Food Blog:
Cook In.
Eat Out.
Miss Tenacity.
New Mexico.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Friday, July 23
Technical College vs. Foodies
So, twice in the last week I have gone to the "Student Specialties Presentation" at the TVI Bistro, a pseudo-restaurant put on by the Culinary Arts students at the school. There have been 3 weeks of different menus, and this week was entitled "Electique Francois".
Here is what I had on each night, and how I rated them (in my limited but slowly growing gourmet knowledge):
(Night One - course names directly from menu, misspellings are theirs(!))
Croustade Tipped with Fresh Warm Goat Cheese, and Fried Sage
Tender Butter Lettuce Tossed with Sweet Red Pepper, Fried Prosciutto, and Artichoke-Dijon Vinaigrette
Tomato Granite
Grilled Duck Breast, Fresh Apricot- Lavender Compote, served on Wilted Greens,
with Herbed New Potatoes
Fresh Apple Tart
Before beginning, we were presented an amuse of a shrimp on an avocado 'relish' - essentially a pico de gallo salad with avocado bits. The salad had nice flavor, and the shrimp was cooked perfectly though not seasoned at all.
The croustade were nice, and the fried sage was not at all burnt, but rather just light and crispy. A nice light appetizer.
It has been quite some time since I've had butter lettuce, and this salad was put together well, the prosciutto was a key ingredient.
The hilarious titled "tomato granite" was indeed very frozen and granite-like. The flavor was far too strong as a palate cleanser - in fact the dominant flavor was that of V8 - heavy on the celery and salt. And I like V8.... its just not a palate cleanser, at ALL.
Ducky! I love duck, and this duck was tasty. The components went together well - the lavender and apricot flavors, along with the perfectly cooked chard. The problem I had with this meat was that it had not been cooked long enough to render the fat from the skin. Each slice of breast had 1/4" of fat remaining under the skin, which I sadly removed, since the surface of the skin was seasoned and should have been very tasty with the flesh of the meat. Really unfortunate, actually, because the dish has potential.
Apple tart, schmapple tart.... this was a dessert. It was sweet, it was pretty tasty, but it definitely didn't seem like they were really trying too hard. And the small scoop of ice cream that went with it did not taste homemade, but rather like Breyer's French Vanilla. Hmm. A slice of candied apple placed on top was actually the highlight of the dessert.
The bill was served up with a truffle for each person, and they were tasty if a bit ugly. Yes, they're hand-formed, but I've made truffles that were actually spherical. Its not that hard.
Night Two - what I had:
Foie Gras with Salad and Crostini and Cranberry reduction (from memory)
Vichyssoise: Chilled Potato-Leek Soup Garnished with Crispy Leek Frizzels
Tomato Granite
Grilled Salmon with a Balsamic-Chianti Reduction, Heirloom Tomato Salad, and a Savory House Made Crostini
Fresh Apple Tart
Same amuse as last time, the shrimp. Same opinion on that, except this shrimp was slightly overdone and chewy.
The foie gras, unfortunately, was fine. I've had foie gras only a few times, and it seems that it should be exceptional, given the 'ingredients'. The cranberry sauce didn't do a whole lot for it or the salad, unfortunately.
Things brighten considerably with the vischyssoise - this is the highlight of the meal. It is rich with cream, tastes intensely of leeks and potatoes, and is seasoned well. Very well done. I'd like to order a bucket, to go.
Granite - same V8 'granite' as before.
Salmon - nicely cooked. They didn't abuse the fish as they unfortunately did with the 'heirloom tomato salad', which was shockingly just a large-format version of the avocado-studded pico salad they served under the shrimp in the amuse course. The flavors of the tomato were well hidden, thusly I was not amused.
And, finally, the same apple tart as before. Yay, the candied apple slice!
So now, like Jerry Springer, I offer my final very opinionated thoughts out to those restaurant owners out there that might employ some of these culinary grads:
Hire the person who made the vischyssoise. Run far, far away from everyone else.
Time posted: 07:55 [permalink]
|
|
| |
CONTACT ME: tenacity -at- gmail.com
|
|
|
