April 2008

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Is this the best cookie ever?

Filed under: Food

The other day, I was at Kopplin's Coffee in St. Paul and decided to pick out something sweet to go with my cappuccino. I was about to go for the standard chocolate chip, courtesy Rustica Bakery, when this homely, bittersweet chocolate one caught my eye.

One bite and it was all over. Seriously, I think this may be the world's greatest living cookie. Here's why:

1. It has a deep cocoa flavor that's not too sweet.
2. And a hint of salt, which gives it a little edge.
3. Though the cookie wasn't hot, it had the textural qualities of fresh-from-the-oven: a crisp edge and crackled surface, and a center that's soft, pliable, and studded with chocolate hunks.
4. I'm a sucker for anything sprinkled with sugar on top.

Within seconds, my friend and I devoured the cookie, then immediately went back to the counter and bought another. And ever since, I've been finding excuses to plan my routes past Rustica. The bittersweet chocolate cookie is the best way to spend a dollar in this city.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 30, 2008 1:42 PM | Comments (2)

 

Pizza knife by Van Vacter

Filed under: Gadgets

Let's say that you've got an addiction to pizza, and twenty bucks burning a hole in your pocket. The solution? Quite possibly, buying a "pizza knife" (prosaic lowercase name courtesy of the company).

What does you $20 get you? Well, the kind folks at Van Vacter^TM (a product line of Lassen Scientific, Inc.) are happy to inform you that each pizza knife (the ultimate pizza cutter^TM) uses patent pending Slicing-Slots^TM to cut cleanly through the pizza's molten cheese, leaving the dirty business of completing any given cut to the deadly-sounding Finishing Wheel^TM.

That blizzard of verbiage boils down to this: you get two pizza wheels in one. The big wheel has holes in it. The holes keep the cheese from sticking to the wheel when it cuts. The small wheel, which trails the big wheel at a respectful distance and looks like a training wheel, completes your cut and eliminates the need to drag your pizza cutter back and forth, over and over again.

Does it work? Absolutely. This is a beautiful piece of pizza-cutting technology. Overly wordy and arguably overpriced, but absolutely beautiful. If you see one on special (quite likely) or at a rummage sale (far less likely), snatch it up.

Posted by James Norton at April 29, 2008 1:01 AM | Comments (2)

 

Heidi's makes Conde Nast Traveler's "Hot List"

Filed under: Restaurants

A big congratulations to Heidi and Stewart Woodman--their south Minneapolis restaurant, the eponymous Heidi's, was chosen for Conde Nast Traveler's annual "Hot List" of the "world's most exciting" new restaurants, clubs, hotels, and spas.

Read the review and then make your reservation--if you can get one.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 28, 2008 4:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

Don't be afraid, it's just Thai green curry

Filed under: Recipes , Recipes

I know, homemade curry sounds really complicated, but I promise you, if you can throw ingredients in a food processor/blender then transfer those ingredients to a pot on the stove, then you can make this dish.

What’ you’ll need: Lots and lots of green stuff. No, really.

Curry:
2 serrano chilies
2 jalapeño peppers
2 teaspoons of coriander
1 teaspoon of cumin
teaspoon of pepper (white pepper if you have it)
1 tablespoon of lemongrass (I used dried, but fresh works too)
1 tablespoon of ginger (I used the stuff from the jar, but again, fresh is classy)
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup of cilantro (I often use more so I don’t waste the bundle)
2 teaspoons of lime zest
1 cup of chopped shallots (a restaurant vegetable you should try at home)

More stuff:

Fried tofu or mock duck
Red bell pepper
Red onion
squash
A can of coconut milk
Maple syrup (to taste, but probably a tablespoon or two)
Lime juice
½ cup of basil

Really though, you can use any vegetable you want, and if you don’t like tofu you could probably swap chicken or beef strips or whatever instead. Though it is pictured, you will not need a bottle of tequila.

Chop up the chilies and jalapeños. Seed them if you’re a wuss and are afraid of spiciness. Add them to a half cup of boiling water. Cover and let them sit for fifteen minutes.

With a food processor (or a blender, if you feel lucky) add the spices, the shallots, garlic, zest, and ginger. Give it a twirl. It’s ok if it’s still pretty chunky.

Add the cilantro, pepper mix (with the water) and spin until it’s completely paste.

Meanwhile, at the stove, add your chopped veggies and protein to a pan and cook until just slightly tender. You can also completely skip this step if you’re willing to let the raw veggies stew longer. Sometimes I do this when I plan eating the curry the next day rather than that evening. Your call.

Dump the paste mixture into a pan on low-medium heat. Cook for a couple minutes, stirring constantly. No matter how good things might smell right now, don’t stick your head over the pot and inhale. Your eyes will burn with the wrath of the chili pepper.

Add your can of coconut milk and turn up the heat. Stir to incorporate the paste with the milk, and bring to a low boil.

Add lime juice and maple syrup to your sea of green. Sometimes I use a tablespoon of maple syrup, sometimes more. Two squirts tends to be the right amount overall.

Add the veggies and stir everything together, for about five minutes (longer if you went the raw route). Remove from heat and add the basil, and let everything sit for another 5 or so minutes.

Aaaand serve. I often just eat it straight, but naan or rice also make tasty additions. Not too stressful, right? Unless you add chicken to the mix, this dish is vegan, and it tastes even better on the second and third day.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at April 26, 2008 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

 

Food Writing 101

Filed under: Events

A La Carte columnist James Norton is giving a seminar on food writing a week from Saturday at the Mill City Writers' Workshop, an organization founded by author/editor (and, yep, daughter of Don) Ashley Shelby.

Norton will be talking about reviewing restaurants, food blogging, and the process of writing a food book--from creating a proposal to promoting the finished product. Norton is not only an excellent instructor, but is as engaging in person as he is on the page, so you can expect an afternoon packed with information, a cheese tasting (!), and lively discussion.

The seminar takes place Saturday, May 3rd, from 12-2 p.m. at 6 Sixth Avenue North, Suite 3, in Hopkins and costs $40. For more info, click here.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 25, 2008 2:36 PM | Comments (0)

 

Drink of the Week: Bett's You'll Like It

Filed under: Drink of the Week

When hanging out at Lucia's Wine Bar in Uptown, you're probably not scoping out the cocktail list. The place has "wine bar" in the name, after all.

But don't let that deter you; the cocktail list may be smaller and less diverse than the wine list, but that doesn't mean they don't pour a killer concoction. My favorite has always been the Bett's You'll Like It.

The drink itself is no where near as frou-frou as the name suggests; its ingredients feature Crown Royal, iced tea, and a splash of ginger ale over ice. This is a no-nonsense beverage. Unlike many drinks working the Twin Cities bar scene, Bett's isn't overwhelmed by its non-alcoholic components. Rather, it harkens back to cocktails of the 50s and 60s, which sought to enhance the alcohol in a beverage rather than mask it or make you think it's not there. This is a drink with an old-fashioned glamor that will never be matched by a chocolatini.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at April 25, 2008 5:41 AM | Comments (0)

 

Lunch at TropicWorld

Filed under: Food

Standing at the intersection of Lake Street and 31st Ave. earlier this week, I was struck by the fact that I was hungry. Available options: McDonald's, Subway, and TropicWorld Jamaican / West African foods.

TropicWorld it was. Home was close at hand, so I picked up a box of two Caribbean Food Delights Chicken Patties ($3.50).

The patties consist of an empanada-style crust (buttery, a little crunchy, not subtle but tasty, regardless) filled with a paste of ground chicken and spices. Heated in a 400-degree oven, the effect is not unlike a Jamaican chicken pot pie, with a warm, nourishing core surrounded by pastry.

The chicken has a pronounced spicy bite that attacks halfway through each mouthful and lingers, assertively but tactfully, until well after you're through chewing. If you're in want of something with which to wash down the pattie, grab a D&G Genuine Jamaican ginger beer ($1.50); it's got enough fight to battle down the lingering chicken spice while bringing its own gingery brand of tomfoolery to the party. The two flavors are natural dancing partners. Swallow some soda, and you'll want some more pattie. Eat some pattie, and you'll want some more soda. Pretty soon you're done with both, full, and quite contented.

Posted by James Norton at April 24, 2008 1:12 AM | Comments (0)

 

Must-Haves for Spring

Filed under: Food

Bell’s Oberon: The summer seasonal from this Kalamazoo, MI brewery is a light wheat ale that’s a perfect sweet-and-spicy warm weather brew. Leinenkugels’ makes a Summer Shandy, but I’m partial to the homemade version, of equal parts light beer and lemonade (steeping fresh ginger in the water used for the lemonade makes it even better).

Sea Salt: The casual Minnehaha Falls Park eatery is open for the season and it’s the best place for seafood in town. The new crawfish po-boy is a real sandwich eater’s sandwich--I was so distracted by its deliciousness that I nearly ate the whole thing before remembering to take a picture.

Morels: Some like to forage for these musky mushrooms, but they also recently arrived on the shelves at the Wedge, if you’re inclined to cook them yourself (they’re great in soups, on steaks, or just sauteed in butter), and they’ll be on the Bayport Cookery’ s morel menu in May, if you’d rather have someone else cook them for you. Or hit up the annual Morel Mushroom Festival, May 16-17, in Muscoda, Wisconsin.

A CSA Share: If you love local food, buying a community supported agriculture share is like getting a birthday present once a week. Local farms deliver boxes full of whatever’s ripe--corn, carrots, peas, garlic, potatoes, onions, melons, salad greens, etc. CSAs vary in price, delivery locations, farming practices, and offerings (some include meat, coffee, cheese, etc.)--and a few have a work requirement. For more information, the Land Stewardship Project has a fairly comprehensive directory. *Note that joining a CSA is a commitment: When the box arrives, you’ve got to prep the produce (cook it, can it, etc.)--before it rots away in the bottom of the fridge--and you need to embrace veggies like kale and kohlrabi. If you’re a small household of busy people who will be out of town a lot, think about splitting a share or just shopping at the farmers market.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 23, 2008 10:00 AM | Comments (3)

 

There's No Place Like Third Place

Filed under: Food

The Washington Post Style section published an engaging opinion piece about the idea of the "third place" in our lives; home is the first place, work the second, and that special bar/restaurant/coffee shop the third. It's a place where you're emotionally rooted, even though you're out in public, among a mix of friends and strangers.

Writer Bruce Johansen moved to the D.C. area in 1994, but he uses his Post soapbox to recall some of his favorite Minneapolis eateries, starting with memories from a recent trip back to a Dunn Bros. Coffee shop, and moving on from there:

Opening the door to Matt's Bar in Minneapolis, I'm comforted by the dark exterior that never changes, and the knowledge that a "jucy lucy" — a burger with piping hot cheese in its center — is in store. It's a place where I've joined friends and co-workers for more than 25 years, so being there stirs memories. At the Bryant-Lake Bowl I know I'll be served a tall, cold Summit Ale — my favorite local brew — while listening to the crash of pins in the adjoining lanes. Stopping at the Band Box Diner, I'll be greeted by owner Brad, who will stop to chat in between flipping pancakes and refilling coffee cups. These idiosyncratic places are Minneapolis to me.

Speaking personally, that "third place" was/is Barbette, but now that I've moved to Longfellow, the search is on for a new home base... it's almost as though I need to move a second time.

Much as I loathe artificially "stimulating" questions at the end of blog posts, I would be curious if any TC Eater readers had places you consider to be your home away from home.

Posted by James Norton at April 22, 2008 1:03 AM | Comments (6)

 

Naked sushi can't save Temple

Filed under: Restaurants

With or without naked sushi, I’m surprised Temple lasted as long as it did, actually. When I reviewed the restaurant a year and a half ago, I thought the space was stunning but the food was wildly inconsistent. In the following months, as soon as Temple’s novelty wore off, it struggled to attract guests, despite a series of Hennepin Avenue billboards.

The aforementioned naked sushi event, which City Pages reviewed and photographed, was a big success. But it couldn't stop this from happening.

While WCCO’s recent report blamed Temple’s demise on rising food costs, I think Temple’s location may have doomed it from the start, even if the cusine had been better. Though 1201 Harmon Place is right off Hennepin Avenue and just blocks from Loring Park, the address always seemed like blind spot in a car mirror--right there, yet right out of sight. The fact that the space’s previous occupant, the Caribbean themed Tiberon, was equally short lived, will perhaps give future leasees pause.

But the prize for most cursed restaurant address in Minneapolis has to go to 2819 Hennepin Avenue--former home of the poorly named but tasty Mysore Café, which just closed a few days ago.

In the past five or so years, 2819 has housed nearly as many restaurants: Antoine’s Creole Maison, Taj of India, the nomadic Uptown Diner, and the Sri Lanka Curry House. The space has always seemed a little dark and awkard to me, in dire need of a decent decorator, and, renting 3,200 square feet of space (at about $25-$35 square feet, according to the realtor who’s selling the building) is not exactly cheap. Are underfunded, poorly qualified restaurateurs biting off more than they can chew, or is there something more to it…

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 21, 2008 12:50 PM | Comments (2)

 

Chefs for Change: April 21

Filed under: Events

Remember the fundraiser scene in "Friends with Money" which pokes at the irony of donors who won't open their checkbooks unless the charitable organization throws a lavish party? If you'd prefer to see 100% of your ticket proceeds go directly to those in need, monthly Chefs for Change dinners do exactly that.

The dinners take place at People Serving People, a Minneapolis organization that helps the homeless. Each event offers a "chef’s table" experience for 25-30 guests, with a multi-course meal with wine pairings. Chefs and their restaurants donate thousands of dollars worth of food and labor for the events so proceeds can go directly to people in need--and, during the evening, guests may tour PSP's home for families--and, if they choose, make an additional donation.

The next one takes place Monday, April 21, and costs $75. You can order tickets here.

April 21: Chef Dan Muggli from Chino Latino
May 19: Chef Steven Brown from Porter & Frye
June 16: Chef Rick Kimmes from The Oceanaire Seafood Room
August 25: Chef Phillip Becht from Modern Café
September 22: Chef Jeff Asorage from Capitol Grille

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 18, 2008 4:22 PM | Comments (1)

 

Ten Things I'll Miss About Uptown Eating

Filed under: Food

Last week, my wife and I moved from 33rd and Dupont to a spot almost three miles due east. We're stoked about the new neighborhood, and we're a stone's throw from eateries including Town Talk, Manny's Tortas, Midori's Floating world and T's Place.

Still, there's a lot of Uptown stuff we'll miss, and that's only become crystal clear this week, now that the options are gone. If you're in Uptown or a frequent visitor, you might find a useful tidbit or two by poring through this list.

10. Campiello for entertaining parents and relatives.

Campiello does relatively simple, inventive, chic pasta in a way that is both urban and exciting and safe and accessible. It's not quite Broder's, but, then again, you can actually get a table.

9. El Meson for sangria and misc. tapas.

Outdoor tables. Hot summer weather. Sangria. El Meson.

8. Blue Sky Creamery for blue moon ice cream.

Blue moon ice cream used to be my standard go-to flavor when growing up in Wisconsin, and it's not universally available. It was nice to be able to pick up a cone after dinner, or after walking around Lake Calhoun.

7. Amazing Thailand for whatever.

As mentioned in a recent post, this place has heart, charming decor, and inconsistent but often excellent Thai food.

6. Chino Latino for happy hour.

Gotta love $3 tortas and cheap Leine's on draft.

5. It's Greek to Me for flaming saganaki.

Saganaki can be overly heavy or greasy, but the stuff at It's Greek to Me is like a light, lemony fondue. Served on pita, it's to die for.

4. Falafel King for gyros and/or falafel.

Earnest, solid interpretations of some of the world's most delicious fast food. Every neighborhood should have at least one decent falafelria / gyro stand.

3. Kitchen Window for conspicuous kitchen consumption.

As witnessed by my various gadgets posts on this blog, I'm a fan of Kitchen Window's expansive and eclectic collection of gear. If Kitchen Window doesn't have something, you probably don't need it. If they DO have something, even if you don't need it, you probably want it.

2. Lucia's To Go for breakfast.

Almond croissants! Budapest nut muffins! Light, delicate crepes! Excellent tea! Lucia's bakery offers a light, painstakingly prepared spread of ever-rotating but always spot-on baked goods that mean it's always a treat, even first thing in the morning.

And finally, coming in at the top spot...

1. Barbette for pretty much everything.

Bruch? Yes. Lunch? Yes. Happy hour? Yes. Dinner, hell yes, light or heavy, casual or fancy, romantic or platonically convivial. This joint is the Swiss Army knife of Minneapolis-St. Paul restaurants. And I liked being within walking distance of it. Dammit.

Posted by James Norton at April 17, 2008 1:17 AM | Comments (6)

 

Our own Food Network star

Filed under: Food

Congratulations to Nipa Bhatt, former owner of the Gypsy Curry House in Chanhassen, who has just been chosen as a contender on the upcoming fourth season of "The Next Food Network Star," premiering June 1.

Bhatt, 35, who has been working as a marketing manager since GCH closed, was selected from 150-some applicants who tried out at the Chambers Hotel several months ago. While the show's producers weren't very articulate about why they selected Bhatt, ("she naturally brought something different to the table...she brought with her a warmth and passion that we all responded to..."), based on my experience dining at the GCH, I think she was a great choice, both in terms of her Indian-influenced cooking repertoire and her effusive personality. If Bhatt is able to impress celebrity judge Bobby Flay and beat out the other nine professional and amateur cooks, she'll star in her own six-episode series on Food Network.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 16, 2008 9:11 AM | Comments (0)

 

Notes from an Underground Restaurant

Filed under: Restaurants

This weekend, a friend of mine brought me to a non-descript house in South Minneapolis. He'd called ahead; the mistress of the house (working in concert with a partner) runs what is effectively a restaurant out of her small dining room. The music was Mexican pop played from a CD stereo, and the ambiance was a small boy running around the living room with rock 'em sock 'em Transformers toys.

There were no menus, and the specials of the day were determined by an ongoing schedule designed as a test run for a future Mexican restaurant, name and location to be determined. Orders were placed in Spanish, and while I'm fleetingly familiar with the language, figuring out what was going on was an entertaining strain on my feeble abilities.

We started our meal with forkably tender chicken drumsticks and strips of cactus flesh and other vegetables cocooned in packets of tin foil. The beauty of the presentation was the opening of the packet; as you peel back the foil, steam emerges, revealing a perfect-looking chunk of meat and the vibrant reds and greens of the surrounding vegetables. Masa could learn a thing or two from this presentation. On the side were rice and a surprisingly delicate velveteen slurry of refried beans.

Next up (for three of us) were whole grilled tilapia, each about 9 or 10 inches long and gazing vacantly across the table at one another. The flesh was tender and flavorful, kissed with just enough blackened skin to have a nice back-and-forth between mild and carbon-y.

I'd opted for the seafood soup, which turned out to be about a liter of reddish broth swimming with potatoes, carrots, raw onions, cilantro and eight or nine large whole unpeeled shrimp. The next half hour was an ongoing battle to decapitate, de-tail, and peel each shrimp before returning the savory bits to the broth and spending a few minutes actually eating the meal. Tasty, but involved.

The bill (which we'd expected to be light, seeing as how the situation was improvised) turned out to be around $15 a person, before tip, a sad state of affairs we chalked up to multiple orders per person and the high price of good seafood. Still: we'd had a memorable meal, made all the more enjoyable by the nature of the experience. Will we ever get invited back to that house? Will the restaurant ever open? No telling. If it does, you can be sure that it'll appear in these pages.

Posted by James Norton at April 15, 2008 1:10 AM | Comments (4)

 

Stuff White People Eat

Filed under: Food

If your friends hadn't already emailed you a link to Christian Lander's blog, stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com, certainly you heard about it last month after Lander, an Internet copywriter, landed a $300,000 book deal from Random House to chronicle the tastes of privileged progressives. The site, and presumably the book, (which has been fast-tracked to debut August 12, before everyone loses interest), gives the lowdown on everything from Having Gay Friends to Yoga to Not Having a TV. (A friend who works at a major publishing house told me that within a week of Lander's deal, they received a proposal for Stuff Black People Like --and declined to make an offer.)

I was particularly interested in the food-related ones, which included sushi, breakfast places, coffee, microbreweries and bottles of water (Lander notes that metal water bottles have recently replaced Nalgenes, the previous icon of outdoorsy whiteness, due to concerns about chemicals leaching from plastics).

A common theme seems to be making food choices that reflect social responsibility, openness to diversity, refined taste, and exclusiveness--the more obscure and difficult to acquire, the better. Lander's explanations of the items don't really offer much more to the joke than just naming the fame, but I did think that this section from Being the Only White Person Around was pretty funny.

Many white people will look into the window of an ethnic restaurant to see if there are other white people in there. It is determined to be an acceptable restaurant if the white people in there are accompanied by ethnic friends. But if there is a table occupied entirely by white people, it is deemed unacceptable.

Here are a few other food items that I'd add to the list:



Growing your own organic produce--apartment dwellers are advised to reserve a community garden plot, or at least plant a window herb garden
Smoothies--extra points for wheatgrass extracts and antioxident boosters
Shopping at ethnic markets--evidence you respect and understand non-white culture


White Castle--just to prove you're not a snob
Taquerias--especially ones recommended by Calvin Trillin
Uncommon condiments--sriracha, hot mustard, homemade pickles


Artisan cocktails--must involve herbal infusions, artistic garnishes, and a certified "mixologist"

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 14, 2008 2:08 PM | Comments (8)

 

School bake sale? How about some beer cupcakes?

Filed under: Recipes

I know what you’re thinking: “Beer cupcakes? That’s crazy talk.” At least, that’s what the old man said to me when I told him I was buying Guinness for baking purposes. It isn’t really that crazy though, is it? After all, how many people use Coca Cola when baking ham? Or pour a little red wine into their tomato sauce? So when someone sent me a recipe for Guinness cupcakes, I had to admit I was intrigued.

First step, gathering the usual baking suspects, as well as some key “special guest appearances.” To make these tasty suckers you’re going to need:

A stick and a tablespoon of unsalted butter
A bottle or can of Guinness (though I bet other non-hoppy dark stout beers would work well in a jiffy)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 oz cream cheese
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup milk (optional)
Muffin tin
Bowls
An oven

Also pictured, but not necessary:
A bottle of tequila
A Netflix movie

So, preheat the oven to 350. In a saucepan melt the butter (cutting the stick into chunks works best).

Add a cup of Guinness or your beer product of choice. Side note: Beer and butter smell pretty strange together, though not entirely unpleasant.

Next, turn off the heat and add the cocoa and brown sugar. You can use a whisk to mix things together. I’m not that fancy, so I just used a fork. Things will start smelling really good at this point; and this is the pan you will probably want to set aside later for the kids (or neighborhood stoner) to lick.

Meanwhile, back at the countertop, whisk (or fork) the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla together. Make sure you mix it until it’s smooth.

Dump the cocoa and beer mixture into the sour cream mix. You might want to lick this bowl too, but try to avoid it because of the raw eggs.

Sift in the flour and baking soda. I don’t have a fancy-schmancy Martha Stewart sifter, so I use a colander. Works pretty well! You’ll want to stir things until there are no clumps.

Pour the batter into the muffin tins and bake for about 25 minutes, or until you can stick a knife in an have things come out clean. Side note: The knife trick only works with baking, not with people.

Now let’s make the frosting. I only have one mixing bowl, so I decided to use a pot. Also, the instructions required a mixer, which I also don’t have. No problem though. Since I have a gas stove, the pot, which had been sitting on stove, had warmed, and when I added my block of cream cheese and busted out my trusty fork, the warmth of the pot made whipping without a robotic arm much easier.

After whipping the cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar together, the instructions stated that I should add some milk. I decided that I should live on the edge a little, so I substituted Guinness for milk. It gave the icing a faint stout flavor, but wasn’t overwhelming. You can also make the icing thinner or thicker by playing with the amount of milk/beer you use. Ice those bad boys up after letting the cupcakes cool for ten minutes or so.

And here’s the final product. The Guinness isn’t really detectable except for the slight flavoring of the icing. So, if you were expecting a really thick pub cake, you might be disappointed. However, if you love super rich, moist cupcakes, then this is the recipe for you.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at April 11, 2008 2:12 PM | Comments (0)

 

Is bottled water tapped out?

Filed under: Food

Restaurant-goers no longer need to feel like cheapskates when responding to a server's "Sparkling or still?" with an awkward, "How about tap?": The faucet is hip again.

Twin Cities restaurants are joining nationwide efforts to eschew unenvironmental bottled water in lieu of tap through a campaign called Think Outside the Bottle,

which reports that producing bottles for the US bottled water market required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil last year--that's enough fuel for 1 million US cars for a year. Plastic water bottle production generated more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide last year and when bottles aren't recycled, more than 4 billion pounds of PET plastic bottles end up in landfills or as roadside litter.

I'm all for drinking tap water in lieu of wasteful bottled, with one caveat. When I dined at an upscale restaurant in downtown Minneapolis recently, the tap tasted so fishy, probably due to spring run-off that I switched to bottled..and felt like a total ass about it.

Think Outside the Bottle participating restaurants:
Annie's Parlour
Barbette
Birchwood Cafe
Bryant Lake Bowl
Common Roots Cafe
Ecopolitan
Egg & I
Kafe 421
Kitty Cat Klub
Sunny Side Up Cafe
Red Stag Supperclub
Restaurant Alma
Sapor Cafe
The Lexington
Cafe Amore

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 10, 2008 1:34 PM | Comments (3)

 

Build a Better Cheese Knife...

Filed under: Gadgets

Those who deal with cheese know that slicing the stuff is more challenging than it looks. Good cheese is temperamental. A nice aged parm or cheddar, for example, would rather flake, break or just plain crumble than sheer off in a clean, healthy slice.

Enter: The Cheese Knife. The theory: a plastic knife comprised of little stacked triangles with work better than a lovely Henckels or Wusthof. And, lo and behold... it works.

The cheese doesn't stick to the side of the knife. Instead, it slices through even aged and fussy cheeses as though they were butter. Is it worth the $19.99 (at Kitchen Window)? That depends. If you go through 10 pounds of cheese a year, probably not. 50 a year, most definitely.

Posted by James Norton at April 10, 2008 2:32 AM | Comments (4)

 

An Amazing Moment

Filed under: Food

Those fortunate enough to dine at Amazing Thailand this past Saturday were able to observe a fleeting yet elegant spectacle: The restaurant's general manager performing traditional Thai dance, while appropriately costumed and holding two flowers containing lit candles. Her sudden, smiling appearance at my table was one of the most pleasantly striking moments* I've enjoyed in a lifetime of dining out.

Amazing Thailand (which I reviewed shortly after it opened) has become one of my favorite restaurants. This is not merely because of the food (which ranges from decent to excellent) or the decor (which includes an actual tuk tuk parked in the foyer), but because of its spirit. You can tell that this is a place that is fighting to do well, and winning over an increasingly large and loyal following in the process.

The idea of having someone perform Thai dance to traditional music in the middle of the dinner hour is not everyone's cup of tea, and it has to be somewhat nerve-wracking to perform while onlookers wolf down spring rolls and pad siew. Speaking personally, however: Sometimes taking this kind of a risk can give patrons an intangible but precious gift: a memorable moment of grace.

---

*(Least pleasantly striking moment: dining at Casa de Lara in Madison and watching a waitress drop an enormous platter of glassware onto the tile floor, and then have to pick up the pieces, sobbing quietly, while the entire restaurant gawked. I still sometimes wish I could travel back in time and help her pick up the shards, but then I think: Wouldn't that have just made it even more awkward? Then again: Is it possible for anything to have been more awkward? The whole moment was so riveting and terrible that it was like a ten minute one-act play about the nature of humiliation.)

Posted by James Norton at April 8, 2008 12:57 AM | Comments (2)

 

Your Pathway to Pizza

Filed under: Food

If you're plugged into the local blog scene, you probably already know that Aaron Landry blogs about pizza with an almost frenzied dedication. And you probably already know that Ed Kohler (of The Deets) is one of the most juiced-in dudes within several adjoining counties. But did you know that Kohler has assembled a Google map of Landry's pizza investigations?

Posted by James Norton at April 3, 2008 7:35 PM | Comments (1)

 

Musical Chefs

Filed under: Restaurants

A few updates, in case you're wondering whatever happened to...

-Peter Botcher, who did impressive work at Restaurant Levain and Barbette, has returned to the kitchen of his former mentor, Vincent Francoul, so I'm expecting great things of the spring menu at Vincent.
-Eric Sturtz, formerly chef of Cafe Levain, moved to Duluth and is now cooking at the New Scenic Cafe. Adam Vickerman was promoted as his replacement and has started sourcing more local ingredients and offering Sunday night prix-fixe dinners.

-Justin Frederick, formerly of Grand Cafe is now with Saul Chavez at Masa. Jon Radle came over from Corner Table to head the kitchen and the cafe is now offering tasting menus (call ahead to request) to showcase his talents.
-Greg Westergreen of Clancey's Meat & Fish has returned to cooking at the Nicollet Island Inn.
-David Vlach, who wowed us at the Town Talk Diner, handed the reins to his sous chef, Tor Westgard, and just left for a year in Spain--hopefully he’ll be back.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 3, 2008 12:32 PM | Comments (1)

 

Kitchenwarez: Poachpods

Filed under: Gadgets

Unless you're a fan of homemade Eggs Benedict, poached eggs may not be a big part of your kitchen routine. The ins and outs of Hollandaise aside, Eggs Benedict are somewhat fussy breakfast option that can bring a load of class to Easter or New Year's brunches, or that romantic morning-after detox session with a newly made acquaintance.

Although the sauce is the linchpin, the eggs aren't exactly a slam dunk. Poached eggs can go wrong in a number of ways; if the water is at too hard a boil and/or you put the eggs in too quickly, you get a veritable jellyfish of cooked egg white that becomes a drippy mess when you finally haul it ashore with a slotted spoon.

At $10.99 for a set of two at Kitchen Window, the Poachpod offers a relatively ingenious way to make foolproof poached eggs. Each Poachpod is a little silicone bucket that floats partially submerged on the water, cradling an egg. The silicone is thin enough to let heat through to cook the egg, but it slows down the cooking time; poached eggs take about 5 minutes, as opposed to under 2 by the conventional method.

The up side is a less damp, evenly formed, always elegant egg. Cleanup is reduced from an egg-coated pot and slotted spoon to simply a little, easily scrubbed silicone pocket.

Not only do these things make Eggs Benedict easier to execute, they put poached eggs — which are swell on top of toast, for starters — into your regular morning rotation. Is that worth $11? That all depends on your lifestyle, actual and/or desired.

Posted by James Norton at April 3, 2008 9:01 AM | Comments (0)

 

Splendid Table at the Fitz

Filed under: Events

Lynne Rossetto Kasper is going Garrison on us: This Thursday she's staging a public taping of her radio show, The Splendid Table, at the Fitzgerald Theater. The event is intended to promote Kasper's new book, How to Eat Supper, co-authored with producer, Sally Swift, which goes on sale April 8th. Kasper will be joined by Road Food correspondents Jane and Michael Stern and Chris Kimball (Cook's Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen) will play Stump the Cook with an audience member via the phone. If you're a fan of the show, this one's not to be missed--an MPR press release promises "Ms. Kasper's signature brio."

WHEN: 7 p.m. this Thursday, April 3
WHERE: Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange Street, St. Paul
TICKETS: $15 (MPR members receive a discount). Contact the Fitzgerald Theater box office at 651-290-1221 or visit www.fitzgeraldtheater.org.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 1, 2008 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

 

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