Schenectady County Community College German Night at Culinary School Restaurant

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We always enjoy a culinary experience at the Casola Dining Room of Schenectady County Community College. Following the school calendar, an internationally themed, gourmet menu is served each week days. The dining room is open for lunch $16 and dinner $22. Bring your own bottle of wine for a corkage fee of $3. Reservations sell out quickly; they are taken from 10am 2 weeks prior to the desired date by calling 381-1391.

Monday was German night and we joined with two other couples to savor this hearty cuisine. SCCC has one of the top culinary departments in the east. For our meal, it was students who checked our coats, showed us to our table, opened the wine (we provided it and a small corkage fee was charged), took our orders, prepped and cooked the food, served the food, refilled wine and water glasses, checked on us frequently without being intrusive, bussed tables, answered questions, and chatted if invited to do so. In all an excellent experience. I've been to slightly more famous and largely more expensive CIA (Culinary Institute of America) near Poughkeepsie a few times and this experience at the Community College in Schenectady was as good or better.

Menus are posted on the web site. Our German meal featured a choice of Appetizers: Berlin Yellow Pea Soup, White Asparagus Salad, Würste and Cured Meats; Entrees: Rhinish Sauerbraten, Hunter’s Schnitzel (Jägerschnitzel), Poached Cod; and Desserts from Pane e Dolci, the culinary school's in-house bakery, were presented as a display brought to the table. We chose from Linzertorte, Sachertorte, and Apfelstrudel

The culinary school also has a butcher shop "Boucherie" which features hand-crafted meats produced in-house by SCCC's "Garde Manger" students. Customers may choose from a variety of fresh sausages, smoked meats, charcuteries & fresh cuts of meat.

It was wonderful to see a collection of local art on the elegant walls.

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Photos

Casola Dining Room at Schenectady County Community CollegeC
The dining room has an elegant look. The work of local artists further enhances the surroundings. This time it is the work of Mary Ellen Riell, Audrey Grendahl Kuhn, Helga Prichard, Lori Lupe Pelish, David Arsenault, and Stu Eichel.

Local Artists Display at SCCC Dining Room.
"Early Spring" (pastel) by Audrey Grendahl Kuhn, "Mountain Meadow" (acrylic) by Helga Prichard, and Lori Lupe Pelish's untitled fibre art were on the wall nearest our table. Audrey was our back yard neighbor when my parents lived in Clifton Knolls and I remember Lori (who is Shelly Lupe's sister) from my Brown School contract days. Small world and what fun to walk into the room and think "Hey, I know who did that!" The server got us a list of the current exhibitors so we could confirm who the artists were.

Stu Eichel and Lori Lupe Pelish
Stu Eichel'
Wheels of Steel (oil), Lori Lupe Pelish's "I Think I'm Pretty Sure" (fabric) and Stu's "Old Glory" grace one wall.

Comments

[Barbara Delaney]

Great blog!
You guys really get around.