Schneier on Security

It’s all about spice. The American palate, and even the famously timid Minnesota diner, has come a very long way in the last 15 years toward embracing flavorsome foods. We’re happy to eat cinnamon on lamb, mysterious tastes like cardamom, and chili peppers on everything. Indian food is the perfect celebration of this great adventure, and it doesn’t have to burn your tonsils.

Great India has a broad array of familiar and interesting dishes that will please everyone, no matter his or her preference for spice or his or her familiarity with the cuisine. The dining room is fancier than you should expect for a strip mall place, but it’s the kitchen that really shines…

There’s something really special about hole-in-the-wall restaurants. When we find a tiny place with a handful of tables and a tempting menu, we think we’ve stolen a march on the food scene. But in the case of Rice Paper, we want everybody to know how great the place is. This month, they’re expanding from just eight tables into the storefront next door; we’re not the only ones who’ve noticed that chef/owner An Nguyen is doing something very right indeed.

The dishes at Rice Paper evoke flavors from all over Southeast Asia. “I was a little tired of Vietnamese food,” Nguyen said, “but I liked the repertoire of the spices. And I always felt Thai cooking to be too aggressive. These dishes are my own fusion creations that have the flavors without the aggressiveness of the spice.”…

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…

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…

We’re never going to get a bad meal at Levain. We walk in and a voice from the kitchen says, “Hi, Mom!” Our son is one of the chefs there. The star treatment is nice. We get a good table; we may get an extra little course or possibly even two. At least one of the chefs smiles at us a lot over the pass to the open kitchen.

But, truly, we’ve watched the staff, every time we’ve been over there. And everybody around us is getting marvelous, attentive service. Everybody’s getting delicious food. People who are celebrating are getting little extras. It’s not just us. Levain’s customers are all treated well, and everyone is given full value…

Japan’s noodle shops tend to be tiny, crowded and noisy. Slurp up noodles with audible satisfaction while on your way to somewhere else: that’s what noodle shops are for. Translate that to Minnesota, and you don’t get the rush, the tiny space or the noisy slurping businessmen with neckties thrown over their shoulders. Instead, you get Tanpopo. And that’s a good thing. Tanpopo’s noodles are nearly as good as we’ve had in Tokyo, and the atmosphere is much more serene. It’s a big, spare space, without overcrowded tables. The staff is pleasant and efficient, but in no particular rush…

Fhima’s, in downtown St. Paul, is an elegant restaurant. It has high ceilings, sparkling lighting and good, rich colors. A glass tower of wine divides the restaurant. There’s an open kitchen towards the back. The effect is dramatic, and makes you feel like you’ve arrived when you are shown to your table. Given the vivid flavors and culinary chic of the Mediterranean and French dishes Chef David Fhima serves, a meal here can be a very enjoyable experience.

Unfortunately, the food doesn’t always rise to the occasion. It’s presented well, but often falls short of the high expectations set by the décor…

Blue Point is a nice restaurant, but it isn’t cheap. Appetizers range from $9 to $12, and entrees are twice that. A Maine lobster will set you back $27 to $82, depending on size. For those prices, we expected consistent excellence: fresh fish in good preparations. What we got wasn’t as excellent as we’d hoped, and not nearly as consistent.

It’s a nice dining room. The restaurant is pretty without being stuffy. There’s a lively bar and several different dining rooms. The minimalist decor makes the room quiet enough to converse in. The menu is loaded with fresh fish and changes regularly. It’s a fun place at which to eat…

South 34th Avenue, just north of Crosstown highway, doesn’t seem like much of a restaurant location. And to be sure, the building has been the home of a string of mediocre—and worse—restaurants for as long as we can remember. But this time the restaurant is a winner, so good it’s worth a drive to eat there.

Singapore! is owned by two chefs. Kin Lee is from Singapore, and the owner of the absolutely fabulous Singapore Chinese Cuisine restaurant in Maplewood. Tee Belachew is Ethiopian and trained under Lee in Maplewood. Together, they serve Southeast Asian cuisine, Ethiopian cuisine and the occasional dish of Southeast Asian-Ethiopian-fusion cuisine…

It’s amazing how well Midori’s fits. The narrow shop, bead board wainscoting, and high ceiling are perfect in a neighborhood that bills itself as a bungalow community. The menu presents a range of Japanese dishes that, not long ago, were exotic to Midwestern palates, but now seem fresh and modern. This is the wave of the future in city neighborhoods, and we applaud it.

Sushi: of course. Everything tastes fresh and good, not that listless tired-looking fish one sees at some places around town. The nigiri-sushi (fish on rice), the maki (rolled sushi), and the sashimi (just the fish, thanks) are all beautifully done and generally served promptly…