date: 11/28/06
location: minneapolis
grade: a

vincent's is my favorite restaurant. i've been here several times (go to the bitedex and scroll down, you'll see...i'll wait for you...) and i've never had bad restaurant karma here.

but that's only part of it. it pretty much does all the things it should, and does them quite well. sadly, most places don't have it together on such as scale. it starts as soon as you sit down. white napkins are out on the table, but if you are wearing black, you get a black one so you don't get the white fuzzy bits on your outfit. that is seriously customer-oriented.

you're given as much time as you need to peruse the menu, and the servers know their stuff if you have any questions about the menu or the wine list. if they don't know, they'll go ask to make sure you get the right answer.

ordering here is hard. there's so many things that seem so good, it's so hard to choose. everything everyone at the table has ever had there has been good, except for a fish dish or two. the menu is french fare, upscale bistro-style rather than the sauce-laden things you may be thinking of.

probably the best deal in the dining area is the prix fixe menu, a three course offering for around $40. you get a choice of one of two offerings for a starter, entree, and dessert. someone did select that, and ended up with a potato leek soup with croutons and chives, roasted duck breast with taro root purée, brussels sprouts, tarragon, and a red Wine shallots jus, and for dessert, a warm chocolate mouss with dried strawberries and nutmeg crumble.

so the soup was filling without being brick-heavy as some potato soups can get, the duck quite lovely with some interesting flavors on the side, and the mousse was so light that if you inhaled near it, you could miss the flavor when it came into your mouth.

some other good table selections where the appetizer of pan seared scallops with leeks and fingerling potatoes in an orange sauce ordered as an entree (perfectly done), and probably the best cassoulet you'll get outside of france (ok, maybe an exagguration). this version was baked with the traditional white "tarbais" beans, preserved duck leg, ham hock, salted pork and the very midwestern choice of bratwurst. apparently many people go for dijon mustard with it, and they served a very good one, not surprisingly. i think any form of cassoulet is one of the best winter meals. just thought i'd share that.

as for me, yes, i got the fries, but not the usual ones. the 'simply grilled' chicken breast with eggplant caponata came with "grosses frites" and béarnaise. i thought that meant a large bunch of fries, but it meant large fries, about 3-4 times the diamater of the usual vincent fryquest award-winning ones. they would've come in second, but those of you who prefer the steak cut would so groove on these. anyway, the chicken was some of the best i've had, and tasted like chicken (vs. the usually vaguely chickeny or nothing), the bernaise was good for both the chicken and fries, and the caponata was probably the only time i've had it when it wasn't bitter at all.

but there's one entree i hadn't mentioned yet, the disappointing one. apparently fish can be the sore spot here, so you may want to avoid that when you dine here (note when, not if). the wild striped bass with braised artichokes, wild rice and roasted pumpkin broth was... too fishy. disappointing, that. everything else on the plate was good, but that, not so much. i'd probably give the place an a+ if it had gone right.

dessert, though, brings better news. two people spilt something called 'a good chocolate cake inspired by a trip in monaco,' which was very modest of them. it was a great chocolate cake. it came with pear slices, too. and of course i went for the plate of selected cheeses. i split it with someone else, though i hadn't planned on splitting, as i had eaten a vast and impressive quantity of the really good baguette slices with butter... especially the batch that hit the table warm.

but back to cheese... it comes on a plate with fig molasses, dried fruit, and nuts (pistachios and walnuts). we ended up with the brillat-savarin, a french triple cream cow's milk cheese (my favorite), mahon, a spanish semi-soft cow's milk cheese with a nutty scent (that was ok, but no one's favorite), morbier, another french cheese, this one a semi-soft cow's milk (better than the mahon), and a fourme d'ambert, another french cow's milk cheese, this one raw milk and blue (the other person's favorite, it was creamy and melted in your mouth, and it wasn't overwhelming like some blues are). i had a kir royale with that, which i notice costs less than it did last time i ordered one here by at least a few bucks. interesting, that...

other people ordered wine off the by the glass menu, and someone had a dessert drink, too. as mentioned, the staff can recommend pairings for anything.

the redid the bar section, and it looks more upscale now- the chalkboard is gone from the wall, there's more high tables (better to see holidazzle with, i bet), it's more polished all around. it seems a bit darker in tone, especially compared with the restaurant. the bartender is still spot on with service, too.

the dining room is still the large, yet still cozy area with lots of light, even in the evening. it was a big table, yet we could hear across it easily, and not hear the other tables. it's an upscale place, yes, but it doesn't feel pretentious, or ikea-ish. and the restrooms are still good. always good to know that.

anyway, i'm still happy with vincents, and plan to come here soon for the 'real' fries. and more cheese. and bread.