American Bounty, CIA Hyde Park

[adegiulio]

I spent a week up at the CIA in Hyde Park last week. As part of the course, we dined at three of the restaurants: American Bounty, Escoffier, and St. Andrews Cafe. All three were underwhelming to say the least...

American Bounty is the CIA's "Modern American" restaurant. Like the other restaurants on campus, it is run by instructors but mostly staffed by nearly-graduating students. In the old days, all students worked at all of the Institute's restaurants. Now they have a choice to finish their education at either American Bounty or Escoffier. The restaurant itself was well decorated and had a very cool bar area. One could mistake this for a swank NYC place. The similarities end as soon as the guest is seated and the students take over.

Let me just start by saying the service at all the CIA restaurants has a reputation for being lousy. Often this is explained away by noting that the student waitstaff would rather be floating on a life raft in the Northern Atlantic than waiting tables. For them, the front of the house is someplace they never want to be, and by forcing them to learn that aspect of the business, there is an attitude of resentment. True, there will be an occasional over-achiever who likes to excel at everything, but for the most part, the students in charge of your hospitality couldn't care less. It doesn't take long to realize that fact.

Our server was quite pleasant. That's all she had going for her. She and her support staff were slow, poorly trained, and inept at all basic functions of service. Water glasses went empty for hours. Courses were served out of order. Bread showed up minutes before our third course. Requests for anything went unanswered or unfulfilled. It pains me to recall everything for this post. I'll move on to the food...

For my first course I order seared foie gras with something I don't remember. I don't remember it because I never ate it. The foie gras was the most awful, vein and tendon riddled, overcooked piece of liver i have ever encountered. When it was presented to me it looked like Sonny Corleone on the causeway, all cut up as if someone was poking into it to test its doneness. It was done hours ago, boys...I tasted it, but it was clear this foie's best days ended with a funnel in its hosts mouth. I sent it back, annoyed that I had waited 45 minutes for it. My next course of pork loin with a peanut crust and some other stuff was forgetable (I wish). I really could have used some water in my glass to wash down this dry, though flavorful, meat. The 45 minutes I waited for THIS course wasn't worth it either.

Let me point out that my dining mates were equally upset with their food. The menu is designed by a real live chef, but the cooking is the responsibility of students. Clearly, nobody is watching to make sure things go out properly, just like nobody was watching the front of the house. Sure, there was an instructor Maitre d', but he was nowhere to be found.

I think it is easy to distill this evening down to one short phrase. When it comes to American Bounty, DON'T GO. Save your time and money, and choose one of the other fine restaurants in this region. There is no bargain to be found here simply because this is a "teaching restaurant". I can think of no redeeming quality, which upsets me since the CIA is such a highly regarded institution. As I will post later, the other two restaurants I dined at were no better.

The Apple Pie Cafe makes a mean Chocolate Croissant....

[melkor]

The Apple Pie rocks, I could do without the rest of the restaurants at the CIA.

[docsconz]

Did you do a boot camp? Ifso, how was it? I ate at American Bounty once and had a good experience. I'm sorry to read about your dining experiences.

[adegiulio]

Did you do a boot camp? Ifso, how was it? I ate at American Bounty once and had a good experience. I'm sorry to read about your dining experiences.

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Yes, it was a Boot Camp. I will post my impressions in the General Food section. In a nutshell, it was a lot of fun, but not a lot of learning. I had worked in restaurants for a long time, so it was great to get back into a professional style kitchen after years away. As a gift from my wife on our First Anniversary, it was a great time, though I don't think I would have done it on my own...

So, your last avatar was a picture from a dinner at per se. Where is this one taken?

Edited November 3, 2004 by adegiulio (log)

[docsconz]

So, your last avatar was a picture from a dinner at per se. Where is this one taken? 

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Arzak in San Sebastian

[adegiulio]

So, your last avatar was a picture from a dinner at per se. Where is this one taken? 

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Arzak in San Sebastian

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I can see why you are always smiling...

[Lreda]

Docsconz, where is the forum you posted in about your visit to San Sebastian? Since my hopefully soon-to-be wife viewed " A Chef's Tour", all we talk about is going there.

Thanks, Lou

[Bux]

Docsconz, where is the forum you posted in about your visit to San Sebastian? Since my hopefully soon-to-be wife viewed " A Chef's Tour", all we talk about is going there.

Thanks, Lou

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The Spain forum, of course. Arzak, A Lunch

There have been several threads on San Sebastian (Donostia in the Basque language) and mention of meals at Arzak by others appears in several of the threads.

[bushey]

A few years ago my husband and I had an excellent experience at American Bounty. The service was right on from the time we stepped into the restaurant, and the food was delicious. Next week we're planning to have dinner at the Italian restaurant, Caterina de Medici (sp?). We don't have high expectations, but it's fun to take a tour of the campus, browse and buy in the bookstore and see what the students can do.

[ken T]

I ate at AMERICAN BOUNTY in the beginning of October. Had a wonderful meal (with the exception of a flavorless Creme Brulee) with excellent (albeit slow) service. The busload that emptied in there as we arrived did detract from the atmosphere. Also ate at the Ristorante Caterina de' Medici on another night and had a great meal with great service.

[bushey]

Also ate at the Ristorante Caterina de' Medici on another night and had a great meal with great service.

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Phew!! We'll be there Thursday evening. With so many students rotating through the CIA restaurants over the course of the year, I'd imagine that the level of enthusiasm for service and skill behind the stove really varies every quarter, which would account for the wide range of experiences diners have had.