Oak Café, Vincent Price and moi
Oak Café interior, art by Craig Smith
One of the reasons I teach at American River College is The Oak Café. Staffed and run by culinary students, the Oak Café is one of the hardest tables to get in Sacramento – with four star ratings [twice from The Sacramento Bee] and mucho local critical acclaim, they don’t skimp on anything. It’s a foodie’s dream tucked away in a corner of a Community College.
Type treatment, set using my Escoffier Capitaux font
vincent
A while back, Café instructor Teresa Urkofsky borrowed my copy of Mary and Vincent Price’s A Treasury of Great Recipes (1965). Known for his horror films, Vincent Price (1911-93) was also one of the pioneers of the gourmet movement. He used his celebrity to promote high class eating worldwide. And this over-the-top cookbook – which features funky recipes from the best restaurants in the world (at the time) – is a testament to his love of good food.
Mary and Vincent Price in their ‘prep kitchen-like’ home cooking area
me-n-vincent do lunch
So this week’s Oak Café lunch selections have been adapted from the culinary wonders the Prices used to dine on. Though I didn’t expect my name to actually appear on the menu – my book did provide the inspiration. Here’s the lineup:
October 28, 29 & 30, 2009
steve and vincent price’s treasury of halloween cuisine
Black Cauldron Bean Soup or
Toad-in-the-Hole (Sausage in Yorkshire Pudding)
Deviled Rib Bones or
Pumpkin Ravioli with Sauce Moan-ay
Crème Brulee Diabolique or
Banana – Bacon Crepe on Fire
And for more about Vincent Price’s culinary AND artistic endeavors (he had an Art History degree from Yale AND opened the first ‘teaching art collection’ museum housed at a Community College), check out this writeup here.
what to expect
Good service and good food from students! The occasional mistake (it is a learning environment) but a really wonderful dining experience.
Past menus have included student takes on the fare of Julia Child, Anthony Bourdain, Jamie Oliver, Thomas Keller – it’s a who’s who of the culinary world. The Food Network’s Guy Fieri is a friend of the department (he has two restaurants in the area and went to school with program director Brian Knirk) and if you can get a seat, grab it.
Parrilla y Caldero: Grilled Salmon with Humita (Corn Pudding), from the Oak Café’s Fires of Argentina Tasting Menu, September 2009
rsvp
Reservations may be tackled by calling (916) 484-8526 – menus are posted here. Please note: it can be difficult to get thru – and there are plans to expand the department just because of the amount of people who are turned away. And sorry, I do know that this week is already booked, but reservations for student exams are being taken as I write this.
Final exams start November 4 and feature student-created wonders – that as customer, one gets to grade. And eat.
