The Rake Magazine

Tag: atlas

  • Flame: Not the Usual Mall Restaurant

    photo by Denis Jeong

    I stopped by for lunch at Flame at the Rosedale Mall. I
    might be biased, because the owners – the same people who own Mission American
    Kitchen     , Atlas Grill, and Via – are friends of mine, but I liked it. It isn’t
    the place I would go if I were planning an intimate bistro dinner by
    candlelight, but then again, if I were in Roseville and looking for an intimate
    bistro dinner, I would be plain out of luck. There is a whole row of
    restaurants on the back end of Rosedale, and what stands out about Flame is
    that it is the only one that isn’t a chain restaurant — California Pizza
    Kitchen, Big Bowl, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Granite City, Chipotle, Potbelly.

    (Note to readers: I just previewed the published version of this blog post, and it looks like the odds are pretty good that you will be looking at this positive write-up of Flame side-by-side with an ad for Flame, which might lead you to conclude that there was some kind of connection between the two. There isn’t.)

    Flame does follow the mall restaurant formula, right down to
    the logos and uniforms, but it actually has more personality than its
    cookie-cutter neighbors. The theme is "cooking with fire," so I expected to see
    meat on spits, but instead the fire-roasting theme is
    symbolically represented by a row of roaring gas torches, mounted above the
    open kitchen. The fire-roasted meats are a legacy of the Atlas, where chef Abbas
    Shahbazi serves delicious Persian-inspired beef and lamb kabobs, as well as fish and
    chicken, fire-roasted over a 1200 degree grill.

    The menu is basically updated meat-and-potatoes, with a
    smattering of other flavors. The starters include a ceviche made with grilled
    shrimp and smoked scallops ($8.95), and a barbecued shrimp skillet in a creamy
    barbecue sauce with grilled baguette ($8.95). There are a couple of pasta
    entrees as well: pappardelle with smoked chicken and crimini mushrooms
    ($12.95), and penne marinara with bacon and fresh tomatoes ($10.95)

    Prices are very reasonable: On the dinner menu, except for
    the $21.95 filet mignon, everything is under $20, and there are a lot of
    choices for under $15, including the half rotisserie chicken ($12.95), broiled
    Alaskan cod ($13.95), and eight-hour pot roast ($14.95). The rotisserie
    chicken, roast beef and baby-back ribs are all offered as platters for four,
    six or eight ($49.95 / $77.95/ $99.95 for dinner; less for lunch) with 2-4 side
    dishes, which works out to less than $13 per person (or less than $11 per
    person for lunch). The lunch menu is similar, with lower prices, fewer steaks
    and an expanded list of burgers and sandwiches, most under $10.

    I enjoyed my
    lunchtime plate of rotisserie beef ($11.95 lunch / $13.95 dinner) – juicy
    slices of slow-roasted beef, served with a choice of two sides; I opted for
    the green beans and cheddar hashbrowns
    and took home enough for an ample lunch the next day.

    Flame is one of the few non-chain restaurants that will
    participate in the Rotary Club of Roseville’s first annual Taste of Rosefest on
    Thursday, June 26, in the Muriel Sahlin
    Arboretum. Other participants include Ol’ Mexico, Old Chicago, Axel’s
    Charhouse, Baker’s Square, Schroeder’s Bar & Grill, the Outback Steakhouse,
    and a bunch more. For a complete list and other details, visit www.taste-of-rosefest.com, or call
    651-204-9209.

  • Highlights of a Year of Eating

    I don’t do ten best lists, but looking back over the last
    year, I can recall some memorable dining experiences. For now, at least, I am going to limit myself to the new places – the
    list will just get too long if I try to work in more than just a mention of old
    favorites like the Grand Café Vincent, and Atlas Grill.

    My nominee for best new restaurant of 2007 is Saffron, where
    chef Sameh Wadi brings together the flavors of the Middle East and North Africa
    with the techniques and presentation of contemporary haute cuisine in very stylish
    surroundings. Highlights of my visits included an entrée of fork-tender lamb
    shoulder, over a savory bed of chick peas and a tagine of salmon and clams with
    roasted peppers, olives, fennel and saffron.

    Other favorite new places:

    Heidi’s Café: The
    same talent that the husband and wife team of Stewart and Heidi Woodman
    demonstrated at Restaurant Levain and Five (both now defunct) is again on
    display at Heidi’s, but this time at much more affordable prices: poached
    pheasant breast with cauliflower arugela salad for $19; a vegetarian entrée of
    pappardelle Bolognese for $12 .

    Meritage: Chef
    Russell Klein, cooked Regional American at W.A. Frost, but as chef-owner at
    Meritage, (in the former A Rebours space in downtown Saint Paul) he is free to
    return to his first love, French cuisine – which he delivers up with some
    playful and creative twists (like a Nutella and matzo sandwich for dessert.)

    Rotisserie Brasa, which Alex Roberts opened this summer in a
    former gas station on E. Hennepin remodeled to look like a Caribbean chicken
    shack. Roberts, known for much pricier and refined cuisine at Restaurant Alma,
    sets out at Brasa to show that local and sustainable can also be affordable.
    Only two meats are offered – rotisserie chicken and a terrific roast pork shoulder,
    along with a bunch of classic southern sides like cheese grits and collard
    greens.

    Keefer Court Bakery & Café. This funky little Chinese
    bakery at Cedar and Riverside recently hired Jack Ma, one of the most talented
    Cantonese chefs in the Twin Cities, to run their kitchen, and now serve a menu
    of traditional rice plates, noodle soups and stir-fries, at bargain prices.

    Pagoda in Dinkytown: The décor is much trendier than the
    usual noodle house, but the menu here, too, is traditional Cantonese street
    food plus a smattering of Japanese, Thai and Korean dishes in very stylish
    surroundings, at student-budget prices.

    Shiraz Fireroasted Cuisine: The chicken and lamb koubidehs
    (ground meat kabobs) at this new Persian restaurant at 61st and
    Nicollet tasted so authentic to me that I assumed that the chef must be from
    Iran, but it turns out it’s the same Mexican chef who ran the kitchen when the
    place was called Cintia’s of Mexico.

    Little Szechuan: The best Sichuan cuisine in the Twin
    Cities, plus some amenities you won’t find at many other Chinese restaurants in
    the Twin Cities, like a small but decent selection of wines. Try the fish
    fillet and tofu with spicy tasty broth.

    Café Ena: I live a few blocks from El Meson, and I have been
    a fan of chef-owner Hector Ruiz for years. His new Latin American fusion
    restaurant at 46th and Lyndale is just a tick more upscale, but the
    cuisine is just as lively and imaginative.

    Ngon Vietnamese Bistro: A lot of the restaurants that attempt East-West fusion wind up with the worst of both worlds, but this stylish storefront in Saint Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood is an exception: smart combinations of Asian and Western flavors in dishes such as Vietnamese beef over pappardelle noodles, ahi-tuna mango
    salad, and a succulent lamb shank with pho spices, served over
    lemongrass rice.

    Well, that’s about as many highlights as I can think of at the moment, but check back – I’ll probably add a few more to the list.