date: 10/17/06
location: minneapolis
grade: a-

so many choices on the wine list... it takes a while to read through. there's fourteen pages of it, so be prepared. the complex cocktail (cava and raspberry puree) is a nice choice to sip while waiting. and if you do happen to start on the water instead, your glass will probably get refilled just before you drain it.

sit back and take in the atmosphere while your dining companions are waiting... it's a large space, though it isn't all echo-y. we noticed that in the same distance across the table at la belle vie you could not hear a word the person across from you was saying. here, you can freely converse with all members of your party while the background noise does not get in the way.

impressive in such a high-ceilinged place. and unlike many places springing up with tons of light wood, cue is more blue and silver, darker hued. the large windows are nice, but the views (yet more lofts being constructed, parking structures, etc.) aren't really the best view in the world. the guthrie murals are interesting, though. bring a sweater, it's kind of cold.

peruse the menu. if you see a thing or two that remind you of heartland, that's to be expected. lenny does meats well. on the seasonal menu with lots of local sources on it, the beef ribeye with balsamic reduction and the lamb with wild rice, cranberries, and walnuts, they're all good. the pumpkin risotto was full of texture- creamy rice, crispy bits on top. made for interesting eating. and yes, it was good, too.

three of us, myself included, went for the sheep's milk ricotta-almond ravioli in what i recall was a sage cream broth with roasted field mushrooms on it. when served, it was not quite what i had pictured, mentally... the smaller sort of ravioli in a creamy sauce with bits of mushroom in the sauce, on a plate. it was two large ravioli in a broth with some large mushrooms on it in a shallow bowl. it made it more difficult to compose a bit with all flavor elements in it. more's the pity, as it was very good. i would've liked to try the sauce on some bread, but they had some sort of bread rationing going on, so everyone just got one roll and mine was gone quickly. they were good, but you just get one.

starters are also interesting. i split a charcuterie plate with someone. a piece of smoked salmon on a cucumber in cream cheese, duck, pork (they had the pork), house pickled vegetables and grainy mustard. everything on that plate was perfection, but there was not a lot of it. and while i understand the undertaking of making your own pickles and mustard and pate is time-intensive, the plate seemed a bit pricy at $14 (remember, i'm cheap). hey, they make their own stone-fruit ketsup, too. anyway, many most of the other starters seemed a bit more reasonably priced. the spinch frisee salad was perfectly complimented with the poached egg. someone else had a sheep's milk cheese to start, also nice.

desserts all seemed to have something very 'one of these things is not like the other' about them, like the donut with mustard ice cream and lingonberry sauce. very scandianvian and the mustard ice cream was like cold mustard and not gross like you think it would be (admit it, you would). the cheesecake was plated imaginatively, with a scoop (think ice cream) on top of a slice of orange sponge cake and a parmesan tuile.

not surprisingly, i had the chef's selection cheese plate- four cheeses with honey and walnut chutney and crackers. and though they probably made their own crackers, bread would've been better with the cheese selections. the crackers were kind of whole-wheaty, and the strong blue and the nutty sheep's milk selections didn't quite match well, i thought. the brie and the triple cream selections were a bit overpowered by it.

the server we had was one of the better one's we've had- funny, knowledgeable, helpful, etc., with only a few minor glitches. like the al vento server, with a better team. the wine guy was also very nice, he introduced himself to the table and said he would be available if we needed him. it starts when you make your reservation, even- when the call was placed, they had all the questions they needed to ask (is it a special occassion, does anyone have any dietary needs, that sort of thing).

i think o'm more of a heartland person than a cue person, though. cue a very good place to dine... compared to heartland, which is a better place to eat, if that makes sense. plus they have more of the details down. cue still needs a bit of tweaking- not much- in most areas. heartland seems finished.