April blows out candles on birthdays old and new

NEW BIRTHDAY BABE ON THE BLOCK AT IVY… As some of our grand old spots crossed the half-century mark this spring, a new babe opened its doors over at the historic Ivy on Second Avenue South in Minneapolis, a block from Orchestra Hall. The stunning new Porter & Frye opened its doors this spring with much-awaited anticipation from one and all—especially the food community. Not only to see the marvelous space but to see our buddy and past Foodservice News contributor, Chef Steven Brown in action. I’ve only had a few pit stops so far at the hotel, but I did stop at the stunning stained-glass bar for a cocktail and a bite and loved it. I still need to get to the dining room for a serious dining adventure, but so far, so good.

The restaurant occupies the street level of the Ivy Tower, the castle-like 1930 landmark. The bar is at street level and a full dining room on the lower level. This little jewel is now surrounded by two new stone towers housing the Hotel Ivy (managed by the Starwood Hotels and Resorts) and the Ivy condominium tower. The modern dining room (created by Walsh Bishop Architects of Minneapolis), is a mixed use of dark oak and the exposed concrete pillars and walls, with hot blood-orange and mocha accents. The sleek staircase from the bar curves past a celebrity booth with two large chandeliers hanging overhead.

Me? I like the bar. You will be mesmerized by the deep colors and light coming from the stained glass that also richly reflects across the polished wood-topped bar. The bar and cocktail menu alone are enough to keep me coming back for more. Chef Brown created nearly a dozen beautiful small plates and bar offerings priced from $6 for a fancy pomme juliette to $14 for tuna sliders. He also slid two fancy beef tenderloin portions onto the bar menu for those who want to dine in the bar that run $28 and $34 for six- to eight-ounce portions. And to fancy up your $10 grilled pizza, you can also add shaved black truffles for $35. Uffdah!

Cocktails are inviting, too. A two page sheet had categories like sparklers, specialty creations and a unique choice of “mocktails”—and I loved that too; pretty, fun drinks to share without the hard stuff. I tried the Berkshire terrine on a recent bar stop expecting a small slice or two of a country style paté with a chunk of bread—maybe like a piece of chunky chopped liver. Well it wasn’t. It was pretty as a picture (see by the photo). It looks like a wedding petit four with delicate, thinly sliced radish petals and dash of colorful violet mustard and apple butter. Inside was the pork terrine, coarse and tasty, frosted with some type of a savory butter and perfect for spreading on the grilled baguette alongside. It made me smile with every bite. And I promise you will eat slower and enjoy it more as you see the art in the food and its creative presentation. Bravo Chef Brown. I’m looking forward to going back to try more choices soon. Manager Dan Patterson and his team must be very happy with the rollout of this new baby. Cheers, and welcome to the neighborhood.


COUNT ‘EM UP, 75 IN NORDEAST & 60 IN STILLWATER…While new places keep dotting the landscape (despite the economy) betting they’ll be counting their years in the future, some would say it’s all pretty much luck. Or, is it location or maybe just hard work— or all of the above. It helps if the next generation loves what their parents and grandparents have started- and want to keep it going for 75 years like Bill Kozlak Jr. over at Jax Café. Cheers to Billy, as we used to call him, the third generation to keep the grill hot at Jax since 1933 - and I see by their historical scrapbook he’s named his son Billy, (the 3rd Bill in line) maybe with the hope that when he grows up, he’ll be the 4th generation link - and love the fine restaurant hospitality business as well. We all hope so too.

While my editor Mike gave Jax a royal salute and cover story last month, I still wanted to salute this 75th birthday events and the food fun it brings with it for us foodies. For years, the Kozlak family has offered special dinners for their Anniversary - and I remember way back when Bill Sr. and wife Kathy (now retired) featured a $19.33 steak dinner in honor of their opening birthday date. As the years went buy, prices had to go up too. More recently they began saluting the number of years they were celebrating like 55, 60 and now 75 years old, with a dinner for two priced to match. Hence, you now have the chance to check out their tempting four-course anniversary dinner for two at $75. This still is a good deal (offered all this year by the way) when you see you are paying $37.50 per person for a starter of their famous crab rolls, followed by choice of clam chowder or salad and a 32-ounce porterhouse for two sliced tableside. And for dessert? One of the great classics of all time—an Ice Cream grasshopper cocktail.

Bill’s second really neat offer, which you’ll find hard to refuse, is a salute to their famous lobster tank in the bar. Make a run over to Jax any Sunday night between now and the end of July, and you can sup on a $30 whole Maine lobster. Dinner will include choice of soup or salad, with veggie and potato. Bill’s only request is to make a reservation in advance to reserve your lobster so they’ll be sure to have one with your name on it when you get there.


MEANWHILE IN STILLWATER…another oldie but goodie was celebrating on the other side of town with a real meal deal. Over at the 60-years young Meister’s German Bar & Grill in Stillwater they rolled out a 60th Anniversary Celebration for 60 days through the full months of March and April, saluting 1948 thru 2008. And it was a winner! Known to the regulars as the longtime home of the Burgermeister, a 1/3 pound burger with bacon, cheese and onions on a steamed bun, they also had a surprising subhead in their anniversary slogan: “Don’t Tell Anybody.” A little reverse psychology you say? No, not really. Basically they were afraid it might get too crowded—and they were right! An old Stillwater buddy took me in for a peek on a busy Saturday night in April and I was bemused and befuddled by the crowds and the turnover at this cozy corner bar. But not surprised. Why? Because these prices were really from 1948!

They saluted their 60th with 60-cent beers, 60-cent burgers and 60-cent Coney dogs too. Oh, and yes, 60-cent mystery shots from four brown-bagged bottles. Now that was fun, and the presentation was classic. So how do you rate your tastebuds, folks? Bartender Joe Goulet agreed to tell us what we had after we made our guesses. We guessed the strawberry schnapps but were stymied by the blackish/fruity grape pucker and tangy lemonade pucker—ugh. I can’t ever recall ordering any pucker flavors as a drink of choice in my memory. The last was a tangy vodka choice, almost like an aquavit. I learned later from another bartender named Cutter that during the 60-day celebration they were cleaning out the cellar and would bring up the dusty bottles first. Good idea, eh?

I also learned they had gone through more than 14,000 burgers by the time I stopped by, as well as hundreds of kegs of beer and they still had few weeks to go. The regular menu looked great too, complete from pork chops to steak with sides of sauerkraut, and fried state fair favorites like mini corndogs and cheese curds. The prices are still darn good too, birthday or no, with that burgermeister just $4.50. Founder/owners James Emmett Meister and his wife Eileen started a good thing back in ’48 that keeps families coming for more. It’s into the second generation now, since Jim passed away about 30 years ago, but Eileen and her sons remain in action. In fact, some have opened a second Meister’s in Shoreview and two more Meister’s can be found in Wisconsin. Raise a glass to the Meister’s and take a peek for yourself.


ANOTHER STILLWATER BABY, LA BELLE VIE TURNS TEN…Chef /owner Tim McKee and his team over at La Belle Vie, the popular Minneapolis fine-dining mecca, also had lots to celebrate last month with a decade under their belt, er, apron. Open just two years here in Minneapolis, they first opened their doors to fine dining in 1998 on Main Street in downtown Stillwater. And though they outgrew their digs back in 2006 to move to the mini-apple, I hear they are again looking at a new concept in Stillwater called Smalley’s Caribbean Barbecue and Pirate Bar, to open later this month with their line chef Shawn Smalley at the helm. Both Smalley and McKee still live in Stillwater.

In April they celebrated the first decade for their baby, Le Belle Vie, with a sellout six-course wine dinner at the highest price on our birthday bash list at $135 per person. But, this birthday meal was not chopped liver and they did serve a choice of two wine flights with each course selected by their wine expert, GM and Partner Bill Sommerville. So for us cost-conscious Minnesota foodies it still was a deal of a meal, right? With McKee cooking, who is a Beard-Award finalist for Best Chef Midwest, I guess you could say it really was a deal. Take a look at the marvelous menu and see for yourself: Everything from king crab to rock shrimp ravioli and seared foie gras with caramelized black radish, to roasted squab and grilled beef tenderloin, to orange chiffon cake with sauternes sabayon and orange basil sherbet. OK, OK. It was a steal and a sellout and—sour grapes—I’m sorry I had to miss it.

Bravo to the team and to Tim for your first 10 years and many more. Plus, good luck in New York with the Best Chef category along with our two other local chef/owners who made the cut—Isaac Becker of 112 Eatery and Alex Roberts from Restaurant Alma. Good eats, eh? And they used to call us flyover country. Pat Lindquist is a writer and consultant specializing in restaurants and food product PR since 1984. She is a charter member of the International Association of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs (IAWCR) and belongs to the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), Chaine des Rotisseurs and the James Beard Foundation. She can be reached by phone at 612-922-3080 or by e-mail at lindquistpat@earthlink.net.