Terzo means “third” in Italian, and the wine bar’s name indicates the number of Broders enterprises now at 50th and Penn in Minneapolis (Broders’ Cucina Italiana and Broders’ Pasta Bar being first and second). Molly Broder founded the titular restaurants with her late husband, Tom, and launched the new eatery in collaboration with their three sons.
Middle figlio Charlie stocked the all-Italian cellar with about 50 by-the-glass wines, dispensed via a slick, oxygen-displacing system behind the bar. He passed quite a bit of knowledge and enthusiasm on to his servers, most of whom look too young to have experienced the debut of Broder’s homemade egg pasta back in 1982. Half-glass samples are the most accessible way to explore. A few bucks reveals the delight of a fresh, summery Ca’ Lojera Lugana. And if you learn you don’t love that pricey Barbaresco as much as you hoped, at least you found out before springing for a bottle.
The eldest son, Thomas, runs the kitchen with his youngest brother, Danny, creating refined-but-unpretentious beverage-friendly noshes. Along with salumi, cheese, and bruschetta, they offer several novel munchies, including fried anchovies and puffed corkscrew pasta to dunk in fonduta (Italy’s answer to fondue). Most dishes are light, flavorful, and modern—influenced by the time Thomas and Danny spent in Italy for culinary study and restaurant work. The ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms will last about as long on your plate as their main ingredient does on the vine. Delicate vitello tonnato also disappears quickly, the creaminess of its tuna emulsion practically floating over the carpaccio-thin veal. There are larger piatti for heartier appetites, such as roasted lamb loin with mint-flecked breadcrumbs or a bone-in Duroc pork chop. The rare off-balance plate—the bitter/sour grilled radicchio doused in balsamic—will be forgotten by the time you get to the lemon bomba.
Terzo Vino Bar
2221 W. 50th St., Mpls.
612-925-0330
broders.com
