Foureyes137's Profile
Travail
Depends on the size of your party, but typically the blackboard has far fewer names on it on a Wednesday...If you arrive at 6:30, expect at least a 30 minute wait for a party of two.
Sit in the back, throw bean bags at the wall and eat cheese.
Sea Salt opening Friday March 30th at 11:00 a.m.
It's brilliant really as the longer we wait in line, the longer our order gets...We were there for lunch Saturday, no line, probably our shortest order ever.
What's missing from MSP's culinary landscape?
Taste of NY does it that way as well...and I believe Soho Cafe and the joint on 5th & Hennepin.
Oh, and Sbarro, so it must be authentic ;-)
Vegetarian fare?
One note to the OP: the Triple Rock is not a brewery, so you may not find it with that name, DQ may have mixed names with Rock Bottom or something...still a great recommendation.
Black Sheep Pizza lately?
On a Friday night? Probably.
But it is a short wait and you can enjoy a glass of wine while you do it.
MSP james beard semifinalists local rundown
"Woodman could use an ego boost."
Heh, this made my morning. "Minneapolis' most overwhelming ego in need of boosting."
Alma crushes vegetables...my suggestion would be to wait until spring to cash that check if it is to be Alma though...Alex has fun with fiddleheads, ramps, scapes and asparagus.
Sushi MSP
They use the, as far as I know, largest accepted guide to such things: the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list. The FDA has nothing to do with matters of sustainability, the USDA does, and only peripherally.
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx
The idea of sustainable stewardship of our natural resources is not just marketing. Good lord.
Sushi MSP
I don't understand...are they not to advertise that they have Itamae that do omakase or that they have a commitment to sustainable fisheries?
I hope the prior as part of the point of using sustainable stock is to bring attention to the issues with unsustainable fishing practices, not marketing it would be a disservice to...well, Earth.
What happened to Midtown Global Market?
I'm with you splatgirl...that part of town is vibrant, safe and awesome. We go to MGM with some frequency (Friday night is family night) and have never been panhandled...
What happened to Midtown Global Market?
The Gastropub is still slated to open, my understanding is that involves a couple of the BOH guys from Busters.
"Tonkotsu Ramen and Curry House" - is it open yet?
Must be a Japanese thing...Obento-Ya's Monday only ramen is also pork.
"Tonkotsu Ramen and Curry House" - is it open yet?
It is not. The storefront in which it is supposed to be going looks undisturbed.
Obento-Ya, Zen Box & Masu are nearby and have ramen (Obento-Ya only on Mondays as a special, but worth it).
Tanpopo & UniDeli also serve competent ramen but are a bit farther out.
Scallops- best dishes now
Bar LaGrassa w/ forbidden rice & gremolata.
Masu - Sashimi with preserved lemon.
What's with the salt & pepper shakers and Sriracha at every table in MSP?
In travelling, I do not know that I have noticed this enough to say whether or not it is true, though it doesn't seem any truer than in other parts of the country in which I've lived, which is to say, diners, delis and cafes typically have condiments on the table (including salt and pepper) and those condiments may vary based on where the restaurant is, and fine dining establishments everywhere typically do not have seasonings/condiments on the table.
My instinct from visiting SF would be that even diner cooks think highly enough of themselves to insist their level of seasoning something should be to all of their diner's palates...cooks here may not be as presumptuous. ;-)
Source for landjaeger near MSP/St. Paul?
All in Northeast:
Kramarczuk's has the best, made in house.
Sentyrz makes theirs in-house, also very good.
Surdyk's has the Nueskes landjagers.
Blue Door Pub
You're getting some suspect information IMO. We're regulars and Shamrocks is still as it had been...which is to say, not at good as the Nook...and I dare say the Nook has gotten even more consistent since the fire...still the same great food and the space feels more open and better ventilated.
Decide for yourself, but The Nook is still the best in town in my opinion.
And while I also think the grill patina thing is BS, the original grill survived the fire at the Nook and is still in use...it was the first question everyone asked on here when the place went up.
A similar caveat to MSPDs...I do not do burgers with cheese inside them
What's missing from MSP's culinary landscape?
From this, it appears we agree...it has little to nothing, really, to do with the food or ingredients themselves. There is no way to explain why these can't be reproduced...
The question then is: What is left? At it's heart, we're both saying it is something ethereal that cannot be reproduced...I just put a name to it.
What's missing from MSP's culinary landscape?
"Pizza and cheesesteaks ain't it, though. Those require simple ingredients, and a relatively simple technique."
Then explain it. Give a better explanation as to why everyone seems to think no one can get a decent NY version of pizza or a cheesesteak here (PS, 10 people will argue that the buns make the cheesesteak and you can't get the buns outside eastern PA, or that NYC water matters (even though places like Grimaldi's and Lombari's use bottled water anyway))...I disagree with them, you can get a NY style pizza here that is better than 90% of the Ray's crap you get in NYC, but I'd be crucified for saying so.
I stand by it, where you are when you get/order/eat the food is as much about its flavor as the experience imparted by the ingredients to your tongue...unless someone has a better idea.
What's missing from MSP's culinary landscape?
No, there would be those things, and there are, just no one would expect the flavor and experience to mirror what it is in Thailand...which we don't (because they don't). No one seems to expect the som tum experience here to mimic what it is on a dingy street corner in Bangkok...diesel fumes stinging your nose...so why pizza or brisket?
What's missing from MSP's culinary landscape?
Then what is the problem? That the ingredients are the same but no one here knows how to put them together? I may be inclined to agree considering the sorry state of our barbecue situation and the fact that pigs are pigs and cows are cows and salt is salt and smoke is smoke...
...but I'd rather hold on to my romantic notion that setting and terroir play a larger role in life's flavor.
What's missing from MSP's culinary landscape?
We have NY "style" pizza here and every time we have a pizza thread, twenty people complain that what we have isn't New Yorky enough for them...
...is it because dough and cheese and tomatoes are that much different? No, it is because they are not in New York. No amount of importing of ingredients or water or coal or kitchy decor will reproduce the feeling of being somewhere else. To me, it is foolhardy to keep trying to reproduce the feeling of a place and time when that place and time is perfect just where it is.
"does the muffaletta only belong in New Orleans, and pulled pork only belong in North Carolina, and Ethiopian food only belong in Ethiopia?"
YES! We can reproduce those things here...but do they belong here? Not really. They are imitations. Some are good, some are bad, except for Ethiopian, none are native to the immigrants that have populated this part of the country. It's like saying great seafood belongs here...no it doesn't, we're like 5000 miles from the sea. Seafood tastes great right out of the ocean...in a restaurant on a pier...with the wind blowing and gulls cawing...that is just how it is. NY pizza by the slice tastes great on a paper plate, walking down a narrow, busy street, smell of garbage and the stale air blowing up from the subway vents.
What's missing from MSP's culinary landscape?
Finnish Bistro is still there, attached to a Dunn Bros...it's about as Finnish as it is a bistro, which is to say, not very.
What's missing from MSP's culinary landscape?
Go to Culver's, order a burger, close your eyes and imagine the fries are better, that they have a secret menu (that we all just order a double-double animal style from anyway) and there is creepy Christian scripture on the bottom of your cup: kapow: In-N-Out.
What's missing from MSP's culinary landscape?
To me, NY pizza belongs in NY, Texas barbecue belongs in Texas...etc.
I would love a Scandinavian-focused restaurant, like Aquavit...but less stuffy. I miss the Mpls outpost as it was a terrific destination for entertaining out-of-towners.
I know Bachelor Farmer has some elements of this, but not like Aquavit.
Haute Dish, tonight
I'm also confused. You low-tipped the server because she didn't know the wine list well enough, or because you perceived she knew it very well and purposefully deceived you?
The second transgression is egregious but impossible to prove, the first seems far more likely, especially if the wine was only listed as a glass pour. Both are bad.
To be honest, I am not a huge fan of Haute Dish either due to indifferent service from a bartender with a ponytail...but I don't think he's malicious, just a dick. There are good servers there though (Matt being one of the best anywhere) and the food is good, so I do not punish anyone.
Sounds like an unpleasant evening for you, which sucks, but to draw a conclusion and then punitively take on someone's livelihood...that seems somehow worse. Just my opinion.
Champagne, Martinis, and Fresh, Plump Oysters?
Another vote for Meritage...oyster selection is bar-none in the cities right now, ambiance in the bar is first rate, and the champagne selection is tops.
With the oysters however, I have to recommend the muscadet they have for glass pours. It is bright and a great compliment.
They have a full license and make a decent martini (low ball, up, olives please!).
Grand Szechuan Plymouth
I've eaten lunch here a couple times as it is the only halfway-decent option in a sea of suburban garbage near my office.
Dan dan noodles were actually on-par with Little Szechuan & Tea House...my usual companion likes the orange beef but the soups are forgettable except for their portion. They honestly bring you, like, a gallon of noodles for $6. If my office had a nap room, I would love it, but since they do not, I feel guilty wasting so much food.
But like I said, it is the best thing between itself and the crosstown.
