March 2009

March 27, 2009 All The News That’s Fit to Print I can’t think whether to frame this as glass-half-empty or glass-half-full news: For those looking on the brighter side of things: Erik Andersen, part of the Steven Brown-led team that made Porter & Frye what it was, has been named Chef de Cuisine at the new Tim McKee-led restaurant that is taking over the Guthrie space formerly home to Cue. Congratulations Mr. Andersen, you have scored one of the only new prestigious cooking jobs to be created in town this year! Well deserved. Congrats, too, to Matt Holmes, who will be overseeing the Guthrie’s catering, Level 5 Café, and all Guthrie-non-restaurant related food, which is quite a lot. Holmes, formerly of Restaurant Max, has lots of resort cooking experience. What he does not have is a name for the... Read more » Posted on Friday, March 27, 2009 in Dear Dara \| Permalink \| Comments (14)

March 19, 2009 JP and Vincent On Top Chef? Looks like the Top Chef producers are feeling Minnesotan. They invited both J.P. Samuelson, formerly of J.P.’s American Bistro and now of Solera, and Vincent Francoual, of Vincent, A Restaurant, to audition for the Bravo show. “They contacted me, they asked if I was interested,” Samuelson told me. “I said yeah, absolutely. It was very last-minute, and plane tickets were crazy expensive, so I just drove down to Chicago. The interview took all of fifteen minutes, they film it like you’re doing an interview on Top Chef. They ask: ‘Why should you be here.’ I laid on the sob story of the restaurant. It’s very topical I guess. We had a conversation about it. Then they asked me what I would cook if there was a... Read more » Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009 in Dear Dara \| Permalink \| Comments (10)

March 17, 2009 More Blood on The Streets: Stephen Trojahn Out at Cosmos Stephen Trojahn, the Corporate Executive Chef at the 601 Graves has been let go. Trojahn was the guy at the tippity top, over the Cosmos chef de cuisine Håkan Lundberg and the Bradstreet chef de cuisine Jesse Spitzack. No replacement has been named. “There are no changes here,” Shawn Nayyar, the hotel’s Vice President of Operations told me, though he added that the company will be doing a national search for a replacement. Here’s a thought: Why not hire Steven Brown, who lost the exact same job at Minneapolis’ other luxury skyscraping hotel, The Ivy, a couple weeks back? I guess what makes me feel sad about this is that it’s more proof that good work doesn’t necessarily translate to gainful employment: The... Read more » Posted on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 in Dear Dara \| Permalink \| Comments (16)

March 10, 2009 Steven Brown at Nick and Eddie! I called up Nick and Eddie manager Doug Anderson to see if the rumors were true—was Steven Brown, recently booted from Porter & Frye, really cooking there? If so, it would seem a deja-vu-like replay of the big news of 6 weeks ago, when JP Samuelson, of sadly closed JPAmerican Bistro, took at job at Nick and Eddie – but then left to head up Solera. Is Nick and Eddie now some sort of foundling home for displaced chefs? Yes and yes: Brown is working there, but no one knows for how long. “He’s been working here a couple of weeks,” Anderson told me, “We aren’t publicizing it because we certainly wouldn’t prevent him from the next great opportunity that comes his way, but who would say no to having a chef of his... Read more » Posted on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 in Dear Dara \| Permalink \| Comments (6)

March 5, 2009 Eat Street Wrecking Subway I don’t quite know whether to file this one under, “Things that may never happen” or “Interesting notes from the life of a city,” or “Holy cow, everyone look!” But it’s one of those three. To wit: Did you know that there’s a plan afoot to run light rail under Nicollet Avenue, roughly from the Midtown Greenway bike-path to Franklin Avenue? Yes, there are plans for a subway, a subway, a subway!, for, as far as I can tell, 9 blocks, in Minneapolis. This is LRT Alignment 3C, viewable online. What, you say, that’s the craziest thing you’ve ever heard? The Whittier Alliance, the organization that serves the Whittier... Read more » Posted on Thursday, March 5, 2009 in Dear Dara \| Permalink \| Comments (10)

Dear Dara is the place where Minnesota Monthly readers can interact with our dining critic and senior editor Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl. What makes her so special? She’s been reviewing restaurants and covering food and wine in the Twin Cities since 1995, most notably asCity Pages’ restaurant critic, but also for Gourmet, USA Today, Wine & Spirits, Bon Appetit, and Saveur. She’s been included in five editions of the Best Food Writing anthologies, and been nominated for seven James Beard Awards – though, to tell you the truth, most of the time the medals from her four wins are buried under a pile of chocolate wrappers at the back of her desk. This blog will be where she’ll answer your questions, (though probably not all of them), dish on her latest discoveries, reflect on breaking news, and generally bring the plate to the page.

Send your dining questions to Dara! Email her at dmgrumdahl@minnesotamonthly.com.

Anchor Fish & Chips	Lola's Lakehouse
Bar La Grassa	Lyndale Tap House
Best Takeout	New Restaurant Scene
Burger Madness	Restaurant Cru
Capital Grills	Risotto
Chef Shack	Santorini
Cooper Irish Pub	Sea Change
Craftshouse	Trattoria Tosca
Going Whole Hog	Wakame Sushi
Il Gatto	Zen Asian Contemporary

* Access all reviews here.

Subscribe to the Dear Dara Feed »

March 27, 2009 All The News That’s Fit to Print I can’t think whether to frame this as glass-half-empty or glass-half-full news: For those looking on the brighter side of things: Erik Andersen, part of the Steven Brown-led team that made Porter & Frye what it was, has been named Chef de Cuisine at the new Tim McKee-led restaurant that is taking over the Guthrie space formerly home to Cue. Congratulations Mr. Andersen, you have scored one of the only new prestigious cooking jobs to be created in town this year! Well deserved. Congrats, too, to Matt Holmes, who will be overseeing the Guthrie’s catering, Level 5 Café, and all Guthrie-non-restaurant related food, which is quite a lot. Holmes, formerly of Restaurant Max, has lots of resort cooking experience. What he does not have is a name for the... Read more » Posted on Friday, March 27, 2009 in Dear Dara \| Permalink \| Comments (14)

March 19, 2009 JP and Vincent On Top Chef? Looks like the Top Chef producers are feeling Minnesotan. They invited both J.P. Samuelson, formerly of J.P.’s American Bistro and now of Solera, and Vincent Francoual, of Vincent, A Restaurant, to audition for the Bravo show. “They contacted me, they asked if I was interested,” Samuelson told me. “I said yeah, absolutely. It was very last-minute, and plane tickets were crazy expensive, so I just drove down to Chicago. The interview took all of fifteen minutes, they film it like you’re doing an interview on Top Chef. They ask: ‘Why should you be here.’ I laid on the sob story of the restaurant. It’s very topical I guess. We had a conversation about it. Then they asked me what I would cook if there was a... Read more » Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009 in Dear Dara \| Permalink \| Comments (10)

March 17, 2009 More Blood on The Streets: Stephen Trojahn Out at Cosmos Stephen Trojahn, the Corporate Executive Chef at the 601 Graves has been let go. Trojahn was the guy at the tippity top, over the Cosmos chef de cuisine Håkan Lundberg and the Bradstreet chef de cuisine Jesse Spitzack. No replacement has been named. “There are no changes here,” Shawn Nayyar, the hotel’s Vice President of Operations told me, though he added that the company will be doing a national search for a replacement. Here’s a thought: Why not hire Steven Brown, who lost the exact same job at Minneapolis’ other luxury skyscraping hotel, The Ivy, a couple weeks back? I guess what makes me feel sad about this is that it’s more proof that good work doesn’t necessarily translate to gainful employment: The... Read more » Posted on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 in Dear Dara \| Permalink \| Comments (16)

March 10, 2009 Steven Brown at Nick and Eddie! I called up Nick and Eddie manager Doug Anderson to see if the rumors were true—was Steven Brown, recently booted from Porter & Frye, really cooking there? If so, it would seem a deja-vu-like replay of the big news of 6 weeks ago, when JP Samuelson, of sadly closed JPAmerican Bistro, took at job at Nick and Eddie – but then left to head up Solera. Is Nick and Eddie now some sort of foundling home for displaced chefs? Yes and yes: Brown is working there, but no one knows for how long. “He’s been working here a couple of weeks,” Anderson told me, “We aren’t publicizing it because we certainly wouldn’t prevent him from the next great opportunity that comes his way, but who would say no to having a chef of his... Read more » Posted on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 in Dear Dara \| Permalink \| Comments (6)

March 5, 2009 Eat Street Wrecking Subway I don’t quite know whether to file this one under, “Things that may never happen” or “Interesting notes from the life of a city,” or “Holy cow, everyone look!” But it’s one of those three. To wit: Did you know that there’s a plan afoot to run light rail under Nicollet Avenue, roughly from the Midtown Greenway bike-path to Franklin Avenue? Yes, there are plans for a subway, a subway, a subway!, for, as far as I can tell, 9 blocks, in Minneapolis. This is LRT Alignment 3C, viewable online. What, you say, that’s the craziest thing you’ve ever heard? The Whittier Alliance, the organization that serves the Whittier... Read more » Posted on Thursday, March 5, 2009 in Dear Dara \| Permalink \| Comments (10)

March 2009

March 27, 2009

All The News That’s Fit to Print

March 19, 2009

JP and Vincent On Top Chef?

March 17, 2009

More Blood on The Streets: Stephen Trojahn Out at Cosmos

March 10, 2009

Steven Brown at Nick and Eddie!

March 5, 2009

Eat Street Wrecking Subway

About This Blog

Send your dining questions to Dara! Email her at dmgrumdahl@minnesotamonthly.com.

Dara's Latest Reviews

Recent Posts

Archives

Feed

Sign up for our e-newsletters!