date: 7/12/05
location: st. paul
grade: a

here's something that doesn't come up too often... everything on the menu here looked good and no one was really able to decide on anything for ages. the servers suggestion helped a bit.

thankfully we were all over the map with the selections so we all got to try a lot of stuff. standouts were the mashed root vegetables and the beer cheese soup, but pretty much it was all good, even the amuse bouche (everyone say that aloud, it's fun....) of chickpeas and artichoke hearts. my selections were the beer cheese soup, farmer bob's tomato salad (in case you were wondering who it belonged to), and the fries with three sauces- curried mayo, chipotle mayo, and homemade ketsup. i still like the hell's kitchen version better because of the lack of cinnamon, but apparently homemade condiments are a hot new trend or something.

due to my bad restaurant karma, the fries were cold when i got them, but they replaced them with hot new ones right away. farmer bob is a local grower of produce, so you know where the food comes from, which is nice. the salad was caprese, more or less, with some fresh mozzarella, basil and red onions in a balsamic vinagrette. yum. though i liked the beer cheese soup better. best version i can remember anywhere, apparently they've used the recipe since 1977. (though they have redone the decor since then).

another starter was baked brie (server's favorite as a group), which i finished off, they coat it in buttermilk and panko and bake it in a tiny cast iron pan and serve it with green apple slices and crostini. lovely, but would've been even lovelier if it were a triple cream version. (i will slowly kill myself with cheese someday.) someone else got the butter lettuce and blue cheese
dressing salad. nice, thought not very exciting. and the other one will be named later, though knowing me it probably didn't involve cheese, which is probably why i can't remember it right now.

second courses other than my own included a mushroom ravioli with a earthy, honest tasting filling, a seasonal soft-shelled crab salad, and a cheese plate served most imaginatively on a slate with the cheese names written on them. bonus points for presentation on that, for sure.

their dessert menu had food and wines that were most excellent pairings. the framboise with the dark chocolate, the apple tart with the a nice caramelly one (again, waiting for more info, though i think it's a vin santo?). the passion fruit tea's aroma was the best of all things fruit, and went with the strawberry shortcake.

the whole restaurant had kind of a french bistro vibe to it (down to the restrooms), and i mean the OG bistros in france, not the ones that are called that in america. even though it's not french food. the service is mostly attentive and not instrusive, they're ok with you enjoying your supper and don't rush you out. hey, they even split out the bill and, get this, broke out the tax. quel impressive.

the interior is kind of timeless. and there were people there in everything from fancy dress to jeans and a t-shirt and no one looked uncomfortable or out of place. it's in a nice, tree lined neighborhood that made you want to go look around to see what else was about. the place also had a nice patio, but being that it was 90 million degrees outside, we were inside, despite the shade.