Great Taste

Cherry time

If you have never experienced the delectable sweet-sour sensation of Montmorency cherries in pie, ice cream or sundae sauce, here's your chance.

Silkey Gardens in Northfield is featuring u-pik or picked-to-order Montmorency tart cherries in limited quantities. All you need to do is find a tart cherry recipe of your choice and make it.

Strawberries, also grown at Silkey Gardens, are available now as well....Indeed Great Taste's kitchen sink has been dotted with leaves and hulls as freshly cleaned and cut local strawberries have been finding their way into scones, salads, and lemonade.

For more information on Silkey's fruit visit http://www.silkeygardens.com

 

Saturday fiesta at the ZF Golf Course

Another reader heard from:

Hi Jay,
 
 A great place for Mexican food is the Zumbro Falls Golf Course on Saturdays for lunch or supper at a great price.
 
Check it out, Bonnie

 

Try the taco truck

Quick note from a Mexican food fan -- watch for the Four Stars review on Tuesday of four fabulous Mexican specialty dishes:

Not the biggest menu by any means, but the taco truck in the Cub Food parking lot is the best Mexican in town.

It is open Thurs-Sat nights. Try the bistek torta.  (Cub also sells real Mexican coke which goes well with the sandwich).

Votes for Loco Gringos in Wabasha

Four Stars fans continue to offer up tips on best Mexican entrees in the region. Here are a few regarding Loco Gringo's in Wabasha:

Hi, Jay-
 
I was staying in Wabasha and saw your contest for best specialty Mexican dish for the Post Bulletin.  I'd like to cast my vote for the fish taco from Loco Gringos in Wabasha - excellent, excellent food.  Fantastic restaurant and we really enjoyed chatting with the owners.
 
Thanks,
Todd Swartz
Prior Lake, MN

++++++++++

Loco Gringo’s in Wabasha has the best fish taco’s. We went last weekend and they were delicious. Looking forward to going again.
 
Kelly Wavra, Benchmark Learning, Edina

++++++++++

I want to add my vote for best Mexican specialty dish:
 
Fish tacos at Loco Gringos Cantina in Wabasha - absolutely the BEST in the state.  And their seafood enchiladas are also tops!  Great food, outstanding service with a smile and cold beer along with a beautiful river -- what more can you ask for?
 
Kim Lemke
Farmington, MN

Great Taste is ga-ga for local maple syrup

No, Lady Gaga has nothing to do with this post.

It's just that Great Taste made French toast this morning and used Richard Merrill's maple syrup over it.

Freshness and lots of maple flavor could be tasted in that syrup from Chatfield. The French toast, served to three family members, disappeared in moments.

Merrill's Merribees syrup is available on Saturdays at the Rochester Downtown Farmers Market.

Where to eat in Northfield

Northfield has two colleges but it's still a smallish town, with a population of just under 20,000 souls. Yet dining choices here make it worth a trip, even if you're not setting foot on a campus.

Fine Dining

Fermentations Wine Bar & Bistro, 236 Railway Street, N., Dundas (just south of Northfield), is among the most romantic restaurants in Minnesota south of the cities. Find a fairly eclectic menu of Euro-American cuisine; intimate, understated dining room; and friendly service. Signature duck is not to be missed: The current interpretation, offered as an entree, is confit in port gastrique with macerated grapes. Pork tenderloin also stars. For starters enjoy a locally grown mixed green salad or caprese salad with fresh mozzarella. http://www.fermentations-bistro.com/

Kurry Kabab, 2918 Jefferson Road, is the best Indian restaurant in Minnesota south of the Cities, and Great Taste suspects that it could be on a short list of best in state. Large, diverse menu features invariably fresh, well prepared and elegantly presented dishes. Try vegetable pakora, chicken makhani, and mixed vegetable pickle. Spice is serious, not "Minnesota hot;" order "mild" unless you're truly prepared for fiery taste. http://www.kurrykabab.com/

Casual Dining/Take Out

The HideAway Coffeehouse and Wine Bar,  421 Division Street. Wraps and paninis are big enough to split--and they're scrumptious. Try meatless First National panini--whether or not you're vegetarian. The breakfast burrito is reason to start your morning here. In a coffee-crazed town, this spot is arguably the best, not only for coffee but cold-pressed coffee and smooth, rich espresso. Walls are lined with local art. Charming atmosphere with high ceiling is usually lively but not noisy. http://hideawaycoffeehouseandwinebar.com/

Just Food Co-op, 516 Water Street South. Choice of soups plus a selected lunch item--ranging from pasta salads to fish tacos--are featured in a mini "deli." Fridge case of uncommonly good egg, chicken and pasta salads, sushi variations,  and trial-size portions of specialty cheeses should satisfy even the pickiest big city transplant. Head over to the refreshment case for Kombucha, hibiscus juice, etc. If all you seek is a cup of yogurt there's an eye-popping variety here. http://justfood.coop/

Special Markets

Every Saturday through October Northfield offers a downtown outdoor market, Riverwalk Market Fair, featuring local food farmer-vendors, among other merchants. More here in this Star Tribune article. 

On Tuesdays and Fridays from 11:45 am to 1 pm and Saturdays from 9 to 11 am, the Northfield Area Farmers Market, Riverside Park on Seventh Street, features locally grown produce, locally raised meats and poultry, and a small but diverse selection of locally made foods, through October.


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Street food: Is Roch cool or not even in the running?

Here's a piece on street food in Mad City (Madison), Wisconsin.

http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=29422&sid=1c0add9d754e45901c4ffb47e3bfc522

When it comes to street food, how do you, reader, think Rochester compares to other medium-size cities? 

Lanesboro's Annual Rhubarb Festival: Be there or be square

It's here (there) again, this Saturday. See information in link below, including recipes.  

http://www.rhubarbfestival.org/

While we're on the subject: Great Taste found an interesting rhubarb recipe created by Josh and Brent of Beekman 1802. Check it out.

http://beekman1802.com/general/rhubard-and-black-pepper-sauce.html

Lefse to love

Imagine: Fresh, very light lefse, spread with just the right amount of softened butter and brown sugar, rolled up a few minutes ago, and served to you.

Imagine: Just the right balance of textures and sweet and savory flavors. (So simple, yet so hard to come by.)

Look no further than Monica Brossard's stand at the Rochester Downtown Farmers Market on Saturdays.  

Isn't Minnesota nice?

What is black garlic and why should you care?

Great Taste wants to keep you on top of food trends and black garlic is one of them. You can name drop, if you really want to. Black garlic has the consistency, color and slight taste of black licorice combined with the flavor you expect from a clove of baked garlic. Here's more:

http://blackgarlic.com/

http://www.gourmet.com/restaurants/2009/06/black-garlic

Great Taste is experimenting with black garlic right now in her kitchen. (Too soon to put up a personal recipe.) The flavor it adds to even simple, home-cooked dishes is, well, phenomenal.

Check out this article:

http://www.gazette.com/articles/garlic-90415-black-flavor.html

Black garlic can be purchased online. Great Taste is not aware of black garlic being offered for sale in a store in Minnesota--but feel free to prove her wrong!