Schneier on Security

Beer is the new wine. Wine has always exhibited a classy mystique, while beer has been the low-rent cousin from across the tracks. These days, what are called craft beers are in the spotlight, as American beer drinkers rediscover dozens of different brewing styles from around the world. Regular guys compare porters and stouts with authority, and discuss their favorite small breweries just like the wine geeks compare appellations and grape varietals.

Happy Gnome
498 Selby Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55102
(651) 287-2018
www.thehappygnome.com
Cuisine Type: American Bistro…

Individual chocolate cakes with molten centers: one could have a worse legacy in the culinary landscape of America. This singular inspiration from Jean-Georges Vongerichten has been released into the wild, resulting in over 20,000 Google hits for the recipe and frozen cakes to microwave at home.

Jean-Georges is a master chef. His namesake restaurant in New York is a foodie pilgrimage. His other properties are also destinations. And given the current instability of the Twin Cities’ restaurant scene, at least at the high end, we are pleased to have his hand in at the Chambers Kitchen…

We don’t like the name “Willie’s Wine Bar” because we worry that you’ll think it’s just a bar and not go there. First and foremost, Willie’s is a restaurant, one with a great wine list. It’s a pretty space, great for dates or convivial meals with friends. You should go for the food.

Willie’s menu is divided into smaller and larger plates, and both are filled with gems.

Willie’s excels at combining interesting flavors. Standards like lamb chops and pot roast are prepared with interesting twists. You’ll be charmed, even as you wonder what the chef could have been thinking…

The Blue Plate Restaurant Company operates four neighborhood restaurants around the Twin Cities: Highland Grill, Edina Grill, Longfellow Grill and Groveland Tap. They are all neighborhood restaurants, similar to one another but each with a different style. It’s a good concept, and every neighborhood is improved by a decent drop-in restaurant.

Highland Grill is a family diner with an upscale kick. They’ve certainly got that fine informal style, right down to the kitchen towels that serve as napkins. The staff is marvelous, with kind and friendly servers, and a super-quick kitchen. They do short-order really well, which is impressive given how complex some of their dishes are. And they use local and organic ingredients as much as possible…

We don’t know Brenda Langton personally, but we see her around town at the groceries and markets. She’s involved with the local organic food scene, and was the driving force behind the Mill City Farmer’s Market.

We’re also sure that Cafe Brenda is where we, like many of our friends, were first introduced to croquettes, which were exotic then but now seem an unpretentious and practical way to use up leftovers. It was certainly where we were all introduced to vegetarian fine dining.

But we’re all grown up now, and Brenda’s new restaurant Spoonriver reflects that. It’s healthy, but welcoming to omnivores. And it’s the best vegetarian first-date restaurant in the Twin Cities…

Ah, the diner. This classic establishment was brought down by chain restaurant aggression and the upmarketing of the American palate. The tiny and charming Town Talk sat empty for too many years.

But a good space is a good space, and the renaissance of Lake Street continues. Nostalgia for the old days shows up in restaurant menus and concepts all over the place, and hey, presto! The Town Talk is open once again.

The tiny old counter serves as the bar now, with precious little room to wait until a table opens in the newly annexed storefront next door. Look for upscale diner food, with old favorites jazzed up and trendy combinations well made. It’s all pretty good…

It’s hard to just wander into Evergreen, given that it’s in the basement of a small, nondescript office building. But it’s scrupulously clean, brightly lit and filled with people. They know something you’re going to learn: Evergreen is the perfect Chinese restaurant for the budget-conscious vegetarian.

The spectrum of vegetarian practice runs from casual avoidance of some animal-based foods to the strictest veganism, but everyone can enjoy the Taiwanese cooking at Evergreen. They keep a separate wok for cooking vegan dishes. Heck, they even serve meat dishes…

If you took some ideas from Indian cuisine, a bit of Greek cookery, and a handful of dietary traits from around the Mediterranean, you’d end up with something that looks and tastes a lot like Kurdish food. You’d find flat bread and more vegetables than meat, all with lots of flavor but not much spice.

Babani’s claims to be the first Kurdish restaurant in the United States, and we’re not going to argue. It’s certainly been a downtown St. Paul institution since it opened in 1997. It’s in a charming space: two small rooms tucked away on the first floor of an old apartment building, decorated with Kurdish art and artifacts, and lots of framed restaurant reviews and awards…

Pop is a cool neighborhood restaurant featuring brightly painted walls, 16 tables and a small counter, terrific and friendly staff. Pop is not a bit pretentious. It’s the kind of place you’d love to have within walking distance of your house. Our main question going in: is it a restaurant worth driving to?

Pop’s appetizers shine. Everyone should order the shrimp and black bean fritters. They’re golfball—sized, delicately fried, and too good to share. You get two dipping sauces: a perfectly fine chipotle sour cream, and a tart Venezuelan avocado dip called guasaca…

“Not only did they want to reform design but to give quality once more to the work process itself.” Elizabeth Cumming and Wendy Kaplan wrote that about the Arts and Crafts movement in general, but we think it applies as well to the transformation of a rickety corner bar into a neighborhood fine dining room.

That neighborhood, with its proliferation of small and well-built bungalows, exactly suits The Craftsman. The restaurant shows its flair in the good wood tables and Arts and Crafts architecture, but even more in its commitment to well-prepared local foods…