Eat, Drink, and Be Married
The Multiethnic Feast
December 18, 2004

The Bride and Groom: Judy Berenthal, 28, and Ori Winitzer, 29, who are both M.B.A. candidates.

The Setting: Angel Orensanz Foundation Center for the Arts, a desanctified neo-Gothic-style synagogue on the Lower East Side.

Photograph by Arlene Sandler/Courtesy of Judy Berenthal and Ori Winitzer

The Backstory: Ori was born in Israel and had lived in France, and Judy's father's family is from Cuba. To personalize the wedding, the couple wanted a reception that featured Middle Eastern, French, and Cuban food. They also wanted it to be kosher, both to honor their heritage and to accommodate family members. This made finding a caterer an enormous challenge. "A kosher wedding automatically limited the caterers available and quadrupled the prices," says Ori.

Making it Happen: Enter Dan Lenchner of New York's Manna Catering, an anything-but-traditional kosher caterer. The couple was impressed by Manna's sample menus - not a kugel, knish, kreplach, or kasha in sight - but was really sold when they met Lenchner in person. "Middle Eastern-Mediterranean food is standard for Dan, and he was very amenable to our other requests," says Ori.

How it Played Out: When guests arrived at six o'clock, food stations had been set up in the synagogue's mezzanine. One featured Middle Eastern fare such as baba ghannouj, ful (a hot fava-bean salad), Israeli salad, and Iraqi flatbread, while the other had Cuban favorites - arroz con pollo, ropa vieja (shredded beef), mango salad, and plantains. After the ceremony, which took place in the synagogue's main space, they moved back up to the mezzanine for cocktails (including, of course, mojitos) and hors d'oeuvre like lamb borekas with pomegranate dip, pissaladière (Provencal cheeseless pizza), cod cakes with saffron aioli, and fresh-tuna skewers. The sit-down dinner was French-Moroccan, starting with a salade composée of greens, roasted beets, asparagus, and a Tunisian potato-onion pastry called a brik. The main course was entrecôte de boeuf (rib-eye steak) with a Merlot-mushroom glaze and Israeli couscous and winter root vegetables, which was followed by a dessert of chocolat fondant molten chocolate cakes. A strong believer that a proper meal ends with a digestif, Ori provided a plum brandy. To create continuity between the food and the music, a klezmer band played during the meal, then afterward a Cuban orchestra took over. "It was a Jewish-themed event that turned into a Cuban thing really fast," Ori says. "People loved it," says Judy. "They're still calling to talk about it. They all say it's the best food they ever had."

The Tab: About $110 a head for food and beverage.

[ More photos from this wedding in the picture gallery ]

Manna Catering
(212 966-3449)

AFFAIRS TO REMEMBER: Steven Spielberg's wedding to Kate Capshaw at his house in East Hampton took place two weeks after Liz Taylor and Larry Fortensky's helicopter blitzkrieged nuptials. Security was extreme; the couple met at a screenning of Doctor Zhivago, so the wedding was code-named the Zhivago Project.

WHO RUNS THE SHOW: Tel Aviv-born chef-owner Dan Lenchner came to America after the Six-Day War in 1967. Why catering? "I was a bachelor until I was 36." says Lenchner. "I got tired of eating meat loaf." TRAY CHIC: "A lamb chop is a lamb chop, and there's no reason you can't cook it as well as Chanterelle cooks it," says Lenchner, who calls himself "the glatt-kosher caterer who won't cook kugel." Manna does baked boreka filled with potatoes and wbite-truffle oil; Chilean sea bass with flavored kataifi; and a warm chocolate tart with creme anglaise and fresh berries. Pacific Rim and Latin cooking are surprising specialties. Monochromatic trays and few blossoms suit Lenchner fine. "The yiddish word ongepotchket means 'tricked up' " Lenchner says, laughing. "Here, there's no ongepotchket.

THE TAB: Cocktails from S25 per person; three course dinners from $70. Minimum food cost $1,000; dinner parties for 10 to 800; cocktails up to 1000

Spring 2002

Manna Catering
24 Harrison St.; 212-966-3449
mannacatering.com

Kosher-with-a-twist caterer Dan Lenchner wowed the crowd at a wedding thrown by Ronald Perelman for his daughter with a very exotic feast, including everything from Comish-hen tagine with conscous to (what else?) halvah ($130-$180).

BEST BETS

The best of all possible things to buy, see, and do in the best of all possible cities

By Corky Pollan

MUSEUM CAFE

With all the restaurant clones moving into art instituions - Sarabeth's at the Whitney, Dean & DeLuca at the Guggenheirn - it's easy to forget the humble purpose of the museum cafe: to nourish bodies left hungry by the soul's pursuit of spiritual sustenance. Cafe Weissman, at the Jewish Museum (1109 Fifth Avenue, at 92nd Street) best melds art (ful presentation) and food.

Architect Kevin Roche, in keeping with the elegant design of the original Warburg mansion, craated a cozy space with wood paneling, heavy oak doors, and a curved ceiling, The 6 month old basement bistro is as bright and airy as an atrium, thanks to artist Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend's illuminated glass panels. Manna Catering's kosher menu is limited, but the selections are tasty and unusual: Seared tuna with guava relish on a baguette($7), herbed goat cheese with onion confit on country bread($6.50), perfectly riped strawberry-orange juice ($2.50), and chocolate bread pudding($2.50) are standouts.

Cafe Variety

Among the joys at the Jewish Museum is its new cafe, with a range of dishes best described as New American cooking: mesquite corn salad with chili peppers; spring rolls filled with spicy Asian noodles and black beans; radiatore salad with shiiake mushrooms, fennel, and zucchini; grilled summer vegetables on rosemary focaccia; plus Sumptuous sandwiches like seared tuna on a baguette or avocado with sun-dried tomatoes and tapenade on challah. And, yes, you can get a bagel and cream cheese. The mind behind the menu belongs to Dan Lenchner of Manna Caterers: Lenchner's food is so good, visitors won't have to scour the neighborhood for a meal. (Food prices range from $3.50 to $6.50,plus museum admission.)

-Barbara Costikyan

CAFE WEISSMAN AT THE JEWISH MUSEUM
1109 Fifth Avenue, at 92nd Street/423-3210
[ Please note, Manna is no longer at the Jewish Museum ]