Fogo fires up Minneapolis, and soon more steak
from R. Norman, and it’s a decade for Dave’s at the Fair

FOGO FIRES-UP FUN…at the corner of Seventh and Hennepin. For the past five months sparkly, dancing flames and rotating skewers of meats behind a huge, curved glass wall have beckoned passersby to peek inside the new Fogo de Chão (pronounced fo-go dèe shoun) at City Center. They promise fun and feasting with South American flair. They tell you to sit back, relax and enjoy “service with a smile” and their unique atmosphere. It’s a steakhouse with the flavor of Rio Grande do Sul in Southern Brazil, and all you need is your red and green disk to bring the service you desire. And, oh yes, bring your appetite. Place the green side up and you signal their Gaucho chefs to bring out skewers of sizzling fire-roasted meats to carve at your table. When your plate is full, turn the disk to the red side, indicating a stopping point if you need a breather. Uffdah!

This City Center corner (just across from Gameworks in Block-E) has been somewhat of a revolving restaurant space during the past years, from the Chinese Nankin to the short-lived, New Orleans-based concept Copeland’s about five years ago. Now, Fogo may have the answer—meat, and lots of it. They’ve been keeping hungry Minnesota meat eaters happy since April and they’re doing a nice job of keeping people happy night and day.

It’s fun to see them in action too. They feature more than a dozen selections of meats, seasoned and slow-roasted over their signature open flame in that now famous corner window. These savory cuts are then presented on skewers and carved tableside by their Gaucho chef/servers. In Brazil, “churrasco” is their term for barbecued meat on skewers, cooked usually in an open oven with charcoal fires and vertical supports for spits or skewers. Ten years ago this popular Fogo concept opened their first U.S. spot in Dallas. People love it with its all-you-can-eat beef, chicken, lamb and sausage choices (they feature unlimited servings of 15 different cuts of these fire-roasted meats) plus a sumptuous cold buffet of gourmet salads and fresh-cut vegetables, and a variety of Brazilian side dishes as well.

I was worried that their $22 lunch would be a tough sell for downtowners, but they also offer a $16 meatless, endless salad bar for their weekday lighter lunch version. It’s still not the magic “$10 or less” popular lunch price, but they are drawing a nice lunch crowd—I’m sure hungry Minnesotans are eating their money’s worth. In the evenings they give added life to the block, from the corner flaming light show to the lineup of Bermuda short clad lads at the valet sidewalk stand rushing to grab your car as you pull up curbside. They now have a newly indented drive-up, drop-off spot along the sidewalk, which is a nice addition and wintertime necessity for most Minnesotans, who love to drop their car at the door when they dine downtown rather than looking for a ramp. Fogo’s got the recipe for success here in town, and let’s hope they’ll keep the corner alive and well for years to come.


MORE REVOLVING CORNER NEWS…More comings and goings on the busy corner of Seventh and Hennepin with both good news and bad news. Maybe I should say “sad news,” when another spot bites the dust—I see Chevy’s Fresh Mex closed their doors on the corner this summer. A California-based operation with over 100 successful units around the country, and a freshly kept look inside and outside, I thought they were a nice addition to this corner. If you have a Chevy’s craving, they still have one in town in Bloomington, on the South side of the Mall of America. Rumor has it another Mexican eatery may be on the way to keep the corner jumping.

That leads us to the good news: cross the street (kitty corner from Fogo) to the historic Stimson building, with its huge window walls (and home to the Pantages Theatre) along the Hennepin side. This multi-level corner will become the new home of R. Norman’s: The Steakhouse. They will have a revolving door entrance at the corner and a second entrance from the Pantages lobby for theatergoers.

I caught up with old friend Randy Norman, operating partner and namesake of this new project, with partners David Koch and new investor Denny Hecker. It’s a dream restaurant for Randy, who has crossed the country with restaurant service and was the Capital Grille’s head honcho when they opened here some years ago at the corner of Eighth and Hennepin. He later joined forces with Koch as part of the restaurant team who first brought us the stunning Bellanotte in Block E. Then two years later, he and Koch built their beautiful Blaine restaurant, Bella. And yes, Hecker is the same Hecker of car dealer and finance fame who, lucky for us, is broadening his investments into the hospitality world.

Randy tells me they’re going full speed and are hustling to get the space open in late September, with plans to use both floors and the rooftop. He says it will be a “steakhouse with a twist.”

“We are looking at a first floor dining room and bar, a mezzanine and second-floor lounge which will also offer a sushi bar, and a seasonal, open rooftop bar and dining space.” Plans call for weekday lunch service and dinner seven days per week. Plus, they’ll have a unique, L-shaped rooftop overlooking both Hennepin and Seventh Street. I can’t wait for a cool sunset cocktail on the roof. This will make a nice addition to our great white way of rooftops like Solera and Chamber’s Bar at the Ninth Street corner. And while we’re up there, don’t forget Brits rooftop along the Mall, and a salute to the original downtown rooftop dining spot over in Loring Park at Joe’s Garage, with its rooftop facing Hennepin and the magnificent Basilica Dome. Cheers!


A DECADE OF DAVE’S BAR-B-QUE AT STATE FAIR… brings promises of more great ribs and some new birthday surprises. Since 1997, the Famous Dave’s gang has been smokin’ and grillin’ up their favorites all day long at the Minnesota State Fair. Located alongside the base of the Grandstand, last year they enlarged the dining room space and patio and even added a breakfast menu with irresistible homemade praline caramel rolls and a few down-home classics from biscuits and gravy to a smoked brisket hash, topped with scrambled eggs.

This year, the dynamic duo of Charlie Torgerson and Randy Jernberg are at it again. “We wanted to salute our decade at the Fair but also thank our fairgoer fans who stop by every year—it’s hectic and crazy, but it’s our most 12 fun days of the year,” Randy said, laughing.

I can just hear their Dave’s style slogan now: “We feel fun! We feel playful! We feel colorful! And we don’t feel like cake and ice cream.”

So what do they do to celebrate a birthday? Would you believe a “Knuckle Sandwich” with a Kool-Aid pickle on a stick—and that’s just for starters. These two guys are food guys with heart and humor, and they have passion for food like their mentor and Famous Dave’s founder, Dave Anderson. They are franchisees who own and operate the Fair booth and Famous Dave’s restaurants in Duluth, Rochester, Mankato and a new one in Baxter.

Charlie, who graduated from the CIA more than 20 years ago (and cut his teeth at the Oyster Bar at the old Plaza Hotel in New York City), was the man who developed recipes with Dave back in the mid 1990s and went into more R & D and training for the kitchen teams. Randy, who grew up in the business with a father/chef who headed up the kitchen at Murray’s) was with Chi-Chi’s management team before joining Dave’s and established its catering/to-go and front of the house operations. Now, they travel the state to check in on their own operations and have been busy testing recipes, and soaking and brining some of their new creations for the Fair.

Charlie came up with a cut from pork producers that’s wowed him. Called a knuckle, it’s a boneless piece of meat around the shoulder joint. He told me, “We brine it for 48 hours, then we rub it and we smoke it. To serve, we slice it and then we toss it with Dave’s Sweet & Zesty Sauce, pile onto a hoagie bun and top with hot caramelized red onions.” Sounds yummy.

But it could be their new Kool-Aid pickles on stick that will win the hearts of every age. This old-fashioned Southern favorite consists of big dill pickles soaking in jars of double strength black cherry Kool-Aid for weeks. You may have seen the renewed interest on the colorful pickle featured in a story in the May 6 issue of The New York Times. Our own chef/foodie and Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern wrote on his blog that he bet $10 somebody would put it on a stick for the State Fair. Charlie took him up on the bet.

They are planning to soak and brine at least 3,000 pickles with the Black Cherry Kool-Aid sugar mix in more than 50 small batches of 50 or 60 pickles for three weeks before the Fair. Charlie let me taste one when he opened a test jar a few weeks ago. The pickles absorb the red color and a spicy sweet and tangy sort of flavor, much like my Grandma’s old pickled crab apples. Delish and such fun, too. Happy Birthday.