Apple Pie Bakery Café
For most of us, there is life, then there is lunch. At The Culinary Institute of America, life and food are one. Some of the classrooms look like sets for tv cooking shows. Others look like—in fact are—restaurant kitchens. The campus has five restaurants that are open to the public. All are staffed by students of varying degrees of expertise under the tutelage of accomplished industry professionals. The busiest of these is Apple Pie Bakery Café. The cafe is open Monday-Friday (while school is in session), from 7:30 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. Visit in the morning and you'll see that Apple Pie is perhaps more high-end bakery than café—as fine a place as exists on this earth for a breakfast of baked goods—muffins ($3.00), croissants ($3.50), brioche ($3.50), Danish ($2.50 - $3.50) —and excellent coffee of all kinds, including French press. Each morning there also is a featured latte; i.e., Nutella-flavored with a scattering of finish salt. After 11, lunch service begins. Salads, sandwiches, soups—typical cafe categories, if not fare. Case in point: a salad with house-made burrata with Heirloom tomato, artichoke, red wine vinaigrette, olive oil and fleur de sel ($11.00); and a classic crab cake with orange-basil sauce, jicama slaw ($12.00). The menu kindly suggests a wine for pairing, ranging from $5.00-$9.00 (by the glass) and also has a range of mostly micro-brewery beers ($5.00). When dessert time comes, you can stay light with an individual macaron ranging from chocolate cherry to lemon-basil and strawberry & champagne ($2.25 each or a mixed tin for @$20.00); or savor your own individual dessert (all $6) like Chocolate Beet Cake (chocolate cake, raspberry jam, beet mousse, enrobed in dark chocolate mousse) and Caramel Popcorn (popcorn mousse, soft caramel, brown sugar cake with a caramel popcorn base). If you find yourself inspired to share the dessert love with friends and family there are whole pies and cakes which are meant to be taken out. Priced from $24.00-$38.00, choices include Joe’s Birthday Cake (a rich chocolate cake with peanut butter filling, peanut butter brulee, dark chocolate crispies, milk chocolate peanuts and milk chocolate peanut butter mousse) and Strawberry Rhubarb Cake (vanilla sponge cake with strawberry rhubarb jam, lemon diplomat cream, lemon buttercream and white chocolate glaze). The term café is thrown around loosely to describe any restaurant, from a greasy spoon to a bistro, that is inexpensive. CIA's Apple Pie Bakery Café delivers on the not-too-expensive, but apart from that, it is a café in a class by itself. U.S. Rte. 9, Hyde Park, NY 845-905-4500 Hours: Monday through Friday (when classes are in session)7:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Closed major holidays, check website for closures and special openings.
Restaurant URL: http://www.ciachef.edu/restaurants/apbc/
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