The Oak Café — Restaurant in California

Finally tried out The Oak Cafe! Located on the American River College campus, it is the restaurant where students from the culinary program hone their skills and make dishes that they had been learning. Happened to be here during finals week, so I was asked to rate each dish on its appearance, taste and give notes.

$15 even will get you a three course lunch meal with beverage. What an excellent way to enjoy a fantastic meal while supporting your local community college!

The interior is small, but there are plans to expand in the future. In the L-shaped dining room, natural sunlight spills in on one set of windows at the top. There is even outdoor seating, which would be great during spring/fall.

First dish consisted of a pasta w/ clams and white sauce, tasty, but a little too rich for me. Second was chicken with prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and risotto. Everything was cooked to my liking with the asparagus not being overly cooked (hate limp asparagus) and the risotto having a subtle bite to it. Chicken had a thin herb-crumb coating - tender, not tough or stringy.

Dessert was a meringue - like the topping of a lemon meringue pie - with thin chocolate crisp topping served with a creme anglaise. Pleasantly surprised by this dessert! The meringue was like eating a soft pillow. I could drink creme anglaise by the gallon and this one was no exception.

Parking is $1 for the day. Okay so it's $1, people pay tons more for parking if you're at a meter downtown! You may as well check out the James Kaneko Gallery across the way before or after lunch, when I was there they had an Andy Warhol exhibit going on. Walking around, the campus had changed so much since I was here decades ago.

Service was attentive and efficient. You can tell they want to make a good impression. Our server - I forgot her name! - an older woman who you could tell loved her job, made sure I had enough water, bread, coffee, you name it.

Would I go back? Definitely. Since their menu changes every so often, it is good to check out the website and see...

Today's chefs were well versed in the 3 areas: presentation, taste, and originality. Keeping a score sheet adds to the meal because you and your friends are asking questions about the food. Is this a bay leaf or sage? Would switching out cauliflower for the baked potato make the pizza taste better? Would you cook with wild mushrooms? Plan for a leisurely meal. Also save room for dessert!! The banana bread pudding with ice cream was a...

10/25/2023: Tyler, Nick and Anastasia (Student Finals) have still left me in disbelief that 9 hrs earlier today I had the most surreal Black Gyoza, Marinated Hanger Steak (melted in my mouth) and Japanese Cheesecake. The maturity and confidence of the professionals I spoke with rivals that of any Michelin 1-Star restaurant. My condolences to the judge who must...