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L'Ecole at the French Culinary Institute

New York, New York, United States

L'Ecole is a french restaurant located at the French Culinary Institute. The FCI is a school that boasts a number of high-profile chefs as alumni. Although it sounds like some of the cooking is done by students, the quality is all quite high. The restaurant is located in Soho, NYC at the corner of Grand and Broadway. The food we had was all pretty good, with a few very minor exceptions.

Dress

Smart casual. For lunch, this was relaxed a little - there were people wearing jeans and t-shirts.

Cost

Lunch is $30 for a three-course fixed price menu.

Service

I found the service to be a little on the slow side. We were in a bit of a hurry for lunch, but it took about 90 minutes.

Reservations

Reservations are required most days - it's a busy place!

Items Ordered

Amuse Bouche

The amuse bouche consisted of a piece of beef on a toasted piece of baguette topped with a flavorful orange-colored sauce. The sauce went really well with the beef, but the beef itself was quite chewy.

We were also given a bread basket that had pieces of baguette and a wheat loaf. The baguette tasted incredibly fresh, light, and buttery.

Watermelon and Heirloom Tomato Salad

Watermelon and Heirloom Tomato Salad with Ricotta Salata

The watermelon salad was a bunch of small items scattered around the plate. Like the roasted vegetable terrine, it all tasted very fresh. The watermelon gave it a very summery feel, and the tomatoes had a lot of flavor.

Roasted Vegetable Terrine

Roasted Vegetable Terrine and Arugula Salad

The Roasted Vegetable Terrine was like a small slice of a vegetable lasagna. It was served cold, and tasted nice and fresh. It was a great item to choose on a summer day. It consisted of zucchini, tomatoes, cheese, and possibly eggplant.

The terrine was served with some arugula on the side with a light pesto and garlic dressing served in the middle of the plate.

Grilled Hanger Steak

Grilled Hanger Steak with Vidalia Onion Rings and Creamed Corn

The grilled hanger steak was served rare, but charred on the outside. I didn't care for the sauce it came with which tasted too much like mayonnaise. The hanger steak was also used in the amuse bouche, so this too was a bit on the chewy side. The onion rings had a nice flavor, but I felt they were far too salty for my taste. It looked like the salt was sprinkled on the onion rings after they were cooked, because you could make out the salt on the outside of the rings, and there was a lot of it there. The creamed corn was made with a really sweet corn.

Duck Breast

Sautéed Duck Breast with Warm Fingerling Potato Salad and Sour Cherry Sauce

The duck breast was served with two types of duck breast - one that looked like it had been pan fried and sliced, and a leg of duck that was served confit (poached in its fat). The duck leg was incredibly tender, but the duck slices were also very good. They had a nice light flavor to them that was complemented very nicely by the sweet cherries. The dish came with a bit of greens and a few small potatoes and beets.

Rice Pudding

Lemongrass Rice Pudding with Peach Sorbet and Coconut-Mango Compote

I usually don't like rice puddings, but this one was pretty good. It was fairly creamy, and there were large chunks of peach on the inside.

Strawberry Tart

Fresh Strawberry Tart with Balsamic and Crème Fraîche Ice Cream

The strawberry tart wasn't the best strawberry tart I've had - the base was a bit too hard and crunchy. The basil and balsamic vinegar gave this dessert a whole new interesting dimension. It was a sweet dessert, but with an unusual flavor combination that I found worked fairly well.