Tycoons, Duluth, MN

I found this spot in a city I don't know very well by Googling "brewery". It looked good online and seemed to be "downtown", plus it had 4/5 stars, so I thought at least I wouldn't be disappointed. 

I arrived on a snowy night and after some parking issues, I had tucked my car into a city lot (put that on your website!). As I walked to the restaurant, I realized why it was called "Tycoons" as it's directly across from a creepy, gen-pop drawing, downtown casino. Gross. Nice city planning, Duluth. Must be the tax benefits. So, name understood, I went inside. 

The restaurant has a nice vibe and decor in an older building downtown. It was also busy, a good sign. I sat at the bar and inquired about a beer with the college-aged, female bartender. She helped me understand why Google chose this place under "brewery" as all their tap beers are supplied by Fitger's, a local Duluth brewer and she helped me choose their Tugboat Irish Stout. I was pleased with the beer choice from the first sip. 

I picked one of the evening's specials for dinner which is their "Cinnamon Salmon". It was served with fingerling potatoes and a grilled vegetable medley. Though I thought I'd be in for a Northwoods portion (aka huge), it was almost like a high-end restaurant portion (not petite, but no leftovers). The salmon was really well done, but the vegetable medley had onions, which I thought was odd and the potatoes were not consistently cooked, some tender and some a little under done. Despite the minor points, I liked the meal and would go back. 

They also had a great crowd and interesting folks on staff. For example, one of the bartenders had not one but two puka shell necklaces. Who wears these anymore...if you're over 22 years old... and not a swimwear model? In fact, all the male bartenders looked they needed a shower and shave too...I could chalk that up to a long winter.

Moth be Spring soon

If anyone can tell me what kind of moth this is, I'd be interested. Further, if you can tell me why I found it fluttering around the footwell of the front passenger seat of my car in the middle of February, I'd be really interested. 

First Taste,The Butcher & The Boar, Minneapolis, MN

If you have been hibernating for longer than just this winter, you may not have heard about this altar of meat. I know it gets good reviews and friends have said its worth a (meat heavy) trip. I haven't gotten a group together yet, but wanted to see it. So, just went in for a mid-evening drink and snack before meeting people out.

It seems to live up to the billing, though prices seemed a little too downtown for what you seemed to be getting. Then again, I'm not thinking this an every week kind of place for me, but for special occasions only. 

I had a good nitro pour stout (Left Hand) and their pickled plate, including all manner of vegetables, a pickled egg, and some pickled beef heart. Yes, the heart. I saw it on the menu and thought it would make a good story. Plus, I have to say, it was delicious. The whole plate in general, and specifically, the heart. Who knew?

This sort of sums up the winter in MN

The Rabbit Hole, Minneapolis, MN

There are numerous new reviews by true foodies about this place, so I won't pretend to be finding a needle in a haystack, but that's not likely why someone stopped here anyways. Now, on to the meat of the matter...

The Rabbit Hole is a new restaurant and bar located in the Midtown Global Market space. It has an entrance right off the eastside doors (right across from the parking ramp - which is free with validation, btw) and an entrance off the marketplace (so people can get to the shared restrooms... not shared by men and women or something, they're shared b/w TRH and the marketplace).

 

I don't know what the official take on their place is, if they have one, but once you're inside you get a sense that they have design influences from Asian, Middle-Eastern, and Indian themes. Decor is dark, like a cozy place often is, but comfortable. We chose to sit in front of the kitchen windows, which are kind-of-cool 2-top seats, like at a sushi bar, but no ability to talk to the chefs, and had a great time watching them create plates that were going right out to other diners. In fact, it helped us decide what we wanted as we simply thought something looked good seeing it being prepared and asked the waitress what it was, then ordered it.

The menu takes the same direction as the decor, bringing in influences from Korean, Asian, Indian, and Middle-Eastern dishes and spices, then adding their own unique TRH twist, like spice dusted Rice Krispies on the broccoli salad dish we ate. There were dishes with kimchi, a number with seafood as the main component, like crawfish, and some that we had to ask about to understand completely and the waitress was happy to explain.

Get one of their unique drinks. The two we had, a hot date tea and a N/A ginger cocktail were outstanding and gave us totally new flavors we'd never had before. And I don't just mean ginger, I mean the unique blend of items in the ginger drink.

What do you call a redheaded ninja? A ginja!!!

We chose one salad item, one small plate, and one main dish to share b/w the two of us. We had:
- Salad - Broccoli, Orange, Red Onion, Almond, Crispy Rice - This was very good and reminded me of the old family staple carrots & raisins salad.
- Small - Brussel Sprouts, which got hijacked upon order entry and mistaken for - Charred Green Bean, Onion, Almond, Garlic-Black Bean Sauce - We ate these just the same and liked them just the same too. Maybe more actually, because the order was messed up, they gave us the brussel sprouts at the end of the meal and I ate them the next day at home.
- Big - Grilled Kalbi, Short Rib, Kimchi Hash, Grilled Carrots, Roasted Pearl Onions
[the bold and italics are the words they use on their menus to direct your appetite]

Couldn't wait to dive into this one...

Just what the doctor ordered on a cold winter's night...

 

They didn't look like brussel sprouts, but tasted great

 

Though we were pleasantly full from our dishes, we did look at their simple, 4-item dessert menu, but decided to fore go some of their Asian-inspired, lighter desserts for a trip to Sebastian Joe's Ice Cream (and don't get me started on that place).

All in all, we had a great time, with great food and service and I would go back in a New York minute. You should too.

One extra little note: if you see the red neon heart in the rabbit picture above, though I took multiple pics with my iPhone, only this one came out with the red heart, the rest of them are blank. See below. Spooky. Ghosts?

Dragons Attack!!!

You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you where, but rest assured these are for sale in the Twin Cities...hand-made woolen balls of firey fluff. The first one below is actually a woman's hat. Hilarious. I have no idea why dragons. This artist makes other, real animal figures as well.

The Craftsman, Minneapolis, MN

This was a brunch I won't soon forget. Nice, comfortable space; simple, well thought out menu; and service that could use a cup of coffee (though judging by reviews, I'm not the first to say that). 

Their Sunday brunch menu all sounded good, but they have a rather upscale take on the ole breakfast sandwich. Up the quality of the ham, use a nice egg, jazz up the greens, aioli and bun and you get a really nice brunch item. It was delicious and unpretentious. I'd go back for brunch #2 in a heartbeat.