Reetsy Reviews: Black Forest Inn Sausages

German migration to Minnesota peaked during the decades of the 1860s and 1870s. The historical German opposition to prohibition in Minnesota is reflected in a strong beer making tradition throughout Minnesota, and we have a fair share of German restaurants, to boot.

The Black Forest Inn has been around a long, long time in Minneapolis - 41 years, to be exact. I figured it was about time for me to stop in and try their sausages because it's no secret that I *heart* housemade sausages.

Erich Christ's reasons for making sausages from scratch make sense to me: "At a time when other restaurants were buying more and more of their products finished and pre-packaged we were trying to stay in the same price point, and make our food better, fresher and more interesting."

Interesting sausages made fresh in Minnesota definitely peak my interest. It would be great to see them take "home made" one step farther by sourcing local meats for the sausage they make.

Read more of my thoughts about the meal at www.reetsyburger.com.

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Reetsy Reviews: The Blue Door Pub

Rave reviews and lines extending out the door made Blue Door Pub too tempting for us.

On a sunny weekend in March we simply had to stop in. The truth is, we'd tried stopping before, but the line around the block was too long for our growling stomachs. We picked 2pm on a Saturday afternoon, and headed to St Paul.

Juicy Blucys, locally produced beer, and Spam bites give this place a distinctly Minnesota feel. It would be thrilling to see them add some locally sourced beef and cheese to their menu to up their Minnesota flavor.

Check out my full writeup at www.reetsyburger.com.

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

We Made Meat Pies

We Made Meat Pies
Originally uploaded by gergistheword

1 lb. ground buffalo from Eichten's Hidden Acres Bison
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. ground garlic
1 tbsp. celery salt
2 tbsp. basil
1 cup Cedar Grove organic pepper jack cheese
1 cup Cedar Summit milk
4 c. biscuit mix

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Brown meat and season with the salt, pepper, herbs and spices.
-Make biscuit dough following the instructions on the box (season dough with salt, pepper, and shredded pepper jack).
-Cut dough in 5x3 inch; rectangles, roughly.
-Spoon meat mix on each.
-Fold in half.
-Seal edges.
-1/2 inch apart on greased cookie sheet; bake 12-15 minutes.
-Serve immediately.
-May be made up to 6 hours in advance. But bake just before serving.


Check this out: Locally raised bison is pretty easy to find in Minnesota, and the research tells us that it's better for you than beef. Eichten's Hidden Acres Bison is Minnesota's second largest bison herd. It's reasonably priced, tastes great, and can be purchased at Seward Co-op, as well as other co-ops in the city.

(Per 100 grams of cooked lean meat):

Species	Fat	Calories	Cholesterol	Iron
Bison	2.42	143	82	3.42
Beef	9.38	211	86	2.00

Town Talk Diner: Revisited

Town Talk Diner has been a good spot for us and our neighborhood.

For us, Town Talk Diner was our neighborhood joint. We took friends and family there on a regular basis. We celebrated our engagement there. It had been one of our top picks for sharing good times. Needless to say, we were a bit concerned when we heard that Thero's Restaurant Group had purchased the place. We were concerned that their chef-driven, creative, sustainable approach to running a restaurant would be lost.

We stopped in for food and drinks on Saturday. It was our first visit since Town Talk Diner became a Thero's joint.

I was happy to see that Nick and Patrick were still concocting drinks behind the bar, and that the restaurant is still featuring local, sustainable, seasonal ingredients.

The Carr Valley Cheese Curds were still naughty and tasty - fried with capers and paired with bacon ketchup. The duck bomb burgers were juicy and paired with bourbon ketchup. The ladies seated next to us raved about their wine braised pot roast and Fischer Farms pork chop. By 7pm, the dining room was near capacity, as was the bar.

Gerg treated me to a "scotch bonnet" from the current drink menu. It was habañero infused scotch mixed with apricot liqueur and orange bitters. Truly delightful.

They're offering a Sunday Night Supper menu featuring their own version of T.V. dinners - a four course dinner served with a beverage for $18.


[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Reetsy Reviews: Ngon Vietnamese Bistro

February and Saturdays are good for warm lunches with loved ones. My passion for such led me to Ngon Vietnamese Bistro on Saturday with my husband, gerg.

We had read some decent reviews of Ngon, and I was dreaming about a big bowl of pho.

We were so pleased when we arrived and were seated in a brightly lit, clean, sunshiney dining room. They were about 1/3 full, and we were seated promptly. I'm not sure how well the atmosphere would translate into romantic evening dining, but it was great for lunch.

Ngon Vietnamese Bistro has the passion and commitment I've come to appreciate in a restaurant. They are committed to using fresh, local ingredients, and they take it a step farther by offering sustainably-raised meats, which is valuable to me.


We each ordered our own pot of fresh brewed Jasmine tea to start, but they do offer organic and sustainable wines, and local beers.

We opened our lunch with an order of the Chả Giò: these are fried egg rolls with stuffed with all natural Fischer Farm pork and glass noodles, and topped with pickled carrot and daikon.


They were seasoned well, and meat was tender. Overall, they definitely ranked more adequately in fried egg roll proficiency than most I've come across, especially at $5.

I'm always pleased when I can order beef at a restaurant. I usually avoid beef entrees because I prefer local, humanely raised, grass fed beef. I've come to appreciate and patronize restaurants that offer that kind of beef on their menu. Thus, I set my site for the pho (pronounced "fuh"), which I had read about on various blogs and review sites. Ngon offers 6 varieties of pho, one with chicken and one with seafood.



Phở Bò Viên: this version of their rice noodle soup is made with homemade meatballs using all natural 100% grass fed beef, and topped with green onion . The meatballs were tender. The subtle, savory broth was not overly salted and was prepared with oxtail from all natural grass fed cattle. The pho was served with a generous portion of fresh ingredients on the side, which you add as desired:

Per tradition, this plate of fresh Asian basil leaves, bean sprouts, chilies, and lime wedges were served on a separate plate with the pho; you add them by and by, as you consume the soup - chopsticks in one hand, spoon in the other. I also added a touch of chili sauce to mine. The oxtail broth steamed with the aroma of beef, ginger, green onions, and cilantro. As I added the fresh basil and squeezed the lime into the bowl, I was pleased with the freshness of the ingredients. All of this was served up for $8.95. Apparently, I ceased talking to gerg at some point, spellbound by my pho.

Gerg ordered the Bánh mì: a vietnamese pork sandwich, traditionally served in pho shops.

Ngon's pork sandwich is grilled Duroc natural pork loin on a baguette topped with pickled vegetables and cilantro, and plated with house cut sweet potato fries. I've heard Duroc referred to as a "grill’s best friend" and that certainly helped this sandwich. The juicy, rich grilled meat was topped with crispy sliced pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro and some onion. The spicy aioli served on the side was surprisingly traditional as well. Does the whole thing seem a little French to you? Me too. Apparently, the whole concept of this sandwich is a product of French colonialism in Indochina - thus baguettes and mayonnaise are paired with native Vietnamese ingredients like pickled vegetables and cilantro for $8.50.

Vegetarians will note the section of vegetarian entrees on the menu, including their Hù Tiếu Chay: rice noodles, fresh shitaki mushrooms, daikon, carrots, bok choy and green beans in vegetable broth.

We liked our lunch, and will be back again. I'm still eager to try the Vietnamese crepe, the beef brisket pho, the Vietnamese coffee cake, and, OF COURSE, the crispy rabbit dumplings.

Get your pho on!
Ngon Vietnamese Bistro
799 University Ave
St. Paul, MN
(651) 222-3301

[where: Ngon Vietnamese Bistro, Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Clicquot Club Cafe Closes

A restaurant in our neck of the non-woods has gone out of business. Clicquot Club Cafe has closed its doors.

This was the restaurant housed in the Seward neighborhood's "Orange Crush" building.

It was a cozy, happy little cafe with a smart outdoor seating area and an extensive menu featuring handmade pizzas, paninis, sandwiches, soups, and salads. They offered some organic products including field greens, peanut butter, and coffee. I will miss their giant Dagwood sandwich and their salami/mozzarella panini.

I bought my bulk tea there on more than one occasion - they had an awesome mango green tea that I bought by the jarful.

From their website:

It is with sadness and regret that we have decided to close our doors, effective January 12th, 2009.

After 3 wonderful years we find ourselves in a situation where sales have fallen to unsustainable levels and we have no other choice but to cease operations.

We’d like to thank everyone that has supported us and want our loyal customers to know how much we have truly appreciated you over the last years. It’s been an incredible experience, and serving this community has been the greatest reward anyone could imagine.

Although these are challenging times, we know that there are other opportunities ahead, and we thank you for supporting us through both the best, and worst, of times.

We’re honored to have been part of your lives!

Thank You…



[where: St. Paul, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Seward Co-op Grand Opening This Week

On this blog I write a lot about restaurants and their intersection with sustainable food.

I suppose I assumed that it went without saying that I am also a home cook. I adore cooking at home, and am enjoying it more than ever now that we received so many rad wedding gifts for our kitchen.

As for scoring food for cooking at home, we shop for our groceries primarily at the Seward Co-op in Minneapolis. It is the closest co-op to our home, and their quality of food has been on point.

At Seward Co-op, they are committed to offering healthful, locally/regionally grown and organic foods. From their Christmas trees to their CSA fair in the summertime, Seward Co-op is more than just a place to buy food though - it's a place fully engaged in building a community.

Our weekly grocery purchases at Seward include Cedar Summit Farm bottled milk, organic eggs from Larry Schultz of Owatonna, pork products from Pastures A' Plenty, all kinds of local and regional cheese, local buffalo and lamb meat, bulk Peace Coffee, and fresh free-range chicken and beef from Kadejan, Beaver Creek Farm, and Thousand Hills Cattle Company. We divide our local (mostly organic) produce purchases between Seward Co-op and the Cornercopia organic farm at the University of Minnesota, St Paul campus.

We are pumped for grand opening of the new Seward Co-op store on Franklin Avenue this week on Thursday, January 8th. We are especially excited for the expanded meat department that will be a part of the new Seward Co-op location.

Highlights/interesting talk we've heard about the new Seward Co-op expansion:

- expanded departments across the board means greater variety across the board, (especially meat!)

- the Deli also will be serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the week, as well as a brunch buffet on the weekends

- Coastal Seafoods is assisting in the training of their Meat Department staff

- Bill Baskins, formerly of the Red Stag will be making sausage behind the counter

- Chris Dick, Seward Co-op’s new Meat and Seafood Manager, will be heading the expanded meat department (all fresh meats - except certain
fish - will be locally sourced, Grass-fed and organic meats will be available, as will fish caught using sustainable methods)

- a self-service/grab-n-go case nearly double the size of the current one

- a new Cheese Department, currently featuring 175 varieties of cheese (100 of
which are local!) will see a 40-percent size percent increase in the new store

- a full-service, fresh meat case. The same goes for fresh seafood. Freshly made
sausage and sliced lunch meats will also be available.

- building systems were designed to improve efficiency 17 percent above code requirements

- site will capture and retain at least 90 percent of stormwater for its ample green space

- the new building is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified

- money for some form(s) of public art is included in the architectural plan to
maximize the opportunities for including public art

- daylight harvesting equipment

- a rotisserie chicken roaster

- the new space will offer community cooking classes, nutritional education, and education on cooperative structures

- more than 20 percent of the site’s construction materials are made of recycled materials

- green space and greenery are maximized within the constraints of the design

- high efficiency refrigeration and low VOC paint throughout

- this is the first official project under the "Great Streets" program banner in Minneapolis

- while they may need to destroy the current public art project currently on site, Seward Co-op is planning for mosaics to be incorporated into the exterior plan

( For all kinds of information on the expansion, check out their latest newsletter)

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With all the new groceries that I'll be bringing home from the new Seward Co-op, I'm glad I got two new cookbooks from my mom that are aimed at folks interested in sustainable home cooking:

Food to Live By....Myra Goodman offers tempting recipes that combine casual style with the best ingredients in appealing recipes such as Sweet Corn Chowder, Merlot-Braised Short Ribs with Cipollini Onions, Ginger Lime Salmon, Cherry Panna Cotta, and Farm Stand Carrot Cake, to name a few. And woven through it all are Myra’s own fascinating family stories, from the birth of Earthbound Farm and the opening of the Farm Stand and Organic Kitchen, to her thoughts about personal food choices and the way even small choices can make a big difference.

From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce.....was originally created in 1996 by the Madison, WI Area CSA Coalition to help CSA members make the most of the wide variety of produce they received from their farms each week. 17,000 copies later this book has become an indispensable tool for CSA members, farmers, market enthusiasts, and gardeners across the U.S. and beyond. The A-Z Food Book is much more than a conventional cookbook. It includes essays that address the "larger picture" of sustainable agriculture by describing how food choices fit into our economy, environment, and communities as well as information about home food preservation



[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Twin Cities, Minnesota]