If you haven't been to L'Ecole, the resto of the French Culinary Institute in NYC, you've missed a treat. We went last night for the early bird special, a four course prix fixe menu (42 bux a head) with the option of a 3-wine pairing menu at 21 zlotys. (My choice.)
Nice room too. Ideal for Crackberrying
The food, which can vary wildly depending on the talents of the student chef, was outstanding. I had a cool avocado cucumber soup (they called it gazpacho) with shrimp, then this:
Grilled Tuna Loin
Chilled Jasmine Rice Pilaf, Sunchoke Purée and Tomato Caper Sauce
It was delicious, the tuna was flavorful and very rare. The puree and tomato caper sauce were perfect accompaniments to the tuna. And the pilaf, while it looked like it was spiked with frozen mixed veg, was refreshing and tasty.
Dessert was a wonderful lemon thingie, which is absent from the menu I linked to. Dommage. (You like my technical language?)
The food was delicious, and the guy or gal in the kitchen deserves to find a splendid job somewhere.
Ah but there is always a fly in the erntment. Il vino. While the bartender was terrific and made me a wonderful Gosling's rum and tonic, the wine pairings, based on the by-the-glass list, weren't so successful. This was one of the many times, alas, when the wines weren't up to the food.
To be fair, the full wine list is huge and fairly impressive, with many well-priced bottles from round the world But no one was in the mood for a bottle when they could mix and match. Scroll down the link above to see the formidable carte de vins in full.
To reserve your place at a budding chef's final exam phone (212) 219-3300.
L'Ecole is located at
462 Broadway, NYC
Phone: (212) 219-3300
Dude, it must be better at night. I was being a cheapoid with Drew and we tried to share the lunch pre-fix but they would only let us do it with an additional 12 dollar sharing fee.
Grrrr, we were sitting at the bar too. But now, maybe I'll go for dindin.
Posted by: Lisa Qiu | July 13, 2008 at 10:14 AM