Krik's Picks

Ok, I know that the host ‘cities’ for the convention were Minneapolis and St. Paul . I actually spent quite a lot of time during the RNC attending different events. I never got to St. Paul once. I think it’s noteworthy that while the business of the convention was conducted in St. Paul , 75% or more of the social activities were held in Minneapolis . Draw your own conclusion. The Star Tribune’s restaurant critic, Rick Nelson, wrote about the reception food at two of the events that I attended. For the delegate reception on Sunday, Aug. 31, he wrote: “ This red carpet seemed a bit frayed, thanks to generic, we-could-be-anywhere offerings along the lines of soggy duck spring rolls, drab commodity cheeses, fried and skewered scallops straight out of Mrs. Paul's and a mystery spread billed as olive bruschetta …” I agree with his assessment. Granted, it’s tough to serve a wide variety of reception food to thousands of people in a space as large as the convention center. But t...

When I invited the Strib restaurant critic, Rick Nelson, to attend AgNite, I said in my e-mail, “ I've gotta believe that the food and ag people will put on the best spread of the convention.” Being as objective as I can be, I believe my boast was partially true. AgNite was planned by the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council . It was intended to be a non-partisan celebration of the food and agriculture industry. A way to raise awareness among the visiting media and delegates (and a small handful of politicians) of the role of our industry in the American economy. AgNite was recognized as one of the major events of the convention, perhaps the major event on Tuesday, Sept. 2. We planned for 3000-4000 guests. Like the delegate reception, it’s a challenge to put on a party for that many people and still make the food special. In the main reception areas, there were several ‘butler-passed’ items. I didn’t try them all. There was a particularly unusual roast beef with horseradish canapé...

My wife and I went to Palomino after a reception. Food: 3 Service: 2 Ambiance: 3.5 Value: 1 When I set the 1-5 scale for KwikPick rankings, for ‘value’ I said a 1 means “they should have paid me.” For our visit to Palomino, they sorta did. We had a $20 gift card that we used on our visit. As I noted above, we had been to a reception earlier in the evening. There was plenty of food and drink, but we had planned to use the gift card anyway. We were surprised how vacant Palomino was at only 9:15 on a Saturday night. (Labor Day weekend, the waitress complained. She was bored and inattentive.) We each had a glass of wine and we split a salad and a pizza. My wife quite liked the salad; I thought it was ordinary. She didn’t so like the pizza, but I thought it was tasty. 4 items, $40. Not worth it. Take off the $20 gift card, and that was about right Recommendation: Keep looking. You can find better food, better service, and better value within a few blocks.

Another amazing meal that confirms my opinion that this is the best restaurant in the Twin Cities. Food: 5 Service: 5 Ambiance: 4 Value: 5 On my third visit to Chamber’s Kitchen, I wondered, “How could this compare to the wonderful ‘ chef’s table’ experience we had on my last birthday?” Though we didn’t get the little extras that go along with the chef’s table meal, we had a great meal. My ‘4’ rating on ambiance reflects the somewhat stark and industrial décor, and it can be fairly noisy. Four starters, four entrées, four delighted diners. Though it can be expensive to eat at Chamber’s Kitchen, I still rate it ‘5’ for value. It truly is worth every penny. Recommendation: Find any excuse to eat here.

There’s nothing like an outdoor lunch on the Nicollet Mall. Food: 4 Service: 3 Ambiance: 3.5 Value: 4 Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer in Minnesota , and Labor Day this year was a brilliant, gorgeous, warm day, just right for al fresco dining. After a morning of shopping downtown, we picked Zelo for lunch and staked a strategically-placed table near the corner of Nicollet and 9 th with the restaurant awning providing enough shade to keep us comfortable. The people-watching was great. Limos kept pulling up on Nicollet, disgorging unidentifiable VIPs to what appeared to be a special event at McCormick & Schmick’s across the street. Clueless out-of-towners drove blithely down the Mall, unaware that it’s for taxis, buses, and limos only. (The only downside to outdoor dining on the Mall is the bus traffic – noisy and smelly.) The menu at Zelo is creative and the food is nicely prepared. We kept it simple and each had a soup and a salad and a glass of wine. The on...

I was supposed to have been on a plane to Washington , DC , on September 11, 2001. I cancelled my trip because I needed to be in the office to finish up a project. If I had been on the flight, we would have been in the air for about an hour when the first plane hit the World Trade Center . I think the flight I would have been on was diverted to Detroit . I suppose most of the Minneapolis passengers ended up renting cars to get back home. September 11, 2001 was supposed to have been the kick-off for our company United Way campaign. I was working at my desk when a co-worker arrived and said that he’d heard that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center . My first reaction was – oh, it must have been a small plane and an inexperienced pilot who lost control. No, my co-worker said, it was a jet. I checked the news on the internet. At that point, it still wasn’t clear what was going on. I read what I could online and then went back to work. Some of the other people turned on a T...

(A guest post by Patty Miller) Out for a business lunch, we decided to eat at Bank on the spur of the moment. Food: 4 Service: 3 Ambiance: 5 Value: 4 Comments: Bank is definitely one of the hot new business-lunch destinations downtown. The surroundings are gorgeous - the lobby of Farmers & Mechanics Bank restored to its arte moderne glory. Former bankers' offices are now private dining/meeting rooms. I had a stellar pannini of asiago, basil, grilled chicken, roasted red peppers and tomatoes accompanied by homemade, super-crisp asiago-sprinkled potato chips. One companion ordered a chicken Caesar salad that was a standout due to the presentation: an assortment of toppings was served in small spoons arranged around the outside of the plate. The other ordered half a roasted chicken that was golden-brown and moist, accompanied by roasted potato salad, which she said was quite good. Recommendation: Definitely worth a visit.

An overnight trip to Chicago provided me with an opportunity to have dinner with my daughter . It actually was the day after her one-year wedding anniversary. Regrettably, her husband had to work that evening, so he could not join us. As I considered where to eat, I thought about picking a place that I know my wife wouldn’t like. So I suggested sushi. A quick check in Open Table revealed that Tsunami is located less than a block from Tovah’s apartment. She likes sushi and was eager to try it, so I made the reservation. We had a 7 p.m. reservation on a Wednesday night. It wasn’t very busy when we arrived. Maybe it was because if was just after the Labor Day weekend. We were seated in the upstairs dining area near the bar. We liked the ambiance upstairs better than downstairs, although the dining area in the front of the restaurant leading out to the patio also had a nice atmosphere. Since I don’t eat sushi very often, I knew I’d need help, and our server was very ...