Rice Around the World Catering: Latin, Asian or Mediterranean, the Proteins on Each Menu, and How to Order for a Washington, D.C. Office

Rice Around the World is a catering kitchen in Rockville, Maryland, and on Zerocater it shows up three times. Rice Around the World carries its Latin menu. Rice Around the Asian World and Rice Around the Mediterranean World carry the other two. All three pages list the same address, and all three sell the same thing: a rice bowl built from a protein, a base, toppings and a sauce.

So the first decision is the region, and the region decides who in the room eats well. Every menu carries one shrimp line and one red-meat line. The menus differ in how many chicken lines they carry and, above all, in how many protein lines name no meat, poultry or seafood. Pick the region first, by who is in the room, then the protein. This guide counts all fifty-five lines so you can do that in a minute.

One Rockville kitchen, three regions on Zerocater

The kitchen’s own catering brochure is titled World fusion foods, and it sorts its bowls into the same three families you find on Zerocater: world rice bowls, Mediterranean bowls and Latin flavor bowls. The brochure also lists breakfast, pupusas, empanadas, salad platters, pasta, subs and desserts, which you order from the kitchen direct. On Zerocater the three bowl menus are what you see.

The Latin menu is the longest at twenty lines, the Asian menu has eighteen and the Mediterranean menu seventeen. The three names are the only new thing to learn. Each page is one regional menu from one kitchen, and you read each one the same way.

How a Rice Around the World bowl goes together

Every menu uses the same four kinds of line. A protein tray, which gives the bowl its name. A base, which is rice on every menu and a romaine and red cabbage mix on two of them. Toppings and sides, which change the most from region to region. And a sauce or glaze to finish. The office table ends up with a tray of each, and guests build a bowl in the order the lines are listed. Our rice bowl catering page covers the format in general, so this guide sticks to what this kitchen puts on each tray.

The Latin menu, line by line

The Latin menu lists four proteins: Garlic Butter Shrimp, Fajitas, Southwest Chicken, Tex-Mex Steak. The Fajitas line is the meat-free one, mushrooms, peppers and onion. Under it sit seven bases and sides (Rice, Fajitas Peppers and Onions, Cold Macaroni Salad, Corn, Flour Tortilla, Tortilla Chips, Black Beans), four toppings (Cilantro, Cheese, Lettuce, Fresh Pico) and three sauces (House Crema, Sour Cream, Guacamole). The House Crema is the kitchen’s own mix of mayonnaise and ketchup with a touch of heavy cream, which is worth knowing before you pour it over a guest’s bowl.

This is also the only menu with an appetizer section, and it holds the two pupusas. With a flour tortilla and tortilla chips on the sides list, the Latin menu doubles as a taco table for a room that would rather fold than scoop.

The Asian menu, line by line

The Asian menu lists seven proteins, the most of the three: Szchuan Tofu, Teriyaki Tofu, Ethiopian Misir Wot, Garlic Butter Shrimp, Korean Beef Bulgogi, Indian Butter Chicken, Japanese Teriyaki Chicken. Two chicken lines, Indian and Japanese. One beef line, the Korean bulgogi. The garlic butter shrimp. And three lines that name no meat, poultry or seafood: the two tofu lines and the Ethiopian Misir Wot, a red lentil stew with berbere and ginger. That stew is the one line on the menu from outside Asia, and it is also what gives this menu the deepest meat-free bench of the three.

The sides are Korean Style Cucumber Salad, Lettuce, Rice, Steamed Veggies, Naan Dippers, Kimchi, the toppings are three pickles (Pickled Ginger, Pickled Red Cabbage, Pickled Onions), and the two sauces are glazes, bulgogi and teriyaki. The teriyaki glaze names pineapple in its line, so read it before you plan it for a guest who avoids the fruit.

The Mediterranean menu, line by line

The Mediterranean menu lists six proteins: Mediterranean Salad with Chicken and Greek Feta Dressing, Greek Chicken, Gyro (Lamb and Beef), Harissa Shrimp, Moroccan Chickpeas, Falafel. Two chicken lines, one of them a composed salad with the Greek chicken already on it. The gyro is the red meat, lamb and beef. The harissa shrimp is the shrimp. Moroccan Chickpeas and Falafel are the two lines that name no meat, poultry or seafood.

This menu carries the widest sauce shelf, five lines: Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar Dressing, House Yogurt Sauce, Spicy Harissa Sauce, Tahini Sauce, Greek Feta Dressing. The sides are Allergen Free Mediterranean Side Salad With Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar Dressing, Pita, Naan, Roasted Vegetables, Pasta Salad, Rice. Pita and naan sit side by side, so a room can scoop or wrap.

The proteins, region by region

Across the three regions there are seventeen protein lines. Set them side by side and the pattern is plain. Every menu carries one shrimp line and one red-meat line. The chicken count is one on the Latin menu and two on the other two. The lines that name no meat, poultry or seafood run one, three and two. That last row is the one to read when you pick the region.

So a room with several guests who skip meat points you to the Asian menu, where tofu comes two ways and the lentil stew is a third. A room that wants a steak-and-chicken table with chips and guacamole points you to the Latin menu. A room that wants falafel and gyro on the same tray line points you to the Mediterranean menu. For more on seating a mixed room, our vegetarian office catering guide covers the questions to ask any kitchen.

The lines that travel between menus

Four lines appear on more than one menu, and they are the lines that make the three pages feel like one kitchen. Rice is on all three, under three names: a plain Rice line on the Latin menu, White Rice on the Asian menu and Jasmine rice on the Mediterranean menu. The Garlic Butter Shrimp is on the Latin and Asian menus, with the same sentence under it on both, the kitchen’s take on Hawaiian shrimp trucks. The Lettuce line on the Latin and Asian menus is hearts of romaine and shredded red cabbage, and the Mediterranean menu serves its two salad lines on that same bed. Naan dippers sit on the Asian and Mediterranean menus.

Everything else stays home. The pupusas, tortillas, chips, black beans and corn belong to the Latin menu. The kimchi, pickled ginger and the two glazes belong to the Asian menu. The pita, tahini, harissa and yogurt sauces belong to the Mediterranean menu. A guest who wants the kimchi next to the falafel needs two orders.

Pupusas, the one hand-held line

The Latin menu lists two Salvadoran pupusas, Pork and Cheese, Cheese and Beans, under Appetizers. They are the only line across the three regions that a guest eats out of hand, which makes them the easy add for a standing reception or a lunch where half the room is between meetings. The kitchen’s brochure lists four fillings, so if you want the spinach or zucchini ones, ask direct. The kitchen also runs a food truck, and our food truck guide lists it among the trucks that make pupusas.

How to order Rice Around the World for an office

Pick the region first, then the protein. In practice that takes four steps:

1. Collect the headcount and count the guests who skip meat, poultry or seafood.
2. Pick the region from the protein table above. Several meat-free guests point to the Asian menu; a steak-and-chips room points to the Latin menu; falafel and gyro point to the Mediterranean menu.
3. Choose two or three proteins from that menu, then the base, toppings and sauces listed under it.
4. Confirm the current menu with the kitchen, and ask about the pupusa fillings if you want more than the two listed.

The trays arrive ready for a table, so plan one line of table space for each tray in the order protein, base, toppings, sauce. Rice bowls hold up through a long meeting, which suits an all-hands, a lunch and learn or an employee appreciation lunch.

Plan Rice Around the World with CaterAi

Who Rice Around the World suits

• Washington, D.C.-area offices that want one tray line to cover a mixed room.
• Teams with several guests who skip meat, who get three protein lines of their own on the Asian menu.
• Rotations that want a different region each week from one kitchen they already know.
• Receptions that want pupusas on a napkin alongside the bowls.

How to order Rice Around the World catering

You can order direct with the kitchen. Or you can order through Zerocater, where the Rice Around the World page, the Rice Around the Asian World page and the Rice Around the Mediterranean World page each carry the current menu and a live quote. CaterAi builds a menu from those lists for your headcount, and how Zerocater works covers the rest of the order. For a standing weekly rotation, Zerocater manages office catering across kitchens like this one.

Rice Around the World is one of many kitchens on Zerocater in the region. Rockville catering and Washington, D.C. catering list the rest, and the Tex-Mex, Korean and Mediterranean pages cover each region on its own. For budgets, see our Washington, D.C. office catering cost guide, and for larger events our D.C. corporate event catering list. Rasa is another Washington kitchen we have profiled.

Menus change. Confirm the current menu with the kitchen before you order. For the current menus and a live quote, use the Rice Around the World pages on Zerocater: Latin, Asian and Mediterranean.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Rice Around the World cater?

Rice bowls built from a protein, a rice or salad base, toppings and a sauce, from a catering kitchen in Rockville, Maryland, for offices in the Washington, D.C. area. On Zerocater the kitchen lists three regional menus: Latin, Asian and Mediterranean.

Why does Rice Around the World have three pages on Zerocater?

Each page is one regional menu from the same kitchen at the same address. Rice Around the World is the Latin menu. Rice Around the Asian World and Rice Around the Mediterranean World carry the other two. Together they list fifty-five lines.

Which Rice Around the World menu has the most meat-free proteins?

The Asian menu. Three of its seven protein lines name no meat, poultry or seafood: Szchuan Tofu, Teriyaki Tofu and Ethiopian Misir Wot, a red lentil stew. The Mediterranean menu has two, Moroccan Chickpeas and Falafel. The Latin menu has one, the mushroom, pepper and onion Fajitas.

Can one order mix the Latin, Asian and Mediterranean menus?

Each regional menu is its own listing on Zerocater, so you build an order from one of them. Pick the region first, by who is in the room, then the proteins. Four lines appear on more than one menu, so a rice base, the garlic butter shrimp, the romaine and red cabbage bed and the naan dippers travel with you.

Does Rice Around the World make pupusas?

Yes. The Latin menu on Zerocater lists two Salvadoran pupusas, pork and cheese and cheese and beans, under Appetizers. They are the one hand-held line across the three regions. The kitchen’s own brochure lists four fillings, so ask about the others direct.

How do you order Rice Around the World catering?

Two routes. Direct, with the kitchen. Or through Zerocater, where the Rice Around the World page, the Asian World page and the Mediterranean World page each carry the current menu and a live quote, and the order sits alongside every other kitchen your office uses.

Plan Rice Around the World with CaterAi

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