Well folks, we finally made it up to New York after three days of looooong traveling. The Culinary Institute of America is absolutely beautiful and surpassed all of my expectations. Lets start from the beginning though, shall we?
I left with my mom and our car, packed to the brim, on Wednesday at 7am. The trip wasn’t too bad. It was pretty hot driving through Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas but otherwise pretty easy. A few stop and go points. We reached my sister and her boyfriend’s place in Raleigh. It was adorable. Super woodsy and relaxing. We went out with his parents and them to a delicious little spot in the downtown called Beasley’s. It’s run by chef Ashley Christensen. We ordered a plethora of food. My favorites included the chicken and biscuit with a pickled green tomato, the pork shoulder meatloaf with charred onion gravy and whipped Yukon golds, and the crispy cheese grit fries. Amazing southern food. The restaurant was hip and filled with people looking for a good time with good food. Thanks for the blasty blast, April and Chuck!
The next day we drove through the rest of North Carolina and the Virginias. West Virginia was the worst. Super crazy drivers, tons of rain, and huge mountains with tiny guard rails. Not my idea of a fun-filled drive. We stayed the night at my Grandma’s house in Pennsylvania. She had homemade stuffed peppers ready for us. My Grandma is the most super spifftastic person in the world. She would do anything for anyone and is a strong woman. She is part of the reason why I decided on this career path. Her cooking has majorly influenced my life. If I can be the tenth of the person that she is, I would know that I’m doing something right.
I got to see family I hadn’t seen in over five years. It’s good to reconnect with your roots and family. It reminds me of who I am.
We left Friday at 6am and had a pretty pleasant drive. No crazy traffic or weather. It was like the CIA gods knew that I was chomping at the bit to get there. The drive took about 7 hours. I was bouncing around for the last hour. I was excited, nervous and anxious all at the same time. When we pulled into Hyde Park, I was a bundle of nerves. Seeing the school’s entrance made me, and I’m not ashamed to admit this, burst into tears. I had been dreaming about this since I was 12. I had seen all of the pictures, taken the virtual tours…everything. Seeing it for the first time in person was overwhelming and relieving. I hadn’t dreamed it. Its real and I get to go there for the next 3 years.
My Mom and I walked around campus. I was basically shell shocked for the whole walk. Going through Roth Hall and Anton Plaza was incredible. The campus is just so…beautiful. Everything about it is amazing. The details, the Hudson River, all of it. We went to the bookstore, peeked in on a class, saw pastry chefs at work, and ate in the Apple Pie Bakery Cafe. We had bacon, goat cheese, and poblano pepper quiche, a grilled chicken sandwich, and fries with truffle oil and parmesan cheese flakes. Delicious. So delicious. I got to meet the professor who ran the Cafe and just absorbed it all. It exceeded my expectations. All of them.
Later, after our adventures at the school, we explored the area and went and got some more cleaning items for my dorm. We ate that night at a restaurant run by CIA grads and their externs. It was named Crew. We had house made bruschetta and chicken lettuce wraps. We sat at a bar overlooking the small open kitchen. It was like a show watching the chef expedite and watching the others cook. The best quote of the night was from my mom as we were driving to the restaurant, “I’m not feeling water right now. I think I need something a little stronger.” Right she was. A tasty craft NY brew with a great dinner equaled heaven.
Well folks, that is my update for right now. We’re going to eat lunch at the CIA’s American Bounty restaurant so I’ll update on that later. I hope everyone is having a terrific Saturday.
Happy Eatings!
The Culinary Institute of America
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