Great Taste

Chicken wild rice soup? Slow down a second

Hi, I'm Gourmanda Galore.

I've decided to "come out" with my nom de plume so that you know there are two Great Taste writers. Indeed we are different. Think critics Roger Ebert and the late great Gene Siskel. Or, think Mae West and W.C. Fields--whichever you prefer. 

Now about the famous Minnesota soup.    

We love chicken and wild rice soup. We love how it glistens. Gourmanda has to be careful not to burn her tongue because this soup retains heat so well it could power the City of Rochester on a January day.

But what of soups that reflect the harvest season?

We're talking aromatic butternut squash soup. Or carrot ginger. Gazpacho with tomatoes and peppers--vegetables that remain abundant owing to late summer's warm, dry weather.

GG dreams of Italian escarole soup, cold or hot borscht, sweet and sour cabbage soup, and out-of-the-garden minestrone. Then there's tomato soup made with fresh, local tomatoes, or potato and leek soup also known as vichyssoise.

Yes, Gourmanda yearns to see more seasonal soup choices; many area chefs are increasingly mindful of that idea and the farmers market bounty.

But time will tell if Rochester wakes up to this philosophy over wallpaper paste substitutes sold year-round. 

When Gourmanda starts dodging the wind tunnel on Broadway in favor of the nearest indoor route, she will make a beeline to DAUBE'S DOWN-UNDER--in the subway level of the US Bank building--to stave off those unruly chicken wild rice pangs.

That explains it!

Jeffrey Eastman, owner of Salad Brothers Cafe and Deli, adds this to the record regarding the soup at his fine downtown establishment:

I would like to thank you for your review in yesterday's issue of the Post-Bulletin. It's nice to get the recognition after 15 years of making at least 10 gallons of wild rice soup nearly every day. I do have one comment about your review: Salad Brothers wild rice soup is called wild rice soup because there's no chicken in it. That is probably why you missed the meat in the soup. The key to the flavors you experienced is the incredible base we use, as well as the other ingredients. Just another note next time -- try it with the free breadsticks. We make over 1,000 from scratch daily.

Thanks again for the kind words!

Best regards,

Jeffrey Eastman

No wonder it didn't seem very meaty! But great flavor nonetheless...

Also, the phone number is 298-1560. The one we published was outdated. Thanks, Jeff!

JF

Try Tarsilla's in Stewartville

Here's a note from a reader of Tuesday's Four Stars feature on chicken and wild rice soup:

If you want to try the best homemade wild rice soup....you need to stop into
Tarsilla's Coffee House and Cafe' on Main Street in Stewartville.  Chef Don
Mueske (making this soup since 1969) makes the best soup in Minnesota.
Tarsilla's address is 112 North Main Street- Stewartville 533-9561.  Gallons
and Gallons of soup go out the back door....this soup is delightful.

Dawn Miller

Thanks for the tip. If the soup's as good as their pastries and burgers, I'm sure it's top-notch.

I'll gang up this comment and others in a Four Stars Feedback column in the print edition next Tuesday.

JF

"Restaurant Week" in the Cities

It's Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine's Restaurant Week. Right now and through October 2 you can head to some of the top spots and enjoy a three-course dinner for $15 or $30, or two-course lunch for $10 or $20.

Participating restaurants include a couple of Great Taste's faves--Cosmos at the Graves 601 Hotel and Cafe and Bar Lurcat. (More on Great Taste's top Minneapolis-St. Paul restaurants in this blog's Twin Cities category.) 

But Great Taste notes the adage: "You get what you pay for."

We had the $30 RW special at La Belle Vie, Minneapolis. Great Taste's spouse, a male over six feet tall, felt compelled to order additional courses--and still arrived home HOA (Hungry on Arrival), hitting the fridge for Sunday's leftover barbecue ribs.

Great Taste devoured the New French Bakery-made bread basket, as well as a lamb slider (not part of the Restaurant Week feature) ordered by another dinner companion.

Don't get us wrong. We think Restaurant Week is cute. Just know what you're getting into....Stop at a drive-thru and grab a burger beforehand. Or go for broke and hit two Restaurant Week restaurants in one night.

More on Restaurant Week: http://www.mspmag.com/promotions/wherewe%27llbe/139886.asp    

Sneak peek at the soups

Tomorrow in the print edition, watch for the next installment of Four Stars, the monthly restaurant feature on four fabulous places to enjoy great food.

On Tuesday, we'll zero in on outstanding chicken and wild rice soup in the Rochester area. I've chased all over town trying to find the best cups of soup, from restaurants as unexpected as Famous Dave's to more predictably excellent places as Prescotts.

For Great Taste readers only, here are the four that made the cut:

Vintage Light Coffee and Tea House
3456 East Circle Drive N.E., Rochester
206-4387

Prescotts
Crossroads Shopping Center
1201 S. Broadway, Rochester
536-9050

Salad Brothers Cafe & Deli
111 S. Broadway (Shops at University Square), Rochester
280-6319

McGoon’s Taxi Co. Pub and Restaurant
7 Second St. S.W., Rochester
288-8130

If you know of other places that serve a great cup of chicken and wild rice soup, add a comment here and we'll add it to the record in print next week, in the Four Stars Feedback column in Tuesday's Life/Mealtime section.

And look for more restaurant talk, including a new Siskel-and-Ebert style feature on Rochester area food, in Great Taste.

JF

German Feasting

Ein prosit for the PB's Beer of the Week: Schell Octoberfest.

Great Taste (who is over 21) enjoyed Octoberfest beer in New Ulm last weekend. This seasonal brew complements Teutonic fare like wiener schnitzel, wurst, spaetzle and braised red cabbage.

August Schell Brewing Company, based in New Ulm, is the second-oldest family-owned brewery in the United States, founded in 1860, and the largest beer producer in Minnesota. Schell brand beers are available in just seven states.  

While we're on German cuisine: Here's a family recipe for red cabbage--still locally plentiful right now. 

One-fourth pound bacon, diced
One large head red cabbage, finely shredded
One-half yellow onion, chopped
One apple, peeled and diced
One bay leaf
One-fourth cup apple cider vinegar, or to taste
Three-fourths cup red currant jelly
Salt and pepper

Fry bacon in large saucepan until it is almost crisp. Add onions to pan and continue to cook over low heat until onions are soft. Add cabbage, apple, and a few tablespoons of water. Stir frequently for five minutes, adding more water if needed to prevent sticking. Increase heat to medium low and add bay leaf and vinegar. Cook until cabbage softens and blend in currant jelly. Season to taste. Serve hot.

Yield: Ten to twelve servings

Latest Mickey D Discovery

Love McDonald's?

Loathe it?

Or do you occasionally find McDonald's a convenient, familiar, clean, good-enough cheeseburger-and-Coke drive-thru stop? (Great Taste does.)

Food for thought: http://www.weathersealed.com/

Great Taste deserves a break today. We want to get up and get away---from under the junk food heap to the Salmon River mountains of Idaho! 

Pepper--palooza: a guide to pepper identification and use (just in time for market)

Peppers are in abundance at farm stands and farmers markets. We're spotting all sorts in myriad shapes, sizes and colors.

Do you know the culinary uses for large, shiny, dark forest green oblong peppers or little-round-ball red ones? 

Here's a guide: http://www.chow.com/stories/11811

Truffle Tremor is shaking us up!

Just peeked online at LeeAnn Zubay's recent arrivals---She's got TRUFFLE TREMOR, brought to you by Cypress Grove, the California cheesemaker that created Humboldt Fog.

Great Taste has been obtaining Truffle Tremor in recent weeks from JUST FOOD CO-OP, Northfield. Truffle Tremor (we like to call it TT for short) presents earthy truffles immersed in layers of ultra-creamy goat cheese and encased in white rind. For people who love both trufffles and soft cheeses, this is a dream.

TT is recommended with dry white wine. Great Taste enjoys it with green grapes and Kalvi crisp flat crackers, among other foods. (We wonder how it would taste slightly melted over a medium rare filet....)

More on TT: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/08/WIFGUPOQV.DTL

Zubay's shop is open at 308 First Avenue NW but not for long. It is moving to a much bigger location at the former Avocados World Bistro site. Keep up with her Zzest Culinary Market & Wine Cafe, Rochester, on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rochester-MN/ZZest-Culinary-Market-and-Wine-Cafe/220478320390

Best restaurant for secret rendezvous

Is there space in our text-messaging, internet-photo-sharing lives for some mystery?

How about an off-the-beaten-path spot for those who don't want to "see and be seen"? A smallish room for a luxe meal, with a backdrop of original art and modern jazz? 

Fermentations Wine Bar & Bistro, about an hour northwest of Rochester in Dundas, is all of the above.

With the closing of Chardonnay a few months ago, Great Taste favors Fermentations as the most romantic restaurant in Minnesota south of the Cities. Part of its appeal is subtlety; there's nothing flamboyant, uber-trendy or stuffy about this little storefront.       

Order one of the duck selections (currently featured duck confit with Pinot noir gastrique and lentil risotto is sublime); tender, locally-grown mesclun salad; house-made ravioli boscaiola; or/and the boulangere potatoes side. (Note of reservation to steak lovers: it's rarely, if ever, on the rotating menu.) With a few exceptions--we are not a fan of the meatballs, for example--the quality, preparation and originality of dishes vie with the region's best.

Global wine list includes varieties of flights and wines-by-the-glass. A small-numbered but talented staff provides attentive service.

Though tucked away in a wee town, Fermentations has prices reflecting its high aspirations: entrees range from $24 to $30; the majority of appetizers are $13 and up. 

But, for that occasion, we think it's money well spent. 

Current menu, address and additional info: http://www.fermentations-bistro.com