date: 12/1/09
location: minneapolis
grade: c (group grade)

ironic that the person who picked the place had the worst restaurant karma of the night. not that it was the only brk, but still. the disinterest of the server and the unevenness of the kitchen combined makes it a bit iffy in spots. though entrees were more of a crapshoot than the 'amusements' (per their menu). fyi, since the current menu is not up on their web site and i forgot to grab the main receipt, so i will try to remember what we had... as such, descriptions prices are approximate.

the menu is local and organic 'whenever possible' and they are quite good about allergies, dietary needs, and such. they even pointed out without prompting that a otherwise vegetarian soup had duck stock in it (in case someone was vegetarian). i appreciate that sort of gesture.

for the first course, the field greens with pickled onions ($7.50) was ok, but the other two starters were more than that. the very generous portion of warm olives ($7) included at least one kick-ass luques, smelled heavenly, and were good to the last drop with grilled bread. my choice was the warm duck (quack) confit salad with nuts and chevre ($13). tasty and a nice mix of flavors and textures for fall/winter. seasonality at it's best. i wanted bread to get the bits stuck on the plate.

for the second course, i stuck with the 'amusements,' as i am easily amused. and yes, i got the fondue au fromage with apples, mushrooms and bread ($12). and except for a bit of a random large onion chunk, it was pretty perfect fondue. i can't say the same about the first batch of pommes frites ($4 small. $6 large), which i have been a disappointed with before.

the first batch was on the raw side of things- not completely inedible, but nothing i would consider tasty. and i wouldn't have eaten them in that state (though the other people would have....). i took a chance and asked for another minute or so, they brought out a new plate, which were... pretty good. not great, but not bad. i'd call them b/b- or so. i put both prices as we ordered a large and they only charged for a small (probably due to the error).

the bit of good news in the entrees was the mushroom risotto with both arborio and wild rice, parsnip chips, parmesan, sage, and pesto ($18). nice contrasts of flavors, and the creamy risotto with the crispy parsnip and sage bits made it interesting to eat. the wild rice made it's presence known without completely taking out qualities that make it risotto. nicely balanced, well played.

where things went seriously wrong was the fish special of the day, a belly cut of fresh halibut (never frozen) with roasted potatoes and a vegetable/squash/corn puree ($26). the puree and potatoes weren't the problem, the puree was lovely. the fish was the opposite- overdone to the point where it compared with long john silver's badness. inedible, with a much higher price tag- no one wanted to 'go fish.' and since the server didn't bother to check in with us until everything was pretty much done, it was too late to send that back. and yes, this is person who put in for us to go here. so that was wrong on top of bad.

(note- since that person was still eating their first course when the seconds hit the table, and of course the first thing i did was shove a fry into the fondue and eat it, i was able to at least swap those out after catching the attention of the server. they didn't stop back after redelivering the fries, and they were still on the first course. in case you were wondering about that... and even if you were not).

they did take that off the bill (though didn't tell anyone they were doing that). they also offered up a free dessert. we went with the dessert version of cheese plate with five cheeses ($8), we would guess a manchego, some sort of truffled cheese (taleggio is our guess) a blue, possibly maytag as it was mild, a brie (probably single cream, maybe double) and... something else. with it was out of season strawberries, grapes, some green apple slices, honey, three slices of grilled bread, and what we think is a cranberry compote. i would've liked more bread (duh) and no strawberries (look good, taste like nothing).

why did we have to guess? well, we got a cheese plate delivery with no explanation. and there was none on the menu either. and we saw the server not again until the bill hit the table. they seemed pretty much absent most of the meal, very hands off. more absent than distracted or busy. though once more the water person came through swimmingly. there was no bread for the table. too bad, as the salad leftovers cried out for that.

(for those of you keeping score at home, yes, that was a triple cheese meal on my part.... chevre, fondue, cheese plate. )

after the bill was settled, one of us was very unhappy with the place's food and service, one of us was disappointed in the service and some of the food, and one really liked their food, but thought the service needed improvement. i wonder if the odds for this place would improve if you sat at the bar (tonight featuring a scott seekins spotting)... and only stuck with being amused. and didn't order fries.

it would probably be good for a date night, with the low lighting, mood music and such. that aspect was kind of odd, as most people there were not date night people. they also pack in a lot of art, some of it more dining-worthy than others, as to us a few of pieces were a bit more distracting than anything (though i didn't see any seekins pieces, that doesn't mean there weren't any...).

what struck me as the most french, as that's what they're aiming at about the place, was the squishy seating arrangements- at a table put us at, one person's back was basically at the edge of the next table when they sat, and there was problems with kicking. at a half-empty place, that was kind of odd. well, that's more parisian than french.