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.
Courtesy of OTG management
When Delta announced on Tuesday that it was “redefining” dining in the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport with 12 new restaurants, all attached to beloved names in Minnesota chefdom, there was both excitement (“Real food at the airport!”) and skepticism (“Real food at the airport? Yeah, right.”)
Both, as it turns out, are a little premature. Although Delta announced the names of the participating chefs and the management company, it won’t be able to sign an agreement until the Metropolitan Airports Commission signs off on the deal, according to Delta spokesperson Leslie Parker.
While Delta holds the lease on Concourse G in the Lindbergh Terminal until the end of 2020, its rights to the concessions on the concourse end December 31, 2015. At that time the rights revert to the MAC. In order to sign a long-term lease — as anyone making tens of millions of dollars in improvements would want — the MAC needs to be in on the deal.
The commissioners will meet in June to discuss the proposal and vote. MAC spokesperson Patrick Hogan says of the new Concourse G dining plan, “It’s an exciting proposal and we’ve been impressed by what we’ve seen… but it will come down to whether the dollars make sense.”
Courtesy of OTG Management
If the dollars do indeed make sense for the MAC and all goes according to plan, in January 2012, New York–based OTG Management will begin opening the dozen new restaurants along Concourse G one at a time, although the order has not been determined yet.
Choosing OTG over the incumbent, HMSHost, represents a significant change. HMS, which operates in more than 100 airports around the world, holds most of the concessions at MSP, even contracting to operate some of the non-chain restaurants like Ike’s and French Meadow.
OTG, on the other hand, operates in just nine airports — and in some of them just a Dunkin’ Donuts or two. But at the JFK JetBlue terminal, OTG has created what Food & Wine magazine has called “an unrivaled culinary monopoly on airport restaurants.” Then, the magazine notes, “LaGuardia’s Delta Terminal may soon be giving JFK’s JetBlue Terminal some healthy competition for top airport dining.” Surprise: Those restaurants, too, were created by OTG.
The modus operandi in New York is similar to what OTG is using at MSP: Get well-known chefs to create concepts, menus, and recipes and provide a little training and quality control over the course of the coming year. OTG owns, manages, and staffs the restaurants.
That’s something Chef Lenny Russo of St. Paul’s Heartland wants to make very clear: When (and if) the Mill City Tavern — the restaurant attached to his name in the proposal — opens in Concourse G, it will not be his restaurant. He is serving as a consultant. His name’s not on it, and it is not attached to the Heartland brand.
“If [customers] go in there expecting to see Lenny Russo, Russell Klein, Doug Flicker standing on the line, then they’re fooling themselves. That’s not what [OTG] contracted us for,” Klein says. “Is it going to be what you’re going to get at Meritage or at Heartland or at Tanpopo? No, but it’s going to be close.”
Russo says that he will provide OTG with four seasonal menus, recipes, a week of on-site training, and quality control — meaning he’ll eat a couple of meals a month in the restaurant and provide feedback to the chef there. He has also turned over his list of local farmers and purveyors to OTG and is encouraged that the management company has already met with some local farmers. Continue reading Delta Proposes New MSP Dining Options »
Kate N.G. Sommers/Heavy Table
Can a natural foods store go from the first spark of an idea to a grand opening in just eight months? Why, yes. Yes, it can.
In March of last year, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Tribal Council met to discuss possible uses for a new building across the street from Mystic Lake Casino. The space, built at the same time as a new credit union, had been slated for offices that didn’t pan out.
Lori Watso, a community health worker and Shakopee Community member, remembers rushing to the microphone. That building, she told the group, would be perfect for a natural foods store, something she felt the community desperately needed. Watso made a formal presentation at the tribe’s general meeting in May; designers and contractors were mobilized almost immediately, and on November 22 of last year, Mazopiya opened its doors. (The word means “storehouse” in Dakota. Pronounce it with the stress on the long “o”: maz-OH-pee-ya.)
Kate N.G. Sommers/Heavy Table
The 6,500-square-foot store looks an awful lot like your friendly neighborhood coop: A bright, clean produce area welcomes shoppers; familiar brands like Amy’s, Seventh Generation, and Kadejan Farms fill the shelves. Chef Andrew Knowland is on site to fill the deli cases with roast chicken and vegetarian-friendly salads. There’s even a small coffee bar, a couple of tables, and a well-equipped community room for classes. Wooden bowls by native artisans are for sale, along with the tribe’s own brand of bottled water, Mni-Yuska. Even the building itself has the right credentials: It’s heated with geothermal energy and the exterior is silver LEED certified. The tribe is working on paperwork to certify the interior renovations.
Kate N.G. Sommers/Heavy Table
Before Mazopiya opened, the nearest natural foods store to the Shakopee reservation was Valley Natural Foods in Burnsville, a half-hour drive. Even the nearest Cub and Super Target are four or five miles away. Picking up milk on the reservation meant a stop at a convenience store. Mazopiya’s location in a newish mini mall on a main road and within walking distance of a residential neighborhood should be a slam dunk for any kind of grocery store.
But Watso doesn’t want convenience to be the only benefit the store brings to the community. “I don’t want people to shop here because it’s the only place,” she says. I want them to gain an appreciation for clean food and what it can do for their bodies.”
Kate N.G. Sommers/Heavy Table
“I want to address the chronic health issues that not only we [the Shakopee Tribe] experience, but the native community as a whole and the general population. I want to help people with heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, obesity, and cancer,” Watso says. “However, I’ve become kind of tired of talking to people about these things. The best thing to do is provide people with good food. If we eat right, many of those chronic conditions will go away.” Continue reading Mazopiya Natural Food Store »
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
This last Friday I stopped in to the Town Talk Diner for an early dinner. I hadn’t been in a few months as my more recent visits had been met with mediocre food and questionable service. Since it opened in 2006, it has gone from rock-solid on every single visit during founders Aaron Johnson, Tim Niver, and David Vlach’s leadership to hit-or-miss lately, seemingly declining a bit with each ownership and chef change.
We snacked on cheese curds and shortly after we ordered our dinner, our waiter came back, squatted down, rested his arms on our table, and looked at us straight in the eye: “I don’t know a good way to say this so I’m just going to say it.” In short, the kitchen staff had left. I inquired further, and he explained the diner had hired a sous chef from 112 Eatery and a few of that chef’s friends. Upon receiving this news, the kitchen staff quit en masse and walked out. Replacements were “on the way” and we could wait close to a half hour for food — or we could leave and the appetizer would be on the house. I wonder, given this situation, who would stick around and pay to find out how this plays out? Our waiter was extremely apologetic and tried to do everything he could to ease the situation, even offering us a gift card, which we declined.
Another story emerged when I talked with Town Talk Diner’s sous-chef Eric Moore and Kim Ngoc Tong (who was the last original employee from 2006). A couple weeks ago, they and another of Town Talk Diner’s staff jointly put in their resignation notice. Their last day was to be on Sunday, October 17. When this news spread, a number of others decided to follow independently, eventually putting the total people leaving the Town Talk Diner around 10. Continue reading Major Turnover at the Town Talk Diner »
by Tricia Cornell on August 27, 2010
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
You can get a serious crawfish po’ boy at Minnehaha Falls. At Lake Calhoun, you can get a fresh, flaky battered fish sandwich that even coastal dwellers would crave. The seasonal restaurants at both Minneapolis parks, Sea Salt and Tin Fish respectively, have become destinations separate from the charms of the parks themselves.
But, except for a nostalgic cone of peppermint bonbon or a bag of popcorn, nobody goes to Lake Harriet for the food.
That should change around Memorial Day of next year.
This afternoon the Minneapolis Park Board staff put forth a proposal to grant the new concession contract at Lake Harriet to the team who creates the food at Barbette, Bryant-Lake Bowl, and Red Stag. The full board will vote next week.
The new restaurant will be called Bread & Pickle, with an emphasis on casual, local food, including brats, grass-fed beef burgers, and whole-grain salads. The proposed menu, which will change seasonally, has everything priced at $7 or less.
“We heard loud and clear the heritage of Lake Harriet as a picnic spot and wanted to respect that,” said Kim Bartmann, founder and manager, along with her sister Kari Bartmann, of Barbette (shown below), BLB, and Red Stag. “We’re just really passionate about local foods and all the things that surround that. The park is a very public place. We want to continue to serve these foods at an affordable price: It’s for everyone and not just customers at high-end restaurants…. Bryant-Lake Bowl has been serving grass-fed burgers for years and we want to be able to do that now at Lake Harriet.”
What Bartmann (pictured in a file photo above right) is really excited about, she says, is her new plan to offer European-style picnic baskets, complete with a blanket from the local company Spruce Linens. Customers will be able to order online, choosing among breads, cheeses, and sweets, and pick up the basket in the park.
The early-morning walkers who fill path around Lake Harriet while the rest of the city sleeps may also be excited to hear that Bread & Pickle will serve a full breakfast menu, including egg sandwiches, granola, yogurt, and fruit — a first for Minneapolis parks.
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
But perhaps the most innovative thing about the menu is what Bread & Pickle won’t be selling. Under beverages, the proposed menu reads, “Minneapolis tap water (it’s free, look to your left).” That’s right: a concession stand that won’t sell bottled water. Instead, inexpensive refillable metal containers will be for sale. Continue reading Kim Bartmann’s Bread & Pickle Poised to Win Lake Harriet Concession Contract »
Lars Swanson / Heavy Table
Restaurants sometimes suffer quietly, but the story of St. Paul’s Flamingo restaurant and its fight for life merits telling.
Flamingo was born out of an unusual vision. Its owners, Frewoini Haile (above, left) and Shegitu Kebede (above, right), arrived in Minnesota in the 1980s and ’90s from the warring countries of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Recovering from traumatic pasts (Kebede was orphaned at age five and separated from her brothers in Ethiopia; Haile’s family was exiled from Eritrea), the two found each other and began thinking about the many women like themselves who were struggling to find a place in the Twin Cities.
Lars Swanson / Heavy Table
In 2006, Kebede received the Virginia McKnight Binger Award in Human Service for a cleaning business she started. Going Home, Inc., had the primary goal of giving refugee women the tools they need to thrive in a new and unfamiliar community. In addition to job training and cultural support, Kebede’s business fed a quarter of its profits back into the community. In the words of close friend Mona Carloni, Kebede was “teaching [women] from the inside out.” Since January of this year, Kebede and Haile have used this same model to create Flamingo, where they serve a mixture of Eritrean, Ethiopian, and Somali dishes, such as lamb-based stews and curries, lentils, collard greens, and injera (a soft, porous bread). Haile says both she and Kebede “know the pain that other women go through.” For this reason, she and Kebede not only want Flamingo to be a place to enjoy East African culture, but also a place “where women can accomplish their dreams.”
Lars Swanson / Heavy Table
But a passion for food and good intentions could not stop the electrical surge in June that left the women with a heap of useless appliances and a refrigerator of spoiled food. In an effort to regroup, they closed their doors for a few days, but the financial blow has kept them struggling to pay utilities and rent. Because the surge was out of everyone’s control, insurance cannot help the women recover their losses, and they have also been turned down for a loan. What they need more than anything are patrons. Kebede and Haile love to cook, but their food is really the catalyst to connect women in need with the community that surrounds them. A meal at Flamingo means hot, honest food, but also the promise of moving forward.
Flamingo
490 N Syndicate St
St. Paul, MN 55104-2500
651.917.9332
HOURS: Mon-Sun, 10am-9pm
Take-out, catering, and delivery are all available.
Lars Swanson / Heavy Table
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
Chef Mike Phillips has built a strong local reputation in recent years for his work at the Craftsman, particularly for putting together what many consider the best charcuterie plate in the Upper Midwest, and among the best in the country.
Now, he’s leaving the Craftsman and going into business with Kieran Folliard, whose Cara Pubs (The Local, Kieran’s, Cooper, and The Liffey) are local powerhouses. The two will be partners in a new venture called Green Ox Foods, “an innovative food production subsidiary to provide artisan meat products and charcuterie,” according to a PDF press release issued today. “Our long-term objective is to develop Green Ox into a brand that gives our region an artisan food product with far ranging retail distribution.”
We chatted by phone with Phillips about his new venture.
Kate NG Sommers / Heavy Table
What are the initial hurdles you need to clear before you launch?
There are so many hoops to jump through — we’re still looking for a large space to make fresh sausage, and we’ve got to deal with putting together a HACCP plan, and other details.
When can we start tasting this new product?
Hopefully by this coming St. Patrick’s Day [Mar. 17] — that would be a best-case scenario. But we’d like to start doing a charcuterie plate at The Local in the next couple of months.
What’s the story with the new facility you’re working on?
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
It’s a cool project — it’ll be synergistic with a commissary kitchen for Cara Pubs. When I’ve thought about this idea over the years, one of the main challenges was having some kind of anchor product to support the project while meat aged out — salami, you know, takes three months, copa three months, hams can take three years. So sausage for the pubs, that’s the anchor. We’ll be producing bacon and ham, too, using whole animals.
How’d you come up with the name?
That’s all Kieran — the idea was to tie the product to the region. So the ox is a reference to Paul Bunyan, and green is about sustainability and environmental awareness — and also a nod to Irish heritage.
What’s this mean for the Midwest?
All over the world, you see regional pride in product — it really irked me when Bertolli came here and took our pigs for their products… I thought: “Wait a minute, those are our pigs!” So we’re taking them back.
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