When you pay $14 for a sandwich, as you do for the Lamb Reuben at Seward Co-op’s newly opened Co-op Creamery Cafe, you expect something really serious. The Cafe delivers, in spades, serving up one of the best sandwiches in the Twin Cities. (See also: the best pastrami choices we highlighted in our recent grand tour of that art form.)
The glory that is this particular Reuben is the sophisticated interplay between the lamb (tender, earthy, bits of char) and the gently tangy, not over-sweet Thousand Island dressing. That the dark Russian rye bread it’s served upon has a stout texture and a strong but disciplined flavor is just a bonus.
There are a lot of strong points of view represented in this sandwich, but they pull together like a stout team of oxen. Every bite is high-volume without being loud, and the texture is agreeable without being meek or soggy.
The Creamery Cafe, helmed by former Third Bird chef Lucas Almendinger, seems firmly dedicated to taking simple ideas (the turkey club, the grilled cheese, the hamburger) and throwing top-notch ingredients and technique at them. The Lamb Reuben is an example of how it’s done: a classic buffed to perfection.
Co-op Creamery Neighborhood Cafe, 2601 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55406; 612.230.5575
That looks & sounds fabulous. I thought the whole menu at Co-op Creamery seemed pricey at first glance, but then I learned the café has a no tipping policy, which brings prices more in line, and servers are paid a living wage. Pretty progressive, I think, but then what else would you expect from Seward Co-op?
A Proud Member-Owner
My theory is you can tell a lot about a restaurant by its reuben. If they are willing to put in the care and effort to produce something that uses a bunch of unique ingredients, then they probably do everything pretty solidly. Love to hear about this new reuben and I will definitely be checking it out soon.