Yet another of our favorite farmer friends...

Fresh picked, sweet as candy strawberries. Vibrant leafy greens just pulled from the ground. These are just some of the fresh foods we get from our farmer friend, Dave Pommer of Santa Paula. We utilize a lot of his produce in our bistro, but also in our catered events.

And, boy, did we have fun when Dave's daughter got married in May on his farm in Santa Paula. We know that you know that we love working with local food - so having all the bounty of Dave's farm at our fingertips made us feel like a kid in a candy store. The end result? A menu in which 95 percent of the fruits and veggies came from the father-of-the-bride's farm, where the wedding was being held. How cool is that?

Here's some of what was on the menu for the day:

Jennifer’s Salad

French mixed greens, strawberries, candied nuts & parmesan tossed in balsamic-citrus vinaigrette

Red & Gold Beet Salad

with tangerines, arugula & shallot vinaigrette

Lemon Grilled Chicken Breasts

with citrus-avocado relish

Grilled Tri Tip

with fresh grated horseradish sauce & smoky blueberry bbq sauce

Pommes de Terre Truffade

Wafer thin layers of yukon potatoes baked with gruyere cheese, herbs

& finished with white truffle oil

Grilled Heirloom Carrots & Leeks

with garlic, herbs & just a hint of honey

Table talk

Artisan Cheese display, originally uploaded by Main Course California.

Everyone has their own style. Maybe yours is crisp and modern; or maybe its earthy and organic. When helping you plan your event - whether big or small, indoors or out, night or day -we'll take the time to pinpoint your style and build the vision around that.

One of the ways we articulate your style and brand your event is through the table displays, including how we lay out the food, garnish it, and present it. Every little detail, all the way down to the platters and serving utensils is an opportunity to make your event more personal and more perfect.

Above you'll see one of our most favorite displays... a bounty of artisan cheese surrounded by fresh homemade breads and fresh, local fruits and vegetables. If you want to see more of our table displays, you can browse through the set on our Flickr page.

The difference between good and delicious

I used to think all tomatoes were the same; these round red orbs were good but needed a lot of salt and pepper to make them delicious. It wasn't until I tasted them fresh out of our own garden, that I realized what a fresh tomato tastes like. I used to think tomato soup was good, until I tasted the roasted tomato soup here at Main Course. That was when I realized that tomato soup, when made correctly, should taste like tomatoes, pure and simple. It shouldn't taste like cream or salt; it should taste like those tomatoes we pulled from the garden last summer. I used to think that all beef was the same, until I experienced my first grass fed burger. Who knew a burger could be so tender and delicious, and so different from all those other burgers I've consumed over the decades.

People throw the word local around a lot these days, but at Main Course we really mean it. This important detail - where the food comes from and how fresh it is - really does matter. It matters to our tastebuds because once you've experienced it, you know it tastes better. And eating local is also better for the environment and helps our local farmers (and therefore our community).

Sure we could use canned roasted peppers, regular old caged up chickens, or your standard grain and corn fed beef. But because we are conscientious about what we put in our food, we go the extra mile. We use free-range chicken from Petaluma, olive oil from Ojai, and we even get the white beans for our hummus fresh from local farmer, Tom Shephard. Sure it takes a lot of time and energy to clean and wash them, but to us its worth it. And if you taste our hummus, you'll know what we're talking about.

While many chain restaurant menus are bulging with items, the food is often frozen, highly processed, and yes, microwaved. Our menus are simpler and based on what's in season - whether its asparagus, strawberries, beets, or tomatoes. Because the food is fresh, we don't have to do a lot to it, drown it in sauce, or cover it with salt to make it taste good. And this, my friends, is what makes Main Course unique; and this is the difference between good and delicious.