Where is the Best Wine List in Minneapolis, Minnesota?
This was my first time at Arezzo. This place was recommended by a friend. I didn’t make a reservation, but went early on a Saturday (5 p.m.). Lovely and prompt service. The place got busy between 6-7 p.m., but our service didn’t deteriorate. Appetizers were clamari (that was melt-in-your-mouth tender) and spinach in olive oil, garlic and pine nuts. Just enough garlic to flavor the spinach, but not overpower the dish. My entree was a pork loin chop stuffed with apples, italian ham and cheese on top of garlic mashed sweet potato and a cream sauce. Wonderful! Portion was exceptional, very filling, tender and moist. For dessert, three of us share the tiramisu. It was a huge portion. Although it was delicious, we couldn’t finish it. This wasn’t “done up” tiramisu, (I’ve had tiramisu at other gourmet Italian restaurants where they put orange zest in the dessert, which overpowered the dish). This was the traditional, well done tiramisu! This fine fare was priced right. Nice restaurant for fr
Six of us dined here on a recent evening. All enjoyed it. The menu contains many unusual items in unusual combinations, and changes frequently. An obvious effort is made to utilize local sources. Here are some we consumed: the lake trout gravlax, watermelon-cucumber gazpacho, hierloom tomato salad with blue cheese, Romano flat beans with walnut dressing, wild sturgeon with crayfish butter, and a chicken breast prep (details escape me now). All were pronounced excellent. I can say the sturgeon, one of my favorite aquatic foods, was outstanding, not only for the quality of the fish but for the sauce. Interestingly, the prosaic flat beans were wonderful. The only disappointment was the bird-like portion of the trout gravlax appetizer. It was $10 but, given the Lilliputian quantity, should’ve been $6. About six miniature potato chips and a barely detectable sauce accompanied it. I’m seeing this more and more: Extremely small appetizers costing more than they should. Better to increase the
I have been going to Jax Cafe in Beautiful Nordeast Minneapolis since 1965. Over the years I have had club and business meetings, and business and personal lunches/dinners/brunches at Jax. I had my retirement party in the Cosmopolitan Room in 2002 with 150 guests. My church celebrated our 90th Anniversary with a dinner for 255 happy guests. I continue to see past business associates, who I previously introduced to Jax, coming in to entertain their current business contacts and to enjoy their own personal and family celebrations. The pianist plays my favorite song, “My Way” by Frank Sinatra. That’s what I always receive at Jax is, “My Way”. The food is of the highest quality, the service is excellent and friendly, and the managerial staff is always congenial and professional.
My wife and I ate here on a Saturday night (26 May 07), principally because we had a $90 gift certificate. In short, the food was fine, but the experience didn’t justify the rather pricey tariff. If two people are going to spend well over $100 (with 4 glasses of ordinary wine and dessert), there are many other places with far greater value. Appetizers were odd (baked brie with a caramel sauce) and unimaginative, among which was the ubiquitous artichoke and cheese dip which we nevertheless got because we’re suckers for it – and it was a good version. A spinach-goat cheese salad was fine. My wife had a Kobe steak for $30 (why so inexpensive for Kobe?) which was tasty, and I had a Creole scallop with mango relish special. The scallops were nicely done, but the relish was uninteresting and there was little Creole “zip”. A large pile of accompanying vegetables was, as they frequently are, a minor distraction, and the potatoes featured an odd tasting tarragon dressing. A German chocolate ca
