Dallas - May 02, 2005

Student Services

The Chef's Gallery

Sure, you use what you learned in college.

Psych 101 helped diagnose your ex with borderline personality disorder. And if you hadn’t memorized those lines from Romeo and Juliet, you’d still be using “What’s your sign?” as a pick-up line.

But the co-eds in charge of The Chef’s Gallery have you beat. Culinary students at The Art Institute of Dallas operate a restaurant where they practice what they’ve learned, offering a diverse (and set) menu dictated by the quarterly changes in curriculum. For way less than you’d normally spend, you get a top-notch meal in a just-like-a-fancy-restaurant setting (white tablecloths and formal tableware).

At lunch, have the Asian Caesar salad with ginger-citrus dressing or the Cuban sandwich with shaved honey ham, house cured-and-smoked pork, and Swiss cheese. Or start with a crab cake with sweet tomato emulsion and pesto aioli for dinner. After a palate cleanser (like cantaloupe and watermelon sorbet), move on to grilled New York strip loin or cardamom-glazed duck breast.

For dessert: wine foam and raspberry mousse with vanilla bean and raspberry sauce.

Graduating to the next course, in this case, is a must.

The Chef’s Gallery, 8080 Park Lane, building 3, between Greenville Avenue and Central Expressway (469-587-1276).