Will all of my fellow suburbanites who never come into the city do me a favor—come down for brunch on the weekend? Some local chefs are absolutely killing it.
First, a bit of news: Haute Dish will be opening for brunch on Saturdays (they’re already open Sundays) starting September 8.
This is fantastic, because the brunch is absolutely delicious. I was there for Father’s Day with my wife, kids, and in-laws, and the in-laws can sometimes be a little picky. But Dad was in love with the biscuits he ordered with the HD Classic breakfast: a huge portion, and a delightful maple sausage ($11).
I had the Ropa Vieja (pictured above), which is sweet potato hash (wow) with this magic pressed avocado, poached eggs, and charred corn ($13). My wife recommends The Pat Starr—garlic hashbrowns with roasted vegetables and two eggs ($11).
Second: Get to brunch at The Bachelor Farmer. Mainly because you’re never going to be able to get in for dinner. My WCCO colleague James Schugel just did a story on Bon Appetit ranking TBF as 6th best new restaurant in America.
An aside: I went there about a month after it opened, and felt I had a very good, but not spectacularly great, dinner. The kitchen was extremely slow that night, and the food didn’t explode as being outstanding. Some other food writers in town have shared the same reaction with me—when TBF got four stars in the Star Tribune, I know plenty of people who were shocked.
But this is a restaurant where the kitchen just keeps working hard and getting better. The quality of the food and the service during brunch was top notch. My wife went back for dinner last week with some girlfriends and couldn’t stop raving.
The Rye Spaetzle Pyttipanna is a four-star dish, without a doubt. Smoked pork shoulder so tender and delicious, poached egg, caraway hollandaise, and the most delicious spaetzle I’ve had in my life. Amazing.
And four stars also for the house-cured salmon Smørrebrød, a play on the toasts from the main dinner menu. The salmon was bright and delicious—I could have eaten a couple orders of it.
They also have a cart with roving fresh pastries—fun, lively, delicious.
And when we went to The Bachelor Farmer a couple Sunday mornings ago, it was half-empty. So go while it’s still a secret. Go before Bon Appetit or Food & Wine write something else about these two great brunch places, just a couple of blocks away from each other.
Haute Dish
Sunday Brunch: 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
Saturday Brunch coming Sept. 8
119 Washington Ave. N, Mpls.
haute-dish.com
The Bachelor Farmer
Sunday Brunch: 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
50 North 2nd Ave., Mpls.
thebachelorfarmer.com/menu/brunch
