date: 6/24/08
location: minneapolis
grade: c

not the best trip to toast i've had, perhaps the least good of the handful of times i've been here. (see the bite me alphabetical listing for the others.) odd, as i think it was the least busy. perhaps the lack of business made them turn the music up a bit more than i've heard it- it was hard to hear in there.

though the person who appeared to be the manager on duty was thoughtful, offering a glass of water as i was waiting, the server we had was a bit scattered even though they had a scant handful of tables. they'd ask the same things a few times, for instance. once, fine, but they kept doing that.

what there was no excuse for was what happened with the wine i ordered (yes, i ordered a half bottle for myself... i had to recover from vacation with elderly relatives). the moscato d'asti not cold when served. you'd think at a wine bar, they'd stick it in the fridge for when someone orders it, but this was not the case. they chilled it at the table, but serving it warm, that was wrong.

as was their decision to serve a wine (off the by the glass menu) that apparently had been uncorked the day before and left a bit too long in the open air.

so food. since i hate trying new things (heh), i got a pizza. though hey, it was a kind i hadn't had before, the brasa chicken with provolone, and a few green onions. alas, it needed more onion, and less chicken. or maybe less clumps of chicken. and a tad less sweet sauce. ok, but not something i would touch again.

apparently the de facto margherita with sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. the sun dried tomatoes were just too much for the cracker crust that these come on, and there was too much of it. so that's not something i'd order in the first place. i think i've never had a tomato-based pizza here before, otherwise i would've warned people off of it.

i was thinking when looking at the menu that someday it may be interested to come in and order the full run of crostini, split with someone. it's still the same basic menu- things that are snacky (cheese and/or charcuterie plates, sandwiches, soup, etc, besides the things i've mentioned), and a handful of desserts. all usually done better than they were here. the wine list still has choices you can't usually get anywhere else in town, the prices on the list are quite reasonable to average.

despite today's hiccup, i like it here. i'll be back.