Tu B’Shevat Dinner, Peppers and Fries, and More

Banner for the Tap: Food and Drink News

Exciting goings on at an emerging farm-to-table hub and the debut of the first Twin Cities area cocktail room in today’s edition of The Tap.

shepherd-song-tap-logo-final-keylineThe Tap is a biweekly feature created by the Heavy Table and supported by Shepherd Song Farm. “We raise 100 percent grass-fed lambs & goats traditionally, humanely, and sustainably.”

shepherd-song-green-keyline

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.

Courtesy of Daniel del Prado
Courtesy of Daniel del Prado

Haute Cuisine Tu B’Shevat Dinner (Feb. 3)
Beth El Synagogue 5225 Barry St W, St. Louis Park

The Beth El Synagogue of St. Louis Park will be hosting a remarkable eight-course meal to celebrate Tu B’Shevat, a holiday known colloquially as “Jewish Arbor Day.”

Reservations for the Feb. 3 meal are open to all, and the culinary firepower being brought to bear on the project is considerable. Contributing chefs include Chef Daniel del Prado of Burch Steak & Pizza Bar, Chef Tony Pester of Pescara in Rochester, Chef Thomas Boemer of Corner Table, and Chef Dawn Drouillard of Fabulous Catering. Each will present two of eight courses highlighting the “Seven Species of the Land of Israel.” (Not scientific species, but Biblical Israeli foods including wheat, barley, grapes [wine], figs, pomegranates, olive [oil], and honey. Honey may refer to date honey or bee honey, so that Species will receive two interpretations.)

According to del Prado (above), cooking haute cuisine kosher is a serious challenge, from correct meal prep to ingredient sourcing. “It’s very hard to do, actually,” he says. His dishes include the barley and wheat courses; for the former, he’ll make a barley butternut squash soup with blue borage flowers and seaweed, and for the latter, a beef tartare with lavash crackers and pickled wheat kernels with mustard seeds.

When we mentioned never having tried a pickled wheat kernel before, del Prado replied: “Me neither! I like traditional, rustic, classic foods, but I always like to put a little hook on it.”

The dinner features a kosher wine pairing (moving from light to dark), and seating is limited. Reservations are $125 a person and are available online.

James Norton / Heavy Table
James Norton / Heavy Table

Peppers and Fries (opening later this month)
3900 E Lake St, Minneapolis

Promising “scratch-made, juicy burgers and hand-crafted burritos,” Peppers and Fries is the latest establishment to join the Longfellow / Lake Street boom that includes Parka (now Dogwood), Le Town Talk, Sonora Grill, Zeke’s Unchained Animal, and the upcoming Urban Forage Winery. Peppers and Fries will be opening in a former SuperAmerica, joining Wise Acre Eatery and Victory 44 in making the shift from fuel for cars to fuel for people.

The sports-themed project (think lots and lots of televisions) is helmed by the father-daughter team of Steve and Marie Frias, who come from the family behind Boca Chica, one of the Twin Cities’ longest-lived Mexican restaurants.

Screenshot from .com
Screenshot from .com

Band Box Diner (possibly closing)
729 S 10th St, Minneapolis

The Band Box Diner in Elliot Park is attempting to raise $5,000 from the public to replace their ailing grill; “if it reaches the end of its useful life, we are out of business.” [Via Secrets of the City]

NOW OPEN

Daniel Murphy / Heavy Table
Daniel Murphy / Heavy Table
Brenda Johnson / Heavy Table
Brenda Johnson / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Isabel Subtil / Heavy Table
Isabel Subtil / Heavy Table
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

CLOSED / CLOSING:

  • Spill the Wine
  • Tryg’s (closing Jan. 31, 2015)
  • Wuollet Bakery, Hennepin Ave location
  • Pracna on Main
  • Solera
  • Digby’s / Eat Shop, Plymouth location
Di Noko's Pizzeria
Daniel Murphy / Heavy Table
  • DiNoko’s Pizza (possibly re-opening in South Minneapolis) | Our review
Boneyard chicken and waffles
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
  • BoneYard | Our review
  • Heartland Market (closing New Year’s Day, reopening April 2015)
  • Nye’s Polanaise Room (closing 2015)
  • Lynden’s Soda Fountain (closed until April 21, 2015)
  • Terra Waconia (closing end of February)

COMING UP:

Minneapolis

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
  • Peace Coffee, Capella Tower | January 2015
  • Il Foro, City Center, Minneapolis | Spring 2015
  • The Wedge Table, 2412 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis | Jan. 26, 2015
  • Nighthawks, 3753 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis | Early 2015
  • Seward Co-op Friendship Store, 317 38th St E | Summer 2015
  • Erick Harcey project TBD, 4312 Upton Ave, Minneapolis | Feb. 2015
  • 56 Brewing, 3134 California St NE, Minneapolis | Spring 2015
  • Prairie Dogs, 610 West Lake St, Minneapolis | Early 2015
  • Urban Forage Winery and Cider House, East Lake St, Minneapolis | Fall 2015
  • Lost Falls Distillery, 1915 E 22nd St, Minneapolis | Early 2015
  • Bradstreet Neighborhood Crafthouse, 1930 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis | Early 2015
  • The Herbivorous Butcher, Minneapolis | 2015
  • Pizzeria Lola concept TBD, 165 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis | 2015
  • Vellee Deli, Baker Center at 30 S 7th St, Minneapolis | Early 2015
  • Sassy Spoon, 5011 34th Ave S, Minneapolis | Feb. 4, 2015
  • Corner Table project: Revival mid-South / fried chicken restaurant | 2015
  • The Bachelor Farmer Cafe Project To Be Named, 200 N 1st St, Minneapolis | 2015

St. Paul

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
  • 11 Wells Cocktail Room, Historic Hamm Building, St. Paul | Spring 2015
  • Lexington (new ownership), 1096 Grand Ave, St. Paul | Spring 2015
  • Saint Dinette, 280 E 5th St, St. Paul | Early 2015

Greater Twin Cities Area and Beyond

  • Crepe and Cake, Plymouth | March 2015
  • Gator’s Grilled Cheese Emporium, 955 E Sheridan, Ely | Spring 2015
  • The King and I Thai (reopening), 760 Highway 110, Mendota Heights | 2015
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
  • New Bohemia, 8040 Olson Memorial Highway, Golden Valley | 2015
  • Grand Rounds Brewing Company, 4 3rd St SW, Rochester | 2015
  • Wicked Wort Brewing Co., 4165-4175 W Broadway, Robbinsdale | Fall 2015
  • Belle Vinez Winery, River Falls, Wis. | 2015
  • Skaalvenn, 8601 73rd Ave N, Suite 28, Brooklyn Park | Awaiting licensing approvals
  • Voyageur Brewing Co., 233 W Hwy 61, Grand Marais | Early 2015

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.