Twins! That is what you see in the photo above. Anna is on the left and I'm on the right toasting to our birthday trip in Minneapolis, MN. Make sure you read my first recap post here.
For our first meal in Minneapolis (if you don't count hot dish I had at the airport while waiting for Anna's plane to land) we checked out the bar at Crave because one of our best friends, Era, gave us a birthday gift card to this restaurant. The place was packed and lively and we shared a few dishes from the sushi menu. The standouts for me were the Aloha roll made with spicy tuna, mango, cilantro, avocado, and poké sauce; and Seaweed Salad with mixed seaweed, cucumber, carrot, daikon, sesame seeds.
One of the restaurants that was recommended highly on twitter for our Friday night dinner was completely packed and we did not have an hour to wait. Instead, we decided to walk toward the Brave New Workshop, where we had tickets for the comedy show, and see if we can find something on the way. We did and it was amazing. Dinner at Solera was one of my favorite meals during this trip.
I loved the fireplace, the beautiful paintings on the wall courtesy of the owner's wife, the surprise engagement we witnessed and of course the food!
Baked Goats Cheese
with summer tomatoes, fennel pollen, maldon
Shishito Peppers
with maldon sea salt, olive oil, lemon
Mussels with smoked
lardon, piquillo broth, shallots
Blood orange velvet cake with ice cream
When Anna's friend Loreleil took us to the Conservatory, we stopped by to check out Salty Tart Bakery on the way back to our hotel. It was charming and had quite a few options for a delicious afternoon snack to take back to the hotel. I went for a pastry cream filled brioche: soooo good.
For our birthday brunch we got together with some of Anna's friends who live in Minneapolis at Hell's Kitchen. I was the only one at the table drinking an alcoholic beverage and was really happy with my Bloody Mary even though (or maybe BECAUSE) it came with an obscenely looking sausage.
The restaurant was dark, loud, had live music and tons of families and friends enjoying the food. The standout dish for me was Minnesota Icon: Lemon-Ricotta Hotcakes. I'm not typically a pancake type of a girl, but these were incredible.
Here are the hotcakes that put us on the map. Three melt-in-your-mouth hotcakes made from freshly-grated lemon zest and whole milk ricotta cheese. Served with fresh berries and pure maple syrup...but try your first bite without it.
Sunday we met up with Anna's friend Giti who took us to a Kosher deli run by a Russian family. Vitali's Bistro had one of the best tomato salads I've had in a long time as part of their falafel platter. Yes, even in the middle of winter (I know it was technically spring, but there was still snow on the ground).
After that, Anna and I walked around and did some shopping in Uptown enjoying a sunny and warm Sunday. But then it was time for lunch. We had great tom khat soup and drunken noodles and Tum Rup Thai. At the end of the meal we received Thai Fortune Roll!!! I've never had one, but was pretty happy with both the taste and the fortune.
This was such a great birthday trip! I think I would like to come back to Minneapolis when it's warmer and also check out Saint Paul.
Have a great weekend!
