Bucatini All'Amatriciana

Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune

I received a Mario Batali cookbook as a gift a couple of years ago, and after one tedious attempt at cannelloni (tasted great, but wow, a lot of work for even two people), I tried again. This time with the bucatini All'Amatriciana, which hails from the town of Amatrice, Italy, near Rome. I had this in Rome last year, and never thought I would recreate it. But I did, and it was pretty fabulous.

Recipe here

I used pancetta from Northern Waters Smokehaus, bucatini noodles from Target (very hard to find), Parmigiano Reggiano from Artisanal Cheese (online order) and everything else from a grocery store. The high-quality pancetta really made the dish. It's a salty, slightly spicy, fragrant dish that makes you feel like you created something very Italian, not Italian-American. And it wasn't that hard.

Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Tuesday, March 09 at 1:33 PM | Comments (8) | Permalink

Tags: jana hollingsworth, recipes

Hellburgers

Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune

The wails from people lamenting the shift of the Duluth branch of Hell’s Kitchen to burgers and hot dogs sprung up around the Internet these past few months.

No more huevos rancheros? No more lemon ricotta hot cakes? What the what?

The finger-food menu makeover comes with a name change to HellBurgers. They’ve added booths and a few more primary colors to the shop that was once a demonic scheme of red, black and flame-y. Not to mention there’s now a movie screen that featured Olympic curling during a recent lunch soiree at the Canal Park restaurant.

We started with Asian barbecue wings, which, frankly, are the size and shape of a fully functioning chicken wing. They are mammoth and meaty and messy — three things wing-heads look for in an appetizer, with the added bonus of being delicious. They come six to a serving, lacquered in a barbecue sauce complete with good-sized nips of ginger — with extra sauce on the side perfect for inappropriate finger-dipping. The aftermath of bones looked like a fox had stolen into a chicken coop.

I had a Juicy Lucy, which I tend to get when the opportunity strikes. For the uninitiated, this is two third-pound hamburger patties with a cheddar filling, not unlike a carnivore’s Twinkie. I had a bad case of burger envy when I saw the one served up to one of my dining partners. That sucker erupted with lava-like cheddar the second she cut into it. She couldn’t stop the ooze and goo. While still good, mine was more subtle — a drip here and there, a puddle of cheese left on the paper. But it didn’t, for instance, drip down my arm and get stuck in my hair. But even if it was more juicy than Lucy, it was still a tasty grilled burger.

The menu still has a lot of those signature Hell’s Kitchen quirks: Next time I go, I’ll have the Devil Dog, a foot-long Chicago-style dog with hot peppers, pickle relish, tomatoes and diced onions. And tater tots. And a deep-fried Snickers bar.

Once it gets past its status as a breakfast killer, this incarnation will be able to hold its own in future burger debates.
 

Posted by: Christa Lawler on Thursday, March 04 at 11:01 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Tags: burgers, christa lawler, hellburgers, restaurant reviews

Chester Creek Cafe meat binge

photos by Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune

I was finally able to try Chester Creek Cafe's Jewish Diaspora menu. And it was lovely.

I talked my dining companion into sharing the Matzo ball soup, the lamb and the short rib cholent.

Ohh, that lamb. It was fantastic. I am late to the table in being a lamb lover, developing a taste for the musky meat around the age of 27. It was Isaac Becker's 112 Eatery Lamb Scottadito, or scorched fingers, that did it. Lamb chops with a sauce of goat's milk yogurt.

The Chester Creek lamb chops came with these sweet potato latkes and a prune sauce that seemed more side dish than sauce. I ate those chops plain because they needed no adornment. Perfectly cooked lamb. And the latkes, which can be ordered separately, are something everyone should try. I'd have a plate of latkes for a meal and be happy.

The short rib cholent came with beans and potatoes. The braised meat was tender and luscious. I didn't eat as much of this, but I liked what I had. It was very pot-roasty. As I've said before, you put short ribs on a menu and I am a goner. I tried making them once, as documented on this blog. It takes dedication. And dogs sure love those bones. (Should dogs be eating short rib bones?)

The Matzo ball soup seemed a little under-seasoned to me. But I get where this is a total comfort food. Those who enjoy it, what do you like about it, and is it easy to make at home?

The menu runs through most of March when it switches over to a menu that focuses on sustainable food. Which they do a lot of already, so I am curious to see what they come up with this time.

Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Tuesday, March 02 at 10:56 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Tags: chester creek cafe, jana hollingsworth, restaurant reviews

An update

I'm sure some loyal readers have noticed that the Current has slowed down in the last week. I'm hoping it's temporary, but other duties are pulling me away from writing about the dining and cooking I have been doing. Stuff we Like was written for this week but didn't get in because of space limitations, so that will be back next week. Keep checking in; we'll try to keep up.

Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Thursday, February 25 at 10:51 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink

Tags: jana hollingsworth

Salty and sweet at the Zeitgeist

Bob King/News Tribune

Zeitgeist Arts Café, with its exposed brick, windowed storefront and mod quarter-twist of a staircase is, without a doubt, the sexiest restaurant in Duluth.

Rounded mirror light fixtures dangle over the bar, with stools covered in an almost acid-washed looking red fabric. The second level is cozy, and it is lit in such a way that every corner begs for a couch.

Not to mention it is always fun when a Duluth native comes home, you go to dinner at Zeitgeist Arts Café, and at some point over the smoked gouda stuffed dates appetizer, you set down your fork and say:

“So … remember when this place was the Red Lion?”

(Zeitgeist does. They pay homage to the former bar by giving a vegan burger its name).

My pick is the prosciutto and fig sandwich, which is the answer to all of my internal “Hm … salty or sweet?” menu debates. It is the best of both. The sandwich, served on soft focaccia bread, has a hearty hunk of prosciutto topped with gruyere, both bringing out the salty. It is slathered in a generous amount of caramelized onions. This is bound with a fig jam that seeps into the bread and adds sticky sweetness. This is a mix of tastes that builds a pretty serious crave that could hit whenever.

Appetizers and desserts also deserve more than an afterthought. They stand alone as interesting and a worthy snack.

Last week I had what appeared to be a plate filled with whipped cream, but included bits of banana and graham cracker crust just half a spoon deep into the fluff: Zeitgeist’s take on the banana cream pie. Awesome. The people a table away enjoying cookies and milk looked pretty happy, too.

Eat there

Where: Zeitgeist Arts Cafe

What: Proscuitto and fig sandwich, a sweet and salty sandwich served on focaccia bread, $10.

Also recommended: the dessert menu.

Where: Zeitgeist Arts Café, 222 E. Superior St.

Online: www.zeitgeistartscafe.com
 

Posted by: Christa Lawler on Thursday, February 18 at 10:42 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Tags: christa lawler, restaurant reviews, zeitgeist arts cafe

New neighborhood, new pizza priority

A recent delivery of Hugo's bacon cheeseburger pizza and garlic cheese bread. We have a new neighborhood, and have found our go-to pizza delivery option.

My only concern about moving from Duluth’s East Hillside to West Duluth was saying goodbye to Bulldog Pizza, where I have been a loyal and sometimes overly-frequent customer since I moved to Duluth. Barrett and I would be plodding around our apartment and he’d say, “Did you call the man about the medicine?” and this meant dialing the most-easily remembered phone number in all of delivery (728-FOOD) for our regular order: A large pepperoni pizza, an order of cheese bread and two Cokes.

I am especially fond of Bulldog’s cheese to sauce ratio, favoring the former more than the latter, but not completely willing to dismiss the latter. And there were little things about ordering from Bulldog: The speedy delivery time, the time the delivery guy forgot our Cokes and went to the gas station to pick some up, the 50-cent coupons built right into the pizza box.

So as much as I love Bulldog, I’m not going to drive from our neighborhood — less than a mile from Beaner’s Central — to Woodland. That’s simply insane. I’m not getting into a long distance relationship with a pizza place. And they certainly aren’t going to come to me. A lot of people have tossed out replacement pizza for me: VIP, Sammy’s … But I’m thinking bigger. Hugo’s. Hugo’s Pizza has always, in the past, been strictly a special occasion sort of pizza. “Just hiked up to Ely’s Peak … let’s stop at Hugo’s!”

Now I live in Hugo’s delivery range … as much of a surprise to me as it was to the employee who took my order last week. When I told her my address, I heard her say to another employee “We deliver there?” So Hugo’s has bandaged the Bulldog wound.

Hugo’s crust is perfect. I defy you to find better crust. It’s thin-ish and flakey.
Again, I’m digging the cheese to sauce ratio.
Their cheese bread is actually better than Bulldog’s (GASP!) And I think it is because of the inclusion of garlic. (Although Bulldog’s reheats better than Hugo’s).

So our new order for our new neighborhood is bacon cheeseburger pizza, with pickles on the side, and an order of garlic cheese bread and two Cokes. Unfortunately, their phone number is not as easy to remember. But I’m sure I’ll get it down.

Posted by: Christa Lawler on Tuesday, February 16 at 10:14 AM | Comments (7) | Permalink

Tags: christa lawler, hugos pizza

Where and what did you eat?

I'm curious, with the many terrific menus created for this past weekend in the Twin Ports area, where people ate and what they liked about it. We ran a story Saturday that gave people some ideas, which included a lot of three- and four-course wonders.

I partook at Nokomis Saturday night. Full disclosure: we had to make a reservation on this usually-packed night, and the reservation was made in my name. We did choose the set V-day menu, which started with pappardelle with Maine lobster in a well-seasoned red sauce with leeks and artichokes. It was unique and incredibly full of contrasting flavors that I loved. And the lobster was so yummy.

The prosciutto-wrapped monkfish was atop mashed potatoes with whipped celery root and a vanilla sauce, but because of the excellent wine pairings (Sancerre was one of them) that part is a little murky in my head. The fish was tender and really does have a lobster-like quality, and I loved the crackling prosciutto. 

The third course was a lovely chocolate terrine. I couldn't eat a whole dessert after that much food so my dining companion ate most of it. I was full from hogging the gnocchi. (Because I am obsessed, we started with the white truffle gnocchi with lobster. I'm a total bore, getting that every time. I can't help it.)

 About the wine pairing: Nokomis really knows how to choose its wines for both the food it goes with and what to have in stock, period. No mass-market crap here. The list is always fun to read, especially for people learning about wine, like myself.

So that was my dinner. Tell me about yours. Did you go out, or did you cook something special at home?

Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Monday, February 15 at 10:44 AM | Comments (14) | Permalink

Death by Chocolate

The Clyde Iron chocolate cup above, and the Restaurant 301 truffle below. Photos by Jana Hollingsworth/News Tribune

 I’m not a huge chocolate lover, so I have never been to Duluth’s annual Death by Chocolate extravaganza.
Not a chocolate lover, you ask?
No. I enjoy it in small bits, but if I am going to ruin my waistline, I lean toward the salty, greasy end of the food spectrum. Throw some liquor in the mix and call it a day.
But I attended this year’s event to see what it was like, and it’s no surprise that out of all the booths proffering different plays on chocolate, I sought out the boozy and salty concoctions.
It was funny to watch hordes of people balance little plates stacked high with cream puffs, cake, truffles and other confections. The decadence was overwhelming. Some people downed chocolate the way I would devour savory bits at a cocktail party. To each his own.
The yet-to-open Clyde Iron Works Bar and Restaurant created an amaretto-spiked mousse in a chocolate cup with a raspberry coulis (sauce made from pureed raspberries) and white chocolate shavings on top. The addictive amaretto mousse hit me right away, but then it cleared to allow the coulis and the hint of white chocolate to shine.
(The Duluth restaurant will open in early April, said executive chef Pete Stumme, and will focus on its two very large, wood-burning ovens with a menu of pizzas, pasta made with scratch noodles, and burgers. Can’t wait.)
Following that, I discovered the Sheraton’s Restaurant 301 truffle: a rich chocolate-y caramel mixture topped with kosher salt and crushed hazelnuts. The combination of salt and caramel is my favorite, and I’m a sucker for any dessert that puts the two together. The hazelnuts were an added bonus.
I also took a shine to Grandma’s Restaurants caramel and pecan turtle: always solid.
The once-a-year event is organized by Arc Northland and the Arrowhead Professional Chefs. If you’ve been to it, you probably love it. Now I know who all you chocophiles are, and I appreciate your dedication.
 

Posted by: Jana Hollingsworth on Thursday, February 11 at 9:00 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

Tags: chocolate, jana hollingsworth

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 (7) | Permalink

Tags: jana hollingsworth

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 (8) | 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