date: 6/23/09
location: minneapolis
grade: b+

this place gets an upgrade- the food was about a b. but since every item on their menu is made from scratch in house, i give them credit for that. their 'about' section on their menu says they make the type of food they enjoy and can stand behind with confidence. it makes for a very good neighborhood place. everything was quite good, but nothing was really memorable to pull us back in. it's not like anyone wouldn't stop back if they were in the neighborhood, but it's not a 'special trip' sort of place to us.

after a round of pumpernickel and white bread with butter and some cream cheese with gravlax bits in it (which was ever so excellent)- we asked for and got more because of the spread, mostly, we split some appitizers. the house-cured gravlax with dill creme fraiche, red onion diced bits, and pumpernickel toast points ($6) was a good version of the salmon, and on the mild side. the toast points were strangely fascinating, and as it turns out taste better than the untoasted. i would've like to have the onions in slices, though most places do serve them diced. it's just easier to eat that way.

house-made sausage of the day ($4) which was chicken with dijon (and quite possibly something else that no one can remember in there) had some most excellent mustard with it- not that the sausage was bad, and frankly how often do you eat sausage made in the restaurant you're eating in? pretty close to never. those would be great grilled.

the seafood appitizer of the day (aka the catch of the day without sides) was a copper river salmon, blackened, in a raspberry coulis, if memory serves regarding the sauce ($5). the sauce made the dish, it was fruit forward (yes, i will steal wine terminology if i want to) and buttery and a good match for the perfectly cooked salmon.

since it was overly hot, no one was really in the mood for entrees like the 3 day pork roast, as interesting as the concept was (it's going off the menu soon, along with some other wintery dishes). we could've used a few more summery entrees, but the season for fresh local food for summer dishes is just almost here, so i can't fault them for that. there was a large selection of sandwiches that come with a choice of sides, including house-made potato chips, but no one went that way.

i opted for a soup and salad combo ($8). with the soup of the day (a cup, not a bowl)- a fresh tomato that almost tasted like cream of, but wasn't. and the texture was interesting. it would've been a shade more perfect had they thrown some blue cheese on that instead of the croutons, well, perfect for me. the croutons melted into the soup in the best way. the salad was just a regular side salad with smoked tomato blue cheese dressing. they sprinkle the cheese on top of the dressing, so it's like you get dressing and a salad topping. since the cup of soup is usually $4 (at least on their online menu) and the salad is usually $5, you save a buck, though the salad portion is not very substantial, even for a side salad.

which is something a bit odd about this place- many/most of the dishes were priced quite reasonably for what you get and what they put in to get them to make it all in-house... like the gravlax, which seemed quite good sized, and a good sized chunk of salmon (about what a serving is supposed to be) with the toast and such. but some of them seem a bit oddly high priced, like the sausage, which is maybe the size of a small bratwurst. it's all tasty, and again, they do make everything in house, but it seems like a less good value than other things.

the scallops are another case in point- someone got the scallop appitizer as their 'main' dish, they were in a cilantro-cashew pesto butter ($8), they only got two of them. another person got the pan-seared sea scallop salad with mixed greens, smoked tomtatoes, bacon bits and brioche croutons, also with the smoked tomato blue cheese dressing for $12, and it had twice the number of scallops. is the butter worth that much more? anyway, the scallops were quite nice, but not great, but solid.

two of us ended with the cheese plate to end with, even though it was on the appetizer menu. it was a pretty substantian slice of prairie rose gruyere with blueberries, strawberries, three slices of the white toast (baguette sized), and some sort of fruity (honey?) mustard. i had heard good things about the brioche bread pudding, but after having soup on a very very very hot day because i am not always logical, i didn't feel like something else that seemed it would be warm. and heavy.

service was one of those servers who is very good at selling, but not in an annoying way, and personable. they had definite menu preferences, which is nice, they knew the menu and specials (without having to ask or check a list). and they were good with the water.

the building itself used to be the home of a southern food place, sweet lorriane's. currently the decor is kind of modern meets 50's and soviet kitsch (it works, even in the restrooms, where they have a page from the color comics section of an old minneapolis star framed). it doesn't get in your face or scream... 'look at me! i'm decorated!'

again, a pretty nice neighborhood place... i'd recommend it over the many fast food joints that line nearby hiawatha, as they're open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. perhaps i should go back for breakfast, maybe this would be one of the rare places i've had good luck for that meal.

(if you've been paying attention- my worst bad restaurant karma is at breakfast, then brunch... which is why i tend to avoid going out for those meals... i think the last time i went out to breakfast by choice- when i wasn't on vacation- was in february, at al's, one of the two places that i can count on for that, mickey's being the other. way to digress, no?).