Truce Brings Fresh Juice to Uptown

The Tap by James Norton

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Readers: Win Pint Glasses

The Tap loves restaurant tips from readers, so we’re awarding a Heavy Table pint glass to the best tipster of May and June. The Tap is the metro area’s comprehensive restaurant buzz roundup, so if you see a new or newly shuttered restaurant, or anything that’s “coming soon,” email Tap editor James Norton at editor@heavytable.com.

We’re pleased to have sent two tickets to the May 11 North Coast Nosh and Pre-Nosh to reader Paul Schadewald.

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

Pasticceria Cossetta (now open)
211 7th St W, St Paul, MN | 651.222.3476

Supported by a custom-dug basement kitchen and fit into the newly expanded, 40,000-square foot Cossetta’s Italian dining complex in St. Paul, the newly opened Cossetta’s Pasticceria doesn’t lack ambition. It offers dozens of varieties of cakes, cookies, and gelato flavors to visitors in a format that puts an emphasis on visual spectacle and traditional craft.

“There’s nothing in the Twin Cities that compares to this – we’ve taken the pastry shop to a whole new level,” says Cossetta’s Chef Ryan Caulfield (above). “In my mind, that’s the coolest part of the whole thing. I watch people’s faces when they walk in the door and it’s … amazement.”

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

“If we were going to make pastries, building a basement kitchen became necessary,” says owner Dave Cossetta. “[It] was quite costly, but by doing that, we’ve made the first floor into kind of an Italian food mecca.” He isn’t overstating the fact – in terms of square footage, the Cossetta’s complex is 80 percent the size of Mario Batali’s internationally heralded Eataly project, and, on top of that, it serves a metro area far smaller than the five boroughs.

This is an excerpt from James Norton’s upcoming profile of Cossetta’s Pasticceria, slated to run on the Heavy Table this Thursday, May 9.

Brenda Johnson / Heavy Table
Brenda Johnson / Heavy Table

Truce (now open)
1428 W 32nd St, Minneapolis, MN

Celebrities endorse it. There’s a cancer therapy center dedicated to it. Even Starbucks coffee has jumped in on it with their recent acquisition of a cold-pressed juice brand. And now Minnesota boasts its first fully-dedicated fresh-pressed juice bar. Truce (a cheeky portmanteau of true and juice) opened in late April in Uptown Minneapolis. Consume a heaping plate full of raw fruits and vegetables or quickly chug its equivalent from a $9 pre-packaged bottle? Dealer’s choice.

Co-owner Blaire Molitor (above, left, with co-owner Allie Pohlad) describes the thought process behind the shop’s juice offerings: “From the start we knew what we liked and what we didn’t like – we wanted to be able to taste each individual ingredient in each juice – never having one overpowering flavor. We also didn’t want any of them to be overly sweet or bitter. We tasted every pressed juice we could get our hands on and made notes on what worked and what didn’t. We then tested recipes over and over again until we were happy with the flavor balance. We had friends and family taste them to get additional feedback. Everyone is looking for something different – some people hate ginger, some want extra – so we tried to appeal to as many varying tastes as possible.”

Truce uses a large-scale hydraulic press based on the Norwalk method. Translated to home juicers, this means less air and more juice in the bottle. Much like the open-kitchen concept adopted by many upscale restaurants, the press is fully visible to customers via a glass door. If you visit early enough you might catch pounds upon pounds of fruits and vegetables meeting their maker as they’re shredded and pressed (think tons of pounds of pressure) to extract as many vitamins, minerals, and juices as possible.

Flavors range from Beginner’s Greens (kale, spinach, apple, lemon) to Root (carrot, orange, ginger, beet) to AMP (apple, mint, pineapple). Smoothies and detox cleanses will be offered soon.

This is an excerpt from Alyssa Vance’s upcoming profile on Truce, slated to run on the Heavy Table this Friday, May 10.

Teque Arepa (now open)
7733 Flying Cloud Dr, Eden Prairie, MN

The popular Hola Arepa food truck has a new local colleague: Teque Arepa in Eden Prairie. The restaurant sells the titular South American flat, unleavened cornmeal patties and opened recently in the former location of a Roly Poly sandwich shop.

Ideal Diner (re-opening?)
1314 Central Ave. NE, Minneapolis, MN

Our readers love the Ideal Diner in Northeast, or at least they love keeping tabs on it; after last edition’s tip that the space was shutting its doors for good, another reader reports that the once-popular breakfast spot is now hiring and remodeling for a presumed comeback. Stay tuned, and keep those tips coming…

Hot Indian Foods (launching this month)

Hot Indian Foods, a new food truck dedicated to serving up “Indurritos,” masala popcorn, and Indi-Frites among other specialties, is having its official launch event at the Harriet Brewing tap room on Wednesday, May 15. A series of other events follow, including a May 23 appearance at the Fulton Beer taproom, a June 1 visit to the Northeast Minneapolis farmers market, and an appearance on June 2 at Grand Old Day.

NOW OPEN

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
  • Morrissey’s Irish Pub, 913 W Lake St, Minneapolis | 612.465.8555
  • Franklin Restaurant, 137 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis. Formerly Azima.

CLOSED / CLOSING:

  • Franklin Freeze, 2328 E. Franklin Ave, Minneapolis | 612.568.2630; has re-opened as “Pita King”
  • Little Sushi on the Prairie, 8353 Crystal View Rd, Eden Prairie
  • Ideal Diner, 1314 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis
  • Kat’s Kitchen, St. Paul skyway
  • Primebar, 3001 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis
  • Cupcake Caramel by Sweets Bakeshop, 4747 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis; 2042 Marshall Ave, St. Paul
  • Glory Days Bar & Grill, 500 5th Ave NW, New Brighton
  • Kinsen Noodles and Bar, 1300 Lagoon Ave, Minneapolis
  • Fischerville Coffee House, 2150 Dodd Rd, Mendota Heights

COMING UP:

Minneapolis

  • North 45°, 1313 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis | 612.332.6000. Opens late April.
  • Ling & Louie’s Kitchen, 9th St and Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis
  • The Tangiers, North Loop. 116 1st Ave N, Minneapolis | 612.599.2651. Opens May 2013.
  • The Nicollet Diner, 1428 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis. Opens this spring.
  • Terzo, 2221 W 50th St, Minneapolis. New wine bar from Broders; opens this spring.
  • Tiny Diner, 1014 E 38th St, Minneapolis | 612.822.6302
  • Marin, 901 Hennepin Ave S, Minneapolis. Opens summer 2013.
  • Unnamed Gastrotruck restaurant, 2400 University Ave NE, Minneapolis. Opens in 2013.
  • Rocky and Shem’s Ice Cream Shoppe, 56th and Chicago, Minneapolis. Opens in 2013.
  • Sandcastle, Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis. Doug Flicker’s concessionaire restaurant at the lake. Opens spring 2013.
  • Town Hall Tap, 5019 34th Ave S, Minneapolis
  • Loose-Wiles Freehouse, 701 Washington Ave N, Minneapolis. Opens September.
  • Kitty’s Corner Cafe, 806 Washington Ave SE, Minneapolis

St. Paul

Greater Twin Cities Area

  • Tin Bins, near the corner of Main and Nelson Streets, Commander Grain Elevator, Stillwater. May 2013.
  • Sakana Sushi and Hibachi, Plymouth. June.
  • Travail, Pig Ate My Pizza, and The Rookery, Robbinsdale. Fall 2013.
  • Forever Yogurt, The Shops at West End, I-394 & 100. Opens before summer of 2013.
  • Egg and Pie Diner, 222 N Chestnut St, Chaska | 612.227.6999
  • Hammerheart Brewing, 7785 Lake Dr, Lino Lakes. Opens in 2013. | 651.964.2160
  • Sawatdee, 13300 Technology Dr, Eden Prairie. Opens in 2013.
  • Osaka Seafood and Steakhouse, Woodbury Lakes, Woodbury. Opens in 2013.
  • Punch Pizza, City Centre Dr, Woodbury. Opens June 2013.
  • Black Sea, 1581 E County Road E, White Bear Lake
  • Crooked Pint Ale House, Apple Valley; another location possible at 40th St. and Lyndale Ave.

The Tap is the Heavy Table’s guide to area restaurant openings, closings, and other major events. The Tap is compiled and published biweekly by the Heavy Table. If you have tips for The Tap, please email James Norton at editor@heavytable.com.