Technique is the new "classroom" kitchen of the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena. John and I had a lovely meal there the other night. We began with Grilled Haloumi Cheese with compressed watermelon and pickled rind, plus Roasted Bone Marrow with French radishes and toast with house-churned butter (I had to try it). For his meal John had fried, free range Jadori chicken, braised cavolo nero, pommes puree and a biscuit. I couldn't resist trying the Coffee Braised Short Ribs, parsnip puree and house made apple chips, which also came with some delectable root vegetables.
J raved about the cavolo nero all through dinner, of which he ate every bite. I didn't need a knife to cut my short ribs and I can't even begin to define the succulent flavor of that sauce. The parsnip puree alone is worth going back for. I did not eat every bite, I snarfed every bite.
We were too full for dessert. The room is a bit of an echo cavern, but that's the only drawback I can see.
An elegant, fantastic meal, cooked and served by Le Cordon Bleu students, and you won't believe the price. Go ahead, guess. (Liquor license is being applied for, so no wine.)
No prizes for getting that one right, but there is a prize today. We're supposed to be having a contest and indeed we are.
What historic building is now occupied by Technique Restaurant? That's today's contest question.
I've given you all the information you need to Google the answer. As a matter of fact, I've linked you to it.
A quick review of the contest rules:
1. Email the answer to me. There's a link to my email in my profile at the upper left. You have until midnight tonight, Pasadena (Pacific) time. Answers in the comments section will be rudely ignored.
2. That's all you have to do.
3. This weekend I'll ask my cutest, most innocent neighbor child to draw the winning name from a hat. I'll announce the winner in Sunday's post.
4. PRIZES! Once again, this week's prize will be a brand new copy of Hometown Pasadena 2009-2010
, thanks to Colleen Dunn Bates and Prospect Park Media. I'm down to two copies after today, so the contest will continue for two more Fridays--plus an additional week when Colleen and I will give away a copy of At Home Pasadena
, the lovely, hardcover coffee table book about beautiful living in our beautiful town.Stick around, because one lucky winner will receive a copy of the brand new novel, Helen of Pasadena
, by Pasadanish Lian Dolan. The book is now available on Amazon, at Vroman's and at bookstores everywhere. Whet your Helen appetite by reading chapter one here.Many thanks to Colleen, Lian and everyone at Prospect Park Media.
15 comments:
The architectural detail looks beautiful. A feast for the eyes, then, too!
Hi Joanne. Yes, it's a lovely building inside and out.
It was a bad idea to read this right before lunch.
I went a little overboard on the food descriptions. It's so inexpensive you could have lunch there every day, Margaret.
That's an interesting menu! I had to look up cavolo nero, so now I'd better go and taste it. Anyone want to join me there for lunch one day?
Food sounds yummy, and I love those open kitchens. Bellis, I'd join you for lunch (I had to look up cavolo nero, too).
The restaurant has a sit-down side and a more casual, cafeteria side. Room for all tastes and pocketbooks. Lunch is a great idea.
Pencil me in Sistah for the next one.
V
This looks like just my kind of place! What's not to love about interesting food, cool architecture, teaching-school prices and house-churned butter.
Yeah, Bellis and Susan. The bone marrow sounds seriously carnivorous.
The menu is changing next week--Wednesday, I think. I'll be honest, I won't miss the bone marrow, it was fatty. But primal. If you want to try it you'd better get there this week.
What a place! The food sounds out of this world.
How do they compress watermelon?
Dina, I don't know how to compress watermelon, only how to eat it. It's crunchy, sweet and juicy--like regular watermelon, only more dense. Delicious.
Let Boz sample the next order of bone marrow. Found a few recipes on-line for cavolo nero and have it on the stove now.I'd only seen kale growing in decorative pots downtown, as a garnish on a salad bar or fed it to my turtle. Recipes sounded great. Parsnips next.
The server told John the cavolo was red cabbage that they'd put through some sort of treatment (recipe). Could've been kale, though, it was hard to recognize.
Let me know what happens with the parsnips. Mine were soft and smooth like mashed potatoes, but just a little sweet. Mmmmmm.
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