Strip Club Steak—Still Sizzling?

Crossposted: Strip Club Steak—Still Sizzling? - Dara & Co. - January 2011 - Minnesota

There’s a lot of talk around town about The Inn, the newest project from Tim Niver, Strip Club Meat and Fish’s principal, and the former Town Talk Diner’s partner. The Inn is receiving respectable reviews for a reason—it’s serving up good food and drinks. Town Talk Diner, on the other hand, changed hands and eventually closed its doors in January, so I was curious about the Strip Club and whether it was continuing to charm its patrons in the small dining room on a hill in St Paul.

A recent visit on a Saturday night squelched my curiosity. We had guests in town who wanted to try some grass-fed steaks, and who loved the Town Talk Diner back in the day, so I suggested the Strip Club. The restaurant serves up grass-fed, family farmed steaks in a brick storefront building with glass windows that offer a sparkling view of downtown St Paul.

They open for dinner service at 5 p.m. on Saturdays. We arrived for our reservation shortly after 5, and the dining room was already 30% full. We were greeted warmly by Nivers and award-winning bartender Dan Oskey, and by the time we ordered our drinks, the bar was full. By 6 p.m., the dining room was full and lively.

As for our cocktails and food, we were pleased. The brandy old fashioned sweet was sweet, spicy, and a bit fruity. The bacon bourbon Manhattan was made with bacon-infused bourbon, offering a subtle smoky flavor to the cocktail. The duck confit was meltingly tender inside, the skin was crisp and well seasoned, and it was served with greens, red onion, and tangy vinaigrette—it’s one of my favorite small plates in the Twin Cities. And the steaks? Why they’re still the beefy, peppery, juicy, grass-fed steaks they’ve been serving all along. They were seared on the outside and medium rare on the inside, as ordered, and were delivered with a large portion of tender, sautéed carrots on the side. And for dessert, French silk pie was on the menu and ordered—creamy, buttery, silky chocolate topped with whipped cream, perched on a layer of flaky pie crust.

Questions were answered, palettes were pleased, appetites were sated, and out-of-town guests were happy. The end.

The Strip Club Meat & Fish
378 Maria Ave., St. Paul
651-793-6247

[where: Minnesota, Food, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, 55418]

Cheese Tested, Blogger Approved!

Cheese Tested, Blogger Approved! - Dara & Co. - January 2011 - Minnesota

The golden hue of PastureLand’s Summer Gold™ butter is well known in the Twin Cities, as it offers an incomparable sweet flavor imparted from the wildflowers and grasses of the pasture. PastureLand produces its butter and cheese with milk from their 100% grass-fed cows raised in Millville, Mantorville, Goodhue, and New Prague, MN, and each of the farms are double certified for both organic and sustainable practices.

PastureLand’s Summer Gold butter is cultured using a fermentation process, just like the butter my dad used to eat when he was a kid. That fermentation process used produces the aroma compounds that I like in good butter. I use Pastureland Butter in my kitchen, because I appreciate the extra effort they devote to making their practices more sustainable—and I like the complex flavor, aroma, higher burn point, greater plasticity, and the brilliant golden color.

Yes, I like the butter, but what about PastureLand’s cheese? In the spirit of National Cheese Day (tomorrow!), I purchased a couple of chunks of Pastureland’s cheese at Surdyk’s earlier this week, and I was pleased that it was on par with their butter in terms of quality and flavor.

Farmdog Raw Milk Blue (Above)
PastureLand’s Farmdog Raw Milk Blue is aged for 75 days in the caves in Faribault, WI. It’s pungent, slightly yellow, creamy, and chock full of blue veining. I let the Farmdog warm to room temperature, and it became smooth and easy to spread on a piece of fresh baguette with a dollop of honey. Pair it with a glass of Riesling for an after-dinner treat.

Meadowlark Clothbound Cheddar (below)
PastureLand’s Meadowlark Cheddar is unpasteurized and also aged in the caves at Faribault. The fact that it’s clothbound means the cheese releases more moisture and develops a different concentration of flavor than other cheddars wrapped in wax or plastic. It’s slightly sweet, a bit tangy, and has an earthiness to it. It’s dense and fares well on a cheese board with crisp apple slices.

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

Yakity Yak. Let’s Talk Yak.

Yakity Yak. Let’s Talk Yak. - Dara & Co. - January 2011 - Minnesota

A couple of years ago, I was dining at the Himalayan in South Minneapolis, and I asked about some traditional yak momos that were on the appetizer menu. The server explained to me that the momo was a type of dumpling that originated in Tibet. Dumplings are my favorite savory food group, so I couldn’t pass them up, and I was glad I didn’t. They were great. Then, about three weeks ago, I stumbled upon yak momos again at Gorkha Palace in NE Minneapolis. Once again, delicious.

In both cases, I asked the servers where they sourced their yak meat, and both indicated that they got them from “the Yak man” in St. Cloud. Yaks? In St. Cloud? Yep.

Hooper’s Yak and Christmas tree farm in St Cloud, MN boasts about 60 head of yak, which turns out to be the largest herd in the Eastern half of North America. And it turns out, the animal is not only tasty, but also more efficient than cattle. You can raise three to four times as many yak per acre as you could beef cattle. Additionally, there are some serious health advantages to Yak. Hooper’s yaks are grazers, raised free from hormones and steroids, and with no antibiotics in their feed. Plus, yak is naturally low in fat and cholesterol. Check out the nutritional analysis* below:

4 Oz. Meat	Yak	Beef	Buffalo	Pork	Chicken
Calories	154	300.71	212.53	195.58	220.09
Cholesterol	49mg	89.31mg	65.57mg	89.31mg	93.84mg
Fats	6.1g	19.42g	7.14g	6.84g	8.69g
Protein	24.7g	29.3g	34.6g	31.4g	33.2g

Yak meat is red meat, but it’s more delicate than beef or buffalo, and slightly sweeter. It’s not gamey, but it’s lean, so cooking it requires a bit more care than beef.

Ready to give yak a taste? I’ve seen it on menus at The Himalayan, Gorkha Palace, and Everest On Grand. The Himalayan also recently opened a second location called Himalayan Restaurant II in Fridley.

* Yak nutrition analysis provided by Midwest Laboratories, Inc., a USDA-Accredited Lab.