CIA weekend

Last week, we went to the Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park, NY. The CIA is to cooking as MIT is to engineering-- the premier destination for aspiring student chefs willing to undergo a grueling two or four year program for the chance to graduate as one of the best chefs in America. It's also a beautiful campus, but they don't allow any pictures inside any buildings.

We took a tour and got to see the main classrooms, which of course are mostly kitchens. It looks like fun (except for some of the baking classes) but looks like a heck of a lot of work.

We ate at three of the restaurants on campus, which are staffed by students who are close to graduating. So the food and service should be top notch, right? Well, it was good... but inconsistent. The quality showed, but sometimes so did the inexperience. Some dishes were excellent, like the Entrecôte de Boeuf aux Chanterelles, Sauce Merlot at Escoffier, the Lobster and Goat Cheese Flatbread at American Bounty, and the Potato Salad at Apple Pie Bakery Cafe, which was simply the best freaking potato salad I've ever had. Other dishes, like the Poitrine de Carnard au Miel de Lavende, Riz Basmati from Escoffier, were mediocre and rather disappointing.

We went to the FDR Museum the next day. Say what you want about his heroic but arguably socialist methods of recovering from the Great Depression, he's the president who ended Prohibition, so he'd get even my libertarian vote.

Speaking of the Depression, the most memorable aspect of the museum was the "here's what led up to the Great Depression" exhibit, which looked like it was taken straight out of a modern newspaper. About the only economic indicator missing from the late twenties comparing with today is gas prices.

The Hudson River valley is such a beautiful place, especially this time of year. It is not surprising that so many of America's wealthiest settled here. Here are some views of the valley: