June 29, 2008 - July 5, 2008

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Free Beer Friday: MGD Light and Samuel Adams

Filed under: Brews, Etc. , Brews, Etc.

After surviving the trauma that was last week's Thunderbird tasting (the bottle is still in my office, half full), we decided to take a break from the candy–colored flasks that are found in what I like to refer to as "the aisle of shame" section of the liquor store. We decided to sample three beers that had been recently sent to my office: Miller Genuine Draft, Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier, and Sam Adams Coffee Stout.

We started with the Samuel Adams beers. These two brews aren't currently available in stores, City Pages staff were invited to be part of a taste test between the two unusual varieties. The company is currently tabulating votes from food critics around the country, and the winner between the two flavors will be added to the Samuel Adams Brewmaster's Collection in January 2009.

The first beer we sampled was the Blackberry Witbier, a wheat beer brewed with coriander, orange peel, and blackberries.

Ben Palosaari: It's not horrible. It tastes like fake blackberry.

Ward Rubrecht: It almost smells like a wine. A really shitty wine.

Nate Patrin: I can't really pinpoint the blueberry–ness of it.

BP: That's because it's blackberry.

NP: See, there's the problem.

Mike Kooiman: I think the people that are into this sort of stuff (berry beer) would really like this.

Jessica Armbrutster: Hmmm. It's got a blackberry nose and a very yeasty aftertaste. Wheat beers sometimes have a heavy Wonderbread taste. This would be one of those beers.

Bradley Campbell: It tastes like beer consumed from a dirty glass where blackberry lip gloss was leftover on the rim.

NP: Sam Adams: The Backwash Line.

Next we cracked open the Coffee Stout, which gets its flavor from Rwandan coffee beans.

BP: Not bad, but the smell is terrible.

WR: The smell is bad, but the taste is great. And I don't normally like coffee.

JA: This tastes like good beer with black coffee.

Matt Snyders: This is ideal for the type of person that drinks beer and coffee while writing.

JA: Not that you have ever done that.

(there's a pause while we finish our sample)

NP: Do you need a rag?

BP: Why?

NP: 'Cause you're a snot.

JA: You guys should have to have a dance off.

(Extremely lame dance moves ensue, the room clears out somewhat)

Finally, we finished things with Miller Genuine Draft Light, a light beer that boasts 64 calories and2.4 carbs.

JA: This tastes like seltzer water. Or it taste like beer that had ice in it, but the ice melted. Regardless of how it tastes, the drunkorexics are really going to love this. 64 calories is crazy–low.

BC: It's a beer for ballerinas.

BP: I think this would be a good beer to give to a child, if you want to give a child a beer.

NP: This is the least remarkable beer I have ever had.

MS: And that, makes it remarkable.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at July 4, 2008 4:06 PM | Comments (1)

 

Drink of the Week: Slap Yo' Mama

Filed under: Drink of the Week

Stella’s Fish Café
1400 W Lake St.
Minneapolis; 612.824.TUNA
$9

Do you remember going to neighborhood block parties or sporting events as a kid and being forbidden from the "adult lemonade" cooler?

What was the big deal? Why was it adults–only?

Now you’re old enough to drink you know that whiskey and Country Time Lemonade isn’t that big of a deal, but Stella’s Fish Café’s Slap Yo’ Mama is. This hits–the–spot cocktail tastes the way citrus–y drinks should: Absolut Citron, the increasingly–trendy pomegranate juice, fresh mint, and fresh lemonade with big chunks of citrus fruit crammed into a pint glass with lots of ice. The end product is sweet, refreshingly, and irresistibly summertime. You'll smack your lips (not your mom).

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at July 4, 2008 4:36 AM | Comments (0)

 

"Taste" festival gets new flavor

Filed under: Events

Is it just me, or has the Taste of Minnesota's name a little misleading? The annual Harriet Island festival, which starts today, seems to be more about music than food--and the food they do serve, mostly corn dogs, funnel cakes, and other generic fair fare has never seemed particularly Minnesotan. Does the event really give you a Taste of Minnesota? Maybe just a nibble.

That might change when new owners--Cities 97's Brian Turner and event promoter Kevin Campbell--take over next year. According to an MPR report, they hope to spice up the fare by including more celebrity chefs and ethnic food.

If they're looking for ideas, I'd suggest they check out some of the vendors at the Midtown Global Market, and what places like Brasa and Chef Shack are doing with local ingredients. Next year, perhaps, the 5-8 will serve a Juicy Lucy made with Thousand Hills beef and Shepherd's Way cheese, and we can bite into the best our state has to offer.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at July 3, 2008 12:51 PM | Comments (0)

 

The Hot Dish Preview: 7/4/08

Filed under: Food

In tomorrow's edition of The Hot Dish, updates on St. Paul restaurants Krua Thailand and George's on Plato, the skinny on the Basilica Block Party's happy hour promotion and a rundown of the gastronomic offerings available at The Taste of Minnesota.

Also, The Hot Dish chats with ChopHouse manager Mark Luedtke about his restaurant's side dish contest, which is challenging local foodies to come up with new menu items for the eatery. Modest amounts of fame and fortune are at stake.

"We wanted an idea that would engage some of the local people —particularly the foodies who fancy themselves excellent cooks," Luedtke said. "The thought was, we'd engage them and give them an opportunity to try out some of their best dishes on the general public."

Not getting The Hot Dish? The City Pages email newsletter rounds up the latest restaurant specials, openings, closing, web-related wackiness and other gastronomic tidbits into one weekly short-but-sweet package. Sign up right here.

Posted by James Norton at July 3, 2008 1:47 AM | Comments (0)

 

Sweet Spot: Salty Tart's take-and-bake cookies

Filed under: Food

Michelle Gayer, formerly the pastry chef at the Franklin Street Bakery, and, before that, Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, recently opened her own shop, The Salty Tart, in the Midtown Global Market.

Among the olive-and-tomato-topped focaccia bread, rhubarb bars, and brownies, I discovered a 4-pack of take-and-bake dark chocolate chip cookies for $6...

I kept the cookies in the fridge, and, over the course of the next few days, baked them individually in the toaster oven (far preferable to turning on the 36' vintage Caloric when it's 85 degrees outside).

Cookies are always best fresh-from-the-oven, and these illustrate why that's the case: they're are crisp on the outside, gooey in the middle, and loaded with molten, bitter chocolate. I can’t say how they hold up after they’ve cooled, as I could never wait to find out.

**If you'd like to stay up to date on the latest food news, sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter, "The Hot Dish." Just click here to sign up.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at July 2, 2008 9:51 AM | Comments (2)

 

10 Killer Patios

Filed under: Restaurants

10 great patios, no particular order

10. Jax
There's a reason this old school Nordeast supper club has been going for 75 years strong: The leafy patio with its kitchy trout pond. They give you a net, and you literally scoop out your supper. Then the staff snaps a souvenier photo of you and your prize, cooks it up, and removes the bones tableside.

9. Sample Room
This renovated 1900s saloon is perched on the banks of the Mississippi River and it even has its own dock for boaters to pull right up to the restaurant. The "sampling" philosophy extends from small plates to spirts, with several flights of tequilas, scotches, and bourbons available.

8. W.A. Frost
St. Paul's classic cobblestone patio looks like a vast English garden--right now it's covered with greenery and flowers in bloom--and it's one of the few places in town that serves a multi-course chef's tasting menu for brunch.

7. Obento-Ya
This one's as tiny as an apartment building backyard, but the birch trees, soothing fountain, and funky mural make it feel cozy.

6. Black Forest
Tucked away from the traffic on 26th and Nicollet, this vine-covered enclave is a great place to knock back sauerkraut, spatzle, and German beers. Before you go, download an alphorn ringtone for your cellphone from their website.

5. Tin Fish
Snag one of the Adirontack chairs that looks out over Lake Calhoun and have a plate of grilled fish with a side of the city's best people watching.

4. Northcoast
This place has the most sophisticated food and digs out on Lake Minnetonka--not to mention a great view.

3. El Patio Mexican Grill
The owners of Tacos Morelos opened a place in St. Paul, with a patio so perfect, they named the restaurant after it.

2. Sea Salt
Sitting within earshot of Minnehaha Falls serves as a reminder of how fresh the catch is at Sea Salt.

1. Barbette
Fine, this one's not a patio, but the hard-to-snag sidewalk seats are tres romantic after dusk when they turn on the twinkling strings of lights.

**If you'd like to stay up to date on the latest food news, sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter, "The Hot Dish." Just click here to sign up.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at July 1, 2008 11:56 AM | Comments (4)

 

Tavern Surfing: The Lion's Tap

Filed under: Tavern Surfing

The first in what may become an ongoing series of bar eats reviews.

The Lion's Tap is located about 15 miles west of Minneapolis, which, in our gas-conscious times, makes it a dubious choice for supper and a beer. But at the advice of (and accompanied by) local tavern scholar and historian-in-training Brian Tochterman, my wife and I made the trek out to the wilds of Eden Prairie.

The landscape is unexpectedly dramatic once you travel far enough along Flying Cloud Drive. Steep greens hills overgrown with tall grass rise to the right; steep drops and a panoramic view of Grass Lake greet you from the left.

The semi-rural setting is appropriate for what is, in essence, a country watering hole, albeit a large and long-established one; the in-house motto

is both a testament both to its longevity and the juicy nature of its burgers.

Tap burgers boast relatively thin, extremely fresh, and juicy patties — these burgers are old school in the best possible sense of the expression. They range in price from $2.90 (a single hamburger) to $8.05 for a double mushroom Swiss. If you're an average eater, some sort of double ($5.55 and up) will do you right, although light eaters can easily get a single and leave happily fed.

The napkin thing is no bluff, either — if you're able to finish a burger without reaching for additional paper product support, you're either extremely crafty or you ordered your burger well done.

A meaningful burger ordering protocol is another point in the Lion Tap's favor — if you order the burger medium rare, it comes out medium rare. On that front, it's shocking how well-organized the waitstaff is; when we arrived on a Tuesday night, the bar was swamped and yet the seating / ordering / food delivery / check delivery process was seamless and almost instant.

It probably helps that the menu is so tight: it's limited to burgers, fries, draft root beer and a limited variety of largely domestic beers, served in chilled 7 oz. glasses that are far more charming in practice than they might seem in theory. In theory, 7 oz. is a tiny amount of beer. In practice, the beer stays nice and chilled, and finishing your beer is a treat, not a project.

Is it worth the drive? That depends, in part, on whether gas breaks the $5 a gallon barrier. I will admit that it only takes about an hour before you're thinking about how good another fresh, hot, juicy burger might taste.

And is it worth looking up next time you're in Eden Prairie? Most definitely.

Posted by James Norton at July 1, 2008 12:31 AM | Comments (2)

 

Pick This: Radishes

Filed under: Recipes

You don't like radishes, do you? Until recently, I didn't care much for them either, as my first memorable experience with them didn't make a great impression. I was a kid; my dad picked a radish from the garden, wiped the dirt off on the leg of his blue jeans, and handed it over. Its bite burned my mouth and bits of dirt gritted in my teeth. I didn't like radishes.

Years later, I gave radishes a second chance. Young ones, planted in the spring, that grew quickly and were harvested early, tasted crisp and juicy, with just a bit of heat. In The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper, I found what I think is the best way to eat them:

Belgian Beer Bar Tartine
Serves 1

1 large slice multigrain country bread, cut about 1/2 inch thick
2 to 3 ounces fresh cheese (I prefer the mustiness of sheep's cheese, like Miti Crema, to the tanginess of goat's cheese, but the recipe says even cream cheese would do in a pinch)
1 or 2 whole scallions, thin sliced
3 radishes, think sliced
coarse salt

1. Spread the bread with the cheese. Press the scalion slices into the cheese, than fan the radishes over them. Sprinkle wtih coarse salt.

**If you'd like to stay up to date on the latest food news, sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter, "The Hot Dish." Just click here to sign up.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at June 30, 2008 9:13 AM | Comments (5)

 

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