Haute Dish ****4/5 stars

 

Haute Dish. Hearty, large portions of meaty, down home cooking with a modern twist...plus a haughty cocktail menu. It took me a long time to drag myself into the old Cafe Havana, which I loved so dearly. RIP, Cuban Martini. I stayed away from HD for months, mostly because the new marquee is just awful from a design perspective. And I loathe the sliced pig logo as well. Yes, bad design will keep me away from some of the best voted food in town. At some point, though, I did break down and fell in love with the bloody mary oyster shooters and the tater tot hot dish. Then I found out they were doing brunch and I was prepared to be thrilled.

So we went on the first Saturday they were serving brunch (previously only Sundays) which also happened to be my 30th birthday for the 5th time. I was joined by a lovely crew who rocked it out with me the night before at the Moose karaoke. Shout out to Jerry Beth for providing stellar karaoke service. I was expecting a crowd, but to my surprise we were the first group to arrive.

 

The breakfast cocktail menu is pretty great. Four dif bloodies, one with tequila and one with bourbon. And a giant bellini with raspberry vodka, peach puree, grand marnier and cava. Yow! 

I started with the tradish house bloody with the Chef's Skewer...an extra $3, but it comes with a chicken wing...what? That was probably the best chicken wing I've ever had! But the bloody wasn't that great. I should have gone for the one with tequila.

Al had a Bloodhound, a greyhound with campari...

So, let's get to the food, shall we? We've got some majorly meaty suspects, one sweet dish and one veggie. We were able to try a lot, since we had a big group. First is my dish, the Ropa Vieja (Old Clothes?) A mexicany hashy egg thingy that I loved, cuz I love their beef brisket, but the avocado was smashed into this weird rectangle and was frozen with ice crystals. I don't believe that was intentional, but it kinda bummed me out.

Then let's talk about Al's dish, the Rueben Benedict. Dam, dam, dammmmm, this was good. And I don't normally go for corned beef. The portion was ginormous.

Here's the veggie hash dish, also very large and tasty...

Blood sausage? Chef Chris C. on Top Chef Masters made blood sausage with poached oysters and sunny side eggs, which he said would be his choice for his last meal before dying. I say, add some oysters to this one and we'll talk...but Mr. Fox loved it.

Oh sweet Jesus, well, semi-sweet Jesus. These were a pretty lovely balance of sweet, tart fresh strawberries, salty brie and fluffy cakes.

 

Before I sat down to write this review, it was pretty solid in my head that Haute Dish was a 3.5 star place. My avocado was frozen and the atmosphere was kinda dark and drab. The service was also a bit sketchy. Just didn't live quite live up to my lofty expectations. But, then I looked at all the food again and realized, nope, it's a 4 fo sho. I'll leave you with this lovely, large and hearty piece of art in the foyer. Please, go to Haute Dish and bring your hunger and a big group so you can try everything. Peace, y'all.

Wilde Roast *** 3.5/5 stars

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
- Oscar Wilde

 

As a tribute to the last weekend of summer, we drowned ourselves in food and drink for three days straight, which involved a late night trip to Applebees (never a good idea), biking to and drinking at 11 Northeast bars and picnicing at Lake Harriet which finally ended in a State Fair induced coma. The beginning to this fateful journey was spent, more than slightly hung over, Saturday morning down on St. Anthony Main. Wilde Roast, in it's new (old Sophia) digs, had gotten some good chatter, so we decided to check it out. 

First of all, I freakin' love this part of town. The falls, the view of Mill City and the rest of downtown and several great bars and restaurants to choose from. Here's the WR patio. Seating for up to six only. We had seven, until Nicki bailed to nurse her "headache." So, we sat inside...

Whoa daddy. This place makes me want to put on an evening gown and drunkenly sing Fever on top of a piano. I guess they didn't change much from Sophia and I love it.

Hair of the dog. Soooo tasty. Nice combo of sweet and spice, and the consistency was not too thick or too watery. This bloody mary saved my life.

Oh, here's a giant fresh-sqeezed mimosa. Bam. It's not a camera trick. They are huge. They don't put the fresh stuff in the screw driver, though... that's lame.

 Giant coffee. Careful with the refills.

 Hi. My name is EGGS BENEDICT PIZZA. Holy god. Amazing.

Sorry for the blurry photo, I was just so excited about the huevos rancheros with side of gouda hashbrowns. Yow!

This is the skillet with roasted potatoes, bacon, egg and hollandaise. 

I saved the worst for last. This is the quiche. This is why Wilde Roast did not get four stars. Looks like lasagna right? Well, it's crustless on purpose, but it was too over loaded with cheese and not loaded enough with veggie goodness. Skip it. The salad, however, was lovely.

Hey everybody: in general, Wilde Roast kicks some serious ass in the brunch department. Pretty good for an alien pop idol.