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Executive Chef: Patrick Atanalian
903 Washington Street South
Minneapolis, MN
What can I say about a restaurant that provides exquisite silent service, impeccable food, and a soothing atmosphere? Anything less than phenomenal wouldn’t come close to doing the place justice. Here’s how my dinner started:
I was a half hour late for my dinner date due to the lovely closing of 35 W and no appropriate detour. My friend kindly used his GPS to help me get back on track. The owners had a pomegranite martini ready for me when I arrived – much needed of course. It was perfecto – cool, ever so slightly tart, and sneakily smooth.
The appetizers we ordered were a fascinating mix of unexpected combinations:
Sweet potato egg rolls and roasted soy beans with a red peppercorn soy reduction, $7. These were SO light, so crispy, and with a little kick in the soy reduction. You get four halves of approximately 2 inches each. A perfect starter.
Roast golden beet salad with garlic chili goat cheese and lavender sweet pedro ximenez sherry vinegar, $6. The beets were just firm enough without being fresh off the farm. This dish highlighted each ingredient in harmony. Wonderful.
So after we ooohhheedd and ahhheeddd over the starters, we eagerly anticipated the main courses. Honestly, it was so amazing, I couldn’t bear sharing any of it (but I did!):
Salmon and sauce red vin chaud with green onion and gold chanterelle mushroom risotto and red tobiko caviar, $25. Oh my, oh my. I started with the risotto, a flavor of which I hadn’t tasted since my Italian grandfather made it for me years and years ago. The piece of salmon was probably 2” by 2” on maybe a cup of risotto. The salmon was buttery soft even when cooked well as I requested. Personally I could have done without the caviar as I’m not a big fan of it. It didn’t distract from the flavor though. The plating was clean too.
Certified Angus filet, apple cider crayfish sauce, scotch bonnet mashed potato and ginger braised chestnut apple, $32. Can’t say I tasted this because I was so wrapped up in my salmon. Sorry folks! BUT, I can say my friend finished every last morsel and swore it was good. The plating was clearly a fall type presentation.
At this point, I wasn’t quite full, but definitely wanted to try some dessert. So I went with the coconut marguerita panacota with berries and ice cream, $7. TO DIE FOR. The panacota had just enough lightness and firmness, the strawberries were perfectly mixed with mint, and chocolate ice cream was more like gelato.
My friend had the prickly pear tiramisu with crème anglaise and espresso
vodka shot, $7. It was delicate and light. I can’t say much more on this since I was, again, wrapped up in my own dessert.
The service was what I would expect from a Michelin award restaurant. Ariel was our waitress and she quitely cleared the table and checked in with us so unobtrusively. Loved that.
But what I loved most about this place was that I could taste every flavor and texture without it being doused in salt or being overcooked. It is so refreshing in the TC market to find a place that appreciates the naturalness of ingredients and then combining them in unexpected ways. That’s cooking!
On parking, I had no problem finding a spot at 730 pm on a Saturday night. Lots of street parking and one lot on each side of the place.
903 Washington Street South
Minneapolis, MN
What can I say about a restaurant that provides exquisite silent service, impeccable food, and a soothing atmosphere? Anything less than phenomenal wouldn’t come close to doing the place justice. Here’s how my dinner started:
I was a half hour late for my dinner date due to the lovely closing of 35 W and no appropriate detour. My friend kindly used his GPS to help me get back on track. The owners had a pomegranite martini ready for me when I arrived – much needed of course. It was perfecto – cool, ever so slightly tart, and sneakily smooth.
The appetizers we ordered were a fascinating mix of unexpected combinations:
Sweet potato egg rolls and roasted soy beans with a red peppercorn soy reduction, $7. These were SO light, so crispy, and with a little kick in the soy reduction. You get four halves of approximately 2 inches each. A perfect starter.
Roast golden beet salad with garlic chili goat cheese and lavender sweet pedro ximenez sherry vinegar, $6. The beets were just firm enough without being fresh off the farm. This dish highlighted each ingredient in harmony. Wonderful.
So after we ooohhheedd and ahhheeddd over the starters, we eagerly anticipated the main courses. Honestly, it was so amazing, I couldn’t bear sharing any of it (but I did!):
Salmon and sauce red vin chaud with green onion and gold chanterelle mushroom risotto and red tobiko caviar, $25. Oh my, oh my. I started with the risotto, a flavor of which I hadn’t tasted since my Italian grandfather made it for me years and years ago. The piece of salmon was probably 2” by 2” on maybe a cup of risotto. The salmon was buttery soft even when cooked well as I requested. Personally I could have done without the caviar as I’m not a big fan of it. It didn’t distract from the flavor though. The plating was clean too.
Certified Angus filet, apple cider crayfish sauce, scotch bonnet mashed potato and ginger braised chestnut apple, $32. Can’t say I tasted this because I was so wrapped up in my salmon. Sorry folks! BUT, I can say my friend finished every last morsel and swore it was good. The plating was clearly a fall type presentation.
At this point, I wasn’t quite full, but definitely wanted to try some dessert. So I went with the coconut marguerita panacota with berries and ice cream, $7. TO DIE FOR. The panacota had just enough lightness and firmness, the strawberries were perfectly mixed with mint, and chocolate ice cream was more like gelato.
My friend had the prickly pear tiramisu with crème anglaise and espresso
vodka shot, $7. It was delicate and light. I can’t say much more on this since I was, again, wrapped up in my own dessert.
The service was what I would expect from a Michelin award restaurant. Ariel was our waitress and she quitely cleared the table and checked in with us so unobtrusively. Loved that.
But what I loved most about this place was that I could taste every flavor and texture without it being doused in salt or being overcooked. It is so refreshing in the TC market to find a place that appreciates the naturalness of ingredients and then combining them in unexpected ways. That’s cooking!
On parking, I had no problem finding a spot at 730 pm on a Saturday night. Lots of street parking and one lot on each side of the place.
