foodguy's blog

Good and Comfy...Restaurant Food Trends in '09

It doesn't take much of a prognosticator to tell you that the coming year is going to be tough, for everyone. We get it shoved down our throats daily by the news media. (I firmly believe we create our own futures. Thereby, believing there is doom and gloom on the horizon will probably make it happen. But I'll save that for another rant.) But a bad few years ahead doesn't mean we'll stop eating in restaurants. We'll probably change our habits and eat out less often or maybe order less extravagant meals. The Wall Street soothsayers ( I don't know why we should even bother with these guys) are predicting an uptick in sales at quick serve restaurants like McDonald's, Wendy's etc. And a flat to moderate growth for casual dining restaurants like Ruby Tuesday, Applebees etc. High end restaurants will be most adversely affected by rising costs than lower sales. On top of that, this segment is generally made up of smaller business that don't have the opportunity to make up for lower sales by increasing volume with discounts and deals like the casual market can. With all that, we still gotta eat. So what will be on our plates in 2009?

In times of trouble we turn to comfort. We saw that right after 9/11. Whether it's on our own dining table or on a table at the corner bistro, everyone will be looking for comfort foods. What are comfort foods? they are anything that reminds you of a better time or helps you soothe the edges of a ragged day. It can be cream of tomato soup to one person or dried cuttlefish to someone else. It all depends on the culture, environment or region of the world you call home. We have so many great restaurants in this country that its really not too hard to find the comfort food you crave. And in the coming months there will be more chefs and restaurants featuring there versions of comfort food.

Besides visceral comfort many of us will be looking for ways to be comfortable in our own skin. Meaning that we'll be looking for ways to live a healthier lifestyle, which means eating healthier. This will affect restaurants in more ways than just putting a diet plate on the menu. The inventive ways many restaurateurs will use to approach this will range from putting more vegetarian and vegan items on their menus to using lighter cooking methods (less fats) to buying more locally grown or produced products. The latter being the most prevalent and the one getting the most attention. Because eating locally will carry with it a whole lot of cool this year.

So here's a list of just some of the things you may see on menus this year. Now you may only find some of these at that little Chef owned cafe down the street, but I wouldn't be surprised that a few of them don't pop up at your local chain eatery as well. Either way happy eating in '09.

almond pesto

candy bar desserts

cannellini beans

chocolate/peanut

churros & doughnuts & beignets

coconut desserts

duck fat fried potatoes

egg with asparagus

farro (Emmer Wheat)

gnocchi

parnmigiano flan

pork belly

prosciutto or bacon wrapped whatever

sauerkraut

bacon

truffles

pretzels

fish 'n chips

Russian dressing

Classic sauces; beurre blanc, perigourdine, veloute

 

Technorati Tags: food trends,restaurant,2009,economy,recession

Deli Good Enough

Part of the Minnesota ethos is learning how to settle for something that may not be the very best but is maybe just good enough. It may be a case of our adopted Scandinavian ethic or it may just be the generally accepted Midwestern psyche that somehow allows "just ok" to be the gold standard. I can usually return most of life's conundrums to Mick Jagger's summation of Eastern philosophy. The one that states in his best jeering style that we may not always get what we want...but we almost always get what we need.

The conundrum that concerns me today is the newly opened Mort's Deli in Golden Valley. Since the demise of the Lincoln Del nearly 15 years ago (yes its been that long) the Twin Cities has had to stuff our ample girths into the tiny Cecil's on Cleveland in St. Paul or settle for the few imposter's that would pop up now and then promising an authentic deli experience but usually falling far short of our knish and chopped liver filled dreams. There was a bright but brief hope a few years ago when the late Shelly Jacobs opened Louie's Habit in Wayzata. Shelly captured the soul of a deli albeit in a tiny space that inhibited his ability to produce the expansive menu that is the trademark of great delis. For whatever reason Louie's was but a bright and brief flash on the restaurant scene and disappeared as quickly as it came. 

And now there is Mort's. Mort's already feels well established though the doors have been only open less than 90 days. The food looks and tastes solid and the Jewish community seems to have wrapped our schmaltz laden arms around it. Mazel Tov. But I gotta tell you even as solid as it is, I found little to rave about which leads me down the path of well...Mort's is just good enough. Oh I'm ready to recommend it. But my recommendation is mainly based on a gut feeling I have that this is what we need for a deli in Minnesota. Mort's is full of the affectations of a New York deli. I really don't understand the need to make people feel like they need to go to New York for a great deli experience. First of all there are great delis in Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles and even in St. Louis. So why is it that a deli in Minnesota needs to pretend to be in New York to make us think its good?

Some of the New York affectations Mort's feels they need to take on to make us think this is a real deli include importing meats from the Carnegie Deli in NYC. Real New York delis, like the Carnegie, the Stage, Katz's or the late 2nd Avenue all made their reputations by doing things right and keeping it authentic. They made their own corned beefs, pastramis, pickles etc. They weren't shipping in knishes from thousands of miles away. That's authenticity, that's real deli.

But like I said, Mort's isn't bad. Could it be better? Sure it could. As one deli maven told when we were talking about Mort's, "They just need a little more Jew in the kitchen". The owner of Mort's is the son of a Rabbi I'm told which should be good enough to lend a modest air of authenticity. But in order for Mort's or any deli to be great and deserve the raves one hears about great delis from other cities is to roll up their sleeves and start making at least the corned beef...then someday they can add a few pickles and a knish or two. Hopefully someday someone will come along and take the risk (because the deli business is extremely costly to operate) and make a deli like a deli should be, a little rude, a little noisy, but honest to it's core and hopefully making it not just something we need...but something we crave.

 Mort's Delicatessen

525 Winnetka Avenue N.
Golden Valley, MN 55427

763-544-2900

p.s. Hey Mort's, here's a latke recipe for you...please let's call it my housewarming gift. (Some people may like the one you have, but trust me...you really need to replace it)

POTATO PANCAKES (LATKES)

Make about 40 pancakes

10 lbs. Peeled Idaho Potatoes

1 med Onion, peeled

12 large Eggs

4 Tbsp. Kosher Salt

1 Tbsp. White Pepper

1 cup Flour

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

Grate potatoes and onion together into a colander or strainer set over a bowl to catch the draining liquid. Cover the pan with plastic and let the product drain in the refrigerator for about 20 - 30 minutes.

Remove the potato onion mix to a large mixing bowl. Squeeze a little more excess moisture from the mix with your hands while you are moving the product. Discard the drained liquid.

Beat the eggs with the salt and pepper. Mix the eggs into the potatoes. Combine the baking powder and flour then mix in to the potatoes. This mix cannot sit. Be prepared to fry the pancakes immediately after making the batter.

FRYING THE PANCAKES:

Heat ¼ inch of Oil (Canola or Corn) in a deep-sided skillet to at least 360 degrees. Drop the batter by spoonfuls (about 1/3 cup each) into the hot oil and flatten with the back of a spoon to about ½ inch thick in the center. Fry until golden brown then turn and repeat to the same color.

Remove the pancake to a sheet pan and cool. To reheat, lay out on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 5-7 minutes, or drop in the deep fryer.

Make fresh daily.

Technorati Tags: restaurant,Mort's Deli,deli,corned beef,New York

Cheap Eats In A Bailout Economy

 

Here's a few handy links;

La Belle Vie

510 Groveland Ave.

Minneapolis, MN

 

Matt's Bar

3500 Cedar Ave. S.

Minneapolis, MN

 

Technorati Tags: Cheap Eats,Twin Cities,restaurants,bailout,food

Tequilas, Tacos and Tahari

Who'd of thought there'd be low riders on Nicollet Mall or Brooks Brothers suits being replaced by top buttoned shirts and colors stuck in back pockets. Well, we still haven't. But you' ld think we'd be one step closer with a joint called Barrio on the street. If your a home-boy hankering for a little bit of East L.A....this isn't it. The word barrio means district or neighborhood. It can also mean a cohesive place of sharing which is more of what Barrio Tequila Bar is all about. Tucked into a former Dunn Bros. coffee store next to the venerable Irish Pub The Local, Barrio has carved out a cute little spot for the good looking and well healed downtowners to get their taco fixes along with the chance to sample over 100 tequilas.

I happened to walk in the same night the Vikings were playing a Monday night game and was a little surprised to see t.v.'s. Besides the obligatory flat screens poised at the corners of the bar, there was a giant projection screen covering almost an entire wall. Barrio is a long narrow space and the big screen was only directly visible by a few tables, but the reflection in the massive back bar mirror made the images available to practically everyone in the space. But just so not to turn Barrio into a sports bar on nights like this, they kept the hip Latin jazz cranked instead of the banal banter of the t.v. announcers. The crowd ranged from work shirts and jeans to stylish club wear that night seemed rather oblivious to the game. I liked the mix though, it kept everyone relaxed and having a good time.

Let's start at the bar. As we entered we were greeted by my favorite hot downtown bartender from Solera (a cousin of Barrio by the way). Jane was waving madly until we spotted her and responded. It took me awhile to see her because my eye was caught by the massive collection of tequila bottles. I'm a bit of a tequila snob and have tried to keep up with all the newest labels flooding the market in recent years, but this was confounding even me. There were names and bottle shapes I had never seen before. There were even some varieties of certain brands that I didn't even know existed. I wanted to start at the top of the list and taste my way down. Knowing the inherent danger in that I decided to start somewhere in the middle and just be happy with one or tow taste that night. I wasn't ready to end the night doing flaming shots while running down the mall howling at the moon. (I'll tell that story some other day.) Most tequilas in most bars are served in Margaritas. But the occasional shot is usually accompanied by a salt shaker and wedge of lime. Or training wheels as its know in the industry. Barrio has done there research and offer a group of tasty "compadres" to with your shot of tequila. The classic compadre found in many bars in Mexico is Sangrita, a blend of tomato, orange and lime juices spiked with a little hot chiles. They offered some unique and interesting flavors for the tequila novice of adventurous like Apple Ginger Soda and White Grapefruit Cherry Soda. The large, larger than the food menu, drink list even lists some well though out combinations of tequila and comapdre to get you started. There are also rum, tequila and sangria cocktails listed along with a solid list of local and Mexican beers as well as Spanish and South American Wines.

As I said earlier Barrio is cousin to Solera and a vision of the most solid and creative restaurateur team in the Twin Cities, Josh Thoma and Tim McKee. They are focused and detail oriented and it shows. From the hip looking servers in logo'd denim or tee shirts to the dancing marionettes on the wall to the finely tuned menu. The menu may be small in stature, but awfully large in flavor. Simply organized into Small Plates, all priced at $7.50, Tacos and Enchiladas ranging from $3.50 to $4.00 and half a dozen Larger Plates. Chef McKee has taken his cues and style of cooking, preparation and presentation from what he has successfully developed at Solera and used it quite effectively at Barrio. He's created a menu with honesty and has avoided some of the obvious cliches that might have tempted a lesser experienced Chef. There are not nachos, chicken wings or fried ice cream. What there is, is a list of foods like the rich Queso Fundido done with a soft and stringy melted cheese (I'm guessing Chihuahua) that is miles from the orange gloop found elsewhere. We had it embellished with a spicy chorizo that added to its richness while at the same time offering a compatible counter punch of garlic and vinegar.  The tacos we tried were all soft corn and filled with great roll ups like carnita, (braised pork), fried mahi or spiced shrimp. At $3.50 each you could easily get out of there with a couple of tacos and a beer for under $10. Not bad in this economy. Our favorite was a Crab Empanda, little fried pillows of red corn dough filled with fresh blue crab set against a tomatillo salsa and an avocado pico. We finished with a chocolate Tres Leche, or three milk cake that was just ok... I would have preferred the classic white version instead.

You don't need to wear you colors to get into Barrio. You don't even need to be wearing a designer's name either. But when your downtown and in the mood for a little of the "hood". Slip into Barrio and order a shot or two and maybe a little bite to go with it. Leave your low rider with the valet.

 

Technorati Tags: Barrio,Josh Thoma,Tim Mckee. tacos,Nicollet Mall,tequila,Solera

Proud To Be A Restaurateur

From The National Restaurant Association

Porter & Frye...Too Haute To Be Hot

When the menu touts a mission statement right at the top, you should listen and take note to what it says. Right? So when I read "Modern + Midwest. Flavors of The Heartland, Artfully Presented." and then scanned down to read the "House" Salad's ingredients contained grilled artichoke and feta...I knew I was in for a bumpy ride. Porter & Frye, fictional characters created to name the restaurant, must really be a synonym for dazed & confused. Housed in the historic Ivy Tower, now part of a complex including the Hotel Ivy. The ziggurat style building sheathed in pebbles near the convention center sat empty or only slightly used for almost two decades. Originally built to be part of a complex of buildings for the Second Church of Christ Scientists in the 1930's that was never completed, it became destined for permanence in the late 1980's when it was granted historic status.  The hotel is a Starwood Property, known around the world to operate upscale and luxury hotels. (Their second spot in town will be the soon to open W Hotel in the also historic Foshay Tower.) So any restaurant sharing the property with a company of such elevated pedigree better be ready to play the game in earnest, or go home.

The ownership of Porter & Frye did their best to fill their roster with some of the best restaurant players in town. Before they even hired a Chef, they assembled a culinary advisory team of the who's who in Twin Cities kitchens. This über team set the tone and style of the menu. Steven Brown who now controls the ranges, took their advice and ran with it. He even added a few talented advisors of his own to help him open with a bang.  With all of this cooking genius around you' ld think that someone would have spoken up and said, "Guys...I think we've kind of lost our way with the flavors of the heartland thing and we might be getting a little too arty for our own good." But it didn't happen. Now please don't get me wrong, what with my curmudgeonly attitude and all, the food is good. It's just that I got a little confused sitting there with the menu before me. The dining space is pretty enough but here I was looking at yet another menu that looked like it was written to show the guest how exaltedly creative the kitchen can be while ignoring the extremely important sense of place and breadth of service a modern restaurant should have that's sitting on a piece of prime property in a major urban center. In other words the menu is too haute to be hot!

So let's get into the half dozen dishes I tried. First course were the Sea Scallops, expertly seared with a topping of nearly powdered bacon. On the plate were tiny dollops of passion fruit puree and smear of sauce that was supposed to be butterscotch. It looked and tasted very similar to the smoked raisin puree on the Berkshire Terrine. So with that first bit of confusion beginning to work its way past my martini I dug into the terrine, a tasty pork pate covered in a white coating of potato butter cream...very clever but other than simulating the traditional coating of fat or aspic normally found around the outside of a pate, it did little else. Also this is the second time in recent dining that I've been given toasted or grilled bread coated with butter to eat with pate or terrine. What's that all about. Isn't there enough fat in the pate already? Do I really need make a butter and pate sandwich?

The next plates to arrive were the Arctic Char and Gnocchi. We were in a light eating mood so we forwent the chance to gorge on the Lamb Porterhouse or the enticing Dry Aged Prime Bone-In Ribeye, my hands down favorites when I'm ready to clog a few more arteries. The Char, a Canadian farmed fish of the salmon/trout family, was also perfectly cooked (Steve and his crew have their seafood cooking skills in place) with a crispy skin and velvety meat. From there the dish lost some credibility. It was served on a bed of sauteed kale and pureed chickpeas, both cooked well with true heartland flavors but while I ate it I kept thinking this would have been a dish better suited to a cold blustery day rather than the sun dappled warm evening I had just stepped out of. The Gnocchi were real pillows of air and had as an addictive texture as I've ever seen in this dish. The sauce was as remarkable for it lightness too. A fresh tomato marinara with lots of butter, not traditional in nay way but tasty, a few well roasted tomatoes to heighten the flavor when you needed it and a smattering of melted Boucheron goat cheese. Overall the bonafide winner that night.

Finally dessert was fancy and sweet as it should be...kind of. The chocolate tart was in a cookie crust that was supposed to be flavored with nutmeg. It might have been there, but the chocolate overpowered any subtlety there. The pastry was joined with a scoop of chocolate ice cream that had this odd smoky character to it. I found it fun, but my partner in gluttony found it objectionable. She of the more delicate palate I guess. We both enjoyed the Coconut Panna Cotta. A softly gelled coconut flavored cream paired with passion fruit, lime and grapefruit.

As always I wish the team at Porter & Frye all the best. They are a bunch of the most talented restaurateurs in the metro area. But in my opinion they got it worn with the menu and somewhat with the decor as well. The bar and dining room are very nicely appointed, but the layout, especially of the bar, lacks social possibilities a bar should have. And I've already beat the menu up enough. Maybe they'll get another chance to get it right...sometimes that can happen.

Technorati Tags: Porter & Frye,restaurant,review

Relax, Just Do It !

The land of 10,000 lakes used to be the land of celery loaded chow mein and greasy chop suey when it came to dining a la Chinois. Any assembly of words about Chinese food in Minnesota would be erred if it didn't mention the long departed Nankin Restaurant, a palace of sweet and sour pork and savory treat of similar structure and mettle. To most Twin Cities residents of a certain age, the Nankin was the only place to go to experience the treasures of the Far East. It was an culinary outpost in a dessert of bland. Since it has left our lexicon both cities on either side of the big muddy can claim several truly authentic vendors of wok cooked wonders. One of the most recent to join the fray is a little gem in a fieldstone and pine accented building that seems better suited to a North Woods lodge than Octopus Congee. But Relax is itself as much of a paradox. Because as goofy the name is, the kitchen is kicking out some seriously good food.

Go for the food you've never seen before. Chances are it'll be something to talk about. I'm hooked on the crab and fresh fish dishes. They take some work but are worth the sticky fingers.

Relax Exotic Chinese Cuisine

2450 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55404 - South Minneapolis, Eat Street (612) 870-8000

p.s. I'm looking for a simple rating system like stars, thumbs, forks etc. Send me a note if you've got some wacky ideas.

2007 "The Place Around The Corner"

2007 will go down in my history books as a year that saw the beginnings of a great culinary movement in the Twin Cities. Small Chef driven cafes and restaurants started popping up all over in residential neighborhoods. On the converse it will also be memorable for the big box restaurants that opened in high traffic commercial spaces. There is much to be said for both conditions, but if I were to be pressed, and let’s pretend I am, I would much rather see the proliferation of small personal eateries rather than large joints with uninspired menus trying to produce everything from prime steak and seafood to cheap pasta. These expensively decorated palaces may have decent food but they lack the personality and soul usually found in the little places around the corner. As a consultant to many of these businesses I know these qualities are hard to produce on such a scale. I try to make the menus as inventive as I can, but when you need to train 15 cooks and 30 servers to handle the business things tend to get watered down so some semblance of consistency can be maintained. There is one way through this maze. When the owner is very involved and is in the restaurant every day greeting guests with honest hospitality overseeing the countless details that make dining in their restaurants the unique experience it should be, the outcome changes. A large operation can gain back some of the intimacy lost due to its size. But unfortunately several of these larger higher profile places forget that one tiny element and the result becomes acceptable mediocrity.

The neighborhood restaurant development has come about for several economic reasons as well as the obvious social ones. Rents and properties are generally cheaper in neighborhoods away from high traffic commercial centers. This one fact alone makes it easier for the little guy to get a foot in the door so to speak and get his joint open for a reasonable sum. Big “restaurateurs” stay away from these spots because the earning potential is simply not there. The small amount of the space will only be able to produce a limited amount of revenue. A Chef or small café owner can churn out a decent living…but he’ll never “strike it rich” with less than hundred seats in his or her little place around the corner.

The most memorable of these cafes this year was Blackbird on 50^th just east of Bryant in south Minneapolis. This young couple took a former Caribou Coffee store and turned into an eclectic neighborhood café designed to grace their street with good food, an interesting décor (antlers from small animals on the walls) and most importantly genuine hospitality.

The least memorable big box was Alaska Eatery on the south side of Hwy 394 just east of Louisiana in ST. Louis Park. This is a concept looking for a reason to be. The menu, though right for its location, means nothing when added together. It is merely a collection of dishes. Great menus tell a story. Within their list of things to eat you should be able to to see the passion of the Chef or owner or both. Alas, Alaska has none of this.

Best Chef of 2007 in my world has to be split. Two apt gentlemen must share the dubious honor. Tim Mckee of La Belle Vie and Isaac Becker of 112 Eatery. Both have had the biggest influence on our dining scene. They each have rightfully achieved world class status in the food world for their sense of taste, adventure and belief in the simple goodness of treating quality food simply.

Looking into my crystal ball;

We have not yet seen influences of the Techno Cuisine of Ferran Adria and Grant Achatz on many menus. Yet I am sure there are young Chefs in our midst who are just dying to be given the chance to play with liquid nitrogen, edible inks, and the possibilities that can arise from trying to achieve the complete sensory dining now in vogue in Barcelona, Chicago and the pages of Gourmet. I just hope there’s a spark of genius in the kid who gets the first chance.

What’s out for 2008;

truffles, Seared Tuna, dress up fancy dining, wraps (lettuce or otherwise), fusion cuisine (blending anything with Asian ingredients and calling it fusion especially), natural (see below for explanation), Vidalia onion, Southwest Egg Rolls, lollipops that aren’t made from sugar, salsas made from anything other than tomato

What’s in for 2008;

house made everything (crackers, marshmallows, pastrami, bitters etc.), Kobe/Wagyu beef, sustainable seafood, organic produce (one step up from natural), locally sourced foods (we may even stop eating tomatoes and strawberries in January soon), casual dining, classic sauces, comfort foods from every cuisine

Whatever you thought of last year and however this year turns out I wish all of you health, happiness and that every dining experience be memorable.

Alaska's Secret Tales

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;

- Robert W. Service (The Cremation of Sam Mcgee)

 ONE MORE DISCLAIMER :

(Sometimes I know too much about a restaurant. Sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it's not.  In my day job as restaurant consultant I often get invited to participate in an opening, then for one reason or another, the project is canceled or the owner decides to go in a different direction and not use the services of a consultant. Before this happens I sometimes obtain an intimate knowledge of the project usually reserved for those who will eventually operate the business. These are secrets that can make for an interesting perspective for a review. Up until know I've never been in a position where I needed to decide whether these are really secrets or just inside information. So as I've stated before, I'm not a journalist. Abiding by the ethics and rules of journalism should not and do not apply to this blog. :)

As I opened the black folder to reveal the tiny white slip of paper inside, a chill to make my blood run cold ran through me as if it came off the frozen tundra. Had the decor and surroundings placed the strong suggestion in my mind making me believe I really was in a lodge on a frozen lake in the land of the midnight sun? Then I realized there in bold black ink was a dollar total I've rarely seen except at high cuisine white table cloth restaurants. But here I was sitting at a concrete topped bar in a pine paneled room and the slightly expensive check for dinner seemed to not only mock my decision to dine. I had been anxious to give Alaska Eatery a try because I got to know the project from a few meetings I had with the owner and his culinary crew. From these meetings I was expecting a moderately priced menu with simply prepared and presented food and a friendly casual service staff. Well, the service lived up to my expectation mostly, though one bartender was a little to eager to clear our dishes and grabbed a plate with a big chunk of un-eaten Arctic Char still on it. The menu is priced in the upper stratosphere of restaurants and the plates of food it advertises do not live up to the level of quality prices like that should guarantee.

We started the experience with three appetizers. Lamb Chop Lollypops, Grilled Scallops and Crab Cake. The lamb was tender and tasty, though I didn't understand why it was on the menu. It had nothing to do thematically with the restaurant and only had a slight association to the beef and pork entrees. It was just one of the many incongruous inclusions on the menu. Scallops aren't cheap seafood especially when they are day boat caught and fresh. But to charge as much as they did for two large, but not gargantuan, bi-valves on a supposed casual menu is a little too much to take. They were cooked well, but the presentation frankly was not very memorable...no really, I can't remember how they were served. The most disappointing appetizer in the bunch was the crab cake. Though it's size was impressive, this was one case where more is definitely not better. It was a heavily breaded pan fried cake cooked a little too much on one side. The filling was pleasantly filler free, but way under seasoned and came off almost tasteless, as if the crab itself had been washed of it's flavor. Even though this first course was like digging for gold and coming up with nothing but dust, we persevered.

The staff and a bar guest both recommended the Lobster Truffle Mac & Cheese. It may have been a winner once, but our crumb covered casserole came to us with a cream sauce, strongly flavored with cheese, no truffle, covering limp and overcooked pasta and flecked with tiny bits of red looking meat that could be lobster but we weren't sure. It did have one large chunk of lobster claw meat set on top to help advertise the dish...but even that didn't help. The cheese flavor was so strong it could have been a chicken macaroni and cheese and no one would have known the difference. Also recommended was the Creamed Spinach side dish. This was outstanding. It was one of the few moments of the night that showed me the kitchen did have some promise and really did know how to cook. The rest of the meal was just not worth mentioning. That Arctic Char I spoke about earlier had a very strong charcoal charred flavor and came with a bland sauce that was supposed to be Choron, a hollandaise based sauce with tomato. .

The desserts were the biggest let down. A strawberry macaroon that was too sweet and too small for the price and a Chocolate Soup that tasted like a bad hot chocolate gone cold. The wine list is too large and un-navigable unless your a wine geek. I did find a little known French wine that was very tasty and reasonably priced...but I'm a wine geek.

My recommendation is that you go to Alaska eatery to give them a chance to practice. They could use all the practice they can get. Unfortunately this restaurant biz has gotten more and more like Broadway and usually doesn't allow a joint the luxury of working out the bugs. A restaurant can't take their business out of town to try out their menu, service and systems. They have to get it right almost from day one or there may never be a 3rd year anniversary. So give it a try, tell them how it went and hopefully they'll listen and make the corrections as they go.

The owner of Alaska Eatery, moiling for gold, is Bruce Taher. An affable gentleman new to this industry. Though he has been very successful in the related adjunct business of institutional foodservice, he's been a restaurant owner for less than a year. Earlier this year he opened Wayzata Eatery and now just 30 days ago Alaska Eatery opened it's doors to the public. To perform this feat of opening two restaurants within a year, and to do it well, can be a real challenge even to the experienced restaurateur. In order to do this, I fear Mr. Taher has left undone many elements that would lead to both culinary and financial success. I wish him success in both, but I know it will be a hard fought road based on what I've recently experienced at the bar of the midnight sun.

Dim Sum - Choice of the Heart

 

The first time I experienced Dim Sum was in a tiny basement restaurant off Grant St. in San Francisco's Chinatown District. With a little imagination it could have just as easily been a back street in Shanghai. My girlfriend and I were the only occidentals in sight and the young girls pushing the steaming carts around the room spoke very little English. As they lifted the lids off the tiny stainless pots, we pointed at anything that looked edible and a few that were questionable. We sat and ate for what seemed hours as the plates piled up on the wobbly Formica table. I can't remember how much we spent, but it didn't matter. From that moment on Dim Sum has been a passion I've shared with all that would venture out on a Sunday morning with me to partake in an unusual Sunday Brunch.

I've tested newcomers to the group with chicken feet and tripe. I've converted die hard pancakes and bacon eaters with BBQ Pork buns and turnip cakes. I've had Dim Sum alone or with a group of 10. With very few exceptions it has never disappointed. Sure there have been times when service was scarce and it felt like we were only getting the dregs of the steamer. But even then there was always that one moment when biting into a warm savory dumpling dipped in hot peppers and soy when the world feels right and all the answers to life itself are waiting for me wrapped in chewy rice dough.

Enough of the poetic waxing. Here are most of the Dim Sum houses in The Twin Cities metro. Some even serve Dim Sum daily for lunch....

 

Relax (Formerly Yummy)

2450 Nicollet Ave.

Minneapolis

 

Yangtze

5625 Wayzata Blvd.

St. Louis Park

 

Mandarin Kitchen

8766 Lyndale Ave. S.

Bloomington

 

Jun Bo

7717 Nicollet Ave. S.

Richfield

 

Mai Village Restaurant

394 University Avenue

St. Paul

 

Happy eating and when you go...be adventurous!!!