Al Vento, Minneapolis,MN

Al Vento's dining room has tables squeezed together making for a more cozy than cafeteria style atmosphere. The Southern Italian menu offers an extensive wine selection and various pasta and entrée style dishes. Don't pass up on the artichoke walnut bruschetta for starters, even though it might be tempting to ask for more of the complementary bread and butter oil.

Order a bottle of wine on the friendly and helpful staff's recommendation. A busy dinner hour makes for a cacophony of quiet chatter that will bring out conversation from the most introverted date. Wine bargain hunters can come to drink all day Monday on half-priced bottles and from 4:30-5:30 on every other day the rest of the week. Impress your significant other's parents by ordering the three seafood antipasti. Or just come one night by yourself and sit at the unassuming bar for a beer or a wine. Al Vento is located at 5001 34th Ave. S in Minneapolis.

La Grolla - Saint Paul, MN

This past Saturday was our first outdoor eating experience of the season. One of my favorite Saint Paul outdoor spots is La Grolla on Selby Avenue. La Grolla was opened in the summer of 2002 by Chef Antonio Tettamanzi. His vision of an inviting, upscale restaurant where patrons felt embraced by the Italian cuisine, surroundings, and staff has led to La Grolla's success. La Grolla has everything you're looking for in an upscale neighborhood Italian restaurant. For those who like to bring their own wine when they dine out, La Grolla is BYOB friendly and charges a $15 corkage. We brought a bottle of 2001 Azienda Agricola Montevetrano which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Aglianico. The wine was excellent and more characteristic of a Bordeaux than an Italian. Everytime I go to La Grolla I have to start out with the Cepansante which is Mexican diver scallops wrapped in angel hair pasta, lightly deep fried served with lobster sauce and basil oil. We also shared one of the appetizer specials, duck pot stickers, which we've had before and were great. For Dinner we shared cheese tortellini with prosciutto and peas in a cream sauce and crouton encrusted baked halibut with fresh vegetables. We finished up with some delicious tiramisu and cheese cake. La Grolla is located at 425 Selby Avenue in Saint Paul. Reservations are recommended.

The Craftsman Restaurant - Minneapolis, MN

It had been a couple years since we last ate at the Craftsman Restaurant on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Recently, the new chef Mike Phillips has been getting a lot of press so my wife and I decided to see what all the hype was about. We would not be disappointed. Chef Phillips and his wife Michelle opened and ran Chet's Taverna, a popular neighborhood restaurant that was committed to working with regional and organic ingredients. After operating Chet's for 6 years, Mike closed Chet's in 2004. His interest in sustainable living, organic quality, and European cooking techniques are an integral part of The Craftsman. We started out with the Pork Rillettes and Artisan Cheese Plate. The Pork Rillettes is basically a seasoned pork pate served with crostini and spicy mustard. It was delicious and a very generous serving. Four people could have easily shared this. We picked two of the many artisan cheeses offered for our plate. First we tried the 'Winnimere' from Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont. It's made from Ayrshire cow's milk and is similar to a Brie and very creamy. We also tried the Uplands Cheese 'Pleasant Ridge Reserve' which is a Gruyere made from cow's milk in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Both were great.

For the main course I tried the Grilled Fisher Farms pork chop with new potato and cipollini onion gratin and grilled maple sausage. The pork chop was good but a little bland paired with the excellent potatoes and sausage. The gratin potatoes were some of the best I've ever had. The sausage, like the chop, also came from Fisher Farms in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. I'm going to try and track down this sausage. My wife tried the Grilled grass fed Flat Iron Steak with fries and Bearnaise sauce. It was great and I especially enjoyed the super thick Bearnaise. Like the appetizer the portions for both entrees were very generous.

For desert we decided to try the Heirloom Apple Crisp and Brioche Bread Pudding. A lot of restaurants serve apple crisp but the Craftsman's version is a cut above the rest served with a scoop of Izzy's cinnamon ice cream. Even better was the Bread pudding. I can't really describe how good it was but it was close to eating a baked stick of butter. To wash it down we shared a glass of the Saint Croix Vineyards Raspberry Infusion which paired perfectly with the bread pudding.

The Craftsman restaurant is located at 4300 Lake Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota just across the Marshall/Lake Street bridge from Saint Paul. You can go to Open Table to make reservations.

Ichiban Japanese Steak House

Last week, I dressed the family up and headed out to Ichiban Japanese Steak House on the Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. Ichiban’s has been open in Minneapolis since 1979 and I have been there a few times before, but this was the first time I took the kids. The beautiful, pagoda-style building is very elegant and the comfortable indoor garden atmosphere with the waterfall and the stream offers a unique and fun backdrop for dining. My kids loved walking over the little wooden bridge to get to our table and the running water sound is so relaxing after a rough week at work.

Our kimono-clad waitress offered us oshibori (traditional hot, moist towels) and we all selected a dinner sampler that included Lobster, Filet Mignon and Chicken. The food was good and the show was great. Ichiban is pure theater. Seated in a horseshoe formation around a huge griddle, my family oohed and ahhed as the chef demonstrates the art of teppanyaki (griddle cooking). The chef chopped, sliced and set ablaze our dinner. My kids were truly amazed with his quick chopping skills, ability to play with fire and witty jokes. My daughter whispered over to me that it was the best steak she had ever had! Now, she doesn’t get out too much, but I do agree the Mignon was phenomenal that night and we got so much food! We were all stuffed as we shuffled back to the car (parking is a breeze there, another plus!)

Ichibans is definitely famous for the grill side cooking show, but they also have an award winning sushi bar and a great bar and lounge area. The delicious food and entertaining show have made Ichiban a favorite dinner destination in the Minneapolis area for years – if you haven’t been there, get out and give it a try! The food can be made mild enough for wimpy palates or spicy enough for the more brave! The bill is not cheap, but you also get entertainment with your meal. I would say the price is comparable to a Dinner Show, but the food is much better!

Reservations for teppanyaki are recommended and can be made by calling 612.339.0540 after 10:30 am weekdays and after noon on Saturday & Sunday. The sushi bar is available on a first come first served basis. The restaurant is open Sunday to Thursday, 4:30 pm - 9:30 pm and Friday to Saturday, 4:30 pm - 10:00 pm.

Thank you to the Ichiban’s staff for making our family’s night out a special one!

Hard Rock Cafe, Minneapolis

I stopped by the Hard Rock Café in Minneapolis this week after a Timberwolves game and noticed the place was full of basketball fans. I have been there a few times before, but I was with my buddy who is from out of town so he wanted to stop in. The Hard Rock is always a classic place to entertain guests and my buddy is a real car guy so he was pretty impressed with the purple convertible with the gold flames right in the middle of the restaurant. If you have never been to the Hard Rock Minneapolis, seeing the classic car is worth the trip alone. There is also a ton of Prince memorabilia on the wall. The Hard Rock is easy to get to and is literally right across the street from the Target Center so it’s just a quick walk over and if you are driving downtown just to eat out the huge guitar outside the restaurant is hard to miss!

The food is classic Hard Rock entrees and the beer isn’t too cheap, but we had a great time. My buddy took a few pictures of us all at the bar and we kept our eyes open for local celebrities (it has been rumored that many professional athletes hang out there and I have seen a few local news anchors there as well.) The night was fun as we enjoyed our appetizers and commiserated about the Minnesota Timberwolves loss. Win or lose, The Hard Rock Café in Minneapolis is a great stop after any Target Center event!

Valentines Day in the Twin Cities

It’s no secret that Valentines Day is one of the biggest restaurant days of the year. It comes at a perfect time when business may be slumping a bit, but sweethearts everywhere are willing to dish out big bucks for a romantic dinner for two.

If you don’t already have reservations, you are probably out of luck for the top spots such as Lucia's Restaurant, Solera, Jax Cafe and Goodfellow's, but there are a few others worth trying that I read about in the Star Tribune this morning.

The Marquette Hotel's Windows on Minnesota (612-376-7404), on the 50th floor of the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis, has a few tables left, but only after 9 p.m. Their five-course menu offers choices such as saffron-scented lobster calamari salad, shrimp tempura, duck and foie gras terrine, truffled beef tenderloin and the lemon-thyme poached sea bass. Cost is $68.95 per person, which includes a glass of Champagne and roses for the ladies.

French Meadow Bakery and Cafe (612-870-7855) is offering an organic four-course dinner for two that sounds like a terrific deal: entree options of almond-seared tuna or free-range duck, and desserts of molten dark chocolate espresso cake or strawberry ginger crème brûlée with macadamia truffles, plus much more. For another $25, you can add a flight of wines to each course. The prime seatings are booked, but they do have a few spots available before 7 p.m. and after 8 p.m.

The Local (at 10th and Nicollet in downtown Minneapolis, 612-904-1000) still has spots available too. Valentine's Day menu highlights include potato-crusted sea bass with mashed potatoes, garlicky kale and a beurre blanc for $18.99, and Cashel-(an Irish cheese) smothered sirloin steak with mashed potatoes, asparagus and red beet bordelaise for $21.99.


If you still can’t find anywhere to eat and you want to take your sweetie to a game, there is a lot going on in both Minneapolis and St Paul tonight. You can check out the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul or stay in Minneapolis and see the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center or if you prefer the U’s campus, visit the Minnesota Golden Gophers Mens Basketball team taking on arch rival Wisconsin Badgers. There are plenty of concession choices at all three venues. Who says a hot dog and a beer can’t be romantic? Best of luck to all of you Valentine’s diners! Enjoy!

Auriga - Minneapolis, MN

The Star Tribune published an article recently that said many local restaurants were in the red and that January was one of the worst months to be in the food business. I suppose it could be the cold weather or the limited number of Minnesotans willing to try out new food ideas, but regardless Minneapolis has lost three gems in the last few weeks. The first to close was Levain, which opened at 48th Street and Chicago Avenue S. in Minneapolis in 2003. Then Five Restaurant & Street Lounge closed, which opened at 29th Street and Bryant Avenue S in 2005.

The most recent and most shocking resteraunt closing was Auriga, who shut its doors after ten years. Auriga, named for a constellation, was located off Hennepin Ave and offered a fantastic menu and was one of the few restaurants in the Twin Cities to offer a tasting menu, as well. Their menu changed often so they could provide patrons with fresh seasonal choices and a few months ago they revamped the place to feel more elegant and less like a bistro. I will never forget the chamomile tea from Auriga, it was exceptional and their selections of wine and bread were top notch. My favorite wine was a Rhone Style Red Wine that went great with my dish and the bread made with Guinness was also fantastic. This restaurant will definitely be missed!

I hope the closing of this unique spot isn’t a sign of things to come for the Twin Cities. It would be disgusting to see the trendy Twin Cities area become over run with chain restaurants. I know that Minneapolis is not a total food town, but even in this frigid weather, don’t be afraid to venture out and visit your favorite local spots – they need you!