The Blue Door

Finally, after several futile attempts to get into the Blue Door without an hour wait in very cramped quarters, we got lucky enough to snag an outside table. On a Sunday, no less. And believe me, it was worth the wait.

While we've eaten at The Blue Door before, we previously stuck to the classic and less risky choices, such as their version of the Juicy Lucy, the Blucy: tangy blue cheese and garlic stuffed into a half-pound of beef. While every thing we have tried there has been perfectly delightful, and wonderfully greasy, my taste in food, my...palate, if you will, has matured recently and I was ready to expand my burger boundaries. What better place for expansion (get it? Expansion? As in "your waist line will also expand?" ok.) than the home of Spam Bites, the Jiffy Burger, and something called The Defibrillator.

We started with the Spam Bites, giant balls of crispy breading filled with cream cheese, pickles and Spam. While I was not entirely sold on the Spam thing, having never eaten it before (that I knew of), all doubts faded the minute the server placed the heaping basket down. There wasn't a single glistening drop of grease on these golden nuggets. The breading was so crunchy and light we actually pondered out loud how they did it. Did they make the balls in advance, flash fry them, then quickly dipped them in magic oil before serving them along side a sweet dipping sauce? We never did find out, because just as we were polishing off every tiny morsel of the Spam Bites, our burgers were served. And what a thing of beauty they were.

The Jiffy Burger, as the name implies, is slathered with peanut butter. But wait, that's not all. It is also topped with crispy bacon, pepper jack cheese, pickles and a smudge of mayo. It sounds like it was created for, and possibly by, a very pregnant woman. But not being pregnant, I can assure you that anyone would enjoy this concoction. It is really not as strange as it sounds. The flavors work together beautifully. The creamy peanut butter and salty bacon make a lovely couple, and the tang of the pickles gives it the punch it needs, since the pepper jack cheese didn't bring much to the party. It was addiction worthy.

The Merriam Park Burger was recommended by the server, and turned out to be surprisingly more interesting than the Jiffy. Bacon, blue cheese, and garlic ooze from inside the burger, while a generous blob of sweet currant jelly is smeared on top. The jelly was a fun little addition to what would have simply been a gorgeous stuffed burger. We instantly decided to order a side of the jelly with the Jiffy Burger next time we visit. Seriously, it's been about two hours since we were there and I am already craving me some Jiffy.

Don't let the name fool you. The Spam Bites are huge.

You know you want some. 

Jiffy Burger. 

(Editors note: These suckers do not photograph well. Just trust me and go.)

The Merriam Park in all it's goopy glory. 

Web site

thebdp.com

Chef Shack- Food Truck

In what hopefully will be the first in a series of reviews on the up and coming food truck scene in the Twin Cities, I bring you, The Chef Shack.

Last summer, Minneapolis City Council passed a proposal to allow a maximum of 25 licensed street food operations in downtown Minneapolis. In St. Paul, vendors can operate under slightly looser requirements. With a prime parking spot in the Mill City Farmers Market, the Chef Shack food truck was way ahead of the pack, attracting long lines on warm Saturday afternoons since 2008.

This was my first visit to the Chef Shack, having been scared off by the lengthy waits, and the very real fear that, after all that time, they would have ran out of what ever it was I wanted. The Chef Shack does, after all, operate out of a very limited amount of space. But today was the very first day of Mill City Market's fifth summer season, and if I wanted to go on pretending to be a true foodie, I was going to have to give these much buzzed about guys (or gals, actually) a shot. So we waited in line, taking turns dancing to Cajun jive with our daughter. The weather was pure Minnesota spring perfection, that rare combination of sunshine, warmth, and total lack of humidity. So what's a ten minute wait when you are surrounded by the river on one side, the new Guthrie on the other, and a crowd of giddy Minnesotans all around? It's true, we are even nicer when we are warm.

As we waited, a Chef Shack employee knelt in front of the menu black board. We held our collective breath to see which way this will go. He could erase yet another menu selection off the board, leaving us with only three to choose from this late in the day, or he could, do we dare hope... add an item. And he did! He added an item. Not just any item. This lovely, lovely man scribbled Pulled Pork, wait for it...nachos on that magical board. A roar went through the crowd, or maybe it was just in my head. Either way, when I finally got up to the window to order, I didn't even care that the last of the brats my husband was craving was given to the lady in front of me. I shrugged my shoulders and ordered their famous mini-donuts for him, and the pulled pork nachos for me. I was giddy too.

Ok, so I shared my nachos. And he shared his donuts, although mostly with Millie.

First, let's just get this out of the way: Ouch. $7 for a relatively small offering of nachos hurts. There, I said it, it's a bit pricey. For the same price you would get a giant platter of soggy chips, cheese sauce, and gray guacamole for you and five of your friends at any dive bar in town. Have I made my point? You pay for quality people.

So let's talk quality. Big, crunchy, not too salty green and white tortilla chips, topped with black beans, salsa, and guacamole that was more of a punchy sauce than the thick gobs we have to come to expect. I assume this is because guacamole cannot hold up well under the conditions, but I don't care. The layers of flavor, from the vinegary salsa to the slightly smokey pork to that creamy sauce, packed such a glorious punch, you find yourself practically licking the paper plate. Seriously good.

Now, for dessert. As some of you may know, I am not a big fan of cinnamon, which in turn, makes me less than excited about State Fair mini donuts. I have had a bite or two of those ever popular fritters over the years, and have been less than impressed. The Indian spiced mini donuts at the Chef Shack are not of the State Fair variety. They are luscious pillows of fluffy dough, covered in a thick layer of the largest grains of sugar I have even seen, and dredged in an intricate mix of spices. Yes, there was cinnamon there, but there was also cardamom, and did I taste some sea salt? I don't know, and again, I don't care. They were divine. No wonder almost everyone at the Farmers Market was carrying a bag of these beauties, and wearing a big ol' grin on their faces. Spring has indeed arrived.

The line. Not so bad when you know what's in store for you.

I love you, dark stranger.

I admit the choice of background is not the best here. But Yum!

The girl loves her sugar.

The view.

Web site

Chef Shack

Travail Kitchen and Amusements

In sleepy little downtown Robbinsdale, one eatery keeps visitors' eyes wide open. Grab a tall chair and pull up to a weathered wood table, now look up: the menu is a giant blackboard hanging over your head. In the open kitchen, cooks sporting colorful bandannas are busy foaming, spraying, dripping, steaming and roasting ingredients within an inch of their former life. You may not recognize the pink foam on your salad, it used to be a beet. And that candied shard of glass on your dessert? An orange slice, or was it a lemon?

Travail lives up to its name, it is, in fact, amusing. But don't let the craziness on a plate fool you, these guys are dead serious about their food. This is molecular gastronomy at its best, where fresh, thoughtfully chosen ingredients are the stars, with bells and whistles thrown in for kicks and giggles.

All the cooks serve and all the servers cook, meaning that on our lunch time visit, we were treated to dining advice by one of the two owners. For starters, he recommended the prosciutto wrapped figs, swimming in a shallow pool of blue cheese sauce. They were chewy, sweet, salty, and creamy, all in one tiny bite. Lovely.

For my lunch, I blindly and willingly followed his instructions and ordered the home-made tofu, which was absolutely delightful. The tofu was fluffy and speckled with green herbs, bright and bursting with fresh flavor. A basil truffle oil drizzle and crisp wedges of various citrus gems completed the dish.

My friend ordered the ubiquitous beet salad, presented in a Mondrian-esque form complete with aforementioned pink foam. Cubes, twirls, and disks of varied colors of beets danced on a white plate, and where it lacked a bit in flavor, the dish made up for in sheer fun. And the fun was just beginning.

For dessert, we chose to splurge (not that it's that much of a splurge at only $9) on the Dessert Tasting. We expected a token bite of each dessert, but what showed up were three complete plates. Can I get a whoot whoot?

Pictures speak a thousand words, or so claimed some writer who ran out of adjectives, so I will follow suit and show, not tell, about the enchanting ending to our lunch:

Flan, oatmeal "cookie", apricots, apples and a tiny berry compote.

Cherry sorbet, chocolate cherry bomb cake, and coconut cream. 

Pineapple slices, slivers, rolls and juice, served along side popcorn, and get this: Popcorn ice cream! It tasted like butter, so yes, it was amazing. Oh yeah, there were also cashews, blueberries (both fresh and dried) and cashew brittle. Whew. 

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Travail Kitchen and Amusements