Restaurant Max

Do you ever get wowed by the unexpected? I suppose I don't know exactly what I was expecting when I walked into The Hotel Minneapolis and Restaurant Max but it certainly wasn't the gorgeous space. Wow. The pictures on the website do horrendous justice to how extraordinary of a job has been done in turning this vast space (maybe a former bank lobby?) into a modern and interesting restaurant dining room. If you haven't been yet, you must head down even if just to have a cocktail at the bar. And, watch out, you might see a "celebrity". We gawked at Senator (erghh... former senator?) Norm Coleman enjoying a night out.

It was a Saturday night a couple of weeks ago and although the restaurant wasn't full, it was certainly buzzing with tables. When I walked back through the hotel again this week, the bar was seriously happening (it is a great space to have small/medium events). Our party of six was easily settled into a great big booth. The Max cocktail list hit the spot in terms of creative and fun. I started with a Gatsby's Daisy - I mean, how could I resist a literary themed drink with Princeton nuances? The green tea vodka and lavender combination was delicious. Although, admittedly, the specialty drinks were hit and miss. While mine was fabulous, the first attempt at ADS's mojito fell so flat and bitter that it had to be sent back to the bar.

I felt the food was "cleverly done up", trying to hide the fact that this is a hotel restaurant that needs to make a lot of different people happy in the course of the day. While the appetizer list talks fancy speak in its descriptors it has a lot of the regulars including tuna tartare and calamari. There is also an assortment of flatbread, served Redstone style on an elevated plate. My table tried and enjoyed a flatbread while I personally opted for the fancy cheese curds. I mean, who can resist? The cheese curds were made with fontina, duly truffled up with oil and served with garlic and siracha aoili dipping sauces. They were tasty little buggers but they could have used more punch - more garlic, more siracha, more truffle.

The entrees run the gamut of proteins: chicken (check), shrimp (check), pork (check), steak (check) etc. The vegetarian option is a Truffle & Artichoke Risotto. As a vegetarian I am a little risotto-ed out (that and the dreaded pasta primavera wedding entree). Even the waitress said "Wouldn't it be nice if there was a tofu option?". Um, yeah. But, I went ahead with the risotto considering the cocktails were flowing and salad would have left me having to rent a room upstairs to pass out in. The risotto was good although a bit heavy. On the positive side, the flavors of both artichoke and truffle were present and balanced. And I didn't fall down before the end of the evening so mission accomplished.

Now, to my favorite part of this meal. Mini-desserts! There are trends to be disdained (too much foam!) and there are trends to be loved. And mini-desserts fall into the latter category. Restaurant Max had 9 options of three-bite-or-so desserts for $2.50. Talk about an easy upsell in this poor economy. I self-controlled amidst such yummy options as lemon lavender pie and macadamia nut pie and chose only the Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookie. It was a delicious little bite of heaven. It was so rich, in fact, that a little shot glass of a bite was all that was even needed. Considering it was the size of a generous Costco sample (and those are calorie free), it doesn't count against my diet now does it?

Overall, food was pretty good, the drinks were pretty nice and the space was incredible. A good place to go for a crowd with picky eaters too since it does really appear that everyone can be pleased. If not, just order mini-desserts and keep them coming.

Thumbs Up: Awe-inspiring space, mini-desserts
Thumbs Down: Boring vegetarian option, bartender needs a little practice

Restaurant Max 215 Fourth Street South, Minneapolis www.therestaurantmax.com

Bradstreet Crafthouse

I have been excitedly awaiting the opening of Bradstreet Crafthouse for months. Chef Stephen Trojahn first mentioned it to me this summer and then I waited and waited and waited. And now finally Minneapolis has its own restaurant where the key focus is mixology. Yes, you can go to the bar at La Belle Vie and get this type of drink service but we all know that drinks is not what La Belle Vie is supposed to be all about. And the mixology is indeed what Bradstreet Crafthouse is about. Minnesota, are you ready for this?

The soft opening was last week so Bradstreet Crafthouse is now open and waiting for you to try it out in the old Infiniti space on the first floor of Graves 601. The management is pretty clear that they don't want this to turn into a crowded bar or nightclub - the finesse and time it takes to make this cocktails just couldn't support throngs of drunk revellers. Instead, make the decision that you want to taste the art of drink mixing and some tasty small plates and head for a sophisticated night out at Bradstreet Crafthouse.

The majority of the menu pages are runneth over with the cocktails, separated out by the main alcoholic component, i.e. vodka, run, tequila etc. Peruse and ask questions as the waitstaff has obviously been well-trained on the drinks so take advantage of their knowledge. We tried a number of cocktails at our table. For those that love the herbaceous, try the Juliet & Romeo, a light gin option that I think was my favorite taste. Of course, it is likely that the whiskey driven Bradstreet will become the signature cocktail. The fruity Amaretto Fizz was my perfect liquid dessert and a sophisticated take on the classic amaretto sour. I also had a complicated and sweet fizzy vodka based drink that was elderflower heaven. It was so good that the name has escaped me in the glee of remembrance. Now, don't get antsy - these drinks take time. And they are highlighted by specific ice selections meant to chill your drinks and not water them down so take your time drinking them too.

There are two more things that make these cocktails great. If you sit in the main room, you can watch the bartender making them. There is a lot of heavy shaking, fresh ingredients and tiny eyedroppers full of mystery that combine into these recipes. Also, with all this work to make these cocktails, the price is practically laughable (and wonderful). They are all only $10 each. Considering that I paid $16 for a mediocre glass of merlot at B.A.N.K. last week, it is a STEAL.

Moving on to the food. The small plates are relatively inexpensive but do note that they are small. This is not tapas on steroids, it is more like it was meant to be. It is the opening days of the restaurant so I am sure the menu will change but there was a love affair at our table with two dishes - the pasta nachos and the scallop over a licorice rice ball. The housemade ketchup and the garlic herb mix to dip the polenta fries in was also an excellent combination, although I liked the dips better than the fries themselves. The portabella salad with arugula was also a wonderful flavor combination of herby bite and sweet roasted mushroom. I also enjoyed the seasonal vegetable plate and spiced marcona almonds. The salmon sliders were declared a miss as well as the bison, criticised by my companion as much too rare. The food was a fun accompaniment to the drinks and not meant to overwhelm them. And it didn't.

The small plates format and artisan cocktails beg for a leisurely evening ordering one or two plates at a time and savoring every last drop of the handcrafted drinks and food. It is new. Check it out. Let me know what you think.

Thumbs Up: Great cocktails, lots of small plates to choose from
Thumbs Down: It is a bit confusing to me HOW to use this place - as a restaurant, as a bar, as a lounge - and who to bring - business dinner (doesn't seem right), parents (too trendy), friends (yes, but for dinner, for an evening?)

Bradstreet Crafthouse 601 1st Ave N in Graves 601, Minneapolis www.bradstreetrestaurant.com

Mort's Deli

It takes quite a bit to make me feel disgusted. The sight of blood doesn’t make me flinch, weak stomachs don’t make mine respond similarly, and you’d be surprised at some of the food combinations that make me happy (just ask my mom about the childhood addiction to peanut butter and salami sandwiches). But I have found something that disgusts me in Minnesota – the vast portion sizes served at Mort’s Deli in Golden Valley.

Mort’s Deli is a newcomer to the Twin Cities food scene having opened a few months ago in a strip mall off of Highway 55. It is trying to bring that New York deli experience to the Twin Cities. They accomplish this by “importing” their pastrami, corned beef, knishes and cheesecake straight from the Carnegie Deli in New York City and then recreating the Carnegie mile high sandwiches. Even the bagels come from New York. Are these imports even a draw for Minnesotans? That is questionable, especially because previous attempts at the same restaurant concept here in the Twin Cities have failed. I also think that a lot of people that appreciate the Carnegie Deli meats and accoutrements are people that can afford to hit New York City once a year for their fix. I think all of this focus on the New York branded items rather than just the idea of “New York Deli” might be a little silly and add a lot of costs.

But this isn’t what disgusts me about Mort’s and it isn’t the mile high pastrami or corned beef sandwiches. You can pack up those leftovers to take home quite easily. What kills me is that they supersized the rest of the menu as well. And the way they serve it. For example, on my first visit to Mort’s I ordered egg salad on a bagel and asked for fries rather than chips. Alongside my gallon of egg salad, not only did they bring the chips (they don’t just replace) they also brought a huge plate of French Fries. I didn’t want chips, now those are wasted, and it is a rare day that leftover French fries are delectable. I didn’t need an entire plate of them, just a side portion. Yes, they were good steak fries with nice seasoning (the egg salad was normal and unexciting), but still so much food that day went into the (I hope) compost heap. I felt terribly guilty.

On my second trip to Mort’s, I ordered an omelet. My omelet was huge and came with a bagel and latkes too. So much food! And, once again, an omelet is a tough one to pack up half of to bring home. I am not sure I even know how to “reheat” an omelet. While the veggie omelet was filled with fresh cut veggies and quite good and the latkes even better, I once again had terrible waste guilt. The amount of food on our table of 7 people that ended up in the garbage was devastating (two people tried for the fries on the side and ended up with mountains of them; I wish I had been listening when they ordered!).

In today’s economy and with hunger on the rise in Minnesota like we haven’t seen in years, it is just so wasteful. So wasteful that it disgusts me. And so unhealthy in terms of portion sizes that I would be embarrassed to bring a non-American to Mort’s. I fully understand that this is their “theme”; my personal ideals just don’t mesh with it. So, no return visits to Mort’s for me. But if you are really hungry and promise to pack up half your meal and actually eat it as leftovers, then please do head to Mort’s. The servers were nice and the food wasn’t bad…. Just too big…

Thumbs Up: Easy service, fun atmosphere, good steak fries
Thumbs Down: Disgusting portion sizes, are flown in New York items worth it?

Mort’s Deli 525 Winnetka Ave N Golden Valley http://www.morts-deli.com/

Sidetrip: Chicago, IL

Not once but twice did I head down to the Windy City over the holidays this year.

The first venture was about family with relatives from near and far attempting to make it to the Northwest Suburbs despite the snow and, on the way out of town, the flooding. Let's just say that Northwest Airlines gave me a lot of apology points in the course of three days. I wish that they would apologize with cheaper flights this coming weekend but that's another story.

My Northwest Suburban adventure consisted of two meals eaten out and the rest was about home cooking and Costco substitutes. We stopped for lunch at George's What's Cooking in Deerfield. It reminded me of a New Jersey diner in terms of breadth of menu and the spattering of Jewish items like matzo ball soup and latkes. Page after page of menu and my mind was fried from suffering a flight with a sinus infection. I did what any carb lover like myself would do and ordered a pizza bagel and sweet potato fries. Remember that this was before the New Year and I was allowed to be bad. My stepfather looked at me and asked me what a pizza bagel was. The generation gap highlighted that not everyone grew up with Bagel Bites and Totino's Pizza Rolls. There is no limit to pizza nowadays. My food was unexemplary as was the sticky booth and the entire atmosphere. I don't think I would consciously choose to return. But boy was my grandpa happy when we showed up at his apartment with chopped liver from George's. Chopped liver? Maybe it's that generation gap again.

One night we also ordered real pizza from Lou Malnati's. I know we were in Chicago and supposed to order deep dish but the family consensus (wow, I am related to them!) was for thin crust instead. I tried a veggie pizza topped with plenty of fresh toppings and I must say that I really enjoyed it - nice thin crust, good sauce, perfect amount of cheese. This is the first food I have really liked in the restaurants around Buffalo Grove so I think my grandparents will be seeing more Lou Malnati's when I visit...

Wishing the family a fond farewell, I jetted back to Minneapolis and then drove back to Chicago three days later for time with friends over New Year's week. We started with a celebratory dinner at Vinci's on N. Halsted. Now this is the way to do upscale Italian comfort food! Well, all good and comfortable until they start pushing you to leave after you have eaten since your table of 16 is the last one in the restaurant. Putting that unpleasantness aside, I had a wonderful roasted eggplant appetizer, which was an entire roasted baby eggplant placed over a delicious marinara sauce and topped with pieces of goat cheese and basil. I very happily consumed the entire thing. My entree was not as exciting as the appetizer, a cavatappi pasta dish with vegetables. A bit of a yawn but I also knew what I was getting -- a sort of "primavera", a dish I know I don't like. Maybe I thought it seemed healthier than ravioli. And, yes, it was, but I would probably have been happier with a different selection.

My deep dish experience for the week was with Bella Bacino's in Lincoln Park. I tried the spinach deep dish - it was spinach-y and deep. I am no expert on deep dish and have had it so infrequently I feel unqualified to spout an opinion. It was deep dish, it tasted fine, but I can't tell you if it is better than any other deep dish in Chicago. Maybe someday I will do a deep dish tour but honestly I think I would rather spend the money to go to Alinea.

At Clarke's in Lincoln Park the food was unremarkable and filling (important for a New Year's Day brunch) but the service was god awful. Seriously, that is already the worst service of 2009. And it was on the first day of 2009. I dare any of you to make it worse than that.

Oh wait, then we went to Jerry's Sandwiches in Wicker Park for dinner. While the service itself wasn't bad, I have never been to a restaurant where they were out of so many things that people ordered, in particular the different types of breads for the sandwiches. Um, I think they are supposed to be known for the bread... Barring the shortages, I really liked the theme. There were lots of sandwich and salad options (over 100!), all decently priced, tons of beers and your main dish comes with two sides, which change daily. It is like a higher end sandwich shop with quality ingredients and table service. I also really liked that it wasn't over the top in portion sizing, which tends to be a disgusting fault at so many delis. If you dropped this concept into the old Indio spot, it would have instant success. My sandwich was intriguing (I can't say delicious!) and would have been better as a panini: peanut butter, apples, grilled onions, chipotle chutney and basil. It was all very Thai in combination. A fun place to stop by the next time you are in Chicago.

Waylaid one additional day than planned, we stopped in for brunch at Toast in Wicker Park. This breakfast/lunch only restaurant was quaint and perfect for a casual brunch. The breakfast burrito was deliciously filled with veggies and fresh salsa. I ate the potatoes from my neighbors plate dipped in truffle hollaindaise sauce and was quite, quite content with the whole experience. Truffle hollaindaise sauce, who wouldn't be?

Lou Malnati's www.loumalnatis.com
Vinci's www.vincichicago.com
Bella Bacino's www.bacinos.com
Jerry's Sandwiches www.jerryssandwiches.com

A Bit of Perspective

I’ve really been enjoying the commentary over on Andrew Zimmern’s blog (in the comments) about the food scene here in Minnesota in terms of restaurants. We have an east coaster deriding the scene and ready to move back east. We have another who thinks that the critics and bloggers in this town give too many positive reviews to places that are just mediocre. So, it got me to thinking. In 2008, I spent a heck of a lot of time outside of Minnesota so what were the highlights of my year and where did they occur? And, honestly, when I reviewed my list it doesn’t come down to a specific restaurant or city, it came down to the food experiences and the people that I was with while having them. Some were in Minnesota and others were not. I want these commentators to get over themselves and stop being so negative and instead enjoy the beautiful moments that can happen when you combine good food and good company, like some of these from my own 2008:

1. I discovered Burrata. There is nothing as exhilarating as finding new love. Considering my personal life, the exhilaration these days comes from food. I discovered burrata at Morandi in New York City. It’s “rarity” caused a brief break-up and then I rebounded with another tryst at Central by Michel Richard in Washington DC. To quote my own post from May “I would like to roll myself in burrata”. My discovery happened outside of Minnesota and I have never found burrata on a menu here but sometimes Whole Foods and Surdyk’s have it. I am kind of waiting to simply discover it on a menu in Minneapolis but I am not angry that I haven’t… just excited to get the surprise of a rekindled affair sometime in my future.
2. Burning rosemary is magic. In Toronto, at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar, I learned for myself the power of scent accompaniment to food when they left burning a stalk of rosemary on the plate as they served their flatbreads. My nose still tingles with the thought. I can still smell that woodsy, powerful scent that floated through the air during my meal. I loved it. It was memorable. So, here’s another one outside MN but I had a bit of a repeat scenario watching WH discover his smoking lamb belly under the glass orb at Cosmos. The rich scent of smoke fluttered across the table, reminiscent of the Toronto experience. (And, don’t forget that one of my worst meals this past year was in Toronto as well!)
3. New is fun. For example, Heidi’s. I’ve only been once but it was wonderful. One point to Minnesota. I do hope Woodman would maybe change the one vegetarian entrée he has on the menu like he does the other items. That would tempt me to return more quickly because I do check the menu online every month… I also really enjoyed the recent openings of Obento-ya, Black Sheep, and Sen Yai Sen Luk. Are they the perfection of a Keller or Boulud? No, but perfect is hard to attain and to afford to eat consistently.
4. Taste of the Nation in September. Dagan Lynn from B.A.N.K. made my table one fabulous tasting menu. As I am highly involved in Taste of the Nation I know that there are very few cities left in the country where the Taste of the Nation events haven’t turned into simply another strolling event with samples. At our major event we have 20 chefs, 5 courses, paired wines, all for the cause of hunger and all donated by our chefs in this town. This is incredibly special to have here in the Twin Cities.
5. Dining Solo. I learned to embrace dining solo in 2008. And I love doing it at the bar at a fancy restaurant – bartenders, managers, and cooks all love to chat with the single lady at the counter who is obviously (usually) enjoying her food. I had truly wonderful experiences at Pearl in Melbourne and Proeverij 274 in Amsterdam. I do admit that when I tried this at Firelake, I think that they thought I might have been a prostitute. That was weird.
6. Eating local while local. Turkish peaches and yogurt while in Turkey. Pimm’s Cup while in the UK. New York Bagels only in New York (exported ick). Common Roots Bagels while in Minneapolis. Punch Pizza in the restaurant (1000 times better than at home). Minnesota tomatoes in season at the Farmer’s Market. Sebastian Joe’s Ice Cream while it drips onto the Hennepin sidewalk.

2008 was a good year, both in Minnesota and around the world. I would argue my perspective is broad (overtraveled, overeducated and overfed) and that, yes, I would rather dwell on the positive than the negative, the excitement over the mediocre, but do you want to hear me complain all the time about my bad experiences? Neither do I. Let’s hope 2009 is half as much fun and flavorful as 2008.

Roat Osha

One day I drove up Hennepin and noticed that the old Sawatdee building was torn down. I swear that like three weeks later I drove by again and a new building had taken its place. Huh? How did this happen? And it was another Thai restaurant. Weird…

Ends up Roat Osha is by the same owners as Tum Rup Thai. Once you eat there, this is no surprise because I had a hard time distinguishing between the two in terms of food. The curries tasted the same (tasty but really mild), the fresh spring rolls have the same ingredients and the menu is remarkably similar. I would love if someone could tell me how the two concepts differ from one another. Anyone? Anyone? I have been twice and still waiting to find out. The new space is very gorgeous with tall ceilings, generous room at the tables and a nice side bar. There will also be an outdoor patio in the summer. Tum Rup Thai has a pretty nice space too. The difference is that Roat Osha has more bar space and a free parking lot. That would make my decision for me.

The vegetarian fresh spring rolls are filled with glass noodles, lettuce and veggies. It would be great to get a little protein thrown in as well, especially as they are the same price as the ones that come with chicken and shrimp. I do like that they were served with both a thicker peanut sauce and a sweeter thinner sauce. Choices are good.

I also tried the red curry with rice noodles, which is one of the special noodle dishes. I enjoyed the “show” of pouring the curry (I think exactly the same one served with rice in the curry section of the menu), over the noodles and the abundance of cilantro that it was served with. While the red color was there, it was very very mild, tasting more of coconut milk than of the spices in the curry blend. Sure, I could heat it up with more hot spice, but I would really like to taste more of the flavor of the curry itself. Same comment goes on the next visit where I ordered a yellow crispy egg noodle curry. The flavor needs to be upped. I just tasted too much coconut milk.

So, the food at both is fine. I don’t think it would be considered authentic (maybe I should go to Thailand and check…) so don’t go to Roat Osha looking for this. But if you want to have some Minnesotan Thai Food, then pop on over because if you like the others in town, you would like this too. Then again, who knows. I didn’t ask what the most authentic items on the menu were and order on this recommendation. I think I have a new mission for my next visits to these Thai places.

Thumbs Up: Free parking, nice space and bar
Thumbs Down: More of the same, very mild norm on the food

Roat Osha 2650 Hennepin Ave S Minneapolis

Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza

Big stretch, shake those hands out and let's get back to the action on this here blog. I needed a mental break thanks to quite an incredible amount of work stress and illness. Now that I am recovered (although the work stress has not...), I am back to talk about the food we have going on in this town:

Pizza is a smart, smart concept to be launching in the economic downturn, if you really want to be launching a restaurant at all. While some people may turn more towards DiGiorno, on those nights where you still want to get out the house, pizza, and particularly Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza, is an excellent destination.

My favorite thing about Black Sheep is the atmosphere. It is low-key urban cool. Not pretentious, not all quaint and cute, just cool and simple... much like the Warehouse District lofts that surround its location. Accompanied by affordable house wines and quality beers, I could sit there all night just hanging out with my friends, drinking wine and feeling okay that I am wearing snow boots (albeit fancy ones) and not Manolos.

The pizza itself is also quite good - better than Pizza Luce for sure but I think I still love Punch Pizza the best. But, we all know that pizza is a very very personal thing. I love mine thin crusted and topped with the freshest of ingredients. Thus my affinity for Punch and now Black Sheep. If that isn't your thing and you just want the basic pepperoni and canned mushrooms, I leave you to be.

The Black Sheep Pizza is thin crusted and slightly charred on the bottom by its coal-fired cooking process. The topping options are expansive and are all extremely fresh - herbs, mushrooms, onions, meatballs etc. There are no bagged veggies going on your pizza, you can tell they were hand sliced. And they are piled on quite generously, which I love. I personally feel that you should have as many food groups as possible on a pizza to make sure that it is a balanced meal (or lesson my guilt for eating pizza at least 4 times a week, breakfast leftovers included).

I would definitely opt for a red-sauced pizza. The one white pizza I tried I found to be dry and disappointing. Make sure you ask when you order the specialty pizzas because the fact that my oyster mushroom, smoked mozzarella and rosemary pizza showed up as a white pizza was a sad surprise. The red sauce is mild and on the sweeter side. Quite tasty.

So, head out to Black Sheep and have a fun evening eating pizza, drinking wine and beer and forgetting that it is cold and depressing outside the cozy half basement walls. You won't regret it.

Thumbs Up: Great atmosphere, great value house wines generously poured, good thinner crusted pizza
Thumbs Down: Specialty pizzas not fully described

Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza 600 Washington Ave N Minneapolis www.blacksheeppizza.com