[thenightwriterblog] The Night Writer: Dine, but no whine, please

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Posted by The Night Writer:
Dine, but no whine, please
http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1170375234.shtml


   Anyone who's lived in the Twin Cities any length of time recognizes
   this area's mewling metro-insecurity that lurks just beneath our
   supposedly cosmopolitan surface; kind of a "Cold Omaha Syndrome": the
   fear that despite our aires of suave sophistication and our cultural
   icons we're really more at home with blue-light specials than
   gas-light ambiance. The latest jeremiad on this theme was [1]an
   article in yesterday's Strib lamenting the demise, in quick
   succession, of three high-end, top chef fine dining establishments,
   Levain, Five Restaurant and Street Lounge, and Auriga.
   Though I never [DEL: ate :DEL] dined at any of these places I will say
   I feel a little sad that they're gone I am not inclined to press the
   back of my wrist against my forehead and lament that Minneapolis (few
   even will include St. Paul for consideration) is not worthy, or is
   merely a "two-star" city as one restaurateur and critic said. He's
   probably right, but so what?
   Make no mistake, I like to eat out and the Old Country Buffet and Red
   Lobster ("Dead Lobster" we call it at our house) are not the troughs
   of choice for my family. We appreciate good food, above-average
   service and a degree of imagination in the menu, but dropping $75 to
   $100 per person on dinner isn't high on our list of Entertaining
   Things to Do. Sure, I know you can spend similar amounts and more on
   theater or concert tickets or even going to a Vikings, Wild or
   Timberwolves game and that these amusements are as transitory as a
   fine dinner (and probably won't set as well) -- but we don't typically
   do those things either. So, would we be just as happy in Des Moines?
   The fun thing for us (my wife and I, anyway) is going to some new,
   off-beat place we've never been. Heck, we'll even dress up. It's
   easier to be adventurous, however, if the entrees don't cost as much
   as a tank of gasoline. My wife likes to peruse the restaurant reviews
   in the local papers and clip out places that sound interesting. She
   keeps these clippings in a folder and when we have a chance to go out
   we'll consult this file and choose a place. The Reverend Mother prides
   herself on being willing to try anything but liver or beef stroganoff
   (and she has discovered that she doesn't like catfish). I'm not nearly
   as daring, especially if it involves vegetables, but through our
   outings we've had goat, yak, many varieties of Indian food (her
   favorite) and even ordered food at ethnic places where we simply
   pointed at things on a steam table that looked good. We've also
   enjoyed the imagination and presentation (especially because the food
   was also excellent) at Muffuletta and at Zelos. If anyone has any
   suggestions for other places we can try, leave a comment below.
   One thing we've learned, however, with our various outings is to call
   first: several times we've ventured out to some promising place only
   to find that it's already gone out of business. Apparently it's not
   just the high-end, fancy restaurants that go out of business. Who
   knew?

References

   1. http://www.startribune.com/456/story/971827.html