Restaurants in Minneapolis/St. Paul

Someone wrote:
>Does anyone have suggestions for restaurants in Minneapolis/St. Paul?  I
>will be there for a few days with my husband in August.  We'd mainly be
>interested in moderately-priced places but would like to know about
>outstanding restaurants in all categories.

Probably the best new restaurant in town is Kapoochi's, 815 Nicollet Mall (Downtown) Mpls. (339-1011). I don't know exactly what you're looking for (or where you're from - it matters vis-a-vis expectations and tastes I suppose), but this place has very good quality, interesting food. Most places in town don't. Call first, definitely worth checking out. If you're downtown and looking for breakfast/brunch, try Du Jour (the other two branches are inferior). The Original Pancake House on 70th and France S. is great for breakfast as well, but its in the southern suburbs.

TN D. wrote:

>Someone wrote:
>>Does anyone have suggestions for restaurants in Minneapolis/St. Paul?  I
>>will be there for a few days with my husband in August.  We'd mainly be
>>interested in moderately-priced places but would like to know about
>>outstanding restaurants in all categories.

>Probably the best new restaurant in town is Kapoochi's

I ate at Kapoochi's when it first opened, and had MISERABLE service. The waiter was nice enough, but brought out entrees at different times, forgot to put in one of our orders (my fiancee's), and did not have any idea what was behind the bar or know how to find out.  (I confused him, by requesting a glass of sherry.  That doesn't seem that complicated an order, but there you have it.)

If offered a choice between returning to Kapoochi's and being hit in the face with a cast iron skillet, I'd go back to Kapoochi's.  If offered a free meal at Kapoochi's, I'd probably take it to be polite; the experience would not be my favorite.  If I could tactfully suggest some place else, I'd do so (provided that didn't mean the meal was no longer free).  If invited to Kapoochi's in a setting where I'd have to pay for my meal, I'd be extremely hesitant.

So, here are my recommendations:

      HIGH END:  D'Amico Cuccina, Butler Square, 100 N 7 St, Mpls  338-2401
               Superb food, with stuff for the adventurous (but not
               exclusively).  Prepare to pay an arm and a leg, though.

               Gustino's, Marriott City Center, 30 S 7 St, Mpls.  349-4000
               Wait staff sings operatic arias during your meal, along
               with occasional show tunes.  I had a veal with lobster
               tail that was done very nicely.  Their menu is less
               innovative than D'Amico's, but certainly has a nice,
               extravagent feel.

      FANCY, MODISH,
        BUT NOT BANKRUPTING:
               Palomino, 825 Hennepin Ave, Mpls, 339-3800.
               Again, a somewhat adventurous bistro menu.  Everything there
               is done correctly.  More affordable than D'Amico, but still
               a reasonable place for a special occasion.  Nice
               spit-roasted garlic chicken.
               (Don't worry about the name--they won't serve horse meat.)

               Dakota Bar and Grill, Bandana Square, 1021 Bandana Blvd E,
               St. Paul.  642-1442.
               Gourmet midwestern cuisine (don't laugh--it doesn't mean
               a cloth napkin with your can of Chef Boyardee).  They
               do game especially well.  The bar has live jazz nightly,
               no cover with dinner.
               Again, okay as a special occasion resturaunt, but not
               excessively pricey.  (Still, it ain't cheap.)

      ITALIAN TRATORIA:
               Ristorante Luci, 470 Cleveland Ave S, St. Paul.  699-8258.
               Call well in advance.  They don't have a lot of space.
               They make a wonderful appetizer with homemade mozzarella
               in an almond crust (don't worry, it's not greasy).
               Cheaper than the above restaurants; still formal enough
               for a nice dinner.  (It's where I went when I proposed,
               and she said yes, for what that's worth.)
               Main drawbacks:  fills up quickly, so you need to reserve
               at least a couple days in advance.  Also, only licensed
               to serve wine and beer.  Wine prices are reasonable.

               Giorgio, 2451 Hennepin Ave, Mpls.  374-5131.
               Also somewhat small, but not as packed an environment
               than Ristorante Luci.  Not quite as good, but still tasty
               and less expensive (without feeling cheap).

      FRENCH:        Lucia's, 1432 W 31 Street, Mpls.  825-1572.
               Menu changes weekly.  Typically they have one beef, one
               chicken, one fish, and one vegetarian dish (ovo-lacto).
               They do a wonderful brunch on the weekends.  This is more
               contemporary French than way fancy stuff--good food (they
               make all their soups, breads, and pastries), but if you're
               seeking food that comes out in the shape of a rabbit, this
               isn't the sort of French restaurant you want.

               Cafe Un Deux Trois, Foshay Tower, 114 S 9 St, Mpls.
               673-0686.
               French Bistro, somewhat price, vallet parking.  Again,
               newer style French; can't help you out with classic
               French.  (It's not really my thing.)

      PERUVIAN:  Machu Picchu, 2940 Lyndale Avenue S, Mpls 822-2125.
               Inexpensive, but superb restaurant focusing on seafood.
               My fiancee had a chicken dish with cilantro (forget what
               else, but beer comes to mind).  It was good, but the Peru-
               vians, like Europeans, prefer dark meat chicken.  I had
               a shrimp dish that brought out good sized shrimp in a
               tomato garlic sauce.  I drank an Inca Cola, which, alas,
               is only imported from Chicago.  It is, however, highlighter
               yellow colored, with the aftertaste of bazooka bubble gum.

      BRITISH:   Sherlock's Home, Route 62 (Crosstown) and Shady Oak Road,
               Minnetonka (SW suburb).  931-0203.
               Nice smoked turkey sandwich with double Gloucester cheddar;
               good curried lamb with pappadums.  Over 70 different
               single malt scotch brands offered.  All beers served are
               brewed on the premises.  Decent selection of cognacs and
               armagnacs, too.

      IRISH/CHINESE:
               Chang O'Hara's, 498 Selby Ave, St. Paul.  290-2338.
               Corned beef and cabbage egg rolls.  Stuff like that.
               It's cheap, good for a laugh, with a decent beer and
               scotch selection.  Lousy neighboorhood.

      IRISH/FRENCH:
               Cognac McCarthy's, 162 N Dale St, St. Paul.  224-4617.
               Same owners as Chang O'Hara's.  Good French-Cuban chicken,
               low prices, great brandy selection, good beer and scotch
               selection.

      THAI:    Sawatdee.  Several locations; my favorite is at
               607 Washington Avenue S, Mpls.  338-6451.  Upscale, for
               Thai food, but among the best Thai I've ever had.

               Ruam Mit Thai, 544 St. Peter Street, St. Paul.  290-0067.
               Casual, but by far the best Thai food I've ever come
               across.

               Thai to avoid:  The King and I.  Pricey, but low quality
               ingredients (the chicken was pretty mangled looking; at
               least, they said it was chicken).

      CHEAP ITALIAN:
               Buca, 12 St and Harmon Place, Mpls.  MET-A-BAL.
               Definately a family style atmosphere.  The chicken
               caccitore on garlic mashed potatoes was a whole chicken,
               more than the three of us could eat.  The entire dish
               was around $16.00 for the three of us.  Plus, we got to
               hear lots of Mario Lanza over the course of the evening.
               Also, the song I know as "Ta-ra-ra-boom-dee-yay" but with
               different words played alot, as did the "finiculi finicula"
               song.  Sign at door says, in Italian, "If you think you
               have a reservation, you're at the wrong restaurant."

               Cafe di Napoli, 816 Hennepin Av, Mpls.  333-4949.
               Continuously in business for longer than anyone remembers.
               The Andrews Sisters ate there when they played at the
               Orpheum.  The menu hasn't changed, nor have the booths
               been re-vinaled.

      BISTRO:        Figlio, Calhoun Square, 3001 Hennepin Ave, Mpls.  822-1688.
               Good food, reasonably priced, Italian feel.  Somewhat
               noisy atmosphere, because it's in a happening part of town.
               Kitchen open late.

               Rogue, Lumber Exchange Building, 425 Hennepin Avenue, Mpls.
               371-1893.  Trendy nightclub with surprisingly reasonably
               priced yet imaginative menu.  Large portions, too.

      SRI LANKAN:
               Sri Lanka Curry House, 2821 Hennepin Ave, Mpls.  871-2400.
               Good seafood and vegetarian dishes.  Expect things to be
               on the spicy side; their medium is comparable to Thai
               very hot.  Do not, no matter how tough you are, order
               anything above hot.  Great food.

      CHINESE:   None.  The Chinese food sucks in this town.

      OLD FASHIONED DINNER KINDA PLACE:
               Nye's Polonaise Room, 112 Hennepin Ave E, Mpls, 379-2021.
               Polish-American restaurant, specializing in cabbage rolls,
               piroghi, pork hocks--that sort of thing.

               Monte Carlo Bar and Grill, 219--3 Ave N, Mpls  333-5900.
               The restaurant feels like it was built in the '20's.
               Poached chicken, liver and onions, that sort of thing.
               Oh, yes:  By far the best Martini, Manhattan, and Rob Roy
               presentation in town (perhaps the best commercially
               available anywhere).  Trendy with the yuppie set, but
               not overbearing.

      BRUNCH:        Forepaughs, 276 S Exchange Street, St. Paul.  224-5606.
               Fancy restaurant, with classic and nouvelle French menu
               for dinner, serves the best brunch deal in the area.
               Includes champagne.  On the order of $10 pp (I believe it
               also includes dessert).

               Bryant Lake Bowl, Bryant and Lake Streets, Mpls.  (Don't
               have number handy.)
               Bowling alley with trendy but inexpensive food.  Fills up
               quickly, though.

      SOUTHWESTERN:
               Tejas, Conservatory Building, 800 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.
               375-0800.  They hickory smoke their smoked chicken on
               the premises.  They're definately a chic kind of a place.
               Still, not too expensive, and with wonderful desserts.
               Can't recommend strongly enough.

Well, that's probably enough to get you started.  Good luck.

--Jack Stecher
[email removed]

Someone wrote:
TN D. wrote:

[ snip, snip, snip...]

: So, here are my recommendations:

:              Dakota Bar and Grill, Bandana Square, 1021 Bandana Blvd E, :              St. Paul.  642-1442. :              Gourmet midwestern cuisine (don't laugh--it doesn't mean :              a cloth napkin with your can of Chef Boyardee).  They :              do game especially well.  The bar has live jazz nightly, :              no cover with dinner. :              Again, okay as a special occasion resturaunt, but not :              excessively pricey.  (Still, it ain't cheap.)

                   Lunches are great here - not as pricey either....

:              Ristorante Luci, 470 Cleveland Ave S, St. Paul.  699-8258.

                   Just up (or down) the road from here is CECIL's DELI
                   great deli selections

:     IRISH/FRENCH:
:              Cognac McCarthy's, 162 N Dale St, St. Paul.  224-4617. :              Same owners as Chang O'Hara's.  Good French-Cuban chicken, :              low prices, great brandy selection, good beer and scotch :              selection.

                   Great for brunches on Saturday - friendly atmosphere

:     THAI:    Sawatdee.  Several locations; my favorite is at :              607 Washington Avenue S, Mpls.  338-6451.  Upscale, for :              Thai food, but among the best Thai I've ever had.

                   I've been to the one in St. Paul - definitely great
                   food and good service

:     CHEAP ITALIAN:
:              Buca, 12 St and Harmon Place, Mpls.  MET-A-BAL. :              Definately a family style atmosphere.  The chicken :              caccitore on garlic mashed potatoes was a whole chicken, :              more than the three of us could eat.  The entire dish :              was around $16.00 for the three of us.  Plus, we got to :              hear lots of Mario Lanza over the course of the evening. :              Also, the song I know as "Ta-ra-ra-boom-dee-yay" but with :              different words played alot, as did the "finiculi finicula" :              song.  Sign at door says, in Italian, "If you think you :              have a reservation, you're at the wrong restaurant."

                   You left out Cossetta's on W 7th St in St Paul (no operas -
                   just good food and great pizza plus great Italian market

:     OLD FASHIONED DINNER KINDA PLACE:
:              Nye's Polonaise Room, 112 Hennepin Ave E, Mpls, 379-2021. :              Polish-American restaurant, specializing in cabbage rolls, :              piroghi, pork hocks--that sort of thing.

                   Is that place still around ?? always lots of food - bring
                   an appetite....

:     BRUNCH:        Forepaughs, 276 S Exchange Street, St. Paul.  224-5606. :              Fancy restaurant, with classic and nouvelle French menu :              for dinner, serves the best brunch deal in the area. :              Includes champagne.  On the order of $10 pp (I believe it :              also includes dessert).

                   They must have changed...last time I was there the food
                   & service was mediocore....