Top Tastes
By Andrew Zimmern
I have been poring through local food writers’ ‘best of’ lists, which is a sure-fire way to stoke the fires of my small-minded and punitive judgmental thinking. But here is something I really and truly am thinking about these days. Since Dara is now gone from City Pages, Ann Bauer and Jeremy Iggers are handling more and more food writing at The Rake and its online little sister, and the Strib has its all-star food-writing lineup set to handle the work load of Taste (and budgets over there being what they are), does this mean that Stephanie March takes the CP gig? Do they let an intern now handle food writing at the alt weekly? And will Jeremy and Ann take over the monthly print job, or is their task to simply fill pages online each day? They must be getting paid to produce a lot of copy, and they have decades of experience between them. Are we to believe they are just going to log on and blog on? Both are savvy writers. Iggers has more of a workmanlike style honed over many years churning copy at the Stribune. Bauer is a very good writer, more of a craftsperson than I will ever be—I am more of a hack. But reading their columns throughout the last month and finally seeing Bauer’s piece touring us through the highlights of her year of eating was the biggest buzz kill of my day. Sample Room? Kinhdo? Coffee News Cafe? Pizza Luce? Atlas Grill? Anne, you need to get out and eat more!
Someone at The Rake needs to send these folks out to dine at the restaurants in town that are really making some noise. Bauer hedges her list in the opening graph, insisting that many list makers are simply showing off when they compile lists or are trying to impress with their breadth of knowledge . . . or both. Uh, yeah. They are, and they should.
Any food writer, dining critic, call it whatever you like, has to be conversant with the vast majority of the eating scene, especially in a city like ours, which has a relatively small number of quality restaurants to become familiar with. What about La Belle Vie, Heartland, and about two dozen other restaurants in town that are kicking ass every meal period? And if small, cheap Asian hybrid joints are more your style, I could name about sixteen places I would recommend to anyone before I would send them to Kinhdo. Anoush Ansari and his Hemisphere partners (Mission/Via/Kabobi/Flame, which is their new restaurant that will open in May 2008) own and operate Atlas, and they are great restaurateurs and know how to run a business. I am sure they are flattered by the nod Bauer threw their way for their salmon, but I think if you asked them, they would name a dozen places with a better piece of sautéed fish than their own Atlas Grill. So, now that I have that off my chest, anyone have some fun food experiences to share? Mine from last year are below, not in order of importance:
Patricia Quintana week at Masa
Heartland on principle and because I love the ‘everything from scratch’ vibe.
Mike Phillips’ Minnesota prosciutto at Craftsman
Brasa for pork and greens and grits
Krakowska at Kramarczuk’s
Foie terrine at Cosmos
Sautéed fish with pickled vegetables at The Teahouse
Quail with pineapple at 20.21 . . . and brunch as well—the smoked salmon alone is worth it.
Almost anything at Peninsula
Morton’s for a salad, a steak, and some creamed spinach
Oysters at Oceanaire
Striped bass at Alma
Everything I ever ate at La Belle Vie, and each time I go there, it gets better and better.
The vegetable sides at 112
Mussels and a wedge of pate at the bar at Vincent
Homestyle tofu at Little Szechuan
Lunch at Que Nha—you can’t go wrong.
Passion fruit and chocolate dessert insanity at Chambers, and its truffle pizza and the ridiculously good galangal dipping sauce
Steamed walleye with ginger and scallion at Shuang Cheng
And I am sure I am missing plenty . . . mea culpa. And now that I am back in town for awhile, I cannot wait to check out Heidi’s, Meritage, Nick and Eddie, et al. I need to get up to speed.
© 2008 MSP Communications, Inc. All rights reserved
What you said about Ms Bauer- that's
what I was referring to in my comment
about MN Monthly food writing. It's
not really a lack of writing skills.
Dara has a piece this week in CP- when
is she out of there? And I love that you mention vegetable sides at 112- shows that you aren't always looking for the macho meats, and I agree- the vegetables are great there, including salads. Interesting you mention Shuang Cheng- I haven't heard them mentioned much in a while- I loved them until I had some old-tasting fish once and they were kind of snotty when I commented about it. I should get back there esp. now they don't have smoking in there any more.
Posted by: Faith on December 27, 2007 at 12:41 PM
You can and can't pick apart anyone's lists. For example, the Pioneer Press list doesn't have any of Heartland's dishes because Kathie doesn't like Lenny's food. Too bad, her loss.
Andrew, I'm surprised Carl's Gizmo Sandwich didn't make your list....just kidding.
A few of my highlights, both for food and experiences. I think a lot of us forget how much one influences the other:
-Restaurant Week dinner at D'Amico Cucnia. They have kind of been the standard-bearer for so long we forget them from time to time. Everytime I go, everything is always so spot on.
-Dinners at Mancini's. When you talk about restauranteurs, how Nick Mancini got ignored by this magazine year after year shocks me. Is there better food out there, Yes. Is there a restaurant where the total experience (food, service, atmosphere) is better? That list is so short that a 1st grader could memorize it. Mancini's is a throwback to the classic restaurant. John and Pat have done a great job in keeping things going after Nick's passing. It's sincerly my hope that the Mancini's (along with the Murray family, the Mpls. equivalent) get recognized for their achievements as restauranteurs instead of the newest "hip" trend (that might be out of business in two years time) at some point.
-Barramundi at Heidi's. Also Stewart's Butternut Squash Soup. Such a simple soup to prepare, but his shows a touch most of us wish we had.
-Cassoulet at Meritage. Perfect meal on a cold winter night. Plus, the view is just as good as Nick and Eddie out the window. Actually, I'd say it's better.
-The Tony Bourdain dinner at Solera. Good food, good laughs, good people for Tony to make fun of who thought they knew it all and liked Rachel Ray. What's better?
-Apps at La Belle Vie or Jp's American Bisto. Andrew at Jp's gets a nod here for being one of the most gracious hosts in town, and No, that's not just becuse he brought foie gras to the table that one time :)
-Wild Boar Head Cheese at the Heartland Wine Bar. AZ, I think you were there when Lenny took that baby apart weren't you?
-Rack of Lamb at La Grolla. I know a lot of you think this is a hit or miss place. I happened to get one of the hits that makes me realize how good that place could be.
-Adult malts at Town Talk along with the garlic fries. Closest to S.F.'s Pac Bell Park in this town except for the Fair.
-Pot Roast at The Modern Cafe with my parents after winning $800 betting on the Breeder's Cup Horse Races. Anytime you can buy Mom and Dad a quality dinner to prove your not a ramen noodle-eating degenerate is memorable right?
-Ribs at Teddy Cook's 19th hole BBQ. Best traditional ribs in town, bar none.
Happy New Year and good eating to all in 2008.
Posted by: Danny Breeds on December 27, 2007 at 1:24 PM
Lamb Brains at Saffron (along with many of their other appetizers).
Pho at Que Nha.
"Something Strange But Good" menu item at Vincent (Normandy-style Tripe Stew, Sauteed Sweetbreads). And yes - enjoyed at the bar!
Flat Iron Steak at Cafe Twenty Eight
Posted by: Russ on December 27, 2007 at 2:02 PM
Boy do I agree with Peninsula! My wife and I discovered them just a couple of months ago and have been back several times. They make their own tofu and it is so good. Reminds me a bit of a great Seattle restaurant named Wild Ginger.
Posted by: chris on December 27, 2007 at 3:21 PM
I have never been able to figure out what people see in Punch Pizza. I find it bland and soggy. I'll take Pizza Luce anyday.
How about a nomination for good old comfort food? Fat Nats has the best breakfast in town and the owner is usually doing the cooking.
Happy New Year Chef Andrew
Posted by: Dave on December 27, 2007 at 5:44 PM
Salads! Please, a quick salute to the very different yet equally delightful duck salads at 112 and JPs. I'd also like to offer that a year that saw the rehabilitation of butterscotch desserts is a very good year indeed. Man, if Brasa added a butterscotch dessert I would just sleep outside in my car.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Posted by: Flasky Jameson on December 28, 2007 at 8:36 AM
If you really want to take someone to task for Ann's choices, it would be me instead of her.
She said in her introduction: 'my ten most memorable eating experiences of the year, touched by all the emotional, irrational, and regional variables', and Pizza Luce, and Kinhdo (and others) were my suggestions. Pizza Luce Duluth delivered a pizza to our hotel room for our 1 year anniversary, and we had takeout from Kinhdo followed by cozy DVD watching on TV several times.
While I'm sure these don't meet your technician's standards for perfect food, they were highlights of my year. Maybe not the best from a clinical exacting viewpoint, but definitely the best: good food with a wonderful person.
j
Posted by: John Gateley on December 29, 2007 at 10:08 AM
Here is Frank Bruni's (NY Times) look at 2007.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/dining/reviews/26year.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Posted by: Russ on December 30, 2007 at 1:00 PM
Everything I have ever eaten at Corner Table. I keep preparing myself for that dish that is just ok, and 3 years later i keep being amazed and delighted.
wild boar liver at Heartland
Spicy pumpkin soup, duck breast and pappadelli at Craftsman
Salsa Dynamite at Origami West
Crab cakes and green goddess dressing at Oceanaire
Lounge fries at La Belle Vie
Tacos at Taco Loco and Taqueria La Hacienda
Posted by: Jen on December 31, 2007 at 7:56 PM
For the record, I thought Ann's piece in the Rake about working in Hell's Kitchen for a day was very funny.
Posted by: Faith on December 31, 2007 at 8:45 PM
Punch vs. Luce is a good litmus test to determine whether or not someone should be compensated to critique food as a aid to the general public or whether or not. Punch is a pretty good rendition of authentic pizza. The ingredients and preparation are of a quality that simply yields a more complex and authentic product than Luce. Luce may hang its hat on originality instead of authenticity, but what good is an original piece of mediocre work? Cheap cheese, jammy, shelf-stable tasting sauce, and the excess flavor used to mask a doughy, one-note crust distracts from any creativity the pizza manages to convey. It's sort of a "chain-plus" experience. Better than Dominos, but not THAT much. To me, if, all things being equal, you're heading to Luce over Punch, you might as well tell me that the finest beef in town is served at the Arby's in the Northstar building downtown. Although it's a sad admission for Bauer to make, it's useful as a guidepost for her other criticism.
Posted by: Daniel Noonan on February 10, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Spot on Noonan, couldn't agree more.
Posted by: Andrew Zimmern on February 12, 2008 at 8:44 AM