date: 1/6/04
location: minneapolis
grade: a

minnesotans are wimps. it's not even below zero and they stayed at home on a tuesday night instead of having the pleasure of dining out at oddfellows. that's just bad and wrong. y'all should get your hinders out of the house and go. think of the personal service you'll have. the three of us who went there were the only people there from around 6:45 to 8:30 pm.

anyway, the food. butternut squash ravioli (agnoletti, or something along those lines, it was called, which is probably the technically correct name, but i remember large ravioli. so that's what i shall call them) with walnut basil (? damn that short term memory) pesto was just perfect. all good. the sweetness of the squash balanced with the nuts and tang of the herb. mmmm. the sample of salmon with prickly pear quinoa with wasabi and (i really need to write down these details, i think, and/or they should update their online menu... or both) something else sauce was also pretty good.

i had a wine called pastiche with it. the server was so very up on the wine list, and before i had the glass, i was poured a taste to see if i liked it. a practice i wholly endorse. it's not as fruity as i tend to like wine, but it was low tannin (i'm a girly wine person) and went really nicely with the ravioli, which was lucky as i ordered it before i knew what i was getting. sometimes that works out better than others. the wine list makes for good reading, too, and has apparently improved greatly since its inception.

dessert- the chocolate cake was great, i was told. i loved the bailey's gelato with it. the pear in pastry cream type of thing i tasted was also good. the panna cotta sounded good, but for some reason it had some kind of orange marmalade sauce with it, which is not something i want to eat.

the server was one of the best i had in ages- besides the wine they had the menu down and was helpful and attentive without being pushy or in the way, the room is a very nice place to be, all warm orange, which goes with the blonde wood (you wouldn't think it would, but the light helps), and the art and the ceiling are cool. and they even have a program that they will donate money equal to the cost of your food to certain charities during certain times (including all of this january) if you let them know you would like to do that, so you can feel good about ordering lots of things.

only bad thing... the restroom. one stall was dark, the other had a toilet that had not seen it's best days and there was no coat hook. in minnesota in the winter, that's not right. one sink worked, and it was dark near the sinks, too. but since it shares the restroom with the boom nightclub, i can forgive it just a little.