V-day food love
One of the best Valentine's Day dinners I had was at the former Boathouse in Superior, where every course incorporated chocolate. V-Day is coming up this weekend; what will you be eating?
I'm looking for restaurants in the area that go out of their way on Valentine's Day, with special menus or other unique touches. I'd like to compile a list in the comments and put them in this post. I know of one so far: Nokomis has a three-course special menu for the weekend. Who else is doing something out of the ordinary for Saturday or Sunday?
And if you don't go out to eat, what does your Valentine's Day cookery entail?
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Monday, February 08 at 12:32 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink
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Hanabi, where the food is entertainment
photos by Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
One of the more charming scenes from season six of the Bravo reality series “Top Chef” stars Natalie Portman as a celebrity guest. She challenged the chefs to create a vegetarian meal for a group of her friends and, of course, the judges.
Eventual season winner Michael Voltaggio presented Portman et al. with banana polenta and an asparagus salad, and in footage of the actress eating, she seems amused.
“It makes me smile and laugh and I’m confused,” she said in that episode. Voltaggio’s dish didn’t win, but the meal got huge props from Portman.
I’ve thought of that scene each time I have eaten at Hanabi, the new Japanese restaurant in downtown Duluth. I believe dining out is entertainment. Hanabi is, without a doubt, the best show in town.
The dishes beg to be photographed and are artistic combinations that span the Crayola palate. Every order has been an adventure in food combinations, textures and tastes.
My favorite (this week) is the white tiger roll, which has tuna, yellowtail, salmon, mayo, avocado and tobiko, wrapped in a light yellow tiger skin wrap. Depending on how you bite into it, it can be a different sensation from piece to piece.
On my most recent trip, we started with the tuna tortilla, a round appetizer cut into pizza-like bites covered with a thin swath of raw tuna, avocado, scallions and small mounds of caviar. The whole thing is topped with checkerboard crisscrosses of aioli sauce that is definitely worth dipping your finger into.
Visiting Hanabi is truly a blast. It’s dinner and theater, a bar and a gallery wrapped in one fantastic roll.
Hanabi
Where: 110 N. First Ave. W.
Menu item: white tiger roll, $13
Hours: Dining: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; Lounge: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 11 a.m.- 2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday; noon-midnight Sunday.
Call: (218) 464-4412, or go to www.hanabimn.com.
Posted by: Christa Lawler on Thursday, February 04 at 10:27 AM | Comments (5) | Permalink
Tags: christa lawler, hanabi, restaurant reviews
Nokomis on Open Table
Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
The above photo is the white truffle gnocchi at Nokomis, the little $8 wonder with Parmesan cream, white truffle oil and shaved black truffle served from the starter menu. The new online menu says it's got lobster, but for my birthday lunch last week there was no lobster available that day. I'm told that's not normally the case, and I enjoyed it immensely, again, anyway. Love that stuff.
Now to my point: Nokomis has joined Twin Cities restaurants on www.opentable.com, so you can make reservations online. It's the first restaurant outside of the metro to do so, and I used the service for said birthday lunch and it worked just fine. I've been a member for a while and I have amassed hundreds of dining points for discounts and such. Some restaurants give points and some don't. I don't remember if Nokomis gives points, but it's nice to be able to make online reservations if you'd rather not call.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Wednesday, February 03 at 10:01 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Tags: jana hollingsworth, nokomis, restaurant news
The Empire Builder
Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
When I go to Burrito Union, I am usually a sucker for the quesadilla, the nachos or the chorizo queso dip. I rarely venture into burrito territory. But on Sunday, I did. It was delivery, and it even arrived warm. Yay! I had the one-fisted Empire Builder, which I found to be better than the Imperial Chicken, the only other Union burrito I've tried.
I was surprised to find the "red chile" beef shredded, and I loved the combo of crema, black beans, cheese, red rice and that adobo sauce they put on so much. I still can't eat even a whole one-fisted. But this time I really wanted to. This photo is of a half-eaten burrito, in case anyone was wondering about the size.
The only thing that could improve this burrito (for me) would be a side order of the chorizo con queso to dunk it in. Or to go with the cute little order of chips that comes with delivery. I'm not going to compare BU to Chipotle, like so many other reviewers do. It's not Chipotle, it's not supposed to be Chipotle, and we don't have a Chipotle here. So who cares. I'll probably always love the BU quesadilla more, but the Empire Builder is tasty and has lots of punchy flavor.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Tuesday, February 02 at 10:54 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink
Tags: burrito union, jana hollingsworth, restaurant reviews
Gronk's bacon beer cheeseburger: a Wisconsin classic
top, Gronk's burger, bottom, bacon beer cheeseburger at Gronk's. Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
In the never-ending Northland debate “Who has the better Superior burger, Gronk’s or the Anchor?” I choose to waffle.
But I know many others don’t.
I asked readers of the Current blog last month to name their favorite place to get a local burger, and which burger they loved the most. They didn’t necessarily all choose a specific burger, but they all chose places, with Gronk’s edging out the others by a small margin. Of course, the Anchor ranked high, along with newcomer Five Guys Burgers, Big Daddy’s, Famous Dave’s and the Brewhouse.
So, to Gronk’s Grill and Bar I went. A Current reader had mentioned an intriguing burger: Gronk’s Bacon Beer Cheeseburger. I had to have it. My dining companion went with the Gronk Burger.
I love beer cheese soup. I love burgers. I love bacon. All together between a hot buttered-bun seems like an unbeatable combination. And it pretty much was. The cheesy beer concoction left a mild heat post-bite. The bacon was thick and plentiful. The meat was well-done, but tasty. I found myself a tad disappointed, because I wanted more of the beer-cheese sauce. It should have been slathered on that burger. The excess was already insane. Pour it on thick! It was so good I didn’t even notice I forgot ketchup.
I also tried the Gronk Burger, topped with fried onions, the same country-smoked bacon I had, homemade barbecue sauce and a thick disk of breaded and fried provolone cheese. Yeah. Breaded and fried: holy heart attack. It was greasy, messy and oh, so delicious. Leave it to Wisconsin to find another use for fried cheese. Leave it to burger lovers to toss health aside for a day to give this burger proper adoration. It deserves it.
Gronk’s has a huge burger menu: varied, cheap and creative. There’s lots of other food to try there, including sandwiches, steak, shrimp, ribs, chicken, sausages and pizza. But I’ve never ventured beyond the burger menu because, frankly, it’s too much fun.
There is a separate seating area for those wanting to get away from the bar, where smoking is allowed.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Thursday, January 28 at 10:37 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink
Tags: burgers, gronks, jana hollingsworth
The Brewhouse for Haiti
Fitger's Brewhouse released a new beer today to help support Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.
The 90999 Pils is a golden German-style lager bier brewed with pilsner malts and spalt and hallertauer hops. The name comes from the service that allows people to donate $10 to Red Cross via texting. The Brewhouse will donate 25 cents from every pint toward the relief effort.
The Brewhouse has also partnered with the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Ky., to create a Woodford Reserve Cherry Lemonade cocktail. One hundred percent of proceeds from the Caribbean-themed drink will be donated to the Red Cross.
The Brewhouse has worked with the distillery for a special barrel selection and uses its retired bourbon barrels for some of the Brewhouse's brewing processes. The 90999 beer is available at the Brewhouse, and the Woodford Lemonade is served at the Brewhouse, Red Star Lounge and Burrito Union.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Wednesday, January 27 at 4:05 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Tags: brewhouse, burrito union, jana hollingsworth, red star
Vintage Italian Pizza
Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune
I already know that what I write will probably raise the ire of many VIP lovers.
But the bacon cheeseburger pizza from the Chester Park location is not one I would ever choose again if it's always made the way it was served to me. It looks very nice, I know. The toppings and cheese WERE nice and tasty. But the pie was lacking something crucial to tie most pizzas together: sauce. A ton of meat, onions and cheese, but nary a tomato could be tasted. The menu lists the ingredients as lightly seasoned beef, chopped onions, with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, cheddar and bacon.
Generally speaking, sauce is not listed as an ingredient unless it's special, like alfredo or olive-oil based. Thinking back to my favorite bacon cheeseburger pizzas -- the Shamrock and Do North -- I realize they had sauce. They also had pickles, which is the biggest reason this version did nothing for me. There is a place for a sauceless pizza, but usually they are Neapolitan style, which this is not. Sauce also does a good job of softening hard crust and adds a taste dimension. It also works to hold the pie together. I was able to lift the cheese and topping layer right off the crust. It lay there, like a blanket.
To be fair, this was a busy night for the teens working the counter. Maybe someone forgot to add it. Or maybe it's just the way it's served. I've had other pizzas from that location that were OK, and I've had excellent pizzas from the Superior location.
To save the expensive ($18.50 for a large) pizza, I tried dunking it in ketchup, but that was just gross. Sauce and pickles would have made it all OK.
I know there are VIP fans out there. Help me out. What is a good pie to order? And was the lack of sauce a mistake, or is that how it is served?
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Wednesday, January 27 at 12:30 PM | Comments (22) | Permalink
Tags: jana hollingsworth, pizza, vip
Trust in the Land 2010
The annual Northern Communities Land Trust fundraiser is from 6-9 p.m. Saturday at Marshall School.
Twenty restaurants, bakeries, breweries and wineries are featured, along with a silent auction and music by Sweetgrass and Two for the Road.
Some food samples: Huevos rancheros from Amazing Grace Bakery & Cafe; gorgonzola-stuffed dates wrapped in Serrano ham from the Chester Creek Cafe; Frambizzle beer from Thirsty Pagan Brewing (a raspberry framboise made with their light beer fermented in 100 pounds of raspberries); Mediterranean-style marinated Lake Superior herring from Northern Waters Smokehaus; and goat cheese cake with honey, orange blossom and candied kumquats from the New Scenic Cafe.
The Land Trust provides home ownership opportunities to low- and moderate-income households for 20 years. In 2009, it helped 36 households.
Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door and $20 for students and those with limited income. Tickets are available at www.landtrustduluth.org and at the Whole Foods Co-op, Thirsty Pagan Brewing, Northern Waters Smokehaus and Land Trust offices.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Tuesday, January 26 at 4:40 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: food fundraisers, jana hollingsworth
Chester Creek Cafe menu explores the Jewish Diaspora
Chester Creek Cafe has been globetrotting with its menu choices this past year.
On Feb. 1, it will offer a new menu featuring food that it calls from the "Jewish Diaspora," because it draws influences from a group of exiled Jews called the Ashkenazim during the late 1400s, living in Poland, Germany, Eastern Europe and Russia. It also draws from the Sephardim group, with influences from Spain, Italy, Greece and Arabia. Both groups developed cuisine through the lens of kosher, according to co-owner Carla Blumberg.
She sent me her thoughts on the creation of the menu, and included this:
"Some of these dishes have fascinating stories. For example, “Cholent” is a slow braise that was developed in Northern Europe because of the prohibition against lighting fire on Shabbat. On Friday evening, the housewives packed up a Dutch Oven with beef ribs, buckwheat groats, two or more types of beans, various other flavorings and cuts of beef and kishka (a sausage made of matzo and chicken) and sent it down to the bake shop, carried by the oldest child. There, the town’s pots were lined up at the back of the commercial oven to slowly braise until they were collected by the children on Saturday evening when the families feasted on these dishes.
Turkey Schnitzel is the most common street food of Tel Aviv. It is a pounded, dredged and fried cutlet of turkey breast that is served in pita with Middle Eastern condiments. Our dinner chef Bruce Wallis and myself have put a lot of effort into this menu to share with you the most important and delicious aspects of these cultures. Our baker Diane has been experimenting with savory rugelach.
The best news of all is that by sheer coincidence, when I was talking to some matrons from the Duluth Temple I found out that they are also presenting some Jewish meals to the public this winter. It will be a feast of riches!"
The menu includes a feta spread with "fiery olives" and fried pita triangles, a Yemenite fish sandwich, Cholent with ribs, lamb chops with prunes, stuffed tomatoes and peppers, sweet potato latkes with applesauce and mushroom stroganoff.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Monday, January 25 at 11:34 AM | Comments (5) | Permalink
Tags: chester creek cafe, jana hollingsworth
Eat for the Whistling Bird
It's not food made by Toney and JoPat Curtis of Whistling Bird fame, but it's a Caribbean buffet held in their honor.
A benefit for the Curtis family is held Saturday beginning at 5 p.m. at the Moorish Room of Greysolon Ballroom, 231 E. Superior St.
The buffet opens at 6:30 p.m. and includes jerk chicken. There's a silent auction, a limbo contest, raffle and live music by Uprising.
The suggested donation is $18 for adults and $10 for youth.
The Gilbert Whistling Bird closed last fall because of JoPat's medical issues. The Bayfront Reggae Festival in Duluth is hosting the benefit.
The venue has been changed from its first reported location.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Friday, January 22 at 10:55 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Tags: jana hollingsworth, restaurant news
Duluth Grill
Every good road trip has some story about a diner in Mitchell, S.D., where you swore the guy at the grill seasoned your skillet with ash from a Marlboro, and your server had a charming accent and a wonky eye.
Regardless, the food is always amazing — legendary, even. And stories about these road trips often center on the heaping plate, grease-heavy meals taken in vinyl booths just off the interstate.
Therein is the conundrum with Duluth Grill. It has the outer markings of a good place to ditch off I-35 and debate the merits of sunnyside-up versus over-easy, with the winner challenging poached eggs. There is the option of booth or diner counter seating; skillets on the menu; malts so thick that getting the drink through the straw feels like a tryout for the role of Kirby in a vacuum cleaner infomercial.
But it’s clean. It has a full slate of vegetarian options, and an even-rarer assortment of gluten-free picks. The menus are made from recycled paper, and if you have special dietary needs that require special preparation of your dish? Just notify your decidedly un-sassy server.
The phrase “best of both worlds” comes to mind.
I like Duluth Grill’s Buffalo Tofu Melt, from the “flexitarian” section of the menu. This is a grilled sandwich served on whole grain bread, with melted pepper jack cheese. The star of the show is slabs of tofu breaded with a Tabasco-based hot sauce and tomato slices. It tastes like a grilled cheese sandwich ran headfirst into a basket of buffalo wings, and is a nice twist on the standard diner melt. It’s a simple sandwich, with big taste and lots of zing.
I ordered mine with sweet potato fries, long fresh cuts of soft potato served with an interesting glaze made from honey, mayo and Hungarian paprika. I prefer my fries crisper, but I was charmed enough by the glaze and the sweetness of the side dish to put a pretty big dent in the pile.
And, of course, I kicked it old school with a thick, thick chocolate malt, topped with whipped cream and a cherry. That’s what you do when you find yourself in a booth. I’m not sure I’ve had a better malt in recent history.
Posted by: Christa Lawler on Friday, January 22 at 10:51 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: christa lawler, duluth grill, restaurant reviews
Hanabi: Welcome, and please never leave
Yellowtail sushi.
For better photos, see Clint Austin's work on the DNT Web site that went with today's business story about Hanabi.
Hanabi has been open less than a month, so it's not really fair to judge it yet.
But based on first impressions, it's already among the best restaurants in Duluth.
It's got sophisticated, hip decor, omniscient service and really, really good food. Christa and I were talked into trying the yellowtail appetizer special at lunch. It was sushi, pictured above. And it was wonderful: something I wish they'd put on the menu. Terrific quality, beautifully cut and fresh, fresh, fresh.
We also shared a plate of chicken yaki soba noodles. Pea pods, mini corn, mushrooms, onions and a great sauce mingled with the noodles. Perfect for those wanting to try Japanese cuisine but wary of sushi and rolls. It was excellent. Speaking of the plates, they look like little cartoon quote balloons. Even the tiny plates for soy sauce and wasabi.
The lobster tempura roll was among the prettiest rolls I have ever seen. Kinda looked like an amusement park ride. The flavor of the lobster came through the tempura batter, and the shell propped up next to it was was fun. The roll was made of lettuce, cucumber and avocado, with wasabi tobiko sprinkled on top. It was a great choice, and there are about a million other things I want to try. The rolls are a nice mix of cooked and raw, and there is a large selection of tempura and teriyaki dishes. Vegetarians will find plenty, and you can go simple (tuna sashimi) or complicated (Kiss of Fire roll.)
About the service: A friend was given a free shot of sake when picking up a takeout order this weekend, because he was walking home and they said it would keep him warm. We were given two extra pieces of yellowtail on the house (and no, they had no idea we'd be writing about the place.) Very nice touches, and a great way to begin building a customer base in a place like Duluth. Also, the servers were very good about explaining things, and super friendly.
There is a sushi bar, where you can sit and watch the chefs put together dishes. Perfect for when you ask for omakase, which means to put your meal in the chef's hands, usually garnering several plates of the best fish of the day and lots of creativity.
Some of it is a little pricey, but sushi is generally not cheap. And it shouldn't be, because you are paying for quality. And that's exactly what Hanabi appears to be.
Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Wednesday, January 20 at 11:00 AM | Comments (6) | Permalink
Tags: christa lawler, hanabi, jana hollingsworth, restaurant reviews
Make your kitchen Hell's Kitchen
Breakfast purists, of course, were pretty vocal about Hell’s Kitchen Inc.’s Duluth branch ditching the all-day breakfast fare in favor of burgers, hot dogs, and wings.
My pick has always been the Lemon Ricotta Hotcakes, which are potent enough to make a person subscribe to a 100 percent brunch-based diet. It started with a solid base, those hotcakes with a subtle tang of lemon zest and a light light touch of ricotta. The fruit that accompanied it — Strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, banana (I’m going from memory here, I might be wrong) — was such a nice accompaniment. I think when I last had it, the syrup had a bit of nut added and a banana. There was whipped cream, too.
There were so many complementary flavors in the same dish that it was like the food equivalent of Multiples — that 80s style fashion where a skirt could double as a tube top or belt, and the entire store was a mix and match where everything went together. (Obscure reference alert).
Anyway, with Lemon Ricotta Hotcakes no longer an option, I made my own this past weekend. It is easy peasy, just a few extra steps away from traditional pancakes. The recipe can be found in the cookbook "Damn Good Food," which co-owner Mitch Omar co-authored. But it can also be found here. My cakes turned out all kinds of awesome. Except the first pancake, of course. I served mine with some anemic looking strawberries and some surprisingly good blueberries and soy whipped cream. Why soy whipped cream? Because I thought that was hilarious.
Posted by: Christa Lawler on Tuesday, January 19 at 10:08 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Tags: hells kitchen, recipe
The fixing of a red velvet disaster
Mmm ... Red Velvet Cake.
The first time I tried to make a Red Velvet Cake, it turned out looking like the Hamburglar.
This was unfamiliar territory anyway; I’m not sure I had ever eaten Red Velvet Cake. I imagined it would taste like licking a felt wall-hanging decorated with Elvis’s likeness, just the faintest hint of rum and sweat. My boyfriend had requested this cake for his birthday, which either means he secretly hates the boxed angel food cake I’d been serving up for the past three birthdays, or he wanted to do some sort of science experiment with his stomach lining.
First I found a recipe for Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake, which sounded deliciously snobby -- putting a brand name on a cake. This recipe came with its own urban legend, an urban legend I’d heard before, but that time involved cookies: woman has lunch at a fancy schmancy restaurant, goes crazy for the dessert, and casually asks her server for the recipe. When her lunch tab comes, she sees that she has been charged bucko bucks for this nugget of info. In retaliation, woman plants the recipe in every cranny of the Internet. Blah blah blah. This story is basically why chain emails were invented. Also: It’s the hook hand, lovers lane story reset in a kitchen.
Long story short, what a mess. I forgot an ingredient, and the ingredients I didn’t forget, I simply didn’t mix well. I bit into the cake and a clump of flour detonated like a smoke bomb in my mouth. The frosting was a disaster. It was a thin mix of butter and sugar with no adhesive quality. It dripped from the layers of my sad, sad, cake like delicious stalactites.
Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake or McDonalds character? You decide.
When all was said and done, this wasn’t the cake that Barrett was imagining when he made the request. And while he didn’t complain, he also didn’t stop me when I insisted that I would try it again and get it right this time.
My initial bad experiences with what will be henceforth referred to as the Waldorf Astoria Not-Necessarily Red Velvet Cake made me more cautious the second go-round. For instance, I remembered every ingredient. And I mixed them together very thoroughly. The frosting had a cream cheese base, instead of a sugar and butter base. I still frosted it with the dexterity of a more right-brained kindergartener attacking a vat of finger paints and an oversized tablet of art paper.
Regardless, this cake turned out to be exactly what everyone had in mind. Now I get what all the fuss is about.
Posted by: Christa Lawler on Friday, January 15 at 10:15 AM | Comments (5) | Permalink
Tags: christa lawler, recipe
