I knew I wanted cupcakes for my wedding, and good ones, but beyond that wasn't too picky (no special requests, no cake decorations, just really yummy cake and icing).

I didn't do too much cake tasting honestly, but I've been to a LOT of weddings and most of the cakes taste like lightly flavored cardboard with some extra-sweet paste on top. The tastiest one I recently had was an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins...

I went to CrushCakes for a tasting and was extremely happy to find moist delicious cake and buttery, flavorful icing! Some flavors were definitely better than others, so I do recommend bringing friends and trying a variety to see which you like. The tasting experience was fun but I was not catered to as I think I would have been at a typical "Wedding bakery" type place. They gave us a plate w/ our cupcakes and we sat in the cafe to taste.

They were easy to work with over email. I picked some "custom" flavors from their list which was no problem for them. I needed to make a last-minute increase in my order number 5 days before the wedding which they handled with ease. I paid for them to do set-up and rented a cupcake tower from them (both very reasonable). The tower does need to be returned to their store.

I ordered 5 flavors of mini cupcakes (just a few more than 2 per guest), we served them buffet style from a cupcake tower. They were gone shockingly quickly. People wanted more. Turns out when dessert is tasty, people eat a lot of it! Note: consider ordering more mini cupcakes than 2 per person. My grandfather said he ate 8. Thanks, grandpa. He also loved each one, so I was happy :)

In short, if you want a simple yummy dessert to be served buffet style, consider CrushCakes. You won't necessarily be treated "bridal-ly" but they certainly delivered exactly what I wanted at a fraction of the cost of a professionally baked wedding cake.

We did a LOT of research on caterers for our Aug 2010 wedding. In fact, we did tastings with 5 different caterers (including the "big daddy" if SB caterers, Pure Joy), and got proposals from several. Food and music were our 2 most important reception items. Duo was the last of the 5 we tasted with, and we were completely blown away by their food and presentation. The quality was fantastic, the dishes creative, and the flavor combinations exciting and unexpected without being confusing or overwhelming. We met with Brian at our tasting, who is helpful, enthusiastic and flexible. Needless to say, we left the tasting with our decision made.

Now, a brief point-by-point review:

Food: Outstanding, especially the appetizers. We seriously could not get enough of the appetizers. I want to take them home and eat them all the time. The wedding crowd favorite: tempura avocado (lightly, perfectly battered and served crispy warm) topped with cool and tangy scallop ceviche. Yum, yum, yum. Another one everyone loved: duck confit on top of a gin-pressed apple slice topped with a small fresh crysanthemum flower petal. They have a HUGE range, and if you or your crowd want something more "typical", I'm sure that is no problem. The appetizers served at our wedding for 120 were as good as the apps we had at our tasting. Aside from being creative and delicious, they try to use local, seasonal and organic ingredients whenever possible. Yay for sustainability!

Our venue had some serious limitations (only electric convection ovens allowed, no open flames) which was difficult logistically for caterers, but which they handled with ease. The dinner food served (chicken, beef and vegan risotto choices) was very good, though not *quite* as stellar as what we had at our tasting. However, it was still excellent quality, flavor and presentation (I got to taste all 3 meals). Portion size was moderate.

Service: Amazing. They worked closely with me, my wedding coordinator and our venue coordinator. Ashley and Brian were extremely professional, helpful and accommodating. They helped with recommendations for food choices and beverage choices. We opted for a full-service sit-down meal, and food was served quickly, professionally and quietly. They are excellent at staffing to make sure the food is served in a timely manner so it arrives warm to the guests.

Help with rentals/alcohol:
Our venue did not provide any rentals, and Duo has a staff person to help coordinate rentals from local companies. It seems they may be able to negotiate a discount, and can convince competing companies to price match as well (my wedding planner worked really closely with them on this, so I'm not sure exactly who negotiated which discounts, but Duo can definitely get you some).

We also bought our own booze. Duo coordinated and ordered kegs and a portable draft system from Santa Barbara Ice and Telegraph Brewery (great idea, great beer). They also ordered some excellent white wine for us by the case. They provided very good mojito pre-mix to mix w/ rum we bought. The remainder of the alcohol (red wine, some bottled beer, Prosecco, rum) we bought from Trader Joe's locally in SB, dropped off at Duo's offices, and their excellent bartenders served.

Value: Santa Barbara is an expensive city, and Duo is not an exception. However, I think the value for the money we paid was very good. Cost was on par with the other "big" caterers in town, and I found their food much more creative and tasty, and their service personal, and Ashley and Brian to be consummate professionals.

In short, check them out. There aren't a lot of reviews out there for them, but they were fabulous!! They have a beautiful new storefront in downtown SB if you go in for a tasting!