Butcher & The Boar in Downtown Minneapolis

Butcher and the Boar in Minneapolis
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

Standing outside Butcher & The Boar, waiting for our dining companion and a table, we had some time to consider the name. It sounds like a sequel to one of Hemingway’s novels, substituting a noble and tusked wild pig for the old marlin. If it were, burned out English majors would only have to wander down Hennepin Avenue to find out how the epic battle ended. There the scent of roasted pork, sweet and smoky, lingers outside the restaurant’s doors — clearly, the butcher has triumphed.

If we hadn’t already been planning to eat there, we would not have been able to resist the smell, no matter the wait. If you go — and you should — it’s easy enough to get a reservation, which we recommend lest you end up on the sidewalk outside this much-lauded restaurant making up stories rather than inside drinking whiskey and eating all kinds of tasty, tasty meat.

Hemingway probably would have approved of the Butcher & The Boar on the whiskey alone. As previously mentioned, we counted 63 different bourbons, ranging in price from $3 to $14 for a one-ounce shot or $12 to $15 for a flight. At 5:30 on a weeknight the bar is packed with fellows with one hand thrown back over the chair and the other cradling a bourbon, talking work and enjoying the restaurant’s comfortable yet industrial vibe. The bar seating is all white leather dimly lit by broad steel beams set with bare incandescent bulbs, filaments aglow; the dining area is open and airy, with wood tables and a view into the shiny, stainless steel kitchen. They may be enjoying it too much, as one fellow was heard to say, “I gotta go. I haven’t seen my kid for a week; I need to go home and tuck him in.”

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

If you don’t favor bourbon, there’s also wine and an impressive list of some 58 or so local, national, and imported beers on tap and in the bottle. We do, and so ordered a Hennepin Avenue Manhattan ($10), which combined Makers Mark with elderflower liqueur, sweet and dry vermouth, bitters, and three macerated cherries to create a nicely balanced drink; smooth, flavorful, just sweet enough — and rather deadly. (We recently learned that the secret to macerating cherries is soaking dried cherries, not fresh, in a simple syrup and spice concoction overnight before you put them in the brandy.)

On the fruitier side, the Juicy Basil ($10) layers Basil Hayden and Triple Sec in a tall, summery glass with orange and cranberry juices. It was so refreshing and tasty that a dining companion, who decided she did not love her Manhattan as well, stole mine.

On another night, we enjoyed the Negroni ($9), a concoction of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. We had tried a similar drink at Marvel Bar, which tasted delightfully like a super-fortified Campari and very nearly put us under the table. Although still aperitif forward, the Negroni was smoother and less like an herbal remedy — just right before dinner.

Butcher and the Boar Beef Rib
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

Then there was the meat. Chef Jack Riebel (formerly of the Dakota) has created a menu that mimics the formula of classic steakhouses with a la carte meat and giant, shareable sides, but not the flavors. Instead, his dishes feature aggressive notes of acid, smoke, and heat. It makes sense: if you are going to emphasize bourbon, you need all those big flavors to stand up to it.

Only once did this prove an issue: The Green Salad ($9) came dressed in a sweet vinegar and, seemingly, nothing else. It curled our tongues, which was a shame because, between beautiful spring greens, giant chunks of bacon, and sweet cornbread croutons, this simple salad should have been a winner. On the other hand, The Petite Wedges ($10) were a universally beloved. Here the chefs managed to balance a handful flavors and textures — blue cheese, candied nuts, sweet tomato syrup, vinegar, and pepper — and create a highly successful update of the classic. Without bacon!

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

We also sampled the charcuterie with the plate called For The Table ($18). The Wild Boar Headcheese was out of this world: a bit like sushi, it paired layers of meat, soft creamy bits, and aspic with a bitter-sweet mustard that popped. Thin, tender slices of lightly Pickled Heart Marcella tasted, in a good way, like leftover steak. The Wild Boar Ham had a great pepper kick, and was so pleasant on its own we preferred to pair its molasses bread with the headcheese. Although a bit light next to its companions, the Venison Summer Sausage was appropriately mild and tangy — we wouldn’t kick it off a camping trip.

If we had to compare the charcuterie to plates around town, Butcher & The Boar is on par with Haute Dish and Craftsman, but the latter is better value. Still, two people could potentially make a meal of the charcuterie plate if they combined it with the wedge salad and a side of Texas Toast ($3 hot, buttered, awesome).

Charcuterie isn’t the only thing that unites Butcher & The Boar with its local contemporaries — the restaurant is firmly on trend with the likes of HauteDish, The Strip Club, and The Sample Room, serving up manly, gutsy food that has one foot planted firmly in the land of meat and potatoes and another squarely in the world of contemporary gastronomy. Call it a reinvented steakhouse if you must, where tradition takes a firm modern twist without losing sight of what made un-reconstructed steakhouses so popular in the first place.

Butcher and the Boar in Minneapolis
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

The only issue with making a meal out of the charcuterie plate is that you would miss the Turkey Braunschweiger with Black Truffle ($10), which is not included — and that would be a travesty. Light as air, it tasted briefly of whipped bologna, and then melted away, leaving only the truffle, musky and delicious. We fought over it.

You’d also miss out on the big meat, not the least of which was the Smoked Beef Long Rib ($32). Coated in a classic barbecue sauce, spicy hot and sweet with molasses, the rib was described like this by a bourbon-infused Texan: “This rib falls apart at a harsh word, damn near as good as my daddy’s.” It came with a warm yet still crunchy slaw of carrot, cabbage, cilantro, and tortilla — a nice surprise — that complemented the rib nicely.

The Double Cut Berkshire Pork Chop ($27) was also met with enthusiasm for its rich smoke tang and maple flavor. Somehow the outside of the chop was wonderfully succulent, while the inside was less so — that did not stop us from devouring it. At four fingers tall, it definitely was enough for two, especially paired with a side of Bourbon Orange Carrots ($8), which were subtly sweet and beautifully presented in a range of light yellow and orange hues.

Alternatively, if you’ve had enough sweet and vinegar, the Blackened Cauliflower ($7) is seasoned only with salt and pepper and very pleasing with a nutty, roasted flavor.

The 8oz Flatiron ($24) was a perfect, rosy medium rare served slightly charred with salt and pepper on top. It came with an elusive yet appealing smokehouse sauce that tasted vaguely of sriracha and horseradish. The waitress, protecting house secrets, would only say, “We take the flavors out of the smokehouse and make an aioli.” What does that mean?

Even the sauce could not save the funky beer-battered potato sticks served alongside the steak; they were oddly mushy on the inside and overly salty. (How can this be? We loved his fries at the Dakota.)

Butcher and the Boar Fish of the Month
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

And now for something completely different: We ordered the Fish of the Month ($Market), which turned out to be a beautiful little trout, stuffed with greens, wrapped in bacon, drizzled with green goddess dressing and radishes — set on a bed of broccoli foam! Not only was fish on foam a little disconcerting — bringing to mind polluted storm water on the tide — but it was also incongruous with the rest of the menu. Here was this trussed up fish among all these simple plates of meat.

All silliness aside, the fish ended up being a favorite. The meat and greens melded together, tender and smoky under the bacon, and paired beautifully with the tarragon-dominant dressing. The foam may have been superfluous, but it tasted just like buttered broccoli. One dining companion declared she could eat a bowl of it.

After all that, it was hard to think about dessert, but we did, and so ordered the Bourbon and Coke Float ($7). Made with Mexican coke, Jim Beam, and caramel ice cream, it went down incredibly smooth and delicious — and soothed our scratchy throats. This is our only real complaint of the place: During the dinner rush, the noise builds to a roar, and it’s almost impossible to be heard without yelling.

All in all it was a fantastic meal, and we are looking forward returning this summer to dig into the sausage menu — and enjoy another Juicy Basil in the relative quiet of the outdoor patio.

Best bet: Start with the Petite Wedges ($10) and Turkey Braunschweiger ($10), and then move onto the Smoked Beef Long Rib ($32).

Butcher & The Boar
Meat-forward American in downtown Minneapolis
Rating: ★★★★ (Superb)

1121 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55403
612.238-8888
CHEF: Jack Riebel
HOURS:
Sunday 5pm – 10pm
Monday to Saturday 5pm – 12am
BAR: Full
 (Open ‘til 12am Sun, 1am Mon-Thurs, 2am Fri & Sat)
RESERVATIONS / RECOMMENDED: Yes / Yes
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN: Yes (limited to sides and salads) / No
ENTREE RANGE: $9-$85

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

10 Comments

  1. kory

    I’ve read in a few places how tender the beef long rib was. The two our group ordered were overcooked and needed knives to crack the hard crust. Everything was under seasoned. Apparwntly it’s only four stars if you are a restaurant critic.

  2. ribbed for pleasure

    Four star ratings or not, you’re only as good as your last plate.

    I once had a sausage after hearing chef brag about the fois gras quality of the breed of hog he was using that was barely edible -unbound, clumsily over seasoned, and poorly/destructively grilled. The rillets that preceded it were served in a beet soup that was bitter (unpeeled beets) and weakly seasoned. This from a recognized highly lauded “chef”.

  3. ribbed for pleasure

    Reibel’s sausage is extremely delicious. I was speaking of a culinary train wreck at an undisclosed “highly lauded” location.

  4. mpls cook

    I’ve been here three or four times now, and I have always left fairly happy with the food. Although some of the food needs seasoning adjustments, some of it is fairly heavy handed with the salt and is rather one note. The prices also seem to be fairly high for what is provided.

  5. Robert

    We went on Memorial Day, it was just bad. Dark, loud, salty and bad. I will not go back. If a reviewer gives this place more than two stars you should question the validity of that review. If I could give only one comment it would be this: For goodness sake do not eat the pork chops!

  6. RussC

    Went here last night after reading many favorable reviews and couldn’t believe I was in the same place. First off – great bar areas, especially the patio and very good beer list. We were off to a good start. Grilled oysters were good, then the wheels feel off. Charcuterie plate – meats solid but that’s it. Too much acid/vinegar and unfortunately, that’s all I could taste. Killed the course. Ordered the long rib – huge disappointment. Very tender but the creosote taste made it almost inedible. Inedible for my wife / almost for me – we didn’t finish it and that would be hard to do because it’s not a lot of meat for $34. The bbq sauce was too sweet for this dish – couldn’t even taste the meat. I ordered the Texas sausage as well – not sure where in Texas this is supposed to be from but I expected something like a Mikeska style smoked sausage. This was more like a smoked beef sausage smothered in a sweet bbq sauce. Sides were okay – smothered greens, cornbread – except for the cheesy grits. We obviously skipped dessert and opted instead from home-frozen Flav-or-ice. Maybe I should have been drunk from bourbon like the reviewer almost suggests then I wouldn’t have tasted the food as much. 2 stars is about right. I’d give the bar 4 stars though. With this food and a couple of beers it was about $120 before tip (our wait staff didn’t deserve much – another problem) – so not bad. Great place to grab a drink but food not so much.

  7. Jerald Lee

    We are having a small dinner party on December 20 and would like to serve a standing rib roast au jus. Never having cooked one before, I was wondering if it is something you would cook for us and we could pick it up late afternoon on Saturday, December 20. If it’s not something you do, please let us know.
    Thanks.

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