Krik's Picks

I don’t think I’ve ever purposely gone to a restaurant knowing that it was about to go out of business. I certainly never have written a blog post about one. But today I couldn’t help myself. I had to have one last visit to Vincent on the Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. The restaurant’s last day of business is Dec. 31. I went there for lunch. I have been to Vincent several times in the past. My wife and I have celebrated special occasions there. Once, I was the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by the person who was my current boss and three former bosses to commemorate my 35th anniversary of working at Land O’Lakes . ( Here’s the post I wrote about that experience.) It also was a great place for business entertaining. I’ve commented before that my favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities is Meritage in St. Paul. Like Vincent, it features French food. But the ambiance at Meritage is more casual bistro. The dining room at Vincent was big and open with tall ceilings and...

There’s a lot of hype and excitement about all the new Italian restaurants opening in the Twin Cities. (Check the third paragraph of Rick Nelson’s year-in-review article for a list.) I’m excited. I’ve often lamented that so many of our Twin Cities Italian eateries just don’t match the quality and creativity of meals I’ve eaten at in other cities. So really, it’s my own fault for not having discovered La Grolla sooner. Partly, it’s my parochial attitude about going to St. Paul to eat. There are so many good restaurants west of the Mississippi that I usually don’t consider driving to St. Paul. But, I must admit, it seems like my list of ‘exceptions’ – St. Paul restaurants that are worth the trip – has grown to the point where I may have to change my attitude. (See especially Meritage (my favorite Twin Cities restaurant), Ngon Bistro , Muffuletta , and the St. Paul Grill (for lunch). Also, there’s Caffe Biaggio which is a really good Italian restaurant in St. Paul, and s...

I almost didn’t write this review. There have been so many raves about how great Spoon & Stable is, what more is there to say? Spoon & Stable definitely deserves the accolades. Still, there are a few highlights worth noting. First of all, they take reservations. Yeah! Not that they’re particularly easy to get. No matter how eager we were to dine there, we weren’t going to show up at 5:30 to get a table or eat at the bar. We tried several times during the fall and finally got a table at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday night of Thanksgiving weekend. Next, it’s a beautiful room – warm, comfortable and inviting. You enter into the bar area where you’re greeted by a bustling buzzing bar scene. We were on time for our reservation, and the hostess assured us that our table was being set – 5 minute wait at the most. One minor quibble – it’s one big open room. The dining room opens into the bar area with only a waist-high divider. Our table was in that first row adjacent to the bar. At o...