Doug Flicker’s Piccolo will open in the old Agri space restaurant that is currently Café Agri at 43rd and Bryant, and it should be up and running by January. I know it seems counter-intuitive to believe that a restaurant designed to serve a relatively small menu of small plates to a small group of patrons (no more than 30 seats) makes a difference on the local dining scene, but sometimes it’s the impression that counts the most.

Read more.

'Tis the season as they say. Regardless of what type of event or fundraiser it may be, local chefs and restaurants are usually a committee's first call for contributions. No group rallies around causes as well as the food world does.

Read more.

In The New York Times this weekend, reporter Michael Moss detailed the chilling story
of a Minnesota family's bout with E. coli, one that would make a vegetarian out of anyone. This is why, unless you are grinding your own meat or having a butcher you trust grind whole muscle, you should probably give up eating hamburgers. Makes you wonder what the meat sourcing is for the Twin Cities premium burger joints. I think many of them would proudly tell you the name of their purveyor, and I bet their purveyor would NEVER cop to their alphabet soup of suppliers. If I owned a burger joint, I would post a huge sign telling all my customers exactly where I get my beef from, all the way back to the farm, and anyone who can’t do that should close their doors.

Read more.

Over the last six months, I've felt that the food at Little Szechuan has slipped a full notch or two. I may now know why. Dan Luo, the owner of the new Grand Szechuan restaurant in Bloomington, has hired Little Szechuan head chef Luo Guanghe (who was also the head chef of the Teahouse in Plymouth) to run his new eatery. Grand Szechuan holds amazing promise given the guy running the kitchen. You can find the new restaurant at 10602 France Avenue South in Bloomington (at the intersection of France Avenue and W. Old Shakopee Road in the strip mall next to Cub Foods), and the number is 952-888-6507. See you over there tonight for a chili oil pig out! Anyway, let me know what you think. And yes e-mailers, I like Tian Jin in Chanhassen very much, just ate there once though.

Read more.

So I ate a slow-roasted goat the other night at Brasa, a Boer-Spanish cross. No, the restaurant is not changing its menu, it is simply offering special meals for larger parties at the kitchen-side lazy Susan table. Order a fancy goat or rare species of swine, and Alex and his crew cook it up. I was blown away. The goat was so moist and so perfectly goaty, with just the right gamy notes dancing around a lamby mouthfeel. Add those Brasa sides and I thought I died and went to heaven. Seriously, this is a big deal. Finally a place that can cook on a customers whim in a casual style…it was awesome.

Read more.

I thought last night's Top Chef Las Vegas might have been the best hour of food television I have ever seen. Michael and Jen have a sexual energy in that kitchen that had me screaming at the TV set for them to lose their serious looks and have at it right on the prep table while their lapin roasted.

Read more.

For me, the most poignant moment of the State Fair came late (9 p.m.) on Sunday evening, when my family and I were strolling in the Creative Activities building.

 

Read more.

Strange rumblings from readers regarding Nick and Eddie. My e-mail inbox has been lighting up like a Christmas tree for a week with reports of an exodus from the kitchen—Vranian gone (supposedly “bought out” a few weeks ago, which is oftentimes restaurant code for many other things), Steven Brown gone, and Flicker helping out at D'Amico Kitchen. Several friends who are regulars buzzed me to say they had asked about some of these chefs and were told they weren’t there anymore. Some of these folks were just cooking at N & E between other gigs, but some of them have been publicly despondent about the place on their social media pages.

 

Read more.

D'Amico Kitchen (see attached menu) opens on the 24th and will have a street-level patio area, a rooftop bar, and a lounge area with a DJ on weekends. There will be live entertainment and lots of stuff to get groovy to and the best news is that Doug Flicker will be working the line during the opening. This guy is a major league talent. John Occchiato has created a great menu and any restaurant where I can order suckling pig is A-OK in my book.

Read more.

With all the news about the new D'Amico Kitchen at the Chambers, it might be a good time to share something I got in my e-mail the other day. Check out these pix of the closing night at Cucina. (Go to Ciao Cucina under Portfolios.) Great stuff.

Read more.