because most people do not know that Evan Dando did not write this song. It's a cover but they made it so much their own it's like Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower" to Bob Dylan's original off of his record "John_Wesley_Harding", not to be confused with the singer of the same name above the title. Another example, how many times do you listen to The Isley Brothers version of "Twist and Shout"? Thank you. The original song was written by a man by the name of Tom Morgan.

I've listened to The Lemonheads long enough that the CD I bought of It's_a_Shame_About_Ray is one of the original releases because it does NOT contain the alterna-hit of the Simon and Garfunkel cover of, "Mrs. Robinson". I was however a little late to "The Outdoor Type". A friend of mine, Chicago musician Jim Green a.k.a "Wandering Endorphin" (check him out live. If you close your eyes it sounds like there several guitarists on stage but it's just Jim) put it on, what else, a mix tape for me circa 2001. I was immediately floored by this song. Let's give a watch and a listen to The Lemonheads.

The narrator is in the relational confessional. I see you nodding your head in identification. His girl suspects something, there's a chip in his armor of amor. It wasn't like he said he climbed The Matterhorn, it wasn't like he said he was a stuntman, or a skydiver. He's not Shackleton. He just stretched the truth a little to his, at the time, crush, about his abilities to go camping, put up a tent, build a fire, maybe even find chewing gum in a stick. He wants to get the girl. He gets the girl. Now,the fire, so to speak, doesn't start, her hands are on her hip, her eyebrow is raised, her foot is tapping . . . well? The jig is up. It's time to come clean. Who hasn't been in a similar situation in some form or another?

Another artist I've been listening to, Frank Turner, covers "The Outdoor Type". As I mentioned it's not even a Lemonheads song. As I read some of the comments on YouTube, some think it's a Frank Turner song. It's just humorous to read their disbelief when they find out Frank didn't write it. Turner, however, is a great songwriter in his own write. I'm always interested in what some of my favorite artists cover. It's like getting a secret peek in their record collection. I've come to believe that the version a person hears first is always the original, at least in their brain. It's been that way in my finite brain anyway. That's another blog entry for another day, I suppose, Cover vs. Original. Maybe not the same cache as Godzilla vs Rodan, but I digress, let's watch Frank Turner's version.

Pitchfork and Torches

This latest entry is in regards to backlash, namely the music website pitchfork.com. It seems to me that if Pitchfork really plugs a band, gives them a 9.something on their "we're-too-cool-for-you" scale, and launch them as the next big thing, there's the inevitable backlash. I don't dislike Pitchfork, I like Pitchfork, I mean, I

have their site bookmarked,

I go to it when the spirit moves me, someone sends me a link, or I see a reference on Facebook, or something like that. It's nice to have around sometimes. Actually, my favorite pitchforks are the ones used when a posse is organized, like in "Frankenstein" or those brave souls *cough* in the posse organized for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" My favorite artwork from that game "Masterpiece is American_Gothic. You know, the oft-spoofed farmer couple holding, what else? A pitchfork.

I'm here to say, hipsters, that sometimes Pitchfork gets it right. The band where I think Pitchfork got it right is with Girls. While that may seem like a search engine nightmare (well, the try searching the band, "The The") the name of their debut record is called "Album". What's next a song named, "Song"? Oddly enough, the two main components of Girls are two guys, Christopher Owens and Chet Jr White. It's chock full of little pop music nuggets. It's full of enough jangly guitar to make those fans of the Island years of R.E.M. smile. Well they'll smile long enough til they think of the wahwah peddle in "Stand" or about Bill Berry leaving the band and get grumpy. The song titles are either swear words ("God Damned", "Hellhole Ratrace" or "Bad Mean Motherfucker") or have a reference to a girl ("Laura", "Lauren Marie" or the ambiguous "Darling") in them. These are well-crafted pop songs with the record checking in at just around 44 minutes. "Laura" has this feel good hit of the summer feel to it, "Ghost mouth" has that 60's girl group wall-o-sound drum to tambourine sound to it. I realize it's rock critic-speak cliche to cite "Pet_Sounds" as a reference but with some of these songs the reference is apt. Pitchfork gave it a 9.1 on their ratings scale. Read more for yourself: Pitchfork Girls "Album" review.

Getting back to Pitchfork backlash. I realize there has been music backlash probably since the first lute but I think some music is shoved aside because of the hype or from Pitchfork. "Oh, that's just one of those 'pitchfork' bands", which translates for some to "they are wimpy indie rock bands with fey lyrics and dudes who look like douche bags". While, that sentiment may hold true for some Pitchfork bands or indie rock bands, not always. What if Pitchfork was around when Neutral Milk Hotel's "In The Aeroplane Over the Sea" was released? The Replacements "Tim"? What if Neutral Milk Hotel was new today and played the Pitchfork festival and not Lounge Ax like they did in the late 90's? Would NMH experienced similar backlash? Would people have tossed them aside as some sort of "pitchfork band"?

Granted, water seeks it's own level and if something is great, it'll be regarded as such despite the hype. But before you dismiss the next big thing from Pitchfork (Okay, you can dismiss F--- Buttons) some of these bands to bear a listen for yourself and are really good despite some sort of 9.something on the pocket protector scale.

Funny, as I was writing this I looked up NMH's "Aeroplane" on Pitchfork and they gave it a 10.0, seven years after it's initial release. Hmmm, Pitchfork gave it a 10.0, I guess if I'm like all the cool kids I'll have to take "Aeroplane" off of Desert Island Disc status. Bon Voyage.

In the meantime, here is Girls with "Lust For Life". Iggy, stop shaking your head!