Birthday wishes, a new suburban hot spot, and trendy counters for fall fun
VINCENT BLEW OUT THE CANDLES…It was a festive summer for Chef Vincent Francoual, owner of his name sake Vincent: A Restaurant, at 11th and Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. He not only celebrated five years of business in August, but he survived yet another Life Time Fitness Triathlon (with his team of Vincent groupies) and a festive Bastille Day Celebration to boot. For this well-rounded, athletic chef, who is as comfortable running outside as he is running his kitchen, blowing out five candles was a piece of cake. To make his restaurant’s birthday extra special, he once again brought in his friend and fellow French chef, Benoit Witz of L’Abbaye de la Celle, the famous Alain Ducasse Country Inn and restaurant located in Provence. Bravo!
If you missed the fifth birthday, five-course wine dinner on August 20, never fear, there is always fine fare on the menu with a French twist—and that goes for the Vincent burger, too. Who knew how moist and juicy a burger could be, until you try his gorgeous beef burger stuffed with a mix of shredded, braised short rib and smoked Gouda cheese. Yum yum! Served with a pile of his fancy fries and that irresistible béarnaise on the side, who needs to fly to France? Save your euros (now about twice the value of the dollar) and head for Vincent’s. Oooh la la.
FUJI YA SCREAMS FOR ICE CREAM…It was just one year ago in August 2005, when Fuji Ya owner Tom Hanson and Executive Chef Wei Wang opened the cozy little Fuji Ya in downtown St. Paul on the corner of Seventh Street and Wabasha. I have many wonderful memories going back over two decades with the original Fuji Ya concept along the Mississippi, and have followed up on the newer restaurants on Lyndale then on to Lake Street, but this was the first time they have crossed the river into St. Paul. I loved the late owner, Reiko Weston (she was Tom’s mother-in-law) who introduced me to my first raw tuna (sashimi) before I knew tuna was red, and to a real sushi bar, too. Growing up in Minnesota I only saw canned tuna. Fuji Ya offered a new window on the world and the river. I know she would be pleased they crossed the river as well.
Both the Minneapolis store (turning six years old this fall) and the St. Paul store celebrated with an August ice cream dessert as a gift to the customers. Chef Wei Wang and his team in St. Paul and Chef Kevin Kamin and his Minneapolis team dished up plum delights for two. Wei told me it was a thank you to their customers and one of their most popular desserts. It is a nice cooler, too, with ginger ice cream with chunks of candied ginger, garnished with fresh fruit slices and a small shot of plum wine. In fact, it is so good, you’ll want to order an extra shot of plum wine and add it to your glass for what I would call an adult malt. Delish.
JIMMY’S IS JUMPIN’…Yes, it’s true what they say: Great minds do think alike. I was reminded of that old saying when I made a run out to the new Jimmy’s Food and Cocktails, in Minnetonka, just off Shady Oak Road. The similarities began as I looked at the name and thought of one of my all-time favorites: Ike’s Food and Cocktails in Minneapolis. I quickly learned that was indeed a think-alike-choice.
Owner Mike Jennings (also of The District and Rosen’s in downtown) selected the name as a salute to his dad, local restaurateur Jim Jennings, who owned Jennings Red Coach Inn in St. Louis Park, Gipper’s, JJ’s supper club and others. And, it seems Chip Isaacson, restaurateur, concept developer and owner of Ike’s Food and Cocktails (previously Pickled Parrot), was a consultant on the project. And, yes, his Ike’s bar is named after his father too, the late “Ike” Isaacson. I also saw the cozy touches of floral designer Richard Anderson, who creates the seasonal looks at Ike’s and others in town like the new Stone in Stillwater.
The finishing touch is the colorful, 150-foot-long, five-foot-high mural that wraps the room along the ceiling, created by the artists at Apropos Studio in Minneapolis. Owner Jamie Reich reminded me his murals add the magic at Pazzaluna, Famous Dave’s Blues Club, the Rainforest Café, and the giant faux wood totems at Kokomo’s at the Mall of America, and the smooth, Venetian plaster walls at Brenda Langton’s new Spoonriver.
While the setting is warm and inviting, with a walk-around bar, two patios—one for smokers—and fire pits for an evening glow, the menu is the frosting on the cake. They have great choices and very affordable prices from small plates and light lunches, salads, sandwiches and burgers to dinner selections from pasta, steak and chops to coca-cola braised short ribs. I loved the tenderloin steak with two sauces and flat iron steak with salt and vinegar fries. I also learned the creative chef and consultant Tobie Nidetz helped put the finishing touches on the menu (another Ike’s connection). I’ll need many more visits to sample all the selections that caught my eye.
CHEERS FOR OUR COUNTERS…We’re not last on the counter trend being revived at all the hot spots around the country. It is already big here, too. Yes, I’d say we’re on top of it. Dining room kitchen counters are often featured right in the middle of a fine restaurant with bar stools for any number of customers. Foodies love it. In fact, dining at the bar has been popular in many places like Redstone Grill or Ike’s, but now they can watch their favorite chefs at work slicing and dicing, chopping and mincing, sautéing or grilling the fish or chicken while whipping up the mashed potatoes. They are all over town. Count ‘em up, from the recently shuttered, historical Peter’s Grill (the original counter spot downtown) to the revamped Town Talk Diner on East Lake Street to the California Pizza Kitchens to the sparkling new Cue Restaurant at the Guthrie Theater.
Chic counters are back in vogue and are the buzz. Why? Well because we now have The New York Times seal of approval! In fact we have the “Original French Chef” seal of approval—so now it’s official! It can be credited to the story and quotes in an article in the Times last month from the French guru and chef, Joël Robuchon, who opened his namesake L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City in August. The restaurant’s signature feature is the counter, which is also the focus in the other Robuchon Ateliers in Paris, Tokyo and Las Vegas.
Robuchon says to the Times: “The interest I’ve had in this concept has convinced me that its informality and conviviality, where you can have just one dish or a whole dinner, is the way people want to eat today. … In addition, you have the theatrical aspect, of being able to watch the food prepared.”
Yea! I’ll second that one—especially at the new Cue and its curved thrust counter with 19 stools facing an exhibition kitchen—positioned just four floors below the famous Guthrie thrust stage. And, since Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage and we are but the players,” I’m sure we can expect some theatrical fun watching the “director” of cuisine, Executive Chef Lenny Russo and his chef team creating our meal on their stage. Bravo and encore.
