2nd- tobie's, hinkley
2nd- fitger's brewpub, duluth
3rd- fred's red shed, pine city
7th- chipotle, minneapolis
8th- edina grill, edina
15th- chambers kitchen, minneapolis
26th- bunny's bar and grill, st. louis park
29th- pastrami jack's, eden prairie
2nd- tobie's, hinkley (c)yes, you are pretty much legally and morally obliged to stop there at least one way going to or from duluth. state law or some such. anyway, some things were better than others, the veggie beef soup that mrs. brk had tasted homemade, she said, the chicgao-style chicken salad (not sure why it was dubbed that) was studded with nuts and raisins and real chicken chunks, but the fries were below average, and the croissant square... thing... that the sandwich was on was just odd. the rolls we too to reheat were pretty good, though. service, well, it took a very very very long time to get glasses refilled, to the point where i was going to get up and do it myself. there was a nice selection of baked goods for sampling in the lobby area for dessert.
2nd- fitger's brewpub, duluth (a)
we were surprised in a good way. unlike the rest of duluth at that time, it seemed to have life in it, and for good reason, the food here is reasonable and tasty, and it's served by mostly very efficient folks (after it took them a while to get around to our table).
my smoked salmon wrap with seasoned mayo, wild rice, cheddar cheese, tomato and lettuce was a nice combo of flavors, but a bit messy and the salmon could've used a bit more smoking. the hard cider i had with it was a good match, though not as sweet as i like. (quel suprise, no?)
mrs. brk had a smoked turkey rueben that was some of the best smoked turkey i've tasted in a restaurant. the chunky cranberry sauce was a nice touch. and the beer battered fries were the best mrs. brk ever had. i thought they were really really good, especially dunked in the mayo.
it's a bit crowded there, so you may eat at a table, as we did, in a high-traffic zone, and the noise level is a big high. even on a random thursday evening, though, there was a wait.
3rd- fred's red shed, pine city (a-)
skipping the usual tobie's or cassidy's choice, we went past hinkley to pine city to the long-standing fred's red shed (not the original shed, by the way, in case you were wondering and even if you weren't) for brunch. good coffee at this place, though the smoking area (you have to cut through to use the restroom) is very icky, and the restrooms are weird.
since mrs. brk went with eggs and toast, i'll say they were fine... hard to get those wrong (though it is possible, especially with me around).
i went with the special 'new england' breakfast. two poached eggs on top of crab cakes on top of an english muffin, covered in hollandaise. usually i shy away from the sauce (since reading bourdain), but i decided to go with the flow, no pun intended. the result was something i didn't expect to be as good as it was. the cakes (though probably frozen) were done to perfection- crisp outside, tender inside, the hollandaise fresh, the muffin was not the usual kind you get (pale, small, sad). it was a nice size for brunch, too, not overwhelming. though hard to eat, as the dish it was in just held it, not a lot of manouvering room for the knife and fork.
got a piece of pecan pumpkin pie with vanilla crust to take home with it, too. also nice, and not in the usual pie style. it's seasoned nontraditionally- no cinnamon and such coming out your ears masking the pumpkin taste. it was almost delicate.
7th- chipotle, minneapolis (b)
i've not had chipotle for a long time as the first few times i tried them i was not so fond of them (unlike most everyone else i know). but since i am not fond of the food at brit's as a general rule and i had a coupon for a free burrito and it would be a quick dinner before pub quiz, i decided to head on in to their nicollet mall location. it was pretty empty there. which made getting the food faster. and for a fast food place downtown, it was very very clean.
i went with the veggie burrito, just because. i did some research beforehand, and apparently it has more calories than the chicken one. who knew? they all have 1000+ calories or so (i think it was a center for science in the public interest type study). anyway, it was pretty good. not great or anything, but above average. it had a nice squish factor in it (a la the 7 layer burrito at taco bell, which it's a version of). i was surprised i didn't hate it.
new location, new menu (well, mostly), new servers... it's all good. much better than the last time we ate there. they moved around the corner on france from their location on 50th. the new site seems a bit larger, but it's hard to tell. the bar is off to the side now. and there's one room in back they can partition off for parties or slow times. they also have a patio for seating, too. the decor is much different, not industrial steel and light wood, but they use tones of brown and blue, and have very nice lighting fixtures (worth mentioning, anyway, i thought). it's different, and i am not sure i like the new set up quite, as it seems more crowded and noisy, with people bumping in to your table now and then and such.
some of the grill chain foods are not on this menu, like the grilled cheese, but they do have some interesting new things. i was going to go with the seafood mac and cheese (sauteed shrimp, mussels, and scallops are tossed with cavatappi, pepper cheese sauce, and topped with garlic croutons), but wasn't quite into the mussels being in it, the whole shell concept in mac and cheese seemed wrong. the duck and hash was also interesting (crisp hashbrowns, duck confit and fresh herbs with slow cooked
wild acres duck breast and pommegranate-balsamic sauce), but went another direction.it will surprise no one that i started with the gorgonzola fritters, gorgonzola cheese and sweet corn fried to a golden brown with sweet honey mustard on the side. they smelled like the state fair, and were almost great... they were a bit too large, so the warmth never penetrated the whole of the cheese, so the inner bits were kind of cold. not really worth complaining about.
though i didn't finish it all (mrs. brk didn't partake in too many fritters, and it was a generous helping for the price), i got the shrimp and oyster po’ boy sandwich (crispy cornmeal-fried shrimp & oysters with romaine, roasted tomatoes and remoulade on a soft hoagie bun... cut and paste, baby). one of the better sandwiches i've had in a while, if i recall correctly. crispy inside, soft outside, the whole thing melds nicely. i subbed the sweet potato fries for the regular for $1 extra, and they were better than the ones i had at highland grill, and were cut differently, a bit thicker and somehow crisper to the skinner ones there. the chipotle peanut pesto aioli was more peanutty, which i liked.
though since i had cheese to start, i didn't go with the cheese plate. that would've been way too much (as it was i took half the main course home). i am not sure i like the concept of tomato chutney served with it, but hey, it could be good.
mrs. brk had the pan roasted chicken breast with garlic sauteed endive and roasted grape sauce, and swapped out the polenta for the olive oil smashed fingerling pototoes. she envied my dinner at first, as hers was rather dry (not enough sauce), but after the server inquired how things were and she mentioned it was dry, they made more sauce for it, and it improved quite a bit. not that it was bad in the first place.
service was quite attentive and fairly quick, being that the place was pretty packed (i don't recall having been here on a weekday evening when it was on 50th when it was this busy), and being that they have the water carafes on the table, there was no problem in the often tricky water refill stakes.
anyway, a most impressive redo.
15th- chambers kitchen, minneapolis (b)
the strib review came out today for this place. they liked it more than i did. odd how they kept going on and on about how stylish this place is... some of the decor is disappointing when you hit the dining area. for instance, it looks like they didn't quite get around to finishing the ceiling off (as in water stains and such) where we sat. though it has to be better than the table under the open stairs, as if you look up, you can probably see more than you wish to if people wear short skirts.
from conversation i overheard, they had to go less expensive than they wanted with certain bits of the decor (like the tables). though they did opt for white leather on the banquettes. it's kind of ikea for a swank place, but a nicer version thereof.
as a whole, it's not as wonderful as i thought it was going to be... i mean, it's jean-georges, right? i'm supposed to be wowed. impressed. my socks knocked off, etc. and whereas things were really quite good, it's not as wonderful of a total experience as i think it could be.
this was an early birthday dinner for me, as mrs. brk will be out of town during the actual event. plus it's always easier to navigate sans snow... anyway. speaking of... i kind of wonder why they asked it was a special occasion when making the reservation, we told them yes, it was for a birthday, and then... nothing.
one of the things that hits you when you first walk into the hotel, besides the interesting decor and fireplaces, is the noise.... it's very very loud in there. as in hard to hear the people seating you. the restaurant is downstairs, the bar upstairs, the noise floats down from the bar, filling the restaurant so it gets kind of difficult to hear across the table. also, though mrs. brk was offered coat check, i wasn't (i was parking, i dropped her off first).
for dinner, though i kind of wanted one of the tasting menus, the spendier $75 one (without wine, compared to the $65 slightly cheaper one, also without wine). though if you don't know they have one, you may not get to see the menu, i had to request it and the server had to see if it was being offered. you'd think they'd get told when they get on shift, but that would be logical.
so instead i decided to make my own tasting menu, by ordering a bunch of appitizers. for the first course, i went with the mushroom soup with parmesan and charred pobalo, and i think bits of green onion (it was in the soup, but not on the menu, and i hate it when that happens, as you then have to remember to ask, or play 'what's that food?').
the soup is served very ceremoniously. you get a bowl with the cheese and pepper bits, and then the hot soup is poured from an insulated pitcher at the table, which melts the cheese right off. the soup by itself is nice but not great, but a spoonful with the pepper bits and onion gave it a nice texture and flavor. oddly, after the insulation of the soup, it didn't stay very hot for long. warmish, yes. it went well, oddly, with the bread that they served at the table (a very tasty rye and walnut and a good but not as good as the other white with raisins).
for the main course portion, i went with chicken samosas with a cilantro-yogurt dipping sauce and a sesame-encrusted crab cake with a grapefruit salad (not on their web site menu, which they need to update). the samosas were ground up dark meat and some kind of nut, i think, and were a bit spicy, but the sauce cooled them down (as intended). i think they were a shade too greasy, but otherwise something i'd want to try to replicate at home, maybe (though without hurting myself frying anything). the crab was a winner. texture, flavor, the whole dish came together nicely, and grapefruit as the citrus (instead of the usual lemon pairing with crab) was inspired.
mrs. brk opted for no starter, and then went with a salmon with what i think was apple-celeriac puree (see not updated online menu) and a white horseradish sauce on top. apparently the dish used to be served with 'aromatic bell pepper julienne,' which makes more sense, as the plate was a big white expanse, with a bit of pink (salmon), and a small white mountain of the puree, and covered with white sauce. boring, visually, for a place that aims for style.
and we also think the server heard medium for the doneness on the salmon, when it was requested well-done (see- very noisy). it was kind of hard to let them know, as for both the courses they asked us how things were right after the plate were just dropped off at the table before we had a chance to eat anything. so really, no good way to answer the question (other than snarkily, which i usually try to avoid in such situations, believe it or not). we mentioned this to the manager when they stopped by, and they seemed responsive to the feedback. the server did make it a point to get questions we had answered, which is nice.
we did get crumb service after the main course, and boy, not only were they tops with the water, they even came around with a napkin that they put on the reverse of the glass so it doesn't accidentally splash you. i don't think anyone'll top that move. quel impressive.
since they're one of the places around town who do not have a cheese plate for dinner (more understandable than the very french la belle vie's refusal, as the influence here is asian, where it's not traditional), i had another appitizer for dessert- a cow's milk mozzarella that they make at the restaurant daily with grilled figs in a balsamic vinaigrette. i would like someone to make cheese for me at my house every day. anyway, it was my kind of dessert, a hint of sweetness from the vinegar and figs paired with the mild creamy cheese. too bad we had no bread left, that would've been good on either kind.
we went to look at the art after dinner. it was... interesting. the 2 foot tall egg slicer was... realistic. they will be showing some local artists in rotation, which is good of them.
i will say the one place that didn't disappoint stylistically was the restrooms. possibly the coolest ones i've ever seen, with ultramodern fixtures. and i'll share with you for no reason my thought that it was the best public restroom i've seen for sexual... congress, and leave it at that.
26th- bunny's bar and grill, st. louis park (b)
as i was ambivalent about dinner, i ended up with the same thing i had last time. chicken mexi-nachos. still not lots of chicken, but a lot of chips, and tons and tons of cheese that was melted weirdly. not too much lettuce, though. anyway, decent enough. mrs. brk opted for a caesar chicken wrap, which was decent, too. the potato salad wasn't bad, needed salt. service was efficient, and the server noticed on refill two it would be better to leave the water pitcher at the table. since football was on, though, it was too loud for my taste.
29th- pastrami jack's, eden prairie (b)
one of these things is not like the other- house made pastrami, matza ball soup, lox, christmas music.
but they can all be found at pastrami jack's.
oy vey, with oy gevalt on top. why a typically jewish deli is playing music full o'christmas cheer is... i dunno, but it's more than bit odd.
anyway.
as mrs. brk will be gone around the holidays and latke-making will be postponed until january, i chose to come here for some jewish food.
of course mrs. brk's is better... the matza ball soup was a bit of soup, and one hugeass matza ball, about the size of a softball, missing the bowl's circumfrence by half an inch all around. alas, the hugeness meant the inside was a bit undercooked, while the texture was a bit heavy. they were sweeter than hers, too. and though it implies you can get a cup of that soup, you can't. why, i don't know. but i ordered a cup, the server said it was sized between a cup and a bowl, and we got charged for a bowl. so. it needed salt, as did the potato salad mrs. brk ordered.
we split the turkey rachel, which mrs. brk had before and i tasted. the bread held up a bit better, but not much, though it's still tasty. the latke needed salt, but most everything does here still, except the half-sour pickles (those i like a lot). and yes, mrs. brk's are better. once again, i think the difference is scale. the one here is the size of a salad plate and it was, like the matza ball, a bit undone seeming in the middle. usually they're less than saucer-sized and crisper. the latke comes with the trad applesauce and sour cream, but i'm more of a ketsup person myself.
i did remember to avoid the salad this time. which implies i am capable of learning. or maybe i just didn't want it. who knows. service was quite good this go-around, though the prices still seem high.
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