Where else can you get a hefty sourdough baguette for only $1 in SF? The Educated Palate is City College's cooking school. On Thursday mornings (when classes are in session), they open up to sell their students' baked goods. They have an assortment of other eye-popping pastries, too. All at discounted prices. Sometimes they have a barker outside enticing people to come in since it isn't very obvious that there is a bakery inside. If you hear someone yelling just outside their doors, it isn't someone having a mental breakdown - it's somebody pointing you towards this hidden gem. read more

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I stumbled upon their Thursday pop-up and had to check out the bake sale. I've heard of this baking school and their pop-ups and was excited to grab some morning treats. Ordering can be a bit confusing as they have a paper menu where you check off what you want. You can also browse their baked goods on display in the glass counter. Once you hand the slip to someone, they'll call out your name with the packaged order is ready and then you pay at a check-out kiosk. I got a morning bun, the cheddar + bacon scone, and a slice of their carrot crumb cake. Loved everything the morning bun was the perfect sweet treat, the scone was super light and fluffy with a delicious cheesy flavor and the carrot crumb cake was so moist and not too sweet. I'll definitely be back to try the other items - the focaccia looked great and I also wanna try the croissants! Such a great little spot for affordable pastries and to support an amazing program run by its students. read more

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I find it a bit expensive for what you get all items are very small maybe half the size of normal but it all tastes good I would give it 4 stars it's a bit chaotic you fill a form of what you want they display all items only open half day Thursday the cheapest thing was chocolate cookies and probably the nicest I did not venture to $5 items you can sit down to eat but most chairs were taken by takeaway customers I want early and they did not have many items I would say they run out by 12.30 read more

The Educated Palate - Menue - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

It was my first time here and it was the last day of the pop-up. I was greeted with a chaotic vibe, not knowing what to do, but there was someone helpful explaining how to order the food. There are lots of people waiting for their order and the line was long as it went fast. You are given a paper menu where you can check off what you want and as you're waiting in line you can see what's available. I don't know how this usually works, but it seemed like this was the normal way of ordering as everyone knew who is ordering and who is in line and who was waiting for their order. They call out your name when the food is ready and the prices are so good as they're made by culinary students. The ingredients are fresh And the focaccia that I had was amazing and probably the best focaccia I ever ate in my entire life- the bread was fluffy and fresh and the ingredients were perfect. It was like a pizza but not a pizza. The croissant that I had was yummy and soft and super buttery. Coming back? Yes, when they start their new semester! read more

The Educated Palate - Focaccia - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

Really enjoy their Thursday Bake Shop. Great goods and prices. Awesome seeing and eating the students' work.

What a steal! Everything is super cheap! High-quality! These guys end up working in the best bakery cafes across the Bay Area! I'm almost tempted to take the program myself and start my own bread bakery somewhere in the middle of nowhere like Erik Schat's in Bishop. The service was pretty slow for my order, granted I did order a lot of stuff. But for the price, I guess it doesn't bug me. The line was pretty short when I arrived at 9:30am but within 5 minutes the line ballooned to like 30-40 people. It was hot and crowded in the tiny space waiting for my order. They need a better system so the crowd doesn't build up like that. I would still go back because it is so darn cheap and good! read more

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The bread and pastries are really good. Now they serve coffee which is because i don't need to get my coffee somewhere else.

excellent focaccia not great croissant better almond croissant better cheesecake great read more

great place for very affordable goodies. it's only open on Thursdays 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. it's a student bakery. so hours will change according to the academic calendar. always call to see if they're open. read more

The Educated Palate - a sign in a window - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

This restaurant doesn't open all the time, especially during summer and winter breaks, for good reason. It is staffed by students at the CCSF, and the prices reflect as such -- they are a bit lower due to the fact that the students are still in training. The menu is also on the small size -- there are usually a soup and salads, a few sandwiches, an entree, and some desserts to choose from. However, don't let these deter you. The service is lovely here, even though it's clear the waitstaff is still in training (they are trying their best!). I also find the food's quality quite good, comparable to a lunch spot in the city, and again, you get full service! If you do work in these parts of the town, consider paying this place a visit while school is in session, if only to help the students! read more

I was strolling down the street in San Fran with Yelp Philly and we were desperate for a good lunch. There was someone from Educated Palate standing on the sidewalk handing out menus and we thought, why not? I always think it's interesting to see how student run restaurants work, and I've been pleasantly surprised before by the culinary creations that come out of the kitchens. The entrance experience at this place is very strange - tons of staff, so students, were standing inside the door and just kind of stared at us as we walked in, and it was pretty awkward as we made our way to the table. There were 3-4 tables filled so luckily there was a little bit of talking going on, because it was dead silent inside... we both agreed that if they had light music playing or SOMETHING creating a little bit of noise, the atmosphere would have seemed ten times more engaging. But, alas, we sat in silence... Our server was great and we always had a full water in front of us, and they served house-made bread right away. When it came time to order, I had my eye on one thing: the Mediterranean plate... hummus, baba ghanoush, marinated cucumbers, feta, etc. I ordered it with no doubts because those are my absolute favorite things to eat. The plate did not disappoint! Everything was spiced perfectly and it was all so fresh, situated on top of a fresh bed of lettuce. I was definitely impressed and I'm going to try to recreate the entire thing at home! Yelp Philly's meatball sandwich was A-OK, and a few minutes later we paid the bill and were on our way. Stop in if you're looking for a quick and fresh lunch in the area, but be prepared for a less than great environment. read more

The Educated Palate - Mediterranean plate - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

I love their fall buffet! It's only $30 (tax included) and you get unlimited delicious food. Save room for dessert- there is an entire separate room filled with sweet heaven. All of the desserts are lovingly made and beautifully presented. More delicious and professional looking than many of the ones at restaurants and bakeries. There were more than we could try, but the winner of the day was the marzipan bar. A teeny tiny version of a princess cake. I ate 3! read more

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If you want to experience fine dining on a budget, this is the place! It is also a great way to support CCSF. But they are only open for lunch on weekdays from 11am to 1-1:30pm, so it took me some years from hearing about it to actually being available to visit. This restaurant is great for people watching, especially the conference go-ers, since it is street level. We were the first group to be seated for the day and at most there were 5-6 other groups. Service was super attentive in the beginning since we were the first to arrive. Bread crumbs were even cleaned up before the food arrived. Lunch portions are not really consistent across the different options. My friend's kebab plate was much smaller than my salmon and couscous plate. Her kebab was bit overcooked while salmon was pretty perfectly cooked. My favorite part was probably seeing the dessert cart! So many different options and at half of price than at other establishments. If we had room, we'd definitely order more. We ended up sharing a mont blanc (chestnut pastry) which was definitely one to share. Not the best mont blanc I've had but it definitely satisfied my craving for a French dessert. I'd definitely come back to try more of their desserts and see what's on their menu in a different season. read more

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The Educated Palate is all around fantastic. I had the BLTA (Bacon Lettuce Tomato Avocado) sandwich on the softest most delicious ciabatta bread I have ever tasted. They make their bread in-house! This delightful atmosphere has the most polite and well trained staff in the city (they are all, after all, CCSF students working for culinary/fine dining certificates). They are also given the opportunity to invent new dishes. The newly invented desert special right now(October) is AMAZING! Ask for "Where's the pie" when you come in. It's a pumpkin cheesecake with a panna-cotta layer on a bed of ginger cake streusel: Creamy, crunchy, and bursting with seasonal flavors. Omysweetspiritedgoodness it's a must. What are you waiting for? Go! read more

The Educated Palate - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

The Educated Palate is a City College of San Francisco student-run restaurant that serves wonderful American cuisine for lunch Monday through Thursday at 11:30AM-1:30PM and 11:30AM-1PM on Fridays at reasonable prices (open through May 12 for the Spring 2017 semester). Students make up the front of the house, kitchen and bakery as they practice their culinary skills in real-time. Favorite dishes are a variety of salads topped with either salmon or tri-tip, corned beef and grilled cheese with mushrooms sandwiches (side of french fries or brussels sprouts/almond salad) and entrees like salmon, braised pork, tri-tip and fried chicken. You can also order from an array of non-alcoholic only beverages (e.g., iced tea, lemonade, Arnold Palmer), mocktails and cafe style drinks like espresso or latte, and the desserts are exquisite (examples are flourless chocolate cake, creme caramel or flan, fruit tart, ice cream and sorbet). The restaurant is at a convenient location on 4th and Mission on the side of the downtown City College building, and is accessible by BART, Muni underground and major Muni bus lines like the 8, 14, 30 and 45. It's best to make a reservation on OpenTable so that you are guaranteed a table for your party: https://www.opentable.com/san-francisco-restaurants You can have private lunch events in the restaurant too! Just give the restaurant a call. This place is a gem! read more

Great spot downtown. It's where CCSF's culinary students get to practice their craft in the real world. Oddly enough I was here for a work meeting that CCSF and SF Unified School District was holding. Definitely the nicest work lunch I have ever had. I ordered the salmon and it was a 3.5 of 5. It was a little on the burnt side in my opinion but still very tasty. I would go back for their wine / dinner pairings. If you check out their website you'll see their listings for those events. read more

Love this place, service was wonderful, food was beautiful and delicious. I love that everyone is learn about the hospitality industry, I was luck and have a wonderful conversation with the Professor. I finished my lunch with a Latte- Oh man it was perfect!!!! read more

The Educated Palate - Cool menu and selection. - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

Ten years ago, our son graduated from the City College of San Francisco's culinary program. During his time at CC, we were regular diners at the main campus. Apparently, a little-known secret was begun around that time and a tiny restaurant was established in the basement of the downtown campus at 4th St and Mission. They moved from the basement to the street level a few years ago, but I had not seen it until about two months ago. Today my wife and I went to the City to goof around and decided to have lunch at the Educated Palate. The place was empty which was surprising, since all entrees we had ever had at the main campus were sterling! Our waitstaffer was knowledgeable and friendly. The service was good. Where else can you go for under $40 and still have linen napkins and spotless stemware for lunch? My wife ordered a Ruben sandwich with spring pea salad and I ordered the Mahi Mahi sandwich with french fries. I ordered mine rare. In the meantime, while waiting for our entrees, we were served a selection of foccacia, challa and choclate cherry sourdough breads that were out of this world. We could have dined on bread and wine alone and would have been completely satisfied. When our orders arrived, our server informed me that my Mahi Mahi was a bit more cooked than I ordered because the cook didn't like to serve it rare. I was a bit taken aback. Isn't the customer always right? The fries were a complete disappointment in that they were limp instead of crunchy. I was sad. My wife, on the other hand, said her sandwich was delicious and the snap pea salad was delectable. The desert selections were amazing, even though we did not indulge. We'll return again to give them a chance to redeem themselves, but we give the students high props for the work they're doing, trying to become the best that they can be. I just ask that the chef not impose his/her preference on the customer. We're saddened that the economic downturn, budget cuts and across the board class slashing means that this little cafe will close at the end of this semester and sit empty until classes resume in August. But when they do ... we'll be back! read more

On our way to lunch this afternoon, we passed by a young man encouraging random pedestrians to check out this restaurant. The waitstaff and chefs are all students at the culinary school nearby, so we figured we'd stop in and give it a try. First off, don't let the decor fool you. It looks like an upscale, fancy restaurant, and just by glancing at it, I'd skip it for a work lunch since it looks like it'd be a bit more pricy than I'd plan for a daily lunch. But since it's a student-run business, the prices are actually extremely reasonable. Starters and salads range from $5 to $8, with entrees going from $8 to $13 (the higher end plate was a steak of some sort). Second, as the restaurant is attempting to emulate a fancy high-end establishment, the menu is very limited: 3 appetizers, 5 salads, 5 sandwiches, 5 or 6 entrees. Apparently they don't change it up very often either (the waiter that served us said it'd been the same for over a month). Third, it really is students waiting on you. As such, the service wasn't amazing or as high-end as you'd expect, but overall it wasn't terrible. Occasionally they seemed unsure about what the food options were (there were two soups available and the waitress seemed unsure about what they were; another waiter couldn't recall what the cake flavour was on the dessert cart). The food itself wasn't phenomenal but it also wasn't terrible. There were some interesting options available but from what we had, nothing really jumped out as amazing. I had the tofu sandwich with fries, my one friend tried the Mexican soup and tuna sandwich, while our other companion gave the chicken salad sandwich a try. We all said it was good, decent food, but nothing that really blew our socks off. If you want to help support the local students and give them some experience, plus try some decent food for a decent price, and you find yourself in the Mission and Fourth Street area, I'd suggest giving the Educated Palate a try. I wasn't disappointed with it. read more

I ate here today with some friends while we were here in San Francisco on business. We were pleased to see some open tables as we walked by. The menu was interesting and fresh, with lots of nice options. I had a lovely snapper dish with lentils. The food was great and very reasonable for what I got. I love the student concept and that everyone is learning. It was really a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone in the area looking for a nice quiet lunch spot. read more

I honestly had a bad experience here but I can still give this place three stars because I understand where these students are coming from and I'm not too picky. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did. It was nice when we first came in and the hostess told us the deal about this place and how everyone is a learning student. It was fine by me. I'm not sure what system they had though. We had our water poured and some bread. After that we were waiting for the food and realized that we forgot to order our appetizer. We looked over the menu again and figured we didn't need appetizer. In the midst of this conversation and looking over the menu, we realized that we didn't even order yet! We still had our menus. The server must have forgotten our table because she came to take our order but didn't do the introduction that she had with the near-by tables. While we were waiting for food, we were told something went wrong in the kitchen and so we had to wait even longer for the food. Unfortunately, everything took a very long time and it was difficult to get the attention of the servers. The food that we had was alright. The chicken tender appetizer was fairly good. It was crunchy and moist. The miso dressing that came with for dipping wasn't something I liked, just my taste buds. The beef was cooked to be slightly rare when I asked for medium rare but I don't mind. The cream cauliflower was extremely mushy but had good flavor. And the tomatoes were forgettable. The pasta with salmon had an excess amount of cream. Other than that, it was good. Unfortunately the service was so slow that I didn't get dessert. There is no menu and the server has to roll the dessert cart over to explain what they have that day. We decided to opt out since time was running out. Also, a complaint I have is that I would have liked my water refilled. I didn't get one refill at all... It's not my first option for a meal but it wasn't bad and food is fairly priced to compensate. So even though I had a "not-so-great" experience, I'll give them my three stars and take two for the time and water. read more

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My first experience coincided with what I assume is the beginning of a new class, but I was impressed by the attention to detail and presentation. The floor to ceiling windows gave a fresh and light atmosphere that was repeated in the menu and the meal. The service while "green" was genuine and eager to improve. Everything tasted fresh and I appreciated being able to provide feedback via a short survey at the end of the meal. I look forward to coming back, especially as the semester progresses! (I wish they served dinner!) read more

The Educated Palate - The desserts were by far the best part of the meal. You could tell they were most excited about this part of the meal and menu. - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

I had a wonderful lunch here. When I first sat down I was a little disappointed in the menu because I had seen so many wonderful things online but alas I came during soup/salad time. I ordered a salad with salmon and all my disappointment vanished. The salad and dressing were both nice but the salmon was cooked PERFECTLY! Service was interesting because due to the fact that this is part of a school the wait staff is not your run of the mill wait staff. They all seemed a little bit socially awkward but in the end it was more endearing than negative. I only wish I had remembered to take a picture of my gorgeous dessert before I gobbled it up cause it was beautiful. I would come back here for sure. read more

The Educated Palate - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

My wife and I are staying at the Marriott Marquis across the street. After checking in we walked over for lunch. What a treat. Our waiter was in his first week but he did really well. I had the corned beef Reuben. It was delicious. My wife had the salad with an incredible piece of Salmon. For desert we had the special of the day, an apple cake with a dried apple, figs and their vanilla ice cream. We'll be back! read more

Another great meal at this fine dining experience at 4th and Mission, CCSF. Enjoyed a beautiful arugula salad with shaved Parmesan, fresh figs, and pomegranate seeds. Healthy and delicious! My friend had the corn beef sandwich, which he enjoyed with perfectly cooked French fries. read more

The Educated Palate - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

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This is such a shame because I really wanted to like The Educated Palate. I had gone to a similar restaurant in LA (community college cooking school) and my experience there set the bar too high for here. Given my prior exposure to students running the show, I expected service to be awkward. And it was. The questions they asked, the way the guy tried to clear the table and then unclear the table when he realized my dining companion was still finishing his plate, the look of surprise on our server's face when we had given our credit cards to another server all lacked the grace and professionalism of a real restaurant. But that's ok; this is a place to make mistakes and learn. I got the pork shoulder and he ordered the tri tip. From a flavor standpoint, both were fine. But the presentation was clumsy and amateur. Something about my polenta did not make it look appetizing. I had read that the desserts are better than the entrees so I suggested that we try one. The flan we had tasted average and the edges/top were not as smooth as it could have been. My overall feeling about the food is that from afar, it looks good but close up, you can tell that it's not quite ready for prime time. Two entrees, dessert, tax, and tip was ~$40. read more

My colleague and I were staying at the Marriott and stopped by this place for lunch. What a treat! The prices were beyond amazing for the quality of food. The bread and fries in particular were to die for and the service was great. We were our waiter's first table ever but you couldn't tell at all based on his attentiveness and attention to detail. read more

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The food is pretty good at this place, but there are some quirks. All of the servers are kind of rookies getting experience waiting tables. They are all students, are very attentive to your table, but a little shy and awkward not really knowing what to do or how to act necessarily. If you're okay with the inexperienced wait staff, the food is solid and much cheaper than any other sit down restaurant you'll find. just make a reservation! read more

I've now come here twice for lunch, and have left mostly happy. Granted these are students, both times service was relatively slow, and sporadic. All the staff were really friendly, it just seemed like their was a lack of overall leadership. For example, yesterday my colleague and I wanted to try dessert and were told about a crème brûlée, which sounded perfect. For some reason, we ended up with flan, which to our knowledge wasn't even a dessert selection. Ah well. The food, on the other hand, is worth returning for. I've tried the lamb wrap and the Reuben, and both were terrific and a great deal at under $10. All their breads are baked on premise. And even that flan was pretty good, now that I think about it. I'd say that if you're not in a rush, you can enjoy yourself, but expect lunch to be at least 45 minutes to an hour and change. read more

Passing grade. Unlike any other restaurant downtown. Here you get food. You also get a staff of culinary school students. Talent is required to figure out mahi mahi and fruit chutney would go excellent together in a house potato roll. Fortunately one of the students did. Comes with a small side salad. Here was the only hiccup. Asked for dressing on the side. Got it. But also on the salad. Minor inconvenience. It's hard not to root for people trying so hard. Feel free to stop by and add to their dream. You'll be satisfied and nourished in more ways than one. read more

Given this is a training restaurant run by students of CCSF, you might want to visit this place towards the end of a semester when the students have a bit more experience behind them. I came in on a weekday with a small group of coworkers, and we had no problem getting the table. The service was a bit odd (although understandable since they are students), but the food was great. The entrees were about $9-$12 and pretty gourmet. A couple of other things to note - they do not serve alcohol and they are not opened when school is not in session. Come and give the Educated Palate a try - and help support some local SF students. read more

I hate myself sometimes. I know the servers are students and they are trying really really hard but I kept thinking to myself throughout the meal, "was I this clueless when I was in school?" Hell NO! Well...who am I kidding - yes I was. I thought Martha's Vinyard was where Martha Stewart made her own wine. Anyway... Never mind. back to the review. I was trying to be very encouraging to the many students who served us during the meal but I couldn't help rolling my eyes a little at times. just a little. when it took this guy literally 5 minutes to serve me a piece of bread using a fork and a spoon with one hand. I just wanted to yell, USE THE FUCKING TONGS ALREADY OR LET ME PICK IT UP WITH MY HAND - I WOULD LIKE TO FINISH THIS MEAL TODAY! but I didn't. I just smiled a smile of encouragement. The service is painful but earnest. The menu is kinda boring. But the food is actually good (my cobb salad was anyway). The restaurant is clean with a bit of a sterile laboratory vibe which added to my feeling like a lab rat in an experiment to test my patience... Just ignore my review - go there and support the students. You'll get a nice lunch out of it. And if you're not a bitch like me, you may actually enjoy the attentive service. read more

Hell-bent on finding semi-upscale lunch fare on a street laden with delis, I was pumped to see The Educated Palate! No clue until I was sat that it's a part of the City College culinary school. My day to be a guinea pig! I ordered the grilled lemon chicken sandwich with goat cheese. My server, whose nerves were wrecked courtesy of a late lunch rush, accidentally took my order twice. Oops. Me: Dude, you already took my order, 10 minutes ago... does this mean you haven't entered it yet? Server boy: Basically, yes. I tried to hide my dismay and put on my happy, patient face :) Food came out pretty quickly, actually. The chicken was well-seasoned and juicy, the bread freshly baked. However, I wish they would've been more detailed with their description of the menu items. My goat cheese, for instance, was mixed with pesto. Really wasn't in the mood for pesto, would've been nice to know! The accompanying cucumber salad was rather insipid and swimming in too much oil. They students serve simple syrup instead of standard (read: artificial) sweeteners for their iced tea. White tablecloths, business lunch club-style silverware, the whole bit. Chintzy, yes, but I kept reminding myself that this restaurant is training grounds for future great chefs. Yep. So, it was a bit awkward as my server stood in my personal space as I signed my receipt and scrawled out the tip amount. It probably guilted me into overtipping! Oh well... guinea pig duties accomplished. read more

As a former culinary school student I know how challenging it can be for aspiring chefs to wait on tables. Actually it was quite painful to watch these aspiring chefs do just that today. I will admit there were no accidents but there wasn't much grace either. The menu was impressive with decent pricing. I was safe and chose the Philly Cheese Steak. I had a choice of cucumber salad or fries. I went with the salad and was impressed. The cuts of the cucumbers were perfect and the dill vinegar was pretty tasty. My other dinning companion had the seafood pasta. CRUNCH! That was the sound of him biting into the grit that was never removed from the clams and scallops. The restaurant is a work in progress and you have to go knowing these are students. You are helping to perfect their trade so please be patient. You are not at the Ritz. read more

You know that restaurant on your college campus that served faculty and the handful of students who knew it existed? It had kind of awkward service, but the cheap prices and semi-nice setting (when compared with the food court alternative) kept you coming back? That's kind of what Educated Palate recalled for me. Servers were all friendly and a bit over-eager, but since the place is a training facility, that's to be expected. The menu is small but the meatball sandwich with provolone that I tried on my visit hit the spot. I do wish that the staff would be a little more mindful of seating arrangements. When Aimee K and I arrived, there were only a couple other tables that were occupied. So when a somewhat creepy dude was seated right next to us, we gave each other the "WHY?" look. Also, the bathroom could use a good scrub and probably a bit of a makeover, considering most of the people who are going in to this place have a lot of other, nicer alternatives at their disposal. All in all, like Jelena Z, I feel that I did my part by being a guinea pig for a meal. read more

This place like many resturants that open for the benefit of training have pretty good value. In other words, Fine Dinning on the cheap. Food: Today I had a small mixed green salad, Salmon BLT and a fruit tart to finish it all. It came out to be less than $20, excluding tips. Overall the food was pretty well made, there were mistakes but I am not sure if that is the mistake of the kitchen or the server. For example, I said put dressings on the side, but when it came, I had dressing on my salad already and had additional dressing on the. But everything was well prepared. I would say the highlight for me was the fruit tart, but I also have a sweet tooth. Service: This place is run by students that were in training to be professional waiters and waitresses. I had the waiter/waitress come to a few times to confirm my salad, the type of dressing and again to say they didn't have my dressing and said three types of dressing, of which I only understood, something vingerrete, something something, blue cheese. This place is hard to judge because these are all trainees and not being able to judge how long they have been training, it is difficult to guage how you should grade them. All in all, great value, friendly staff, good food. 4 Stars. read more

This newly-remodeled restaurant is the fractional culinary-program of City College. What most people don't recognize is that CCSF is the first culinary-program in San Francisco before the ever popular California Culinary Academy, which was established in 1977. The program is a hands-on training to prepare them in going to the restaurant business. I was here at noon for lunch with my niece, who finished class for the day. The restaurant was empty at the time of our visit but later filled up slowly to maximum capacity. For starters, we had the Heirloom-Tomato Bruschetta with mixed greens. It was good, but small for $5.25. She had the curried chicken-salad on whole-grain bread for $5.75. I had the Chicken Marsala, with mashed spuds and grilled veggies for $8.25. Both our entrees and sandwich were ok, but small and affordable. You pay what you get. Overall, the restaurant was ok. All the chefs are students and learning how to beat an egg for the first time. Eventually they will catch on. The culinary program at CCSF is one of the best in the nation. If I have the aspiration to learn another field, I would definitely go back to CCSF to take the culinary program. Hey, for $26 dollars a unit, it is well worth of a bargain than paying an outrageous tuition fee at the CCA. read more

Educated Palate gets 35 of 50 Fussy Fusspot Points... just one point shy of rounding up to 4 stars... oh so very close! 3.5 stars for this little training restaurant. --- Headed back to the office after a trade show at Moscone I happened upon Educated Palate just as my stomach yelled I AM HUNGRY so paused long enough by the menu for their outside hawker to convince me to give it a try. It's a training restaurant for City College students. Hmmm... a training restaurant? OK... let's check it out. Clean server? Yes. 5 of 5 points. They were all very clean. Clean students waiters. Clean table and dishes? Yes. 5 of 5 points. A+. Clean bathroom? Not really. 3 of 5 points. I didn't actually need to use the bathroom but went in after lunch to see if it was clean. I was a little disappointed because everything else was clean clean clean but not the bathroom. It just needed a good 5 minute cleanup. Can you find a Student learning Building Maintenance to clean up the bathroom? Subtotal = 13 of 15 Fussy Points on the Clean Scale. Service - 4 of 5 points. Apparently there are a lot of students at City College going through Restaurant & Hospitality Training because there were a lot of servers. They looked just a little bit lost and awkward but earnest. I wanted to give them a pat on the back and say Keep It Up. Good Job. Proud Of You. The Ararat Restaurant needs your help. Ambiance - 2 of 5 points. It was lunchtime and the tables were covered with nice clean crisp white tablecloths and napkins. Very nice. Other than that is was a little ordinary. But it's a school so that's probably to be expected. Maybe they should hook up with the Art School or Fashion Design School to kick up the ambiance a notch. Price/Food ratio - 3 of 5 points. I had the bacon/tomato/avocado sandwich with coleslaw and an iced coffee for $11.39 including tax (not including tip). Under $10 would have been a better lunch price. Friends from Finland Practical Scale - 4 of 5 points. Very practical. Quite practical. Almost a 5 of 5 on the practical scale. Food - 6 of 10 points... The sandwich was quite good and the coleslaw was excellent. The dressing was so unique I asked the server about it... she didn't know (just a student) but did ask the chef. It was a mayonnaise vinaigrette. I've never heard of a mayonnaise vinaigrette before. Where can I get some? Bonus points - 3 of 5. 1 bonus point for having an interesting show outside (sit at a table facing the sidewalk so you can watch the view). 2 bonus points for the experience of being served by Students and the combination this-is-fun plus helping-their-education feeling. Total 35 Fussy Points. If I am ever at the Metreon or Moscone then I would definitely try this place again. Thank You Students. read more

I usually try not to let other reviews sway mine before I write it, but I couldn't help but notice the 3.5 stars and feel like that was exactly right. It started off as a solid 4-star meal - I had a nice strawberry soup (read: smoothie) as a complimentary beginner and a good, if not great, turkey burger. For students this seemed like pretty good food. I couldn't be certain from the age demographics if the servers are students, too, but they are why this place gets three stars from me rather than 4. For a lunchtime in a pretty commercial area where many are probably at work and lacking a ton of time they are sloooooow. The meal took long enough to arrive (which is understandably not all on the server) and the check even longer - it felt like we were being ignored a bit towards the end. I ended up tipping more than I would have normally because the dollar wasn't worth the ten minutes it would have taken to get it. I know they have that fourth star in them, though, and it is a decent meal at a pretty good price, enough to make me willing to give it another try someday. read more

Went looking for a place to eat. Before we could get 2 blocks away from Moscone West, we were roped in by the City College Culinary students. I've been to that other culinary school place that has buffets at lunch and thought it might be similar. It wasn't a buffet but it was still pretty good food-wise and price-wise. I had the puff pastry with tapenade which was very flavourful ($5.75). For my entree, I had the chicken with pesto with risotto and asparagus and artichokes ($10.25). I wasn't as impressed with my entree, the chicken tasted overcooked and the risotto seemed a little undercooked. Good try to everyone. You can tell it is run by students, but you have to start learning somewhere. read more