I recently had the oppurtunity to check this place out. I have been hearing about it since Bill Clinton was president, and yet have not made the journey to this remote destination (well, remote for a Northeaster anyhow.)

How was it? Awesome! I was surprised to see that it was sort of a cafeteria, similiar in concept to the chains that litter the landscape these days, but whatever. I got the managers special, a burrito with chips and a soda. Rock and roll. Yes, I drank a soda! I do this about once a year…

Damned Good! Pineda has a vast array of fillings to choose from, most of which you are quite unlikely to see at Chipotle or Baja Soul. I chose the chipotle pork, and man, was I glad I did.

Anyhow, that’s all I got, y’all. I love goofy little cafe’s like this. I wish the NE Mexican hole-in-the-walls would kick it up a notch already, you know what I mean?

-shogunmoon

2150 E. Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55407
612-729-5320

311 E. Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN
612-825-7466

1304 Robert St.
W. St. Paul
651-455-6833

The Russian Tea Houses is one of those family-run restaurants where they don’t seem to really care if they attract customers or not. Situated amid the fast-food shacks and junk shops on University and Fairview in St Paul’s Midway neighborhood , you probably wouldn’t give the Russian Tea House a second glance. There is really nothing about the nondescript store front or the please-ignore-me style font on the sign that seems to encourage much attention. They also keep insanely minimalist hours: Tuesdays through Fridays, 11-2pm, which seriously limits my ability to eat there. But on the occasions that I do have a day off, as I did this past Friday, I try to make it a point to have lunch there. The menu is as limited as their availability. it consists of piroshkis, pastries that are filled with finely-ground meat and rice, which they describe as a Russian Hamburger; Borscht Soup, a Russian staple made out of beets; cabbage rolls, ground meat and rice wrapped in a large cabbage leaf; and a beef stroganoff served on top of potato dumplings, that is available only on Fridays. The piroshkis are my favorite; warm and doughy. I sometimes eat three in one sitting just to make the most of my time there. I tried the stroganoff for the first time on Friday, and really enjoyed it. The dumplings are similar to the perogis they serve at nye’s. The stroganoff was interesting, not as thick as I am accustom too, almost like a consommé. There is a cozy dining area on the second floor. The second to last time I ate there I was serenaded by a two-man polka outfit, which I have to say is a fairly profound dose of culture for this particular part of the Twin Cities.

Russian Tea House
1758 University Ave W
(651) 646-4144

Anyone need a manifesto that can be summed up on a bumper sticker? How about this:

Eat Real Food.

What does this mean? Eat real food. Butter. Salt. Grass fed beef. Apples. That which has not been ground and bleached. Friends, be not afraid of the greatest flavoring in any cooks arsenal, bacon fat. The tyranny of misguided dietary guidelines is at an end, at least in my kitchen.

This is probably getting to be a trendy line of thinking these days, but it makes sense, doesn’t it? Farmers, back in the pre WWII days, used to drink a few cups of cream every day in between meals of heavily buttered whole grain toast and lots of bacon and eggs, fried in, of course, delicious butter. They ate way more meat protein and fat then even our decadent society eats today. For the past fifty years, these foods have been taking the blame for rising heart disease rates despite the fact that the evidence incriminating our humble staples does not appear to actually exist. Ever had a look at the pre war heart disease and cancer rates?

Just playing devils advocate here… but maybe it isn’t the butter and bacon fat that is causing the problems. Perhaps it has a little more to do with interesting tidbits of joy like this. Or, just simply this. Just sayin!

Real food is the new organic.

-shogunmoon

Some reading to consider, if any of this seems interesting:

As the Studies Turn: Dietary Fat, Disease, and Death

The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics

Tans Fats: The New Labels and what you need to know

PS, I am not exactly advocating drinking bacon fat by the pint or anything like that… moderation blah blah. And for goodness sake, exercise, exercise, exercise, exercise, exercise! My point is simply this: actual fat, as opposed to chemically produced fats such as margarine and shortening, have been unjustly vilified over the past half century.

What is in the Shogun’s Celler? 2002 Manyana Tempranillo. It. Is. freaking. good. How much? $5.99 a bottle.

A solid spanish red, smooth as buttah, but with a nice strong, plush, almost cherry flavor. Hell yea. Get a case, I did.

I am a fan of Project Runway, and since I care way more about food then I do about fashion, I was excited when I heard that the producers were creating a new cooking show called Top Chef that would follow Runway’s same basic format. For those unfamiliar with either show, the basic formula involves a dozen contestants competing against each other with an elimination challenge at the end of each episode after which the top and bottom three performers are brought out and critiqued by a panel of judges, while the middle of the road folks wait it out in another room. After accolades and dressing downs are handed out to the best and worst respectively, one individual is declared the winner, while one is declared the worst of the worst and sent home. This formula repeats itself each episode until only one contestant is left and declared the winner. Both shows contain a fair amount of the backstabbing bitchery that we have all come to expect from reality TV, but there is enough genuine craft and technique on display to keep your brain cells from wilting in shame.

So I was able to catch the encore presentation of the pilot episode last night before the 2nd episode aired afterwards. The episode began with the usual introductions of the host , judges, and contestants, all of various backgrounds and temperaments. The cooks were thrown directly into a preliminary challenge where they had to see if they could survive working the line in the kitchen of the apparently renown, and very grouchy Head Chef of San Francisco’s Fleur de Lys Restaurant for a full 30 minutes. Only 3 of the 12 were able to hang on without being kicked off the line for reasons ranging from wearing crappy shoes to sticking their finger in the sauce(!) to general nervousness and ineptitude. Afterwards, one of the three survivors, A portly lady by the name of Lee Anne Wong, was declared the winner and given immunity for the elimination challenge coming up later in the episode. This scene was followed by 5 minutes of pointlessness where the sauce fingerer, a belligerent Irish Dude named Ken, started bitching about how he was eliminated unfairly, and it is perfectly natural to stick your fingers in people’s food (!!!). this of course incited gasps of admonishment from the rest of the cast. It is worth mentioning here that Ken was the first to be eliminated, which surprised me since the standard MOA for reality TV shows is to keep the asshole character(s) around as long as possible to maximize the love-to-hate potential. Anyway, for the elimination challenge, each chef had to create their signature dish within a budget of $30, which would then be judged by a panel of their peers in addition to the regular judges. There is footage of the group running around San Francisco buying ingredients before starting the cooking process. The contestants are then broken into two groups, one group tasting and judging the other’s dishes before switching places and doing it again . Other then a few questionable exceptions, the food was pretty cool looking. After much tasting and commenting, the contestants are sent away. The judges deliberate for a few minutes before summoning the top three back to the table where they pick the winner, mild mannered Harold Dieterle from NYC and his Steamed Thai Snapper. The top 3 were then sent back to the kitchen and told to ask the bottom 3 to come to the table where they are denigrated a bit before finding out that gross Ken will be sent home.

After watching the judging it became clear to me that reality shows based on cooking competitions have one fundamental flaw; without being able to taste the food through the TV, you are forced to take the judges word for it. In comparison, the judging portion of Project Runway is my favorite part of the show. Despite not knowing anything about fashion, I like to watch the pretty models come out wearing the designer’s finished garments. I like listening to Michael Kors and Nina Garcia totally hate on my favorite outfit, and how I sometimes agree with their explanation and feel like I just learned something, and how I sometimes think that they are full of shit. The point is that we are on a level playing field. Both the judges and viewing audience are taking in the finished product with our eyes, and forming our own opinions. On Top Chef, some of the dishes totally kicked ass presentation wise, but apparently tasted like shoes. I actually thought crazy-disgusting Ken’s dish looked kind of awesome, and I was left not knowing if he was the first cut because everyone just hated him, or because his dish really was that bad.

Oh yea, the best Pho I have had Minneapolis side of this Mississippi? Tan Phat. Little place in a strip mall in Spring Lake Park of all the places. You heard me. About one block from the Music go Round up there, and about two blocks from Northtown.

Now, let’s get one thing clear. Like most of the new crop of Vietnamese restaurants that are not serving chinese style stir fry, this place has a small menu. A few appetizers, a few more broken rice dishes, some noodle salads, and of course Pho.

First thing that stuck me as good about this place is that the fried spring rolls are actually damned tasty. This is no mean feat, apparently, as most of the fried spring rolls I have been eating lately have left much to be desired. Indeed, old school Sino-Vietnamese restaurants like The Lotus and Kinhdo seem to do a better job at these then most of what I have encountered on “Eat Street.” They are a guilty pleasure of mine though, so I keep trying. And, getting back to the subject of Tan Phat, they do them very well. They also have some good spring rolls, as well as another appetizer they talked us out of ordering, because the pork in it is apparently to chewy for the western palate. One day, I will get them anyway.

How is the Pho, anyway? Textbook. Consomme loaded with rice noodles and steak- check. A plate on the side with bean sprouts, culantro, thai basil, thai pepper slices, and some lime wedges- check. Houston, we have located the real deal. My assessment is based on the description in my favorite cook book “Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table” by Mai Pham. No cilantro, and no italian sweet basil, like you end up with at some of the nicollet mall establishments. Definitely a good start.

How about taste? I cannot singularly declare what Pho is supposed to taste like as I have never visited Vietnam, but I have tasted much of the stuff around town. How does Tan Phat stack up? Better then anything I can recall from the various eat street joints, that is for sure. The broth was not insanely salty like much of what is available. Eating it makes me feel good in much the same way a lovingly crafted homemade chicken noodle soup does. Clean, delicate, but with strong flavor in the broth, perfect for taking on the flavor of the fresh herbs and sprouts as you crumble them in, bite by bite. So good! I can’t get enough of the stuff… especially the one with flank steak. My parents live nearby that area, so I keep going back.

Finally, some decent Vietnamese food north of downtown– To bad it is quite a ways north. If you happen to be up in the area, check them out.

Tan Phat Vietnamese Restaurant
8197 UNivirsity Ave. NE
Spring Lake Park, MN 55038

http://photanphat.tripod.com/

http://citypages.com/databank/27/1318/article14173.asp