And above all, 4 people tried Spam last night for the first time. And they liked it! Spam Musubis were the hit of the party.

Spam Musubi

We also have yummy chicken katsu rolled with spinach and Bull-Dog sauce. As well as beef bulgogi rolled with cucumber. Both were so delicious that Keldon had to make another round for people to snack on.

Katsu, Spam Musubi, and Bulgogi

The green salad with frisee and zucchini was overwhelmingly good. As were the cucumbers and green onions. I was pretty skeptical of the green onions, but I would definitely make them again.

And…. for the cake! For Keldon’s birthday this year, I made him a ukulele cake! (Please note: if you are clutzy like me, do not – I repeat DO NOT – attempt to use black food coloring.)

Keldon with his three ukuleles

the ukulele cake

Recipes coming soon for everything.

Gourmet sandwiches. YUM.

I’ve only tried the Italian Hero so far and it is DE-LIC-IOUS. They put this tangy olive tapenade on it and a huge chunk of fresh mozz. Oh yes, fresh mozz. My favorite cheese.

Aside from that, they layer on the ham, salami, etc. Lettuce, tomato. It doesn’t get much better than that. And they serve it with this incredible olive-pepper relish. I must try to get that recipe. The roasted vegetable couscous served with it was just okay.

And to top it off, they serve some great sodas made with cane sugar. No high fructose corn syrup there! (Including the ever-so-loved Bubble Up)

I should also acknowledge that the staff there is really great too. Very accommodating as a first time visitor and extremely fast take out (how does 5 minutes sound?).

Get there now! And let me know what your favorite sandwiches are from there! (Photo coming soon…)

Bewiched Deli

800 Washington Ave. North

Minneapolis, MN 55401

Telephone: 612.767.4330

Fax: 612.338.2108

HOURS

M-F 8-8

SAT 10-6

SUN CLOSED

Nicole and I were serving the main course this time, which also meant we would be hosting it at my house. I first thought an Asian inspired short rib recipe would be exactly what I was looking for. Until I found this recipe: Brasato al Barolo (Braised Short Ribs with Pumpkin Orzo and Horseradish Gremolata). YUM.

Then I thought…wait a second, this is from Mario Batali’s restaurant Babbo cookbook…hmmm…why does that sound familiar? Then it dawned on me! I finished a book at the end of November titled “Heat” – which is now one of my favorite books – about Bill Buford working for Mario Batali and traveling through Italy. Well, this dish is mentioned in great detail. I looked it up, laughed at the descriptions (it’s violently vulgar), and said “sign me up! this is the dish!”

I read some more about the region this dish comes from – Emilia Romagna in northern Italy and discovered this from wikipedia:

The city of Bologna is famous for its superb cuisine. Perhaps less well known is the fact that it lies at the heart of Emilia Romagna, a region celebrated both in Italy and abroad for the range and quality of its culinary delights. From the Adriatic coast of Ravenna and Forlì to the inland plains and river vallleys of Parma, Piacenza, and Modena, Emila Romagna is richly blessed with prime produce and ingenious cooks.

We preordered short ribs (not flank style but the cut with one bone per rib) and picked them up early that Saturday along with all the other ingredients, then went back to my place to get everything prepped. Have you ever grated fresh horseradish? It is STRONG. And it’s fleshy and weird – it kind of creeped me out a bit.

Either way, the dish was hands down the best dish I’ve ever made. It was simple enough to do again, although somewhat time intensive as it requires a long time in the oven. Although the recipe says to braise at 375 for 2 hours, the next time I would braise at 350 for 3 hours.

The table setting had an Italian theme with reds, greens, and yellows.

Here is the menu:

First Course

Antipasto platter of assorted meats, cheeses, olives, and breads

Paired with: Tommasi Poggio al Tufo Rompicollo, Maremma Tuscana, 2004

Second Course

Tagliatelle with Mussels, Clams and Pesto

Paired with: Tamellini Soave, 2005 (excellent wine)

Third Course

Braised Short Ribs with Pumpkin Orzo and Horseradish Gremolata

Paired with: Josetta Saffirio Barolo, 2002

*A special note about the wine: there is this fellow who suggests wine at the place I love to go (Hennepin Lake Liquors in Uptown – their selection and prices are unbeatable) who, in the past, has had a very low success rate at suggesting wines for me. My strategy for Sat? Avoid him AT ALL COSTS. Well…that unfortunately didn’t happen as another worker pointed me directly to him and there was no one else in the store. F*****ck. He ended up suggesting this wine and it was excellent. Thank god. It was $40/bottle and we bought 2. Josetta Saffirio learned how to make wine from her mom and dad, who are both professors of winemaking in Italy. This is her second or third vintage and only makes 3,000 cases a year.

Fourth Course

Various Cheeses: Taleggio served with honeycomb, Pecorino ginepro served with balsamic reduction and olive oil, Sottocenere al Tartufo, Blu del Moncenisio with fig pear spread, Valsesia Toma with fig pear spread, La Tur with honeycomb

Paired with: Ruvei Barbera d’Alba, 2005

Fifth Course

Panna Cotta with fresh strawberries and blackberries

Paired with: Felsina vin Santo Chianti Classico, 1999

recipes after the jump

Tagliatelle with Mussels, Clams and Pesto

serves 2 (we doubled this and it was MORE than enough for 10 people – next time I would not double it for a 5 course meal)

from Bon Appetit June 2000 on epicurious

12 littleneck clams, scrubbed

12 mussels, scrubbed, debearded

1 cup dry white wine

8 oz tagliatelle or linguine (if you can find fresh or make your own, go for it!)

6T pesto (you could purchase this, but homemade is so much better)

1/4 cup sliced drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

14 t dried crushed red pepper

Combine clams, mussels and wine in heavy large pot; bring to boil over medium-high heat. Cover pot; cook until shellfish open, about 7 minutes (discard any that do not open – they were already dead when you put them in and you will seriously regret trying one of these!). Using tongs, transfer shellfish to bowl; cover with foil to keep warm. Reserve shellfish juices.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in medium pot of boiling salted water until just tender (dry pasta will take around 8 minutes while fresh pasta will take around 3 minutes).

Drain pasta, return to same pot. Add reserved shellfish juices, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and crushed red pepper. Toss over medium heat just until sauce coats pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta among bowls, top with shellfish and serve.

Make sure to place an empty bowl on the table for discarded shells. To make this a little more exciting of an experience, when you serve this, freshly grate a hard, aged Italian cheese using a microplane grater per each person’s taste – a good parmesan reggiano or pecorino romano would be perfect.

Braised Short Ribs with Pumpkin Orzo and Horseradish Gremolata

Serves 4 (to make for 10, increase the ribs recipe by 2.5 for each ingredient; double the orzo recipe; leave the gremolata as is)

from Babbo Cookbook a la Leite’s Culinaria

SHORT RIBS

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

four 16-ounce beef short ribs

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 onion (white or yellow), roughly chopped

2 celery stalks (including the leaves – that’s where the flavor is!), roughly chopped

5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 cups Barolo or other full-bodied wine (rule of thumb: there are 3 cups, 1 cup=8 fl oz, in a 750ml bottle of wine, so if you’re doubling or tripling this recipe, you’ll need 2 bottles of wine; this is different than getting five 6oz glasses of wine in a bottle)

one 16-oz can peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, with their juices (I like Muir Glen the best)

1 cup beef stock

1/2 bunch thyme

1/2 bunch rosemary

1/2 bunch oregano

GREMOLATA

leaves from 1 bunch of flat leaf Italian parsley

zest of 2 lemons, cut into julienne strips

1/4 pound fresh horseradish, grated

PUMPKIN ORZO

1/2 pound pumpkin or butternut squash, seeded and peeled

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 T extra virgin olive oil

2 T honey

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 cup orzo

1 cup chicken stock

PREPARATION

MAKE THE SHORT RIBS

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). (NOTE: I would adjust this to 350 for 3 hours)

2. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over high heat until smoking. Season the ribs with salt and pepper and cook them over high heat until deep brown on all sides, about 15 minutes total. Remove the short ribs to a plate and set aside. Add the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic to the pan and cook over high heat until browned and softened, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the red wine, tomatoes and juices, beef stock, and herbs, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge browned bits. Bring the mixture to a boil and return the short ribs to the pan. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Cook for 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender and literally falling off the bones. (NOTE: I would adjust this to 350 for 3 hours)

3. (NOTE: This is an additional note from Heat) When the ribs are done, remove from braising liquid and place on a pan. You could cover with foil to keep it warm. Strain the liquid to remove all the chunks of veggies and herbs. Place strained liquid into a pan and bring to a boil on the stove. Reduce by half – this is going to make the most wonderful gravy of your life.

MAKE THE GREMOLATA

In a small bowl, combine the parsley, lemon zest, and horseradish and toss loosely by hand.

4. Divide the pumpkin orzo evenly among four warmed bowls. Place one short rib in each bowl, top with a little of the pan juices and a handful of the gremolata, and serve immediately.

MAKE THE ORZO

1. Cut the pumpkin or squash into 3 or 4 evenly sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with the olive oil, and wrap in foil. Roast in the 375°F (190°C) oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until very soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then place the cooked squash in the bowl of a food processor. Add the honey, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper and pulse to form a relatively smooth purée. Set aside.

2. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Set up an ice bath nearby. Cook the orzo in the boiling water for 3 minutes, to blanch but not cook through. Drain the orzo and plunge it into the ice bath. Once cooled, drain it and lay it out on a baking sheet to dry.

3. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a 12-inch sauté pan. Add the orzo and squash purée and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the chicken stock is fully absorbed by the orzo. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Participating restaurants in the Minneapolis area serve tasting menus during lunch and dinner throughout the week (although not all places offer both). Lunch menus range from $10-$30 and dinner menus are $30. Some restaurants also include a wine tasting flight to accompany the tasting menu.

Last year, I visited La Belle Vie during Restaurant Week and it was unbelievably phenomenal. Although we don’t intend to visit it again this time, I’m hoping there will be another Restaurant Week in March like last year.

Make reservations ASAP to get a table – they fill up fast!

Restaurants participating next week that I would recommend:

Azia Restaurant & Anemoni Sushi – they’re offering a sushi/sake menu in addition to regular menu options

menu | reservations | website

Cafe Barbette

Pip’s Plate review | menu | website

Cafe & Bar Lurcat

menu | reservations | website

Campiello – I’m not typically a fan of American Italian, but their menu looks pretty good

menu | reservations | website

Cosmos

menu | reservations | website

Herkimer Pub & Brewery

menu | website

La Belle Vie

menu | website

Masa – I’ll be hitting this up for lunch

menu | reservations | website

Otho Restaurant and Street Lounge – a new place downtown Minneapolis; the reviews on citysearch sound promising; I’ll be hitting this up for dinner

menu | website

Palomino – I’ll be hitting this up for lunch

menu | reservations | website

Red Stag Supperclub

menu | website

Saffron Restaurant & Lounge – Love love this place; I’ll be hitting this up for dinner

menu | website

Town Talk Diner

menu | Pip’s Plate review | website

Vincent

menu | reservations | website

You can see all of the participating restaurants and their menus at the MSP Mag’s website.

My sister and I are here visiting a friend, but she didn’t know I was coming. My sister cleverly booked my flight to arrive the same time as hers came in from Syracuse. When Jen came to pick us up Friday morning, we were sure we’d spilled the beans at least 4 times. Somehow, she had no idea and hadn’t picked up on our slips. The look on her face when she saw me was priceless! Have you ever had a surprise party thrown for you? It looked a little like that followed with a lingering of “I can’t believe you’re here!”

Thankfully, Jen understands the love of food. Our first mission? Drive out to the Loveless Cafe.

This cafe used to be a motel that also served food to travelers. The motel is now a series of little shops, but the cafe is still there and still rocking their delicious trademark biscuits.

Ahhh…..Southern hospitality. We sat down at our table and wahlah! biscuits with homemade jams arrived at our table with our server’s friendly smile.

These biscuits are tender, flaky, warm and a little bit crispy on the tops and bottoms. They’re clearly made with lots and lots of butter – but how else would they get so delicious? Fat is flavor! But the best part of these biscuits is the taste – they have a hint of that cakey buttermilk pancake flavor. Unbelievably good.

The second best part of these biscuits is the homemade jams that come with them. (Note: this picture is our second plate of biscuits – hence the partially eaten jams.) Strawberry, Blackberry, and Peach jams – it’s a toss up for my favorite but if someone put a gun to my head and made me choose, it would be the peach. Little chunks of fresh peach swim in syrupy jamminess. But the blackberry is really good too – it’s easy to forget the seeds in this jam because it’s packed full of ripe berriness.

And then the food – I ordered the BBQ Pulled Pork and Eggs. I looooove BBQ pulled pork, but this was out of this world good. Pork and eggs? What an easy way to redo steak and eggs!

The pulled pork was so tender and moist. It had a slight smoky flavor and the sweetness of the BBQ sauce made it taste like a little slice of heaven. I almost forgot where I was when I first took a bite. And mixing it was the eggs? Also delicious. The right way to have breakfast.

But last night? I’m pretty sure that was the best hamachi I’ve had. When I picked up the first piece of sashimi, it was a nice pink and it practically fell apart – revealing the tasty fat that I was about to consume.

And the fat…it’s the kind of fat that spreads out over your tongue and fills your mouth with flavor. Good fat. Really good fat. It was overwhelmingly satisfyingly fresh and delicious…and at the same time I was sad that it was over so soon.

Oh, hamachi. I will never get enough of you.

We also had an excellent server- Robin. Ask for him if you go. I think he was a little surprised how much food we ordered, but he did want to sit down with us and eat…we must have good taste.

We ordered a hella sushi. It might’ve had something to do with our lack of eating for a cool 6 or 7 hours. Jamba Juice doesn’t cut it, but it does get you through.

We started with Yaegaki Junmai “Black Bottle” sake – it was dry, smooth, light, delicate and a little floral. It was excellent. I will definitely be looking for this again. Also tried an unfiltered sake which was also good. As Robin put it, “it’s like sake from a cow.” Ew…

As for sushi, we had quite the array, as you can see:

The hamachi was outstanding. I feel better about the quality of hamachi on this trip versus the one last year. Sushi Groove also had an excellent selection of specials, including Hawaiian butterfish – Walu. It was soooo good. This is why I feel like sushi is like a drug – whenever I have it, I have to have more. It is addicting to eat something as good as that walu. It was melt in your mouth delicious.

Also, the ivory salmon was outstanding. We had it nigiri style and I sure felt the burn on that one- the surprise of extra wasabi was quite unexpected but welcome. We also had the aji sashimi (that would be the fish in the picture). It was pretty good with the mashed ginger they served with it.

We tried a few rolls and they were pretty good too- dynamite (which they put dollops of Sri Racha on – LOVED it), eric’s maki (scallops with tobiko and avocado I think), gari saba (ginger and mackerel), and kamikaze (yellowtail, avocado and tobiko). Yummo.

Overall, it was a lot of fun and we enjoyed all of the sushi.

Sushi Groove

1916 Hyde Street

San Francisco, CA

415-440-1905

They are also on open table for reservations.

Chateau Grand Cassagne Costiere de Nimes Rose 2005

Around $10/bottle

This is the perfect summer wine. If you have a problem drinking the pink stuff, get over it. This isn’t Beringer. This French rose is made from syrah, grenache and mourvedre grapes so it has a nice fruity  and soft mouthfeel. It’s perfect for drinking on its own.

Inama Vin Soave

Around $10/bottle

Any soave will do in the summer, but this one in particular is extremely light, a little fruity, and mineraly so it’s not very sweet.

Nora Albarino

About $10/bottle

Another fruity yet not sweet white wine. Albarino is the newest grape that I’ve discovered this summer and I have to say it’s extremely good. It pairs really well with fish made with tropical flavors. See Roasted Halibut with Pineapple Ginger Salsa

Unfortunately the pinots I’ve been drinking this summer do not fit the under $10 criteria, but if you’re interested, any Russian Hill pinot is deliciously perfect when chilled.  We’re talking more in the range of $30-50 a bottle.

Well, now that I’ve been, I will be going back regularly. It was most excellent!

My friend and I had the charcuterie plate with an extremely delicious duck and chicken liver pate….mmmmm. It definitely rivals Barbette’s pate. The salami was a little fatty for my taste, but the cheeses were quite good. I’m not very familiar with cheeses on a charcuterie plate, but hey- I won’t say no.

We ordered one of the nightly specials and one entree off the menu, and they were both great. I don’t eat meat very often- I typically do when I know where the meat comes from or eat at a restaurant where I know the owner takes particular care in selecting high quality, local, organic meat. And for some reason I must’ve been feeling really low on iron because the sound of the Steak special made my mouth start watering.

For good reason, too. The steak was incredible. It was cooked perfectly medium rare with a delicious sauce and incredible pureed potatoes.

The fish entree was also quite good- walleye with a cucumber jalapeno tartar sauce. I’m all about the sauces and both of these dishes were up to par for my taste.

Aside from the great food, we had a really nice bottle of wine with dinner- Hess Syrah. I’m familiar with some other Hess wines and for the price I think they’re quite good. I’d never had the syrah before, but it will be a regular purchase from the liquor store from now on.

One more thing about the cocktails- the basil vodka lemonade drink was incredible. It is the perfect summer beverage…I just wish we had been able to enjoy it on the patio.

The space of the restaurant is a little awkward, but I love the red walls and the tables and chairs. I also appreciate the service there. The staff is quite a crew!

Check it out if you haven’t. It’s an excellent Minneapolis restaurant.

Spoon River

750 S. 2nd St.

@ Chicago Ave. S.

Minneapolis, MN 55401

tel. 612 436 2236

I finally made it in for brunch on Sunday. The coffee was exceptionally strong and tasty- very chocolately (similar to the Birchwood Blend made by Peace Coffee…another favorite). I tried the Eggs Florentine…WHOA. I didn’t think I liked tomatoes. I have to retract that statement if I’ve ever made it. The oven dried, marinated tomatoes made the dish. They had a rustic, earthy, full flavor that went really well with the light lemony hollandaise and perfectly poached eggs.

Other favorites:

• they make the best vodka dirty martini

• delicious carrot cake

• their menu changes frequently

• their wines are affordable and typically very good

• their fish selections are always incredible

• fries are always crispy and served with an incredible saffron aioli

• they purchase as much as they can from local companies (yay!) and typically the foods are organic when possible

I could go on and on…

Owner Kim Bartman is rumored to be opening a new restaurant in NorthEast pretty soon, called the Red Stag. Should be excellent based on the success of both Barbette and Bryant Lake Bowl.

Barbette

1600 W Lake St

Minneapolis, MN 55408

612-827-5710