The faded red banners outside Kendall College say "Serving Students Since 1934." But at Kendall’s School of Culinary Arts, it’s the students who are serving you. The Dining Room is where students perfect their culinary skills; working in the Dining Room kitchen is the final step before they enter the real world.
And the Dining Room is your opportunity to have dinner or lunch to taste what’s cooking with the next generation of chefs. Lunch is a three course priced-fixed meal ($16), dinner is ala carte (reservations recommended, Saturdays book out weeks in advance).
The Experience
The Dining Room is located inside an academic building. It has two levels and is a fine atmosphere for a meal. Sit on the main floor where you can see the kitchen and watch the chefs-in-training through the floor-to-ceiling windows. In the foreground of the kitchen is a display case with beautiful wedding cakes. The cakes are part of the students’ final exam.
In short, the food was quite good but the service could have been better. The complimentary appetizer of smoked white fish with olive paste on toast points to which we were treated — along with the appetizers we ordered arrived without too much delay. However, it took quite some time for our main course to arrive and our water glasses were never refilled. The student servers-in-training were adequate but they lacked the presentation flair of a fine dining wait staff. In fairness, you could sense the nervous energy; they were trying and I give them an A for effort.
The Menu
The menu changes every term (every 10 weeks). According to the school’s dean, Christian DeVos, the menus are based on seasonal regional ingredients. April will feature fiddle heads (a little green fern) and morel mushrooms, both from Michigan.
There were plenty of choices for meat lovers as well as vegetarians — there’s always a vegetarian entrée. First courses included: grilled vegetable bruschetta with greens and balsamic vinaigrette (lovely), and lobster salad (succulent and tender) with goat cheese strudel (where was the goat cheese?)
My main course was the freeform lasagna with eggplant, portabella mushroom, spinach, sundried tomatos with a slightly spicy tomato basil sauce. It was divine; the flavors blended and balanced perfectly. The only problem was when I cut into the "free form" pasta layers (basically dollar-size pancake rounds) the sauce and ingredients squished out to the sides and it required some dexterity to get everything onto a single fork bite.
My dining partner’s macadamia nut and caramelized onion encrusted halibut, joined with an herb basmati rice and green curry sauce, was also quite good, but the fish crust was a tad salty for my taste. Portion sizes were ample but not too big, I could finish my delicious dish and not feel I was stuffing myself.
Beverage wise, there’s no alcohol but you can bring your own wine; corkage fee is $5.
Don’t Miss
The "chocolate obsession" dessert is a rich cupcake filled with a warm chocolate filling with raspberry sauce. It takes about fifteen minutes to prepare and worth the wait.
Educating Chefs of the Future
DeVos explained that nutrition is stressed throughout the course work and there is a yearly vegetarian course offered where students learn about ovo lacto, vegan, etc.... Guest lectures complement course work. Recent presentations include: biotechnology, fast food, and the hidden dangers in foods and what chefs can do about them. In addition students join interest groups to further their knowledge of particular subjects. Some 300 students are trained here every year.
Final Word
To dine here is to enjoy a fine meal but also to support the new generation of culinary students. Consider filling out the comment card to let them know what you think. Also know that 12 percent is automatically added to your bill as a gratuity which goes to the Kendall College Scholarship Fund, anything over that 12 percent is given to your student server.
This is a dining adventure, so go knowing the meal will likely be quite good but that the staff are students-in-training, hence, quality and service can be uneven. Nonetheless, where else can you have quail eggs benedict, seafood risotto with leek broth and a dessert for lunch for just $16 Visit www.kendall.edu and click on the dining room for more information.
Kendall College Dining Room, 2408 Orrington Avenue, Evanston, IL; 847-448-2399. Lunch: Monday through Friday from noon to 1:30 pm; Dinner: Tuesday through Friday from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, and Saturday from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. (reservations recommended)
JoAnn Milivojevic is a freelance writer whose articles on food, fitness, and travel have appeared in magazines nationwide.