Catering by Wise Sons

My apartment building recently hosted a brunch with catering by Wise Sons Jewish Deli.  I'm not a big lover of bagels, but, I know many in the city consider these to be "the best", so, I had to try them out.

I've reviewed Wise Sons before, but since those were always visits to the actual stores, I'm separating this catering specific post into its own, since, well, catering isn't reflective of your experience visiting in person.

Assorted Bagels & Shmear.

"Our bagels are kettle boiled, double- coated in classic toppings, and carefully baked for just the right amount of chew."

The hosts arranged for bagel and toppings platters, each of which came with assorted bagels and cream cheese (dubbed shmear).

We had an assortment of bagels (plain, sesame, everything) and shmear (plain, scallion and smoked salmon).

I tried an everything bagel.  It was ... fine I guess.  Chewy, if you are into that style.  A normal sized bagel, not a monster like the ones from Panera.  It had all the standard "everything" toppings: poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic, onions, salt.  I thought the salt was a bit too strong. Since it was an event, no toaster was available, so I can't evaluate its toastability.

California Veggie Bagel Platter. $85.

"Choice of assorted Bagels and Bialys with Hummus, Plain and Scallion Shmears. Served with Pickled Onions, Olives, Cucumbers, Radish and Roasted Seasonal Vegetables ."

The plain and scallion shmears came with the "California Veggie" platter.

I tried the cream cheeses, and they were fine, but really, just cream cheese, nothing particularly interesting about them.  The scallion one did have lots of scallion bits, clearly freshly made.

I also tried the roasted squash since it was a bit funny to me that they put huge chunks of cold roasted squash on a bagel platter.  I had no idea how I was supposed to use this on a bagel.   I think it was pumpkin?  One chunk had ... a stem.  It was fine, but just roasted squash.

The pickled red onions were a nice compliment with the cream cheese.

Smoked Salmon Platter ($160).

"Choice of assorted Bagels and Bialys with Sustainably Raised Smoked Salmon, Whipped Cream Cheese, Cucumbers, Radish, Red Onions and Capers. Served with Dill Pickles ."

From the other platter, I tried the briney capers (standard, but I always love capers) and crisp slices of watermelon radish (again, just something I love).

I wish I had snagged a dill pickle, as there was a full pint, but they were gone by the time I returned.

Intelligentsia Drip Coffee. $21.

Catering coffee comes in large cardboard boxes with a spout.  The cardboard box doesn't keep the coffee particularly hot, and is a bit difficult to serve from.  But, without renting real carafes, not sure what they can do better.  The catering package included Wise Sons branded cups, lids, half and half, sweeteners.

The coffee is Intelligentsia.    It was fine.  It certainly would have been better if not lukewarm.