Up in minnetonka. From chicago. Nothing gastro needed. Just something local. Willing to travel for food and wine in the city.
I may end up getting snowed in. If I do, maybe we could do a thursday night offline.
Looking more for savory flavored food that is not over the top. Anyone have a good selection of 375s in the area?
Don’t not come here and miss out on one of these 3…
Tilia My favorite and they have bar seating at the bar and at the chef station both. Well thought out list and elcetic menu. http://www.tiliampls.com/
LBV - lounge very cozy, great food from ther bar and you can eat from the restaurant menu too. Very wine friendly and a great Somm / co owner… Bill Summerville http://www.labellevie.us/menus-and-wines.html
Meritage - But in St Paul, otherwise love it. http://www.meritage-stpaul.com/
The Kenwood - Don Suanders chef and another great place on edge of downtown in a very upscale neighborhood. http://www.thekenwoodrestaurant.com/
I’ll assume business and lodging in Minnetonka.
Not too many places with a good half bottle inventory, but many places with good glass lists (and they will let you taste before filling the entire pour).
Toast (one of the wine bars I mentioned upthread) is pretty accessible. The entire North Loop is easily accessible taking 394 into the city. One place for good solo dining in that area is Bachelor Farmer (very good list to go with the cuisine). And they will let you order a half of a full bottle. They’ll end up selling the other half in the bar via glass pours. Full menu service in the bar. Another is Bar La Grassa, but you are going there for food more than wine. Haute Dish and Saffron are two others near where 394 ends at Washington Avenue.
Without having to go into Minneapolis, I would recommend The Rookery or Pig Ate My Pizza, both in Robbinsdale. Again, however, you will be going for the food and not the wine.
Terzo (the other wine bar I mentioned) and some of the places in Steve’s list are not as easy to get to, but are on the western or southwestern part of Minneapolis. They include Tilia, rincon 38, Lynn on Bryant (Steve forgot that one), and The Kenwood. Warning about The Kenwood: it gets warm sitting at the counter.
Craig’s rec of the lounge at La Belle Vie is good. I don’t know how much they have by the glass, but if you get Bill talking about wine, he may treat you special. The lounge is known more for the skill of the mixologist making cocktails.
Yes, you might get snowed in Thursday. Unfortunately, I won’t he able to meet that night. Perhaps next trip.
What a great board!
Thank you all for your input. I’m thinking Tilia might be my move for dinner at the bar.
Stu
One of the best in the country?? Wow - I’ll have what’ he’s smoking …nice enough place…2 months a year…
I agree with Craig and Steve’s recommendation of Tilia. It is one of my favorite restaurants in Minneapolis. You will love it. Try the Escargot they are delicious.
Actually sitting at the bar at tilia right now. Great reco. The chef ia creating a special tasting menu for me as im by myself. If I get snowed in, ill check out your guys’ other recos. I have 4 wheel dr.
Stu:
Travail looks promising, but I’m not in that frame of mind tonight.
I don’t think you’ll get snowed in. But if you do (or just lazy), and you’re staying in Minnetonka, go to Pairings in Minnetonka. Their food is beyond decent, and you can buy a bottle of wine from their wine shop next door and drink it in their bistro. I know they have a decent selection of half bottle whites refrigerated, or they’ll put anything on ice for you. They also have Kistler sonoma coast chardonnay by the glass and have a happy hour until 6 that will save you some bucks.
The wine scene in Minny is not great but there are some good restaurants, in my experience.
Stu
Met two ladies that were foodies at the bar and we had a great time. Lovely conversation. The only bad part of the meal was a chicken thigh that was what seemed doused in clove and cinnamon. Killed my palate. Not real pleased over that one. I was able to talk to the bartender and get myself setup with a tasting menu. This guy “Mo” did a fantastic job. He was well versed on aromas and flavors and paired things extremely well. He was very busy and was still attentive to me. He was giving me tastes of beers wines and pretty much anything I gave any interest to. The ladies at the bar that I was hanging with told me he works at another restaurant as well…just don’t remember which one. There was a fettuccine dish that had peas parmisian and morels that I had that must have been a special for that day as not on the menu. All in all a good experience. If it were not for that cloved chicken thigh it would have been exceptional.
I would recommend to any out of towners although a bit tough to get to. AVOID the chicken thighs. Dont even think about them.
Stu - my remark may have been a bit heavy handed, and for that I apologize. There is quite a bit of talent in the Twin Cities, I’ve watched it grow over the last 40 years, 35 in the fine wine and craft beer business. My biggest complaint is the pricing structure most restaurants use in the Twin Cities for their food and especially their wine/beer programs. I travel quite a bit in the Midwest, and I just don’t see the cool, affordable storefront restaurants in the Twin Cities that I see in Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Saint Louis, Kansas City etc -
We have no Greek restaurants to speak of, no tapas bars/small plate restaurants to speak of, your average glass of beer is 20% to 30% higher than any other Midwestern market and the wine by the glass programs are gouge city. Lets not even mention the overpriced sushi bars in the Cities. The market has come a long way over the years, but the restauranteurs need to start pricing their products at market value rather than trying to be the most expensive in town. And this is just my humble opinion on the scene. As was yours…
Tom, I hear you on the lack of Greek restaurants… get yourself over to Rincon 38 for tapas… Sushi Fix (out in Wayzata) and Kyatchi (just opened, 38th & Nicollet in Minneapolis) are doing an outstanding job on the sushi front…
-Steve
I was wondering when Steve was going to chime in. He knows more about the local restaurant scene than anyone I know, and has traveled enough around the U.S. and internationally to have the necessary perspective.
If he says that’s the list, you can trust him…
Totally agree - I was going to post the same thing. And he knows more than a little something about the wine scene in the Cities as well -
I have heard that Steve - I have been traveling a lot to various Spanish restaurants around the country because I’m importing some Asturian and Basque hard ciders and would love to find a local tapas bar…
Well they are jerked chicken thighs… Glad you enjoyed it overall. Probably my family’s favorite restaurant in town.
Pretty sure Pairings closed their wine shop late last year or earlier this year.
^^^This