Harlingen is the home of TSTC Culinary School. (Texas State Technical College). The students learn from cooking, baking, presentation of food, to the proper serving etiquette of the meal. They also learn how to prepare a menu, cost analysis, and shopping for their menu. Every Monday, they send out an Email presenting their Menu for Wednesday. I am on the list and have been getting it for almost 2 years. I have never gone as I was busy or I just didn’t know exactly where it was. The Campus is large and very spread out. The lady’s were just taking about it when we attend the Play at the Theatre on Sunday. Monday morning their it was …….My Email from Chef Emma...…

Yum Italian….My Favorite…. I grew up in an Italian town, so this was certainly the key to my stomach. I contacted several lady’s and we set our lunch at 11:30 am. I called out to the school and talked with Bobbi…..Very nice lady on the phone….Extremely friendly and helpful to me as a first timer. Finally after another call or 2, we had reservations set for 5 of us. I picked everyone up and we headed out. Several had been their before but just wasn’t sure on exactly where it was. I had the map Chef Emma sent in the Email. We pulled into the parking lot, and the building said Science.….Hmmmmm….Lila went in to explore the halls….Bingo…We were in the right place. We wound through the halls of students with their bookbags, and found Room 185.

As we entered, they were all ready for us. They took my name for my reservation, and then seated us and presented the menus. This was just a regular class room with round tables set up for the lunch. Their was probably 4 or 5 tables with people seated already. They started serving at 10:30. The First year students would be waiting on us and serving the drinks and food. The Senior students were in the kitchen preparing the dishes for us. Our waitress introduced herself and took our order. We were their Guinea pigs.... lol…The menu’s were fabulous. Some things we heard of some things not. We mostly all chose the same things. We chose an Appetizer, or they called it a Starter, an Entrée, and of course a Dessert. After a few minutes of laughter and visiting, the meal began…..First the appetizer …..Yummmm…..“Bruschetta”

The flavors were wonderful….Tomatoes with Garlic, Basil, and Balsamic on a toasted baguette. I am not a tomato lover, but this was “Awesome”

Theresa ordered the Minestrone Soup…..This was not just a cup or Appetizer size….It was huge. It was also served with 2 pieces of Toasted Baguette . I had a taste and it was wonderful. Rich in flavor. Next, time for Main Course……“Shells stuffed with Ricotta Cheese with Spinach”……“Wow”

We all ordered the same. The presentation on the plate was very appealing and the shells were huge…The flavors again….just wonderful…During this time Chef Emma came by and introduced herself and told us a little about the program. Everything is made from scratch, including the Creamy Cheese and Spinach filling. Finally last course….Dessert……“OMG”

Just look at this….Its called “Deconstructed Chocolate Tiramisu” Believe me, it even tasted better than it looked….It was Heavenly. The flavors of chocolate and whip cream were to die for. We all had a good laugh when Debby said...”This is another good use for our wine glasses”. None of us finished out meal. We all took home 2 of our 4 Stuffed Shells. What a Fabulous Meal.

After we were done eating, Chef Emma again came around, also Bobbi, the girl on the phone who took my reservation. Such friendly lady’s. They made us feel like family. They told the rest of the lady’s how to sign up for emails for their menus. Finally our waitress presented us with our bill It was only $12.75. Very Economical.

Finally after much visiting and laughter and just a great time, it was time to leave. We each paid our bills at the cash register and headed out to the car and home. What a fun afternoon.

Thank you TSTC Culinary School…..Great Job, Great Food….Not only Great, Fantastic…..The Lady’s from Eastgate Mh & Rv Park Will Be Back…