Latest Restaurant Reviews
Page 10
Crossroads Delicatessen (Minnetonka, MN)
Oh, we miss the Lincoln Del. And Zaroff’s. We’re embarrassed to admit we haven’t wandered the skyways to find the Brothers, and we haven’t crossed the river to Cecil’s in much too long. But we do like the Jewish soul food served in delicatessen restaurants. We, like most of you, don’t even mind if it’s Jewish without being kosher, the sort of food called “kosher style.”
And so we go to Crossroads Deli. Serving soup and good sandwiches, breakfast any time, various entrees at dinner: it’s a family restaurant with a kosher-style kick.
The half-sour pickle slices and pickled beets on the table as we sat down are in the best deli tradition. But it’s the corned beef and pastrami that take the measure of a deli…
NorthCoast (Wayzata, MN)
We’ve got a great idea for escaping the workaday world. Pick a lovely summer evening, and watch the sun set over Wayzata Bay from the new Calypso Grill at NorthCoast. They’ve got palm trees, plenty of island décor, and some of the better calypso- and Caribbean-inspired cuisine around. Chef Ryan Aberle is serious about providing “a vacation away,” and we can’t think of much that’s nicer than the relatively intimate space upstairs, outside and under the fine Minnesota summer sky.
The Calypso menu is still being tweaked, and Chef Aberle expects to make frequent changes as the summer rolls on. But we are confident it’s going to be good, since we liked so much on NorthCoast’s menu. If the weather isn’t perfect for dining lakeside, the main menu in the dining room has lots of excellent choices…
Fabian Seafood (Twin Cities, MN)
We’re a thousand miles from the ocean. It takes a certain amount of bravery to buy seafood from the back of a truck parked in a gas station, especially when the truck wasn’t there yesterday and won’t be there tomorrow. But every month, thousands of Twin Cities shoppers do exactly that.
“Their stuff is really, really fresh. It’s the freshest shrimp in the Twin Cities,” said Edina resident Pat Wrede. “I’ve been buying shrimp from them for three seasons and have never been disappointed.”
It sure doesn’t look like that. The side of the truck bears a large banner sign reading, “Fresh Shrimp.” Coolers are piled around the tailgate, price lists are taped onto the door, and a large scale hangs off the side. A couple of guys run the operation, scooping shrimp out of ice water, weighing them and stuffing them into plastic bags. But make no mistake, their roadside truck is merely the front for a sophisticated retail operation…
Enjoy! (Apple Valley, MN)
Enjoy! is a destination restaurant. The fanciest dining spot south of the downtowns would be. It’s locally owned, and built from the ground up to be an attractive, friendly, gathering place.
The dining areas are big, but given the clever design of the rooms you don’t feel crowded, even when nearly every seat is filled. But Enjoy! occupies a weird niche that we don’t quite understand. It’s as if they’re trying to compete with both the great downtown restaurants and the ubiquitous family dining chains at the same time. The dining areas are nicely decorated, with stone finishes, some not-bad art, and …
Istanbul (Minnetonka, MN)
If we told you the best Turkish food in the Twin Cities is where the blue ball stallion used to be, we think a whole lot of you could drive straight to the place without directions.
But we’ll make it easy on you. On the frontage road for 394, on the north side, just east of Wayzata, in the little strip mall called Westdale, there’s a great Turkish restaurant called Istanbul.
Turkish cuisine is similar to what is served elsewhere around the Mediterranean, though naturally the dishes have Turkish names and so are perhaps unfamiliar. For example, pita bread is here called “pide bread.”…
King Buffet (Coon Rapids, MN)
We come from the “Who doesn’t like Chinese food?” school of dining out. When we go out with our vegan friends, or with fussy eaters, or picky kids, we know we can usually all find something we’ll like at a Chinese restaurant. Even better, a Chinese buffet.
The buffet at King is so large pretty much everyone can have a good meal. They even serve some American standards, for those who don’t like Chinese. And for those who like their food really fresh and hot, they have a Mongolian barbecue.
Expect the standard Chinese dishes, and some interesting surprises. The black pepper chicken, served with onions, is excellent, perhaps our favorite dish there. We liked the barbequed boneless pork ribs and the Mongolian beef stir-fry. The crab-meat-and-cream-cheese is not at all Chinese, but it’s really good…
King's Fine Korean Cuisine (Fridley, MN)
Korean cuisine is some of the best spicy comfort food on the planet. At the end of winter, when it’s hard to remember being truly warm, head to King’s for their soul-warming, substantial delicacies.
Two of the appetizers are exceptional. They call haemul pajun a pancake, but it’s far more interesting than that. Shrimp, squid, and other seafood are mixed with scallions and fried in an egg and flour batter. The patty is more substantial than, say, tempura—so delicious. It’s easily big enough to share with friends.
We also recommend the mandu, the Korean version of pork dumplings. Pan fried are better than steamed. Both the mandu and the haemul pajun are served with ginger soy dipping sauce…
Tea House (Plymouth, MN)
What could be worse than heading out to your favorite restaurant, with your heart set on your favorite dish, and discovering that everybody else in town had the same idea and is standing in the lobby when you get there?
It’s maddening, we say. And we avoid any such problem by heading to Tea House late on the weekends. Go early or get there around 8 PM, and you’ll get seated pretty quickly.
The other thing to know about Tea House is that the Szechuan menu is far more interesting than the regular menu. Forget ordering standards like egg foo yung and lo mein; ignore the regular menu completely…
Brianno's (Eagan, MN)
We’re such fans of home-cooking that we don’t mind if someone else does the cooking. Bring us fresh ingredients cooked simply. We like rich flavors and recipes handed down from our, or somebody else’s, mother. And we adore Italian cooking. We get Brianno’s to go.
Brianno’s isn’t a restaurant. It’s a deli, a grocery, a take-out place.. And it’s the best Italian cooking in the South metro.
Start with the pizzas. We’re talking thin crust, with a real crisp bite all around the edges. The oven’s hot and the crust cooks hot and fast. No soggy doughy chain pizza here. The dough and sauce are home-made. Watch them run the dough through their counter-top machine. It’s almost as much fun as watching the guy throw the dough in the air. The Napoletana is their house specialty, a delicious combination of sausage, pepperoni, and onion, and Parmesan, Romano, Provolone, and Mozzarella cheeses…
Muffuletta (St. Paul, MN)
American cuisine has been a long time coming. Our melting pot takes in ingredients from anywhere and everywhere. Combine that with a continental approach that makes dinner an event and the increasing sophistication of everyday diners, and you have the uniquely American restaurant we call an “American bistro:” the small, upscale, funky, limited-but-interesting-menu, wine-friendly, neighborhood restaurant.
Muffuletta exemplifies the trend. While a pretty place, it’s not one of the budget-breaking powerhouses on the local scene. But every meal there is an occasion, whether you’re celebrating your anniversary, a new job or merely the fact that it’s Wednesday. The service is attentive, the table is attractive, and Chef J.D. Fratzke’s kitchen puts out interesting food that reflects regional American, French, Italian and Spanish influences with always-fresh ingredients…
Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.