Relative Something

I really am not interested in writing a restaurant review, but I did have quite an experience at a restaurant last night and am wondering how to describe it. One of the things that makes it difficult for me is that I am not very intelligent about food, especially the area of fine dining and world renowned chefs. Another reason is that I don’t drink wine and wine is such an integral part of the fine dining experience. I can’t do a restaurant justice if I can’t speak on that aspect of the meal. And it was a big part of our meal last night, even though only 3 of the 7 people in our party chose that as part of their selection. But I can describe what I experienced, at least, I can try. I’m afraid a lot of what I enjoyed last night might just fall under the category of, “you had to have been there.”

We were celebrating a birthday and wedding anniversary for Cyndie’s parents and the destination was “Heidi’s” in Minneapolis. It worked because Cyndie and her brothers wanted to surprise their parents with the choice and, it turned out, it was a place neither of them had been to before. This restaurant has a great reputation, has received rave reviews in print, and is so popular that it is difficult to get reservations, maybe needing to wait months to land a spot during normal dining hours. Chef Stewart Woodman has quite a resume and a history that looks to be quite impressive to those who would know about such things. I just know what I see and taste. It is top notch stuff. How’s that for a restaurant review?

Since our group was so big, and Heidi’s is not so big, nestled in a neighborhoody spot on 50th, just a couple blocks off Lyndale, Cyndie and her brother opted for the Chef’s Table where it says we will have our own private space within the kitchen, and they would be able to seat us all together. It doesn’t come cheap, but this is a special occasion and her folks sure deserve it. This option comes with the requirement that everyone in the party receive the 12-course tasting menu. Cool.

But did I mention, quirky? That is a big part of the charm. My mental image of an expensive 12-course meal by a prestigious chef involves a pretty hoity-toity setting, even within the kitchen, but I didn’t anticipate close confines in the basement by the staff cutting and prepping and packaging and staging to and from the cooler. Fans blowing and paper in the florescent light fixtures  overhead to create a hint of intended ambiance, along with the tunes from an iPod to compete with kitchen noise. Sounds crazy, yes? But it works.

One of the fun things about our group was that we were all a bit taken aback by the setup, but nobody got hung up about it and we all just settled in and went with the flow. Our server, Kyle, was a wonderful fit for us and we enjoyed poking fun as he mixed taking exquisite care of us with minor foibles that finally culminated in raucous laughter over some errors in the menu presented as a memento of our evening. He snuck back to print a corrected version that he passed out to us again as we left.

We started at 7 p.m. and finished after 10:30. An all night affair of classier food than I’ve probably ever eaten. Tasty tidbits of duck confit and liver and arctic char and truffle pappardelle and the one that impressed me the most, soft poached hen egg with fresh pea salad, toasted rye crouton, truffle vinaigrette. Try finding that on the menu at Applebee’s.

It was, indeed, quirky and spectacular.