6/4/2010 -- North Shore's New Scenic Cafe

For an "Eating Saint Paul" blog, it doesn't seem right that I keep posting from outside St. Paul, but I went to the North Shore last weekend and had a foodie's weekend and can't help but share.

Friday night we arrived on the North Shore and settled into our cabin just steps off Lake Superior, if it wasn't raining and 45 degrees it would have been magical. Still, I was excited to eat dinner at the oft praised New Scenic Cafe just down the road. We had made reservations, but it looked like they weren't necessary (the place was bigger than I imagined.) From the road, the building has a somewhat minimalist, modern feel that is tempered by the gorgeous garden. Indoors the place is almost entirely wood and very welcoming (I'd say cozy, but you'd think cramped and it's not.)

What I ate (6/4/2010):

Artichoke slather with chives, aioli and asiago cheese served with grilled ciabatta

Pistachio crusted goat cheese, cherry tomato and mixed green salad

Grilled baby portabella mushrooms with honshimeji, cipollini onion confit, roasted plums, chioggia beets and pea shoots

The Review:

Honey, I don't care if you love (or hate) the artichoke dips you've had before. Get yourself to New Scenic and try the artichoke slather. Real, large chunks of artichoke surrounded in garlicky warm goodness and the salted chewy crunch of baked/broiled asiago cheese on top. The grilled bread was long and thin and allowed for multiple reloads of the delectable slather. The only downside is I think the cook was feeling rushed and didn't let the slather fully heat (the larger chunks of artichoke were cool.)


As I tried to avoid licking the last bits of artichoke slather out of the dish, I looked across the table at my dinner guest with the satiated, excited face of someone who might have just struck on a gold deposit. Then, came the salad and I've got to say the deposit wasn't as deep and rich as I thought it might be. The salad was respectable, but a solid "meh" was all I could muster after the artichoke. The roasted garlic vinaigrette was slightly bitter and the rest of the salad cried out for something more... maybe a shallot to add some crunch? The pistachios sort of clung to and got lost in the creamy goat cheese. Well, that's okay. I'm still high on artichoke slather and my next dish had numerous things I've never heard of before (I like the surprise.)

My entree intimidated me on the menu. What's honshimeji? It intimidated me on the plate too. It was beautiful, but how would it taste? Like I had hit gold again! First, I love beets with their roasted deep goodness that transcends with the right amount of salt. This dish combined the beet's deep goodness with the rich, almost sinful taste of a well-grilled portabella mushroom. I was quickly falling into a cavern of that satiated feeling you get when eating good comfort food on a cold winter night, but the slightly carmelized, slightly sweet cippolini onion kept me from curling up and nodding off into satiation. I was surprised that the roasted plum which I imagined was going to be a deep richness was a somewhat tart, firm brightener to the plate. In addition, there was some sort of grain with a small, somewhat sweet berry (maybe a black quinoa or cous cous and wild blueberries?) that I had assumed was "honshimeji" under the portabellas and a deep magenta glaze that I imagine was part beet juice, part balsamic vinegar? I'll be honest there was so much going on that plate and it tasted so good I didn't bother doing the usual dissection to understand each component itself. Now, about that honshimeji, it turns out to be a tiny white mushroom that grows in clusters and has a slightly nutty, buttery taste. It was much juicier than I anticipated, but seemed somewhat like an afterthought on the plate (kind of like the pea shoots) and I frankly was too stuffed to do anything more than taste it. In hindsight, it might have been a palate cleanser for the richness of the rest of the dish.

All in all, I really enjoyed New Scenic Cafe. There are definite signs of greatness and the place and its staff are very welcoming. One bit of advice to the kitchen, don't rush the job. The guests are most likely enjoying good wine, company and service out front and look forward to enjoying what you all do best. (I add this because in addition to the cool artichoke bits, my companion's caprese sandwich looked like a last minute rush job and didn't taste much better. Maybe that's what you get for ordering a sandwich at dinner?)

3/14/2010 Black Dog Cafe in St. Paul's Lowertown

Black Dog Cafe is a sleeper cell in lowertown St. Paul. This weekend I needed a coffee shop that would caffeinate, feed, and relax me as I trudged through a backlog of laptop work. Black Dog was like (wo)man's best friend in delivering all of that and inspiring me to power through my backlog. Another added perk, day long parking is available for $1 or $2 on Saturdays by the building and the farmer's market is happening every weekend (in Golden's Deli during these chilly months.)

Arriving in the morning, I wanted a jolt of caffeine and an enjoyable breakfast to set me off on my productive path. The coffee was suitable, not outstanding. The breakfast quesadilla, well, that was the stuff of memories. The tortilla was crispy, airy, yet somehow still also soft. The scrambled eggs and cheese were fluffy and cooked perfectly. The black beans, so deceptively simple yet just the right texture. Now the salsa took this exceptional quesadilla to another stratosphere for me. It's March and Minnesota is emerging from the dulldrums of winter to the slushy drear of early spring, yet this salsa sang of summer freshness. Each bite was like eating summer clouds in the muddy chill of March. While this quesadilla wasn't packing the big flavors tex-mex can, it was so good in its simple and perfect execution I had to give my regards to the cook. Thanks to that quesadilla I was off and running because as soon as I got my work done that salsa was screaming to me that good weather was waiting.

For lunch, I ordered the special - a cubano sandwich with pulled pork, ham, cheese, pickles, peppers, and mustard/mayo on ciabatta. It was a great sandwich. While I'm a fan of big and bold flavors, again, Black Dog's delivery is more subtle but right on the notes it does hit.

We ended up finishing slightly ahead of schedule and decided not to partake in the beer/wine menu, but having it there in case things weren't going so well was comforting and a draw.

The cafe/coffeeshop is pretty spacious as places like this go and there were open seats the whole time I was there. The one complaint is that there is VERY limited access to outlets for the working crowd.