Higher Ed for the Palate

If San Francisco is heaven for foodies, the California Culinary Academy (CCA) just might be the pearly gates.

Acquired by Career Education Corp. (CECO)
in 2000 and one of just 10 Le Cordon Bleu-certified schools in North
America, the academy has been producing some of the world's great chefs
and bakers since its founding in 1977. CCA alumni include Juan Carlos
Cruz, host of The Food Network's Calorie Commando, and Claud Mann, host of Turner Broadcasting's Dinner and a Movie.

The academy's main location in downtown San Francisco is housed
in a historic landmark building on Polk Street whose Renaissance-style
architecture belies its gritty surroundings in the city's Tenderloin
section. (Think Hell's Kitchen before it became chic.)

Ranking among San Francisco's best options for fine food at very reasonable prices, the academy offers a prix fixe
lunch and dinner Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as the aptly named
grand buffet, available for lunch or dinner on Thursdays and Fridays.
(The prix fixe meals cost $16 for lunch and $24 for dinner, the
buffet $22 and $38; fine wine and alcoholic beverages are available for
an additional charge.)

A recent grand buffet lunch featured an abundance of
charcuterie trays, hors d' oeuvres and smoked seafood appetizers,
followed by a startling array of entrees, including Muscovy duck breast
with wild mushroom and dried cherry gastric, herb-roasted monk tail
with peppercorn sauce, apple cider-brined pork chop with corn and
balsamic roasted onion ragout, and vegetarian risotto. There was also a
pasta bar for those not counting carbs.