On a chilly January night, gerg and I had to drive across town to take my car to the shop. Apparently, my car seems to think I don't need heat in the winter, and that's just wrong.
The good part about taking my car to the shop is that the drive led us directly past the Modern Cafe, so on our way back to the south side, we decided to stop.
The Modern Cafe has a great reputation, and has a commitment to sustainable foods. "The talented cooks at the Modern Cafe use local organic or sustainable food when possible, such as Fischer Farms, Riverbend Organic Farms, Donnay Dairy Farms, Meyer Ranch, Garden Farms [I'm assuming they meant Axdahl's], and Creekstone Farms."
Gerg said one thing that sealed the deal, "mmmmmmm.....pot roast."
Pot roast? What's so great about pot roast? Everything is great about pot roast at the Modern Cafe.
As we were seated, a table of young foxy gals were sitting sipping wine and gabbing as they flipped their hair. I'm being totally serious when I say the server came out with 4 orders of pot roast for their table. In fact, as I glanced around the dining room, at least half of the patrons were eating pot roast.
Gerg said, "I'm having the pot roast, and you're having the squash ravioli?"
I said, "Oh really?"
Gerg said, "Yep."
With that, we ordered.
The pot roast at the Modern is served up on a pile of mashed potatoes, roasted vegetable, caramelized onion au jus, and topped off with a dollop of creamy horseradish sauce. The meat is unbelievably tender and flavorful, and as it's nestled in a bed of comfort food, it's practically the perfect cold weather dish.
The squash ravioli was savory and sweet. It's served up with sage butter, walnuts, and bread crumbs/croutons. It, too, is a great cold weather dish. The walnuts soaked in sage butter are slightly sinful, but so tasty.
Naturally, we had to order one of their side plates. We selected the grilled broccoli with anchovy butter, but the yams with peppers and orange marmalade were not easy to pass up. There's no need to turn your nose up at anchovy butter. It's more salty than fishy, and if you don't try it, you're really missing out.
The Modern offers just enough variety, splitting the menu into soups, salads, "hearty" entrees, and small plates.
Gerg tried to eat only half of his pot roast, so as to save the rest for lunch the following day. That attempt proved to be futile, as he scraped his plate clean.
Go scrape your plate clean.
The Modern Cafe
337 13th Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
(612) 378-9882
