Technique at Le Cordon Bleu - French, San Francisco

350 Rhode Island St, San Francisco CA 94103

(415) 216-4415
Hours: Tues-Fri Lunch 11:30am-1pm, Dinner 6pm-8pm
Parking: ample street parking
http://www.techniquerestaurant.com/

Last Visited: June 10, 2011

Food: 3 to 4 stars

Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars

Service: 2 to 3 stars

Price: $ to $$

Technique allows students of Le Cordon Bleu culinary school to show off their culinary and customer service skills in a real restaurant environment.  Since working in the restaurant is actually a course at the school, Technique is only open during the school year.  Friends Braden and Kelly recommended that I try it and noted that if possible, I should wait until the end of the semester for a better experience. 

It's an awesome bargain too - only $15 per person for a five course dinner.  Lunch is also a great deal.  However, while the food tastes pretty good, the consistency of portion sizes and service could use some refinement. 

The dining room is fairly minimalistic.  They've done a nice job dressing up the room so that it's elegant without being too fancy.  Chairs line the walls and there is a divider between the foyer area and the dining room.  You can see the open kitchen in the rear and a table on the side holds self-serve coffee and tea.  Midway through our meal, they turned on the stereo and the music was a little too loud, but otherwise, it was a pleasant dining space with lots of natural light from the windows.

First, it's important that I address portion size so one can understand how they can serve food at this price.  It's best to go as a party of two because anything more than that essentially suffers from smaller portions.  Each course is shared by the entire table, so what you see in the photos are portions for two, however, we noticed that a table of four or six people get the same-sized dishes with maybe one or two more pieces of the least expensive ingredients.  For example, the appetizer comes about the same with additional quarters of the pita bread.  The risotto dish comes with a few more asparagus spears, but is still about the same.  Each diner gets their own intermezzo and main dish.

Upon our arrival, the hostess seemed confused after asking about our reservation.  At first, I thought she wasn't the official hostess, but she stayed at that post the entire night.  Also, after ordering, the server forgot to remove the menus.  Initially, I thought it was to allow us to know what was coming next, but then I saw that some of the other servers removed the menus after ordering.  There are a lot of inconsistencies in service, but I guess that's part of the culinary school experience.

- Buckwheat Flatbread and Fried Potatoes with sauce romesco, aioli, and olives - The flatbread was light in texture, but definitely tasted very fresh.  It was super thin, but held up to the sauces.  Romesco is a red pepper based sauce and it was just a touch sweet.  The aioli seemed a bit unnecessary with the other two sauces available.  The potatoes were fairly standard in taste and texture. The plate was pretty and you could taste a lot of fresh garlic in the sauces. 

- Not So Classic Cobb Salad - The cobb salad was considered not so classic because it had been deconstructed.  Also, duck confit was used instead of chicken breast.  Blue cheese, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and bacon were served on top of romaine.  The salad was fresh tasting and the dressing was good, with just a little bit of tanginess.
- Shrimp and Lobster Bisque Risotto with Grilled Asparagus - This was more like a soup surrounding a risotto.  While the shrimp and lobster were a bit indistinguishable from one another, you could definitely see the small pieces of both cooked within the rice.  The green sauce from the appetizer plate looked like it got drizzled on top of the risotto.  The risotto had a good texture and the sauce/soup was flavorful from a lot of spices.  It was a nice combination.

- Intermezzo: Raspberry Lemon Sorbetto - A small scoop of sorbet with a fresh raspberry was served between courses.  I wouldn't have minded eating a larger portion of this for dessert. 

Main Courses

- Sauteed - Fig wood smoked salmon with grilled escarale, currant reduction, and potato gratin.  While the smoked flavor was less detectable, this was absolutely one of the best sauteed fish dishes I have ever had.  The browning on top doesn't show just how incredibly crispy this was.  The half of a baby bok choy wasn't terribly exciting.  The currant reduction was sweet and complemented the flaky perfectly cooked fish well. It was memorable in a good way.    

- Grilled - Korean beef short rib and assorted pan chan.  When I think of a short rib, I think of tender meat that can be pulled apart with a fork.  While I recognize that making pan chan and Korean short ribs isn't an easy task, this was definitely not up to expectations.  The pan chan was fine and could pass for that found at a Korean restaurant.  However, the beef short rib was chewy and not cooked through.  While the flavor was good, I kept chewing and chewing.  It just hadn't been cooked enough to break down the fibers.  The pan chan might appear more authentic if each item was in an individual ramekin.  This dish dropped the food rating down from four stars to a three to four star range.

The other option for an entree was Roasted Chicken with porcini sauce, parmesan rosemary gnocchi, and baby carrots.

- Chocolate Hazelnut Frangipane Tartlet, Caramel Ice Cream, and Cherries - Frangipane is an almond flavored filling.  With this dish, the chocolate really is the star.  If you like ganache, it has a flavor like ganache with a texture that is just a touch more dense.  It's a little like the center of a gooey fudge brownie.  Although the description refers to cherries, those are definitely in the background.  I liked the ice cream with the buttery crust of the tart. 

The head server came around to some of the tables to chat and announce the ingredients of the dish as it was served, but he didn't do that for every table.  He only came to our table once.  Getting served fresh cracked pepper is also inconsistent - some tables get it and others don't. 

The other issue I saw with entrees had to do with portion size. At a nearby table of eight people, there were at least five or six people that ordered fish. The size of the portions varied greatly - enough that I noticed even though I was sitting a table away. On one plate, a piece of fish was half the size of that on another plate. Also, not every piece was sauteed as beautifully as the one that I tried.

It's good to go to Technique for great food at a great value, but be reminded that you are at a school and that this is a training ground versus the final destination.  Some of the dishes are better than what you would find at many restaurants while others are less memorable or memorable for the wrong reasons.  It's a great place to go for fine dining at a great price.