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In years past, I have arranged special over-the-top dining experiences for them, but with stay at home orders in place and the need to be safe and socially distant from them, I knew this year was going to be completely different — just like everything now is.
I've had the opportunity to hire Bernstein's Fine Catering for events I was in charge of at The Dayton Art Institute, and I am on their mailing list.
I had been getting weekly updated menus for carryout orders from them that I found both interesting and impressive.
The menus are five courses for four people — entree, soup or salad, choice of two sides, dinner rolls and a dessert — and usually range in price from $40 to $60 with most falling in the $50 price range.
Bernstein’s asks for 24 hours’ notice as everything is made fresh daily. They also offer delivery at no charge for those who need it. On top of it, for every 45 meals they sell, they donate five meals to the Kettering Backpack Program. So far, they have donated over 40 orders, which means 160 total meals for Kettering families in need.
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Knowing that the meal would be excellent and that it would help support others, I was all in.
For the heat-and-eat meal I went with a blackened salmon served with grilled lemon and a homemade remoulade for $55.95. We paired it with a sweet Middle Eastern carrot soup, green beans with bacon and pearl onions, mushroom risotto and chocolate dipped cream puffs stuffed with raspberry mousse.
Because we would be dining from afar on my parents’ back patio, I asked that two servings be packaged for them and two servings packaged for my husband and me.
The meals were delivered to Beavercreek oven ready to heat and eat.
The four salmon fillets were beautifully cooked and seasoned and nicely sized. The green beans were delightful with the bacon and onions providing all of the right backing notes. The soup was a treat and the mushroom risotto was flavorful. The cream puffs provided a sweet finish.
It was a big meal for four that was priced right and executed with a chef’s precision.
The catering team is now in week eight of offering these meals to the community.
Owner Adam Baumgarten said doing this has “allowed Bernstein’s to sustain and survive.”
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The company has been a Dayton business catering staple for a long time and joins the local restaurant community in desperately hurting due to a lack of catering jobs.
The meals offered for the week of May 4-9 looked every bit as good as the week before, and included lemon and thyme whole roasted chicken ($49.95), herb panko breaded chicken breast tenders with sweet Dijon sauce ($39.95), slow cooked roast beef brisket sliced with beef au jus ($55.95), Latin spiced grilled salmon with cilantro lime butter ($55.95) and grilled shrimp in Cajun BBQ butter sauce with fresh rosemary ($56.95).
Pickup is available at Bernstein’s physical location — 3100 Woodman Drive, Kettering — from 2-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Delivery is available as needed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Payment must be made in advance or at pickup or delivery. Orders can be made by emailing acb@bernsteinscatering.com or calling 937-898-2761
New menus are posted every Thursday for the following Monday through Saturday on Bernstein's Facebook and Instagram pages.
“When we started eight weeks ago our goal was just to get to 40 orders. We now average 50 a week. People love that the menu changes weekly, the quality of food we are preparing, and the overall value we give them. We have grown our client base by 30 percent in the last eight weeks,” said Baumgarten. “Interest has been amazing … I never expected it to be successful, relatively speaking. Sixty percent are repeat customers. Of the remaining 40 percent who are new customers to Bernstein’s, 30 percent are word of mouth, and the other 10 percent are new customers from social media.”
I will be a repeat customer for sure. It was a very well executed restaurant-worthy meal that I was able to enjoy with my parents to celebrate their 46th year of wedding bliss — and bickering.
It may not be the kind of meal I had envisioned, but it impressed me and filled me with gratitude for the skilled kitchen artists out there continuing to crank out great dishes for a hungry public.
Dayton Eats looks at the regional food stories and restaurant news that make mouths water. Share info about your menu updates, special dinners and events, new chefs, interesting new dishes and culinary adventures. Do you know of exciting outdoor spaces, new exciting format changes, specials, happy hours, restaurant updates or any other tasty news you think is worth a closer look at? E-mail Alexis Larsen at alexis.e.larsen@hotmail.com with the information and we will work to include it in future coverage.
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