also forgot to add WA Frost

After 5 years, I'm back out in the MSP area for about a year and have had great luck with my old favorites as well as some really excellent new restaurants in Minneapolis. However, it's been difficult to find a post devoted solely to St Paul's best. From some of the bets of the TCs threads it seems we have:

The Happy Gnome
Meritage
Heartland
On's Thai Kitchen

MSP please help! I seriously need to diversify - any price point and any cuisine, as long as its GOOD.

Thanks!

definitely at any of the asian supermarkets on washington, i have a jar i picked up myself a few years back

went for an anniversary dinner a few weeks ago and i could not have loved it more. upscale but homey neighborhood spot style food - they really seem to be aware of location and priced meals accordingly.

most of the menu is fired in a wood oven and the food is super comforting. the servers and host were awesome and really charming without being annoying, brought us 2 glasses of comp champagne right away and left a really sweet handwritten note with the check thanking us for celebrating with them.

we split 3 apps and 1 main which was almost too much food:

chestnut soup with glazed sweetbreads & fried chestnuts - the soup was simple and tasty but the star was the most tender sweetbreads. there were 3 which definitely blurred the line between garnish and actual food component. wish i could just get a whole plate of them. awesome.

hand-spun chitarra with braised cockles, bacon & beer - this was good but not as good as the other dishes. pasta tasted of the ocean rather than the tasty bacon flavor in the cockles

braised oxtail with barley and parsnip risotto - i want to eat this all winter. so warm and comforting.

slow braised rib of beef with broiled parmesan macaroni & caramelized romanesco - i have never had beef so deliciously melty. my bf said he wished the mac was more cheesy, but it was all baked off in a staub iron casserole so i think it was just a product of how it was cooked. loved this.

my one complaint (which I dont even care much about) is the walls seemed really stark. the spot is lit nicely and has homey exposed beams so the bare walls stuck out and looked like they needed some art on them

we had a lovely meal and it is definitely on my short list to return

i also second making it yourself - it is really easy and tastes worlds better. here is the recipe i use:

3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream or greek yogurt (full fat greek = much creamier dressing than 2%)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives/scallion (optional)
1 teaspoon dill
1 teaspoon parsley (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 tsp cider vinegar

usually ankimo tends to be offered in the colder winter months. i'm topping this thread because ankimo showed up (unexpectedly!) in the sensei's appetizer plate at, of all places, yakitori boy. $7.50 if you want just a portion of the monkfish liver itself.

seconded, they have a pretty large selection of what you are looking for in the back

+2 for franklin fountain

would you choose Will over Fond? I'm debating where to go and am torn. Will's current menu looks more interesting to me (possibly because it just sounds more creative), but I haven't been back to Fond in a while and have been meaning to go.

we didn't ask for any though i'm sure they would have been happy to provide. the server did mention that they had to bring in a new wine specifically to pair with the pork pate appetizer (he mentioned what it was but unfortunately it escapes me). honestly i can't even remember if the tasting menu quoted a price for wine pairings or if you'd just be ordering by the glass.

addendum to the original update: while the menu you are presented with is set menu for $75, there is a note on the bottom that says to inquire with your sever about a la carte pricing. there is no separate menu but any item on the tasting can be purchased separately - our server was kind enough to write down next to each item what the pricing would be. apparently due to the hospitality group, the chef has never had full control over the menu until now, which is why they have decided to shift to (mostly) a prix fixe. the 4 course tasting is set up with a normal sized appetizer, then two 6 oz portions for the seafood and meat courses. even though we mentioned that we would prefer the a la carte, the prix fixe was being pushed, VERY HARD which was a real turnoff, but once we did actually order, service was great.

we split the foie torchon appetizer with pickled figs, crispy chantrelles and a white chocolate heart of palm ice cream ($22 or $5 suppliment on the tasting). the amuse of three small bites, a sturgeon pastrami piece, a hearts of palm vichyssoise w/roe, and a bacon madeline with horseradish cream were good but if i could i would have ordered an entire bowl of the vichyssoise - excellent flavors.

for mains, the server recommended the pork dish which originally wasn't on our radar but ended up the favorite. pork prepared a few ways: breaded rillette with bing cherries, airy chicharrones, crispy skinned loin, and a bone in fried pork belly with corn foam. the lamb saddle dish had great flavor and was served over long beans and a grain salad with champagne grapes. both dishes had been scaled up to a very generous main course portion ($42 a la carte) but the lamb dish looked more like a scaled up version rather than a true composed plate. no real complaints because both were excellent and arguably even larger than a la carte dishes of the past.

the usual mignardises and biscotti completed the meal, we left feeling pleasantly full and very satisfied with the $100 check.

That was kind of how i felt about their prix fixe, I would much much rather order a la carte and get fully formed dishes. Definitely feel the tasting menu dishes were half baked, though I haven't ordered this in about a year. Will be hitting it up within the next week as I have a Gift Card expiring soon so we'll see how it goes...

Ate here last night and really appreciated that not everyone at the table was obligated to order the tasting menu (jamon). My partner and I were able to order 1 tasting menu as well as a few other classics. Having the side by side, it was very clear that Ansill's tasting dishes were more elevated, thoughtful and light in comparison to the more rustic and a little clunky menu options. We really enjoyed the jamon menu - the only miss was the frisee salad which was overwhelmed by the balsamic dressing. The dessert ended up being a bright lemon curd and butter cookie which was a nice finish to the meal. The only other item we truly didn't enjoy was our server's recommendation of the monkfish and pork belly skewer (menu item). The pork belly was not seasoned at all and just tasted like bland fat (I didn't finish mine) and the monkfish seemed undersalted as well, which the roasted lemon couldn't really fix.

Our service, on the other hand, was pretty bad. The restaurant was populated but wasn't super busy, so I'm not really sure why we were so neglected by our server. As courses were delivered to the table, they were simply dropped off, little to no explanation of the dish or ingredients, unlike the server working the table next to us. We actually were missing one of the tasting courses entirely and had to flag our server down to ask about it. Took forever to have anyone other than a busboy come to check on us so we didn't get to order a drink until 3/4 of the way through the meal. All in all, if one of the Thursday tasting menus grabs your eye, go for it. $40 is a great deal for the quality of the food and a great way to taste some of Ansill's influence but still get some of your old favorites.

i purchased one of these when they ran this deal a few months ago for bar ferdinand - haven't used it yet so i guess you could say i'm sort of in on the deal. esp with ansill in the kitchen i think its a pretty solid deal. like barryg, i've bought the lacroix gift cards and they're still going strong so i dont think BF being on Rue La La is a red flag at all.

ugh. this is obnoxious. i was a big fan of lacroix and would dine there ~ 4 times/year but vastly preferred ordering a la carte to the prix fixe menu which i felt over performed and under delivered on many of the dishes.

weird, when i spoke with lee thurs 7/5 he said starting that following week they would be mon - sat.

finally got a response from capogiro - turns out the tag was incorrect and the cape gooseberries they are using are not local.

'Our caped gooseberries used to come from a small farm in Gap, Pa. Two years ago the farmer sold a plot of his land to a developer. This land contained quince trees and caped gooseberries. Green Meadow Farm actually asked if they could remove the quince trees to their farm and they declined opting to plow them down.

Since that time I have been unable to secure a local source that can get us the amounts that we need. We have been purchasing our quince from a ny state farm and our caped gooseberries are from the docks here locally and they are grown in everywhere from south america to california. This is their season for capes as well as fall. We are committed to purchasing locally and seasonally. If it is grown here, we only buy it here. If it is not available locally, we will still purchase produce according to its season.......If you do hear of a local farmer that can grow more than a few flats (we are talking 20 flats at a time), I would love to speak to them.'

thanks to all who gave recs for cape gooseberries around town - mystery solved, sort of!

thanks guys but i'm looking for the orange kind - Cape Gooseberries - which are apparently out of season. the green/purple ones are a completely different berry.

guess i'll wait till the fall? 2 weeks later and still no response from capogiro, other than a response to my initial email (below). perhaps this is some kind of gelato coverup!

Thank you for your interest in Capogiro Gelato Artisans.

We hate being wrong, so please give us some time to get this to the person with the right answer. Thank you for your saint-like patience.

Grazie!

i'll have to try the ward 8. i tried the esta tierra y tuya which i never would have ordered without the server's suggestion and it was pretty amazing. the ingredient list is mezcal, tequila, benedictine, chamomile, and either egg white or cream (or both?). i was thinking it would be very smoky and boozy but it was a really well balanced, scarily non boozy, honey flavored glass of deliciousness. definitely in my top 3 favorites.

the drinks were strong enough for 2 each to be pushing it in my opinion, and since there's no tax on the bill right now (and no dinner), $50 should cover your hop sing experience.

I've been twice now and for $10, the extremely well crafted cocktails are a steal. I'd imagine they would be comparable in price to Franklin Mortgage once they move out of the 'soft opening' phase.

The cocktail menu is two sided - the front has 5 or so 'fancy' house drinks and the back is maybe 20+ more classic (or their twist on) cocktails. A lot to take in and very hard to make a decision but I love having a wide selection without having to page through a book's worth of options. ! I've tried both more complex and very simple drinks; in fact, one of my favorites is the Henry 'Box' Brown which is simply fresh red grape juice and 75 year old rum. That's it, yet it has a very complex and fresh flavor.

Portland Rum Riot was another favorite I was surprised to like so much. Very balanced and not too sweet, this drink has fresh pineapple juice, rum, another alcohol that currently escapes me, egg white, cream (?), and lime served in a highball glass.

Hotel Nacional was a boozy drink served in a coupe that came with a small carafe of the leftover drink which didn't make it into the first pour - a nice touch. I think this one was laird's apple brandy, rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, lime

Ramos Gin Fizz is a classic recipe, they didn't change much but again, very quality ingredients made this gin, egg white, and orange flower drink shine. served in a highball glass.

I've also tried some of the 'fancy' house drinks with little blurbs of background information, but I can't remember their names off the top of my head. One was described by one of the servers as 'the best Bailey's you'll ever have' which I would very much agree. In a tumbler was one large ice cube, rittenhouse rye, honey whiskey, cream, nutmeg - comforting and delicious. Another was a much classier riff on a cappuccino martini (served in a highball, definitely had egg white).

Lastly, when asking the server what he thought the most unique drink was, he pointed me to one near the bottom of the menu that was mostly classic cocktails. This drink most certainly was not classic - muddled strawberry in (i think?) tequila, with a layer of exotic (thai?) spice infused cream. chile was also listed and it definitely had a light heat. topped with dried rose petals. this drink was for sure unique, but the layer of cream didn't really work for me and the petals looked pretty but were hard to drink. It seemed like the proportion was a little off (too much of the cream layer - about 1 cm thick) and it never really mixed together, so you ended up with a milk mustache with every sip.

It is a very easy space to hang out and relax with more than enough room to breath which is really nice. Both times, the space was about 75% full, and turnover was low. Lee clearly has paid very close attention to detail and it really shows. On both of my visits he stopped by the table and knew exactly what we ordered, just by looking at the drinks themselves. All in all, this bar truly succeeds in delivering the whole craft cocktails/'speakeasy' concept better than Franklin Mortgage and Ranstead Room and I can't wait to go back, the drinks and service are really memorable.

note, for the time being, they are only open Thurs, Fri, Sat for now, 5pm - 2am.

well said, I think you echo most closely what i was thinking about the whole thing after having some time/sleeping on it. some form of comp (even my bf's coffee) would have been nice, but I think writing them about this particular experience is kind of awkward unless I can think of a way to constructively frame the note without coming across as fishing too hard

The garden is a really lovely place to dine on a warm night, and much quieter compared to the lively dining room acoustics. Our server was very helpful and pointed out some of her favorites – there was a hard sell on the cheeses but as it was fairly late (9pm seating, restaurant was at capacity) we decided to skip and go straight for two pasta appetizers: Fresh Jersey Clams in Pino Gris Broth, Summer Herbs, Chile, Green Garbanzo, and Pasta alla Chittarra and Sweet Pea Ravioli with Goat Butter Sauce, Snap Peas, Shoots, and Grated Aged Goat Cheese. Both courses were very light, the pasta very fine, delicate and tender. The Jersey Clams were tiny and plentiful with a nice serving of the noodles – a light subtle summer dish that did not taste spicy at all. I preferred the Sweet Pea Ravioli, though from the description we were expecting a much richer, goaty dish. The sauce was tasty but again, very light, and very seasonal. This was a much smaller portion in comparison to the clams and noodle dish.

For mains we ordered the Halibut “Rockefeller” with New Potatoes, Creamed Nettles, Spinach, Chives, and Sherry Bacon Vinaigrette and the Rhubarb Glazed Muscovy Duck Breast with Confit Leg, Pickled Rhubarb and Beluga lentils served in au jus. The duck was hearty without being heavy, the tart rhubarb complimenting the slight gamey flavor well. The lentils weren’t anything special but hey, they are lentils. The Halibut was very tasty, a nice crispy filet served over a more veg heavy version of creamed spinach with a plentiful amount of twice fried bacon crumbles. This dish was very flavorful between the vinegar, bacon fat, fish and spinach/nettle puree.

Unfortunately, my fish was raw in the middle – not undercooked, but raw and pink to the point that the fish wouldn’t flake with a fork. I showed the server and asked if they could just refire the fish, saying everything tasted great, but the fish was raw – she agreed and apologized, no problem. As I waited, the manager came by and introduced herself, apologizing for the fish and said that the chef will be plating a fresh dish and to let her know if there were any other issues – ok great, no problem, I told her I was sure we wouldn’t need to bother her again and stressed how great everything else had tasted so far. It was probably another 15 minutes before the replacement dish came out, cooked perfectly and tasting great, though by now my partner’s duck was cold.

When the check came, we were not comped anything for the mishap and not offered complimentary dessert. At the time, I was a little surprised though I wasn’t too bothered since they did, after all, correct their original mistake. However, on our walk home, my partner mentioned he was a little upset, noting he had saved up for this special meal and it wasn’t just about the food issue itself, but the pacing of our meal was thrown off as he had to choose to either eat solo while I looked on as I waited for my fish or to wait with me and let his dinner get cold. I do see his point but I also wonder if it is unfair to come to expect comps when the kitchen makes a mistake such as this one. Chowhounders, what do you think? Should the restaurant offered something more than just correcting their error?

if you are rotating this job once a week, how is that enough time for food to get black with mold?

agreed 100%. zahav is very special to philly and while all the other options above are very good, this one is unlike anything avail in nyc

the plot thickens - at headhouse farmers market today there was one vendor selling gooseberries (1 pint /$7) but they were the green/red eurasian variety. I spoke with him a bit and he, like, givemecarbs, said that Cape Gooseberries/Grouncherries are not in season and won't be until the fall. I emailed Capogiro directly to see if they can confirm a) what type of gooseberry they use (maybe the cape gooseberry garnish was for looks only) and b) tell me where i might be able to get some.

interestingly, google led me to shoprite for cape gooseberries - their site says the snyder ave location does carry them.

agreed, its the hype. for that style burger + shake i'd rather hit nifty fifties

Just had a lovely Gooseberry gelato over at capogiro and now want to try my hand at cooking with this tasty tart fruit. Has anyone seen them locally? Over at capogiro the flavor was noted as local and seasonal, so I'm hoping to find these at one of the farmers markets or grocery stores.

i completely agree that most restaurants 'dumb down' their RW menu, but what i particularly like about zahav is the fact that they DO offer their regular menu. you are getting the tasting for a few dollars less than a normal night, but they also present you with a coupon for each diner with the check, good for $10 the next time you return to zahav, as well as $10 off your next visit at each of the other solomonov properties. when he still owned xochitl, this amounted to a total $30 food credit, almost paying for your RW dinner in its entirety.