A family dinner at Brasa Rotisserie, Minneapolis

When we have dinner with my son and his wife and daughter, it’s usually at our house. And when it’s not at our house, it’s at theirs. But in late September, after Linda and I returned from our vacation in Greece, we decided to eat out with Ben and his family. He suggested Brasa. It’s reasonably close to their neighborhood, it has a good reputation, and he’d eaten there once before.

It was a beautiful Friday evening. The weather was warm and still. The sky was cloudless. The trees in the neighborhood hadn’t begun to turn color yet. When we arrived at Brasa, we snagged the last remaining outdoor table and ordered a bottle of wine. (No struggling with a wine list here. The menu simply lists “Med. Bodied, Fruity, Red” or “Bold, Ripe Red.” We went with Med Bodied Fruity Red (which turned out to be a Pinot Noir.)

The concept at Brasa is pretty simple and straightforward. Roasted meat – chicken, beef, or pork. Interesting sides. Lots of attention paid to quality and skillful preparation.

On our family visit, we got two orders of chicken and two orders of beef.

The sides we ordered were:

• Roasted yams with andouille sausage. This was probably my favorite dish. The sweet, roasted yams were nicely complemented by the moderately spicy sausage.
  
• Slow cooked collard greens with smoked turkey. Another great combination. We got two orders of this one.
  
• Red beans and corn bread. My wife ordered this, but thought it was too spicy for her taste. (I, however, liked it.)
  
• Fried, sweet plantains. Very good.
  
• Romaine & fresh mozzarella chop salad. I was disappointed by this one. It didn’t have the depth of flavor that I would have wanted.

The one side that we didn’t order that I wish we would have was the rustic style cheese grits. Benjamin says they are fantastic, but I didn’t get to taste them.

The service at Brasa was pretty relaxed. We didn’t care. We just enjoyed sitting around, savoring the meal, and sharing stories about our adventures in Greece. It was a good meal and a good value enhanced by beautiful weather and pleasant company.