What do the Cities’ newest restaurants have in common? Nothing. But here’s your guide to their delights. We started with D’Amico Kitchen and Om, and now, touch on Northeast Social Club. For the complete version of this feature, please see “The New Restaurant Scene.”
Minneapolis restaurant-hounds noticed a distinct trend over the spring and summer as three completely distinct meat-focused gastropubs sprung up around the city. North Minneapolis got Victory 44, a corner bar with a serious side in great local meats, and northeast Minneapolis received both Butcher Block, an upscale and Italian-inflected take on the protein side of the plate, as well as Northeast Social, which feels like a classic bar, not unlike Mayslacks’ around the corner, but sweetens the experience with more ambitious cooking.
Ambitious cooking like a rainbow trout stuffed with red chard wrapped in ham and seared until the whole bundle is crisp as a potato chip, a salty-savory inspiration that pairs beautifully with creamy fingerling potatoes and a peppery watercress salad. Still, while the food can be quite good it’s the spirit of Northeast Social that really impresses, the stately Victorian-inspired wooden bar beneath the ornate tin ceiling looks exactly the way a bar should, old-and-comforting yet fresh-and-lively, the bartenders are friendly, and there’s something interesting to drink for every palate. In a season with plenty new under the sun, it’s nice to find a place where one of the oldest restaurant virtues of all, conviviality, thrives. Northeast Social Club, 359 13th Ave. NE, Mpls., 612-877-8111, northeastsocial.com
