The Rake: Breaking Bread

Las Mojarras - Seafood Mexican Style

Jeremy Iggers — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:31:17 -0500

Every time I have set foot inside Las Mojarras, in the former Me Gusta space on E. Lake St., the place has been completely empty, which is a shame, because it's one of the most ambitious and attractive Mexican restaurants in the Twin Cities.

Best Tamarindo Deal in Town

Jeremy Iggers — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:53:39 -0500

I was biking back from the office on the Midtown Greenway, when I ran across this young woman selling not just lemonade (or its instant

Italiani's Family Restaurant Grill & Bar

Jeremy Iggers — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:50:11 -0500

I got a hot tip recently - a sighting of a pasta making machine at Italiani's Family Restaurant Grill & Bar, 3508 E. Lake Street. That's pretty rare these days - making pasta by hand is very labor intensive.

Hoang Thien Y Deli: Tastes of Vietnam

Jeremy Iggers — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:04:21 -0500

Drive down Eat Street - Nicollet Avenue - and you can see the whole drama of restaurant existence in a block or two - life, death, and sometimes renewal.

Last night, we headed out for dinner at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants, Relax (a really unfortunate choice of name), and discovered that Relax wasn't relaxing, it was dead. (Sometimes, with the fish and crabs in the restaurant's live seafood tanks, it wasn't easy to tell.)

Vicky's Place

Jeremy Iggers — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:12:40 -0500

If I hadn't been surfing the web, I would never have run across the website of The Bush Chicken, the online magazine of Minnesota's Liberian community, and then I also would never have heard of Vicky's Place. The ad in the Bush Chicken looked promising, though - it promised fufu and soup, torborgee, attieke, fried rice and more. With a little more surfing, I discovered Vicky's website,

Dining Adventures: From Bangkok to Buenos Aires

Jeremy Iggers — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:45:52 -0500

I finally made it to Krua Thailand to try their famous Boat Soup - famous enough at least to have a banner outside the restaurant advertising it. Turns out boat soup is basically the Thai answer to pho, the Vietnamese beef noodle soup - but with one important difference - boat soup is made with beef blood. How was it? If you like pho, and aren't squeamish, I think you'll

Big E is Back!

Jeremy Iggers — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:56:55 -0500

Eric Austin, the talented chef behind the late, lamented Big E's Soulfood on Eat Street, has resurfaced in South Saint Paul with a new upscale restaurant, the Bourbon Street Steakhouse, in the dining space formerly occupied by TreVina Italian Steak House. It's a more suitable venue for fine dining than the little storefront on Eat Street, and Austin is now able to offer cocktails and a wine and beer selection to go with his cuisine.

Sawatdee and Hare Krishna

Jeremy Iggers — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:12:32 -0500

_{Sharon Mollerus/Creative Commons}

Sawtdee

SerenTori: Laotian, Vietnamese, Thai and More

Jeremy Iggers — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:17:38 -0500

I was by myself the other day when I stopped in for lunch at SerenTori restaurant, 5748 34^th Ave., Minneapolis, so I could only try one dish, which made it kind of a tough choice. The $6.95 lunch specials didn't sound that appealing - they're mostly Chinese take-out classics like Sesame Chicken, Egg Foo Young, and Mongolian Beef (all come with fried rice and choice of egg roll or cream cheese wonton).

Pizza Farm

Jeremy Iggers — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:14:50 -0500

About 50 years ago, the BBC broadcast an April Fools report about the annual spaghetti harvest in Switzerland, and got hundreds of inquiries from viewers who wanted to know where they could buy their own spaghetti trees.

Really.

The Favor Cafe: Miami Vice to Southern Fried

Jeremy Iggers — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:11:49 -0500

It's a scene enough to bring tears to a restaurant owner's eyes. As we dined Friday night at the new Favor Café (the former Restaurant Miami), 913 W. Lake St., one party after another walked in the door - mostly young women dressed for a night of partying. Some of them sat down at tables, while others headed straight for the bar. And each time, the owner or a waiter had to inform them that, even though there was a well-stocked bar in plain sight, they could not order a drink - the restaurant is still waiting for its liquor license. (Our

White Bear Thai, Fun Times at Victor's, Wine Classes at Dancing Ganesha

Jeremy Iggers — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:10:18 -0500

Notes From the (e) Mailbag:

Subject: Ban Thai.

Naked Bones at the Brickhouse BBQ

Jeremy Iggers — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:20:42 -0500

As I get older and balder, I have come to appreciate the t-shirt legend that proclaims, "Only a few heads are perfect - the rest are covered with hair." Something similar is true of barbecued ribs - the best way to serve mediocre ribs is smothered in sauce - but to serve ribs naked, they have to be done just about perfectly.

Outdoor Dining: Old Favorites, New Finds

Jeremy Iggers — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:33:49 -0500

My how time flies. It is almost August, the days are getting shorter, and the evenings of patio dining will soon be a distant memory. I still haven't made it back to my all-time favorite outdoor dining spot, the patio at the Black Forest Inn, for a mug of Pilsner Urquell, a pair of bratwurst

Gandhi Mahal - In Pictures

Jeremy Iggers — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:58:16 -0500

The first time I visited Gandhi Mahal, the new Indian restaurant at 27^th and E. Lake St., was before it was actually open for business. I introduced myself to the owner, which seemed like the right thing to do at the time, since I wasn't reviewing the place, and I wanted to ask a lot of questions.

The Naschmarkt: Vienna's Outdoor Market

Jeremy Iggers — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:17:21 -0500

"Probieren Sie mal, Herr Professor," says the guy behind the counter at the market stall, as he holds out a freshly fried felafel ball. "Have a taste." (I guess the beard and glasses make me look like a Herr Professor.) A few feet away, another vendor holds out a green olive on a toothpick. Strolling through the Naschmarkt, Vienna's open air market, is like running a gastronomic gauntlet. The market stretches out for about a mile through the heart of the city, with scores of vendors on either side of narrow pedestrian walkways.

Vienna: A lot more than just Wienerschnitzel

Jeremy Iggers — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:48:48 -0500

Zum Alten Fassl, a typical Viennese tavern-restaurant. Image from Zum Alten Fassl website.

Gastronomy in Germany? Ja, Sicher!

Jeremy Iggers — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:40:53 -0500

photo: diners in Bad Lauterberg listen to the bawdy stories of Fra Davolo

Goettingen, Germany. Most people don't come to this German university town in search of great cuisine, and I didn't either. I came because my father is recovering from quintuple bypass surgery at a clinic near here.

Dracula, Paella and Drinking Organically

Jeremy Iggers — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:39:38 -0500

Where would Count Dracula dine if he visited the Twin Cities?

La Poblanita: authentic Mexican

Jeremy Iggers — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:17:46 -0500

meat parillada - photo by Denis Jeong

Sad News from the Broder Family

Jeremy Iggers — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:07:37 -0500

A press release from the Broder Family:

Tom Broder, owner and founder of Broders’ Cucina Italiana and Broders’ Pasta Bar, quietly succumbed to a life-long heart condition at his home on Saturday, July 5, 2008. He was fifty-nine. Tom is survived by his wife Molly, sons Thomas (wife Annie), Charlie and Danny.

Dancing Ganesha: Not Exactly Divine

Jeremy Iggers — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:52:55 -0500

I had high hopes for Dancing Ganesha, the new upscale Indian restaurant that replaced Willie's Wine Bar on Harmon. When I spoke to one of the owners before the restaurant opened, he told me of ambitious plans to make it a "four-star" Indian restaurant with elements of French haute cuisine. I suggested a couple of local food consultants who specialize in south Asian cuisine, but it doesn't look like anything came of my suggestion.

The Citizens Speak - Reviewing the Citizen Cafe

Jeremy Iggers — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:59:57 -0500

Thanks to everybody who responded to my call for citizen reviews of the Citizen Café. The results are in, and the results are, well, mixed. Some things you liked, some you didn't.

I'll save my own comments for last, but that also sums up my own experience - I had a mediocre lunch, and a very satisfying dinner.

Snacking and Grazing the Mill City Farmers Market

Jeremy Iggers — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 08:05:44 -0500

Yesterday was my first visit of the season to the Mill City Farmers Market, and I was pleasantly surprised by how many new stands there were selling locally produced prepared foods - apparently Brenda Langton, who was one of the founders of the market, and who owns the Spoonriver Restaurant next door, doesn't mind the competition.

United Noodle Deli to Expand

Jeremy Iggers — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:34:27 -0500

One of my favorite little lunch spots is the Chinese deli hidden away inside United Noodles, the oriental market hidden away inside the Seward neighborhood in south Minneapolis.

The 98 Pound Restaurant: Cheap Sushi and More!

Jeremy Iggers — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:41:32 -0500

Header photo by Denis Jeong

I've been told that the whole Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet phenomenom has run its course, and that the next big trend for Chinese restaurateurs is sushi — the profit margins are better. A lot of Chinese buffets already offer a few varieties of sushi, but the new 98 Pounds Restaurant at 98th and 35W in Bloomington actually combines the concepts.

Krishna Comes to the Kingfield Market

Jeremy Iggers — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:59:23 -0500

Okay, I really intended to get this post up days ago, or at least sometime before Sunday (today), because today is the day of the weekly Kingfield Farmers Market, which runs from 9 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. at 43rd and Nicollet Ave. S., but life got hectic, and I had to go to Chicago for a conference, and so here it is, 9:20 a.m. on a Sunday morning. So I'm going to do a quick post and then jump on my bike and ride over to the market for breakfast.

Flame: Not the Usual Mall Restaurant

Jeremy Iggers, photo by Denis Jeong — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:45:10 -0500

^{photo by Denis Jeong}

Crowdsourcing the Citizen Cafe

Jeremy Iggers — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:15:57 -0500

Wanna be a restaurant critic? Wanna be a citizen journalist? Let's try an experiment. The Citizen Café is opening tomorrow, at 24^th Ave.and 38^th St. in south Minneapolis. Instead of just me writing a review (which I will do eventually), how about all of you readers out there visiting the restaurant and sending me your impressions. You can either post

A Taste of Brazil; Japanese in Stadium Village

Jeremy Iggers — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:49:22 -0500

Nibbles and tidbits:

This one sounds too good to miss: Monday night, (June 16), French Meadow Bakery and Café is hosting a five course Brazilian dinner, with live Brazilian jazz and Brazilian-inspired fashions. Cost is $50, including organic/ sustainable wine pairings. It's a benefit for KBEM, Jazz 88 FM, so at least part of the ticket price is tax-deductable.