Soooo, let me add my two cents worth to my esteemed colleague Ann Bauer’s posting on the Table for One topic (see below): I’d recommend any of the places that have counter service. My top pics these days would include the Chef’s Teller Counter at BANK, in the new Westin Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, the counter at Solera (for tapas), and the cucina counter facing the kitchen at Pazzaluna in downtown Saint Paul. And then, of course, there are the sushi bars – my favorites these days include Midori’s Floating World (3011 27th Ave.S., Minneapolis, and the quirky Mount Fuji in Maple Grove.
Author: Jeremy Iggers
-
First Impressions: Rotisserie Brasa
If Alex Roberts opened Rotisserie Brasa to prove a point, he has definitely succeeded. Everybody likes the idea of eating locally and sustainably, but the rap against organic-sustainable local restaurants like Roberts’ Restaurant Alma is, we are not going to save the planet by eating that way if most people can’t afford $25 entrees.
At Rotisserie Brasa, in a former gas station remodeled (with help from Shea Architects) to look like a Caribbean chicken shack, Roberts applies the same planet-friendly approach at a much lower price point. Only two meats are offered: marinated rotisserie chicken, and a slow-roasted glazed pork shoulder. The chicken (from Kadejan Farms in Glenwood) is moist and juicy, but the real star is the fork-tender and succulent roast pork (from Six Point Berkshire Pork Cooperative in Cottonwood). Individual dinners cost $11 for a smaller portion of roast pork or a quarter chicken, or $13.50 for a half chicken or a larger portion of pork. (larger portions for sharing are also available.)
Roberts has Louisiana roots, and the basic menu structure is a variation on the Southern tradition of meat-and-three: the price includes a choice of two side dishes from a list that includes collard greens, sweet plantains, yellow corn grits with cheddar, rice and pigeon peas with locally smoked ham, and several more. I grew up on a lot of this kind of cooking in Little Rock and New Orleans, and Roberts’ rendition of the sides is about as good as it gets: the corn grits with sharp cheddar is creamy and rich, and the sweet potatoes with andouille sausage are the perfect balance of sweet and spicy.
A limited list of wines and beers are available.
Brasa Premium Rotisserie, 600 E. Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis.
-
Toast Wine Bar & Cafe
Somebody famous once said, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. The city inspectors took one look at the kitchen of this cozy little wine bar and cafe in the warehouse district and said, if you can’t vent out the heat, don’t put in a fryer, or grill. So chef-owner Scott Davis has had to create a menu that can be prepared with a minimal kitchen. They do offer a few hot items, including thin crust pizzas, and a white bean vegetable soup, but most of the menu is no-heat or low-heat, and perfect for summer: an antipasti plate of cheese, cured meats, olives and nuts; a spinach and arugela salad with marinated tomatoes and feta cheese; a grilled portabello sandwich with red peppers and provolone. The crostini, open-faced sandwiches with toppings that range from black olive and Italian tuna to avocado, tomato and Serrano ham, are a great deal at $1.50 each. The wine list offers some interesting choices by the glass, including a Prazo De Roriz Douro ($7.50 / $30) from Portugal, and a Sollner Danubio Gruener Veltliner ($6.50/ $27) from Austria.
Open Tuesday to Thursday 5-11, Friday and Saturday 5 to midnight, Sunday 5 to 11 p.m. Closed Monday.
415 N. 1st. St., Minneapolis,612-333-4305. -
Café Bonxai
Business wasn’t great at the little budget steak house in the St. Paul Midway, so the Hang family, Hmong refugees from Laos, decided to try something different. They brought in cousin Christian Hang, a recent culinary-school graduate, as chef; remodeled the dining room with a tasteful black and orange décor; and added Asian fusion to the menu. You can still get an $18.99 T-bone or a $10.99 sirloin, but the dinner menu at the Café, formerly a Best Steak House, now includes seared yellowfin tuna salad with mango salsa; red or green coconut curry; and poached red snapper with basil, mint, lemongrass, and shallots—plus a few Italian dishes such as shrimp scampi and fettucine alfredo. The lunch menu is even more eclectic, with offerings including a fajita wrap and a BLT. Preparation and presentation are first-rate; wine and beer expected soon. Most entrées run $9-$14. 1613 University Ave. W., St. Paul; 651-644-1444.
-
Bank
Banks are about delayed gratification: today’s pleasure denied for a better tomorrow. And hotel restaurants often aren’t about gratification at all: You are a stranger in a strange town, you’re tired, you’re hungry and you’re on an expense account, so why not just eat here? But Bank, the upscale dining room in the new Westin Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, offers ample hedonistic gratifications in a stunning setting: The WPA-era lobby of the former Farmers and Mechanics Bank, with its high ceilings, copper chandeliers, and dark wood-paneled walls, has been transformed into an elegant and romantic dining space.
The menu gets a bit too cute, listing entrées as “long-term interest” and appetizers as “shared currency,” but chef Todd Stein’s “modern American” cuisine is impressive. Stein, formerly executive chef at Chicago’s highly rated MK, incorporates French technique and Asian accents in dishes such as wok-steamed mussels served in a subtle Kaffir lime broth; five-spice rubbed duck breast with frisée, mizuna, and poached egg; and spit-roasted Berkshire pork with apple-braised pork belly, poached leeks and Chinese long beans.
The salmon tartar is the love child of Japanese sushi and French steak tartar (which itself originated with Tartar horsemen who thundered across the steppes with raw meat under their saddles). Stein’s nuanced rendition combines the salmon with mango and avocado and pairs that with a tuna poke (pronounced pok-eh), a Hawaiian dish of marinated raw fish prepared with pine nuts, apple, sesame, chili, and mint; both are presented on silver tasting spoons.
At its best, the taste experience is sublime. The poached lobster and risotto croquettes with truffle butter are a marvel of contrasting textures and subtle flavors; the lamb with braised white beans and ratatouille is more robust but no less satisfying. The grilled salmon with spring asparagus, ramps, and trumpet royale mushrooms lost a few points for excessive charring, but was otherwise a delightful springtime dish. Among the few off-notes were scallops lacking the sweet succulence of the very best, and deviled eggs with sturgeon and tobiko caviar that were just ho-hum. The wine list is pricey (mostly $40-plus), with limited choices by the glass. Breakfast runs $7-$16, lunch $9-14, and dinner entrees $21-$32. 88 Sixth St. S., Minneapolis, 612-656-3255; www.bankmpls.com
-
Shiraz Fireroasted Cuisine
It’s hard to find a decent Shiraz in Shiraz these days, but that doesn’t mean that the Iranians have stopped drinking. (A popular joke: “Under the Shah, we drank in public and prayed in private; now it’s the other way around.”) But you can find some very drinkable Shirazes and first-rate Persian cuisine in stylish surroundings at the new Shiraz Fire Roasted Cuisine. Many dishes are Persian versions of familiar Middle Eastern fare—hummus, stuffed grape leaves, and kabobs of beef and chicken. More adventuresome diners may want to try the gormeh sabzi, a tart stew of beef, kidney beans, and preserved lemon; or the fazenjoon, chicken and ground walnuts in a pomegranate sauce. Best bets include eggplant mirza with tomato and garlic; the chicken koubideh; the beef kabobs; skewers of coarsely ground chicken seasoned with saffron; and the bastani, Persian ice cream flavored with rosewater. Vegetarians, though, should stay away unless they want to make a meal of hummus. Entrées run $10-$14. 6042 Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-861-5500.
-
Fogo de Chão
Yes, Brazilians really do eat this way. Fogo de Chão, the new Brazilian steak house at City Center in Minneapolis, is much more elegant—and more expensive—than the truck stop in northeast Brazil where I first experienced churrascaria (Brazilian spit-roasted barbecue), but the basic principle is the same: Waiters in black pleated gaucho pantaloons (at Fogo de Chão, not the truck stop) stroll through the dining room with a skewer of spit-roasted meat in one hand and a long-bladed carving knife in the other. If your little coaster is green-side-up, they’ll stop at your table and carve off a portion to order. Turn the coaster red side up and they’ll steer clear.
The fifteen meats offered range from sirloin, rib eye and beef ribs to leg of lamb, lamb chops, pork loin and bacon-wrapped chicken breast. As a dining experience, it’s a carnivore’s dream; as a business model, it’s brilliant. Instead of the typical mammoth slab of high-priced beef served up by Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris, Manny’s, etc., which congeals on your plate for an hour or two and eventually goes home with you, half-eaten, in a doggy bag, the mixed grill at Fogo de Chão arrives hot and juicy, a few slices at a time. (The chicken and pork tend to be drier, but the beef is wonderful.)
You can have as much meat as you like, but you’ll probably eat a lot less than you might at a steak house. Diners are encouraged to start their meal at the cold buffet, and by the time you work your way through the cornucopia of salads, cheeses, and salumeria ranging from prosciutto, smoked salmon, and mozzarella to sundried tomatoes, asparagus, and hearts of palm, you are likely to be half-full. Then an assortment of filling side dishes is brought to the table, including fried plantains, seasoned mashed potatoes, pão de queijo (little cheese popovers), and fried polenta.
The white-tablecloth ambience compares well with the other high-end steak houses in town, but you are likely to spend a lot less. Lunch is $22.50 and dinner, $38.50. 645 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-338-1344; www.fogodechao.com.
-
Last Chance for Monday's BYOB at La Belle Vie
La Belle Vie is hosting its first Bring Your Own Bottle dinner next Monday night, June 25, and it’s almost completely sold out: just one table for two is still available. Chef Tim McKee is creating a special $95 five-course menu for the event, and the restaurant will waive its usual $30 corkage fee. To grab that last spot, call the restaurant at 612-874-6440; to be notified of future BYOB dinners, send an email to lbvreserves@labellevie.us.
-
Grumbling About Glockenspiel
I don’t usually criticize restaurants on the basis of a single visit, but in the case of my recent outing to Glockenspiel, I am willing to make an exception. From past visits, I remembered the Bavarian restaurant in St. Paul’s historic CSPS Hall as serving possibly the best German food in the Twin Cities. This time around, the setting was as charming as ever, but the kitchen badly missed the mark. My companion ordered Schweinebraten (roast pork)and I ordered Sauerbraten (marinated beef roast). The meats were adequate, but everything else was badly off the mark: instead of a crusty rye bread, the bread basket was filled with two-tone marbled soft-crusted supermarket bread – sort of like WonderBread with food coloring added. The spaetzle were mushy. The red cabbage was flavorless. And no self-respecting German restaurant would serve a vegetable medley of yellow squash, zucchini, and crinkle-cut carrot slices.
-
Edina's First Outdoor Bar
Edina gets its first outdoor bar on Friday, July 27 when Via opens at 67th and France. The former Pizzeria Uno has been given a $3 million makeover by Hemisphere Restaurant Partners, who also own the Atlas Grill and Mission American Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis. Executive chef James Foley is moving over from Mission, where he has been replaced by Doug Flicker, formerly chef-owner at Auriga. The contemporary American menu will range from carpaccio-wrapped hushpuppies and a heirloom tomato trio with three different sea salts, to entrees of halibut with golden tomatoes and lavender salsa, and ribeye with smoked cheddar polenta. Dinner entrees will be priced from $15 to the mid $20s.