A few days ago I told you about the great culinary classes available to the public at the ECC’s City campus. But wait, there’s more. Two weeks ago I had the fortune of being invited to lunch by Chef Songin, the Assistant Professor of the Hospitality Management/Culinary Arts program. I fully expected a cafeteria complete with compartmentalized lunch trays and bags of chips. Not such a bad deal, it’s been a (very!) long time since I’ve partaken in such a meal and I knew after our initial phone call that Chef Songin and I would hit it off.
Imagine my surprise when Chef and I met in the lovely EM Statler dining room. Tucked away in a corner near the campus cafeteria, the EM Statler is a fine dining atmosphere- complete with fresh flowers, stemmed water glasses and linen tablecloths and napkins. Chef explained to me that the “restaurant” is run by the culinary students in their final semester of study. Students rotate positions, from prep, line cook and dishwasher to server, busser and cashier; each student experiencing an introduction to each job and its accompanying duties.
On my initial visit, the students were familiarizing themselves with dishes that were either prepared with ingredients from New England, or were recipes rooted in that part of the States. Soup, salad, appetizer, entrée and dessert courses are all offered, with a number of options falling beneath each heading. On my visit, I had a really delicious serving of butternut soup topped with walnuts and Maytag bleu. Next up was an entrée of rice pilaf and red snapper en papilotte. For dessert I chose a well-prepared black berry cobbler, boasting fresh berries, a crispy crust and whipped cream; it was a fabulous finish to a very nice meal.
Excited about my experience, I returned the next week to a menu full of Tex-Mex offerings, one of my favorite cuisines. I took my mom, a vegetarian and also a fan of good Southwestern food. The menu included an appetizer made of grilled sweet potato wedges covered in slightly caramelized onion and roasted poblanos. Cheese enchiladas, blue corn and shrimp tamales, Cajun grilled trout and a Southwestern chicken wrap were the featured entrees. Desserts included a chocolate soufflé cake made with polenta and cinnamon ginger churros served with a chocolate dipping sauce.
Best yet, the prices are quite remarkable. The dining room is part of the school, price points are designed to cover the cost of the dish. Any profit made goes into buying new equipment for the program. Just to give you an idea of the expense involved, my visits revealed appetizers, soups, salads and desserts priced around $2-$3, with entrees hovering near the $6-$7 range.
While dining, please remember that students are running the kitchen, bussing the tables and acting as your waiter. This component can make service a bit dodgy. For example, on my visit with mum, most of our dishes came to the table within 5 minutes of one another and the waitress seemed confused by the order in which courses should be served. Please, please be kind and expect little stumbling blocks like this. Remember that you are part of their learning process, and most people learn best in a positive environment. Tips can be left with the cashier, at the end of the semester they are pooled and distributed evenly amongst the students.
The cuisine changes weekly, I recommend that you check the menu online before making your reservations, which are recommended. The dining room is open Tuesday through Friday from 11:30am - 12:45pm. Sorry, no debit or credit cards are accepted.
Erie Community College City Campus
121 Ellicott
For reservations call 815.1092
http://city.ecc.edu/millsr/dining/ems.htm