The latest from Twitter: @Peace_Coffee plays cupid with “Caffeinate Your Cutie,” @triplerockmpls is serving @surlybrewing Mild at $3.50 a pint, @bittercube celebrates the long-anticipated opening of Eat Street Social, and @Masu_NE will feature a suggestive little Valentine’s Day roll through Tuesday.
Sarah McGee / Heavy Table
“Minnesotans need to do more of this,” Jack Riebel said. Riebel, late of the Dakota and now chef at the upcoming Butcher and the Boar, gestured across a room of more than 150 people, seated shoulder to shoulder at beer-hall tables, plates piled high with sausages and cured meats. There was a low hum of conversation and a pleasing number of casual elbows on the table — a room saying, “We’re all friends here.”
I’m pretty sure Riebel meant more community meals, more family-style dining, more old-fashioned potluck block parties. But he also might have meant eating more fantastic sausage made by the area’s favorite chefs. And Sausage Fest, hosted last Thursday at the Summit brewery in St. Paul by the Twin Cities Daily Planet, offered a lot of both.
L to R from top: Sample Room, Modern, coppa from Green Ox, Natedogs, Clancey's. Sarah McGee / Heavy Table
The event was the Daily Planet’s second annual community fundraiser. Or, as Jeremy Iggers, executive director of the Twin Cities Media Alliance, likes to call it, a “friendraiser,” bringing together readers and supporters of the community news site. A little sausage — and a little free beer provided by Summit — can translate into a lot of good will.
The evening also marks the official merger of two of Iggers’ projects: The 3-year-old TCFoodies.com has now become part of the Daily Planet. Iggers is promising a fresh food story every day, in addition to a food-centric newsletter. Continue reading Sausage Fest, Hosted by Twin Cities Daily Planet »
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Cold winter air wasn’t enough to dissuade nearly 300 guests from joining The Heavy Table and 20 local purveyors of food and drink at Open Arms of Minnesota for the third edition of the North Coast Nosh sip-and-sample. Tours of the Open Arms facility and samples made by the organization’s chefs were among the highlights of the evening.
Guests enjoyed local cheese, beer, gourmet hot dogs, Nutella-filled doughnuts, Ethiopian Sidamo coffee, plated-on-the-fly Thai food, and charcuterie, among other things, but words don’t do the event justice — photographs will have to come to the rescue.
Below, from top down and left to right: charcuterie from Green Ox Meat Co., the baked goods and chocolate of Patisserie 46, Poplar Lake cheese from Shepherd’s Ridge Creamery, Harriet Brewing, St. Mary’s Grass Fed Gouda from the Caves of Faribault, and a portion of the assembled throng.
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Below, from top down: Peace Coffee pouring Ethiopian Sidamo coffee, Natedogs, a variety of beers from Summit Brewing, Joia Soda samples, Chowgirls Killer Catering, Crispin Cider, the Caves of Faribault, and The Beez Kneez Honey.
All photos by Sarah McGee except Chowgirls food by Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Below, from top down and left to right: the Nutella-filled brioche doughnuts from Bogart Loves Bakery, the wines of Saint Croix Vineyards, our glassware (sponsored by the Caves of Faribault), and beers from Lift Bridge Brewing. Continue reading North Coast Nosh III at Open Arms: The Recap »
Larry Binkovitz / Heavy Table
Editor’s Note: We don’t get much news from Rochester, so when two stories on ZZest Market & Cafe arrived in our inbox over the course of two days, we were a bit surprised. The subject matter suggested bundling, rather than a choice — one story is a brief review, the other a detailed account of a six-course chef’s dinner. We hope you enjoy both.
There is a silent battle going on in Rochester, Minnesota, and I’m not referring to Mayo Clinic’s fight against all the deadly diseases whose symptoms are vague at best. The town is divided on how to pronounce the name of one of its tastiest restaurants. ZZest opened in 2009. The owners Jerry and LeeAnn Zubay, and all its employees confirm it is pronounced Zest, saying, “two ‘Z’s’ for twice the zest.” However, many patrons have found that out in the community, should you refer to “Zest” you will find yourself corrected, “It’s called Zee Zest.” It’s a struggle to proselytize and after a while one finds it easier to pronounce the extra “Z” in ZZest, just to avoid the inevitable conversation.
Emily Friedman / Heavy Table
The one thing everyone agrees on is the food. Billing itself as “a market by day and a restaurant by night,” ZZest’s menu changes daily and features seasonal choices prepared with many of the gourmet ingredients found in the market. Starters include hackleback caviar with crème fraiche on caraway and rye crackers, or homemade skordalia — a Greek white bean and garlic spread made with potato, and piquillo peppers. Pan-seared diver scallops flown in from Massachusetts may be served with a roasted sweet potato puree with vanilla bean, sautéed pea shoots, macarona almonds, and a touch of pomegranate molasses.
A farm fresh lamb leg steak from Lambalot Acres in Augusta, WI may be served on top of greens with lima bean socca, pantaleo cheese, apple, preserved plum, and cubeb pepper. If any of those ingredients don’t sound familiar to you, the meal may inspire you to swing through the market on the way home and pick up something new. There are numerous oils, vinegars, honeys, chutneys, chocolate, and crackers on hand, plus cheeses and charcuterie, both local and imported from across the country and the world. Free samples play up the staff’s friendly attitude.
Emily Friedman / Heavy Table
It was easy to be skeptical about the buzz around ZZest’s food. The Zubays are also partners in Creative Cuisine, the company behind five popular downtown Rochester restaurants. While each of these have their merits and on average the food is good, none are known for producing the kind of meal one thinks about the next week, or raves about to friends. ZZest’s food is in a different class.
The atmosphere is that of a casual café embedded inside a market. The small space, open kitchen and neon “open” sign glowing in the window may be better suited for lunch (which they also serve). The prices however, reflect the quality of ingredients. The majority of the entrees cost around $22 and the restaurant boasts a strong wine list.
The best solution to this atmosphere vs. price and food quality incongruity may to be to come during the warm months when the patio is open. Overlooking the Zumbro River, it makes a credible claim for being the nicest patio in Rochester, where many of the outdoor eating options involve looking out over a parking lot. With luck, continued success will lead to an expansion and an additional dining room with an ambiance that pairs well with the food.
– Emily Friedman
New Year’s Eve Dinner at ZZest
When my parents moved to Rochester over 25 years ago, a Red Lobster followed close behind to a tizzy of anticipation and approval. Decades later, that Red Lobster moved to the Apache Mall and the crowd’s enthusiasm was no less piqued than for the first opening.
John Flicek nods all this off in his customary good humor. Dressed in his chef’s blacks, Flicek takes stock of his little corner of culinary empire, ZZest Market & Café. “There’s not a lot in Rochester,” he admits. This can be a mixed blessing for foodie establishments. Continue reading Two Dinners at ZZest Market & Cafe in Rochester, MN »
Natalie Champa Jennings / Heavy Table
As Candice Austin talked about becoming a chef, her voice began to crack a little, her eyes welled with tears, and she had to take a deep breath. A glance at the table of diners sampling her multi-course meal revealed she wasn’t the only one getting choked up.
Austin (second from left, below) is part of the chef training program at People Serving People (PSP) and, at a recent Chefs for Change event, she spoke about the path that took her from prison to the shelter’s industrial kitchen.
“This program has humbled me, and motivated me,” she says. “The experience I’ve gotten in this kitchen is beyond words. In my life, I’ve been a ‘taker,’ but when I came here and saw people working so hard to give, it changed me.”
Hearing Austin speak so sincerely about how the culinary program transformed her life gave the dishes a little more depth and flavor. How can any chef compete with an entree fashioned from such deep gratitude?
Natalie Champa Jennings / Heavy Table
The Chefs for Change series, which PSP calls “an elegant dinner party with a purpose,” doesn’t normally showcase the skills of these passionate trainees, which made the recent dinner unique. Past dinners (see our coverage of a previous event) have centered on a notable local chef, like Scott Pampuch representing Corner Table and The Barbary Fig’s Brahim Hadj-Moussa. Other participating restaurants have included The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Porter & Frye, and The Capital Grille. Continue reading Chefs for Change »
Weston Rieckenberg / WestonAlan Photography
On October 11, a collection of restaurant industry folk strolled the patio at the Lake Elmo Inn, a traditional supper club-style restaurant with a merry collection of vintage salt and pepper shakers parading the walls. And although the sun was shining and the ground was warm, the group quietly hemmed and hawed about the Indian summer. Any outsider might have labeled them ungrateful, but sleet or snow would have been a welcome surprise considering what the gathering celebrated: Lake Elmo Inn’s almost year-old Cabreeze.
Cabreeze founder and entrepreneur Kent Forsland designed the permanent glass enclosure to surround restaurant patios, allowing places like the Inn to capture that elusive outdoor dining fantasy that Midwesterners yearn for all the tortuous winter long. With UV protection, a retractable roof, a 90-mph wind rating, and the ability to withstand heavy snow loads, the Cabreeze can hack whatever weather Minnesota can muster. The Inn’s version of the Cabreeze is one of three present models (the others can be found at City Lounge and Hammond Hotel in Wisconsin).
The Inn’s owner and head chef John Schiltz says the Cabreeze has allowed him to absorb much more demand during the winter months. Last year the Inn seated more than 1,000 additional guests in December alone, and 500 additional guests
over Valentine’s Day weekend. But the Cabreeze has also become an unexpected point of delight in the community. It is affectionately known as the “snow globe” and “Lake Elmo’s newest chapel.” Continue reading A Tour of the Cabreeze at the Lake Elmo Inn »
Kate N.G. Sommers / Heavy Table
Sometime next year you’re going to be able to order this as you sit in the airport, waiting for the crew to arrive for your delayed flight to Cleveland: fennel-cured whitefish from Lake Superior, drizzled with a black pepper dressing and served alongside a fresh, crunchy fennel slaw and a hearty brown bread panzanella. It might even take the sting out of going to Cleveland.
That dish was created by Lenny Russo of St. Paul’s Heartland restaurant, but it won’t be cooked by him. He and 10 other noted area chefs have lent their names and expertise to restaurants coming to Concourse G. Restaurant management company OTG Management won the contract to operate the concessions on the concourse in May, beating out the larger and more established HMSHost, which operates most of the other airport restaurants.
Some construction has already begun on Concourse G, as old tenants vacate. OTG takes over concessions at the gate January 1 and will gradually roll out amenities over 12–18 months, according to Rick Blatstein, OTG’s CEO. The first three restaurants are tentatively scheduled to open in July: Mimosa, a brasserie and raw bar created by Meritage’s Russell Klein; Shoyu, a modern Japanese restaurant by Tanpopo’s Koshiki Yonemura; and Minnibar, a sandwich cafe by Andrew Zimmern.
While there will be seating in the restaurants, there will also be “iPad bars” throughout the gate area, loaded with menus that allow customers to order from any of the eateries on the concourse.
Blatstein explained the concept this way: “Travelers have some gate anxiety” — you’ve been there: You want a sandwich, but are afraid to miss an announcement in the gate area — “So let’s bring everything to them at the gate. We’ve rethought everything. We’re not going to act like we’re inside an airport. Anywhere you sit you’ll be able to order food.”
Delta and OTG previewed some of the menu items at an event last night at Heartland.
Kate N.G. Sommers / Heavy Table
Andrew Zimmern showed off the “Sven and Ole,” a mild meatball sandwich (akin to meatloaf) with pickled cabbage, which will be on the menu at Minnibar.
Koshiki Yonemura, chef and owner of Tanpopo, previewed the crunch roll that will be available at Shoyu. Light on the spice, it includes tuna, Dungeness crab, masago, and avocado, with a light touch of yuzu. Yonemura is consulting on Shoyu.
Erick Harcey’s Minnesota Beer Hall will serve crispy croquettes, filled with creamy potatoes, smoked chicken, and cheddar cheese, while his second concept, Custom Burger, will have lamb burgers with feta fondue on the menu. Harcey is chef at Victory 44. Continue reading Delta and OTG Preview New Menus at Concourse G »
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