Fight winter chill outside with new hot spots for coffee & cozy corners from Stillwater to St. Louis Park

LIBERTY HOUSE CAFE & CREAMERY…if you’re on the road to Stillwater and looking for a way to cut the cold, make a hot coffee stop at Liberty House Café & Creamery. You’ll be surprised to find this quaint New England-style roadhouse is much more than just a caffee mocha, latte or espresso fast food stop. It’s as cozy as a home away from home, with a crackling fireplace, living room sofa, dining tables for four, and a soda fountain, too, featuring gourmet sandwiches, grilled panini and hot soups. It’s also an ice cream lover’s dream come true—and owner Sal Rosa’s dream come true, for sure. Sal says, “We’re not fast food, but we are good food, fast.” And his specialty? Italian born Rosa’s life-long favorites have always been homemade gelato, ice cream and sorbet. Now he makes his own fresh batches everyday and they have dozens and dozens of flavors to prove it.

Sal and wife Mary Rosa are the masterminds and founders behind this inviting cafe, nestled into a small neighborhood above the river town of Stillwater, dubbed Liberty Village. They lived in the neighborhood (just off Highway 36 at the intersection of Manning Road and Myrtle) and saw what a natural spot it would be for a family eatery, and now find themselves open for business everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Sal has had over 20 years of experience in the restaurant business.

If his name and face are familiar you may have crossed paths with him from his moves around town. After training and an education in hotel management in Palermo, Italy, and a food career across Europe (Sal speaks four languages), he met and married Wisconsin native Mary in London, moving back to the metro area in 1990. He was on the opening chef team for the Minneapolis Hilton and was F&B director at St. Paul’s Town and Country Club. Most recently Sal managed the California Café at the Mall of America. With Sal’s talent in front and back of the house, and Mary’s marketing and design savvy, they are a perfect team. When they opened in January 2006, she created super slogans to tempt you: “Feed Your Inner Child—Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Gelato,” and, “Where Life’s little Rewards are Just a Little Bit Sweeter.”

Meanwhile, Sal keeps up the good work with his baking and has no problem tempting us with fresh-baked sweets from scones and muffins to sweet rolls, cookies and cakes—all of which are a perfect match to their coffees and fountain favorites from ice cream, cones to shakes, sundaes and floats. Make a pit stop soon.


STONE’S THROW AWAY…It’s just a stone’s throw over the hill (down Myrtle Street) to explore another new Stillwater hot spot: Stone’s Restaurant & Lounge. This second-floor eatery is located in the Grand Garage on Main Street, with a patio entrance nestled into the hillside, complete with waterfall that was a real summer scene-stealer. Outside and inside stone is used decoratively, artfully arranged on floors and walls. It’s a salute to the name and homage to the owner, Michael Stone. But it was the team he pulled in around him to create this recipe for success that really intrigued me. I had to go see for myself when I heard the names of the local foodie “who’s who” list that rallied round this effort. Once again we see my old Minneapolis friends from Jimmy’s and Ike’s fame, restaurateur/consultant Chip Isaacson, along with his favorite chef/teacher/consultant extraordinaire Tobie Nidetz, and then Josh Thoma from La BelleVie and Solera, as well. Then add from St. Paul’s side of town the food fame and dining knowledge of Charlie Burroughs from Axel’s and Bonfire Grill. Wow O wow! What a winning group. They all have their footprints on this project and leave big shoes to fill.

Well, good news folks! I found yet another familiar face on site now following in their footsteps. Executive Chef Adam Randall, the man heading up the kitchen, greeted me when we made our cocktail hour pit stop on a rainy Saturday afternoon last month. He loves his new gig and brings more than 20 years of experience from past lives from Windows on Minnesota, to St. Paul Athletic Club to opening the Blaine based Bella last year.

A dinner at Stone’s has something for everyone—from the much-touted fried lobster tail or double lamb chop, to a cowboy steak or brewers braised pot roast. We decided, however, the dinner menu with their creative “choice of plates” from big plates to comfort plates to sandwich plates and more, was too much for tackling on my short afternoon visit. Randall pointed out favorites on the small plates menu—which is fast becoming my favorite way to eat around town—great for sampling or on the run. Hot soups are another must at this chilling time of year, so we started with a magnificent bowl of Stone’s baked French onion soup, with a cheese topping to die for. Then we sampled three small plates, including a seared tuna and broiled portabella mushrooms with an elegant Marsala wine butter sauce. Yummy!

But, save room for their dessert—sweet plates—another must on this menu. I vote for their banana fritters. Uffdah! Five chunks of banana are deep-fried in a delicate batter, laced with a rich five-spice caramel sauce and topped with thick homemade whipped cream. I need a return trip soon.


BACK TO BRIX IN THE PARK…Out in the western ‘burbs, the new neighbor to the popular McCoy’s at Excelsior and Grand is Brix Bistro & Wine Bar. The inviting yellow patio umbrellas and neon name caught my eye on drive-bys on Excelsior Boulevard this summer, after the short lived Mojito had closed. I had also learned the space was purchased by Marty Collins, who is also the owner of McCoy’s Public House at the opposite corner. But the name confused me. Some say “bree” some say “bricks” but they explain on their website—and on the menu—“The term brix is a measurement system used to determine sugar content of grapes and wine.” And it goes on to say “brix is the optimum degree of grape ripeness at harvest for the majority of table wines.” The dictionary says to pronounce it like “briks,” so I guess they have definitely created “moniker curiosity” and cocktail conversation much like figlio did.

They have definitely made this corner more inviting for the neighborhood. They moved the bar to the outside wall and redesigned the dining room seating, while still saving the fun of the open kitchen. Built on the concept of an Italian bistro, Brix offers a menu with daily hand-made pastas, grilled entrees and regional Italian dishes with as much attention to the wines as the name indicates. Brix features more than 100 choices, with more than 20 wines available by the glass and half carafe. They also offer happy hour wine features, which include half-priced carafes.

I’ve made a couple of stops during happy hour in the past few months, enjoying a sunny afternoon outside under the yellow umbrellas on one visit—and another at the cozy bar inside. Once again I found myself gravitating to the small plates—antipasto in this case. Chef Corey Henkle has come up with more than a half-dozen unique choices with beautiful plate presentations as well as classics from mussels to Italian sausage to calamari.

We loved the goat cheese—two little medallions of cheese encrusted with crushed pecans, drizzled with a warm rosemary honey and small stack of toasted ciabatta crostini. Plus, try their unique carpaccio—paper-thin slices of lean raw beef and prosciutto are topped with a pile of fresh leaves of baby arugula (big enough for small salad for two) topped with rounds of toast and roasted gorgonzola-stuffed figs. Delish. More winter visits are on my calendar to sample Brix. CHEERS.