date: 7/14/09
location: minneapolis
grade: a

last year, about this time of year, i saw a demo at the minneapolis (main) farmer's market with rainbow chef tammy wong. she did, among other things, a fabulous sauteed bean dish. i think she used long beans there. anyway, she had mentioned in the demo that rainbow attempts to get as much produce as possible from the market.

at the end of the demo, gave away coupons for their dry sauteed green beans ("green beans sauteed with garlic & bits of preserved cabbage," $9). and then i decided i had to go there. since i didn't get there for ages, i purposely scheduled a visit for restaurant club, so i knew i would go. and i did it in summer, when at least some of the market's bounty may be enjoyed.

like the green beans. i had thought they would be an appetizer, but they are on the 'vegetable' portion of the main menu, not the appetizer. therefore, you get quite a bit of them. there were only two of us for restaurant club, and after we split those (and barely dented the rice), we had enough leftover main course for another meal or two.

the beans were fresh (they had just come into the market this week, as their picking season just started), sauteed lightly in vegetable oil with the garlic and bits of cabbage, mixed in with a hint of oyster and soy sauces. lovely. they were also good with a bit of the bird pepper sauce on the table (made with fresh or frozen peppers- the real things, not some sad, dried out ones).

an inquiry had been put to the server before we ordered, asking what the place does better than others. because there are some usual looking choices on them (though some with a twist- witness the cream cheese wontons with peanut butter).

the pan-fried noodles, they said. so yes, saying they are the 'house special' on the menu was no lie.

(this was after an inquiry into why there were no noodle dishes with duck, only mock duck. yes, that was me. they said i could replace other proteins with duck.)

so noodles we ordered.

one of the dishes was the singapore chow mai fun ("pork & shrimp with a touch of curry" with "stir fried rice vermicelli with onions, bean sprouts, egg & scallions" $14). though it didn't quite look to have enough curry, it did. plus fresh vegetables (back to tender-crisp land), and the proteins were done right and were good quality.

my dish was the hong kong style noodles. i opted for the pan-fried mein (thin egg noodles). on the menu it's "chicken with black bean sauce fun," and has bell peppers and onions. the chicken version is $13, with mr. quack it was $15. (and yes, because i am a sad person, i actually ordered it with 'mr. quack.' i'm pretty sure that just slipped out. the server was amused. as was the person who i did my usual- leave the water, it's easier- bit with. but that's one of the usual random asides).

it was also quite kickass, especially as they didn't overcook the duck, like most people do. but some of the pan-fried mein were a bit too pan-fried. it was a lot better after i let it sit around and let the sauce sink in and let the overly crispy bits tone down some. and it also made it easier to eat. oh, and the black bean sauce didn't have that weird, almost metallic sort of sense you get from some places who don't make their own.

so my entree verged on a-, but then i think the green beans made it more a. epecially as i sat down to type this and feel really guilty that i completely forgot to leave a tip on the green beans- i just looked at the total and tipped on that. and since i didn't see the green beans on the appetizer menu (and also didn't see it until i looked at the web site for details for this), i didn't know how much they were. (does this balance my karma maybe?)

so good service (i think they laughed at me in an amused fashion, versus the 'hey, look at the weirdo' way... maybe), no less than a half full water glass at all times, interesting building and decor- not your average sticky run down place, but modern, and a nice patio area. so especially with the guilt (over $2) and the very fresh, quite great food, i will go back (and leave extra or if i see the same server give them the money).

and to all y'all who wanted to come and didn't, this is another... sorry you missed it, you should go asap sort of places- especially during produce season.