The French Culinary Institute of New York

**carafe of sparkling water** 

I've walked by the doors of the L'Ecole the restaurant run by the students of the  French Culinary Institute too many times to count. Every time I'm in NYC, I make a habit of going to SOHO and as a result I pass by this school usually on my way to chinatown to grab some much needed food to refuel for more shopping. This past Saturday the weather was cold, rainy, windy and all around terrible. I ended up outside the doors of L'Ecole in dire need of some warmth and food.


They offer prixe-fix meals throughout the day. Brunch and dinner on the weekends and lunch and dinner during the work week. For $19.50 we decided that it was an affordable escape from the wintry weather. The menu offered a little for everyone. Clearly French bistro inspired there were a few non traditional french items but we stuck with the classics. Here's a tip for people who like sparkling but hate to pay the premium. The school offers flat or sparkling filtered water as part of the prixe-fix price. So feel free to order the sparkling. (I ordered it without knowing it was complimentary and my brunch companion who is notorious for being extremely budget conscious almost vetoed my request for sparkling before our waitress informed us that it was complimentary)

 **my burger**

I ordered the seasonal salad hoping for heaps of cauliflower and butternut squash. Instead it was a bed of frisee with a bit of baby arugula some walnuts and a sprinkling of squash and two florets of cauliflower. I am not a big fan of frisee. I don't mind bitter greens but I find frisee to be a bit dry and hard to handle. The curly leaves spring out from my fork in all directions and I find it's always a struggle to get it into my mouth neatly. The salad was a bit disappointing however my brunch companions liked their choices. The terrine was yummny and the butternut squash soup was rich, creamy and comforting. 

**duck confit**

 

I was happy when we moved past the first course and were presented with our entrees. I ordered the burger medium well and it arrived on a brioche bun. Yay! i love brioche buns for burgers. I hate when the buns overpower the patty and with the delicate nature of brioche that's hard to do.  The fries were a bit over salted but well prepared. My other brunch companion got the duck confit and that looked well executed - crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Brunch at L'Ecole was definitely the right move and at $19.50 a very affordable option.