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| - I've been going to try this place for a long time and finally did so last night. I had issues with each of the courses, but I am still giving it and A-OK rating as these are students and not professionals yet.
In two sections--food and service--I'll review Technique and for the food I'm using description directly from the menu.
The Food:
A basket of three rolls was brought--one multi-grain, one rye, and one regular roll. The herbed butter served with them was very good!
Course 1: I chose the Beef carpaccio with charred beef sirloin. Shaved Parmesan. Truffle oil. Balsamic reduction. Black pepper. Field greens.
The salad was very good. The balsamic reduction dressing was very tasty and the field greens were fresh. The problem here was with the prep. The beef was placed on the salad plates some time before the salad was created. It had then been refrigerated--nearly to freezing it seemed. As a result, the thin beef slices stuck to the plate. I can understand the need to avoid exposing the carpaccio to room temperatures, but this was really a cold plate. The server asked me if I wanted freshly ground pepper and she used the peppermill. Nice touch.
Course 2: Pork tenderloin saltimbocca. prosciutto, sage butter, asparagus, risotto, Marsala semi glacé. The pork was cooked way too long making its name incorrect. Instead of being tender, it was difficult to cut and much of the flavor was wrung from the pork. The prosciutto on top was very good and the risotto was not bad considering it was made in advance and piped from a pastry bag and kept warm in some hit water. There were two asparagus pieces, a little meager even given the reasonable price of the meal. The server asked about freshly ground pepper for the main course, too, which was welcome.
Course 3: Chocolate lava cake. Peanut butter ganache and vanilla bean ice cream. The problem with dessert was that the chocolate cake was very dry. Either it was older or it was baked too much. The peanut butter ganache was nice and the vanilla bean ice cream was good.
The service:
The woman who served my table greeted me when she came with the menu but did not identify herself by name and she did not tell me the soup of the day nor the catch of the day. It was when I heard a different server at the table behind me introduce himself by name and then list the unpublished things on the menu that I knew they existed.
My server was attentive, came back during each course to see if everything was OK. She refilled my iced tea without asking, but I had to request the sweetener a couple of minutes after she brought my glass of iced tea.
I'm not sure if it was the server or the school, but I would recommend not bringing the bill while I'm eating dessert. Can't it wait? Also, it really is best to clear the table of dirty dishes before bringing the bill back. You do need to have some room to put the holder down and sign the charge without moving plates aside. The removal of used sweetener packets was a fail.
In spite of the things I found wrong with the dinner, I will be going back. It was interesting watching the students prepare the dishes through the glass of the kitchen. The food was passable, and hopefully the students and staff from Le Cordon Bleu read reviews and improve from the reviews. I was told the menu changes every 3 to 4 months. I'll give it some time and then I'll stop in again!
Edit: The price is now $18.95 for a 3 course meal and that includes non-alcohol beverage.
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