Sage Student Bistro - a Highlight in Omaha

A recent trip for my day job landed me in Omaha, Nebraska.

There, I had the opporunity to enjoy a dinner a Sage Bistro at Metropolitan Community College.
College cafeteria food? What's so special about that?

Our dinner at MCC was prepared by students enrolled the the culinary arts program. The students prepared local foods dinner for myself and my colleagues, and we were treated to some of the finest grub that Omaha producers have to offer.

(click on the image to enlarge it)

On our menu, the chef listed the sources of the ingredients, a rare treat on a menu, and something I truly appreciate.

Our entree was a roasted lamb rack. The lamb was overcooked, sadly. It was still edible, but the star of the dish was the mix of red beans paired with it, which were chock full of slices of amazing Loukanika sausage from Bluff Valley Farms. Loukanika is a greek sausage. Ours was made with ground pork and lamb, and seasoned with orange rind. It was my first time trying Loukanika sausage, and it certainly won't be my last - that's some darn fine sausage! No booze was served during our meal, but guests can carry in their own bottle of wine.

The squash confit was a delight, and something I've never tasted before. The butternut squash was smooth, with a depth of flavor that was charged by the confit technique.

The pear and cranberry crisp was done up right with a brandy-cider flambe that was prepared in the dining room. Pyrotechnics during a meal? Why not? It's a bunch of college kids, afterall. The crisp was served with a creamy french-style ice cream, made with eggs, that was speckled with vanilla bean.

After dinner, the chef offered entertaining stories while we sipped coffee, and it was great to hear about his experiences and relationships with each of the producers featured on the menu.

Details: MCC is the only educational institution in the country to offer a program in Culinology™. Culinology blends traditional culinary arts with food science. MCC ranks in the top thirteen culinary schools in the United States, and the cost of the entire program is only about $3500.

Worth noting: The students at Sage Bistro offer a menu degustation for four people for $145 in their dining room.

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And just in case you're wondering, yes, I did indulge in some Omaha steak while in Omaha. I'm not a steak person, but when in Rome....

I had a 8oz. fillet at Omaha Prime. Located in Omaha's Old Market district, Omaha Prime is one of the few restaurants in the country to serve exclusively USDA prime grade beef. Our group of six was escorted to a beautiful table on the second floor. I was one of two women in the dining room. They do it right at Omaha Prime - white jackets, family style sides, and a spectacle of raw beef presented before you place your order.


I topped my steak with some locally made Maytag bleu cheese and I opted for a Fat Tire Amber Ale instead of wine. It was delicious.

[where: Sustainable Food, Omaha,]

Kick and Ye Shall Receive: The Himalayan

I've been kicked by Girl Friday!

Grad school, day job, and a tiny food budget have been keeping me out of restaurants and in the kitchen lately, but not so much that I couldn't make it out and around the block to try the new Himalayan restaurant in Seward.

The Himalayan proclaims on their web site: "With a desire to bring authentic Nepalese cuisine to the heart of the Twin Cities, we have now opened Himalayan just across the river in Minneapolis. Come experience the flavors of Nepal, Tibet and India at the Himalayan restaurant with a beautiful view of the Himalayan mountain range. " Himalayan mountain range? In Minneapolis?? Nah. It's just a giant photo of Mt. Everest.

If there's one thing I know about Himalayan restaurants, it's that there's gonna be dumplings, and if there's one thing I know about me, it's that I ADORE all dumplings.

So on a late Sunday evening, gerg and I headed to The Himalayan for one purpose - to eat momos. What are momos? They're steamed dumplings, and at the Himalayan, they're served with "your choice of meat or vegetarian or chicken or yak."

We settled at the only open table and scanned the menus. I was conflicted, but after tapping into my love for fried dumplings, we settled on the kothe. What are kothe? They're fried momos! Genius!

The yak kothe are yummy at The Himalyan. They source the yak from a farm in St. Cloud - I'm guessing it's sourced from Hooper's Yak Ranch . Yak are native to the Tibetan Plateau of the Himalayan Mountains, but apparently also like Minnesota. The yak meat at The Himalayan is tender, juicy, and flavorful. Seriously, try the yak kothe...unless you don't eat meat.

While I could have eaten only dumplings for dinner, I noted a Palak Paneer dish on the menu. Palak Paneer is spinach and cheese cubes suspended in a creamy sauce with spices, and it's one of my favorite comfort foods. Now, the paneer ain't like cheese curds, y'all - paneer is a fresh and delicate cottage cheese made from whole milk. The Palak Paneer at The Himalayan was different from others I've had. It was much creamier than others I've had - mouthcoating, rich, flavorful, very comforting on the comfort food scale. I ordered medium spiciness in my Palak Paneer, and it definitely had some heat. I also ordered some garlic naan bread to go with the Palak Paneer, and it was some of the best nan bread I've had in years. These two big pieces of unleavened bread were soft and nicely blistered, and piping hot.

To drink, I ordered a mango lassi. The mango lassi was interesting at The Himalayan. A lassi is a sweet yogurt based drink made with mango in most cases. The Himalayan's version seemed to have a higher yogurt ratio than others I've had, which is ok if you like yogurt, and I do. It was less sweet than others I've had. The yogurty lassi definitely did the job cooling my mouth, which was feeling pretty firey after the Palak Paneer.

The night we were there, they were hosting an event, and they had one table to spare for us. Our service was prompt, despite the crowd.

I'll definitely go back. I want to try the yak momos, the kwati (lentil soup) and the bheda ko masu (lamb curry).

2401 E. Franklin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612-332-0880

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

Cooqi's Gluten Free Pizza Crusts on Tuesdays at Pizza Lucé St. Paul

From Pizza Luce:

It's true! Due to overwhelming customer demand we're happy to announce that we're now offering a gluten free menu available only on Tuesdays only at our St. Paul location. Beginning Tuesday, October 14th our Gluten Free menu will be offered alongside our regular menu every Tuesday. We're proud to offer Gluten Free pizza crust from Cooqi Bakery in St. Paul. This menu will contain nearly all of our speciality pizzas and toppings as well as some delicious new items such as our gluten free stuffed shells and pasta and Redbridge Gluten free beer.

As you might imagine offering a gluten free menu in a flour rich pizza restaurant is so simple task. We take gluten contamination very seriously and we've completed a precise review of all of our ingredients and have developed procedures and staff education and training so that we can prevent any possible cross contamination. However, as diligent as we are, there is always the very small chance that risk of gluten contamination as we don't have a completely gluten free kitchen.

At Pizza Lucé it is very important part of our culture to serve all of our customers, regardless of whether they're celiac, lactose intolerent, vegan, vegetarian or none of the above. We're proud to offer this new menu! Free free to join us and if you'd like to be updated with information about this special new menu or you know others who might be interested, please rvsp for our gluten free newsletter by emailing us at glutenfree@pizzaluce.com.

Cooqi will be supplying the crusts. At cooqi, "[They] espouse a radical and uncompromising food philosophy, that 'we are what we eat,' and we need to eat great things for our bodies: whole grains, organic, no trans fats, no refined sugars, real ingredients, freshly milled-not just not bad for you, but good for you."

[where: Gluten Free Pizza, St. Paul, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Crosspost: jP American Bistro - Closed

I was saddened when I read this today, and I blogged about it on my other blog:

JP’s American Bistro Closed. Tragic.

I don't know anyone who ate there and DIDN'T enjoy it.
JP Samuelson has a fancy for local ingredients and always featured fabulous seasonal dishes. I, for one, wanted to kiss him the last time we were there.

It wasn't the food that caused jP to close. It couldn't have been the food. The food was so darn tasty.

In Dara's blog, JP is quoted saying:

The construction [endless, at Lake and Lyndale] finally got to us. With the economy, the construction, Minneapolis property taxes—after our first year, because the property had been redone, our taxes went up by three-thousand dollars a month. Nobody had budgeted for that. The construction was supposed to happen in one year, but they came back and started on Lake Street, and at some point you have to cut your losses.

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You can read the following statement on the jP website:

We are sorry we have to announce the closing of jP American Bistro after 5 and 1/2 years of serving our community. We want to thank all of the countless people who graced our doors and gave us a chance to serve them. It was a privilege and an honor.

Please stay tuned to our website for future updates. We are sorry we won't be able to serve you this holiday season but for those looking for holiday gatherings contact JP directly.

Once again, from all of staff past and present, thank you for sharing all of your memories, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, engagements, hopes and dreams. With the deepest repsect, Namaste.

jP, Cheryl and Evie

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BOO! I say, BOO!


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

Reetsy's Dreamy Destination: Canoe Bay

I lived most of my life in Wisconsin before relocating to Minneapolis a few years ago. As much as I enjoy shaking my tail feather in the Twin Cities, sometimes I do miss Wisconsin and my friends and family there.

On top of having countless numbers of friends and family to visit in Wisconsin, I now have a new vacation destination: Canoe Bay Resort.

The amenities are all there, and some bonus features I've noted include: a library, 3 private lakes, and a number of green construction building practices: "In addition to recycling bottles, paper, etc. and using virtually no synthetic products of any kind, we have selected the most advanced and efficient products for everyday functions at Canoe Bay."

A cabin at Canoe Bay - photo from Forbes Traveler

But wait one second. Isn't this supposed to be a blog about sustainable foods?

CHECK IT.

"Since the inception of Canoe Bay our mission has been to procure for our guests the finest indigenous, naturally-raised foods."

Canoe Bay is hitting pretty heavy in local, chemical free foods in their dining room. Their produce suppliers neither use insecticides nor pesticides and, in most cases, are certified organic. Canoe Bay sources meat producers use free-range or grass-fed pasture raising methods, and, (not surprisingly) all of their meat is served up free of antibiotics, growth hormones, and chemicals. Located in Wisconsin, it makes sense that their dairy products (milk, eggs, butter, cheeses) come from local, organic producers.

Check out the nearby producers sourced by Canoe Bay:

• Cedar Summit Farm
  — Organically produced milk, cream, butter, yogurt, pork, and chicken. This is our choice for milk at home. The glass bottles are returnable at our co-op for store credit.
  

• DragSmith Farm
  — Specialty produce like heirloom tomatoes, arugula, savory

• Eichten's Hidden Acres
  — Natural cheeses and bison. We've given the bison bratwurst from Eichten's as gifts, and people raved about the quality and flavor of the meat.
  

• Upland's Cheese
  — Raw milk farmstead cheese

• Sweetland Farm
  — Free-range chicken, and duck; organic butter and eggs

• Sherwood Farm
  — Foraged and cultivated mushrooms
  

• Talking Oak Farm
  — Raw honey, shallots, garlic

• Green Pastures Dairy
  — Pasture-raised beef and cheese

• Zumbro Herb Farm
  — Fresh herbs such as thyme, chervil, rosemary and lemon balm

Dinner prix fixe is $75/person. Rooms start at $350 per night. The villa is available for $1080, and it looks amazing.

I would be pickled tink at the opportunity to spend a night or two at Canoe Bay, but it's just not in my budget right now. *sigh*

Guess I'll have to start saving my pennies, or selling lemonade!


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

Reetsy Reviews: The Citizen Cafe

Gerg and I decided we wanted to upload some of our wedding photos while dining on a patio during our week off.

Fortunately for us, Michael McKay recently opened Citizen Cafe in our neck of the non-woods, so we had an opportunity to sample (pardon the pun) some new eats AND sit at a patio.


Citizen Cafe is located in the former Sweet Loraine's spot in South Minneapolis. A lot of elbow grease and some new decor have brought the place to life. Nothing too charming or over the top, just a nice little cafe (with neato light fixtures). The patio features a view of the gas station across the street through some pretty potted plants.

They are committed to slow food at Citizen Cafe, and so you'll find items such as house made sausages, braised short ribs, roasted pork, house-cured gravlax, meat loaf, roasted chicken, and house made mustards. According to Molly Priesmeyer, "Chef-owner Michael McKay, who also owns the Sample Room in northeast and worked at Chez Paul and the Loring Café, even makes the ketchup from scratch, ensuring you won't get any high-fructose corn syrup mixing with your plate of organic fried eggs and hash browns in this cozy 38th Street spot."

For an appetizer, we cheerfully ordered their daily fresh sausage: chicken and apple sausage with spicy apple brandy mustard.


I love the daily fresh sausage concept, as I'm a lover of the link. Their sausage was tender, and nicely cooked, but it could have used a bit more seasoning. The mustard was fantastic. We both liked it a lot. I recommend ordering anything made with their house made mustards. Very very.


I ordered the pulled pork sammich for my meal. The pork was a bit dry, IMO. The pork was seasoned lightly and mixed with tons of bell peppers. The flavor was nice, but I wanted the pork to be a tad more tender. It was served with their house made crispy potato chips, which may be the best potato chips served to me at any restaurant ever. We both agree that those are some darn fine chips!!

gerg took the plunge and ordered something wacky - the "Citizen Joe" sammich.


The Citizen Joe is the cafe's version of a sloppy joe. Similar to a pasty in construction, the savory ground beef is wrapped in delicate pastry dough. It is then baked until gooey, wrapped in wax paper, and served with their house made chips or fresh fruit. The photo above was taken on my cell, and doesn't do the Citizen Joe justice. If you're the kind of person who likes messy, saucy sammiches, the Citizen Joe is a home run. It isn't dainty. It isn't easy to eat. It's saucy meat wrapped in pastry dough, dude. The flavor was new and different and familiar at the same time, and we both were delighted to try it.

Citizen Cafe doesn't have a url, so I can't link it yet.

We went there for a weekday lunch, and there was plenty of seating, but apparently it gets pretty busy on the weekends.

I wish I knew more about their producers. They don't mention any of them on the menu.

Citizen Cafe
2403 E 38th St
Minneapolis, MN 55407
Phone: (612) 729-1122

PS - We're getting iPhones this weekend, which should mean better photos for this blog!

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

Reetsy Reviews: Trotter's Cafe and Bakery

(photo swiped from MN2020)

Sometimes it ain't easy for restaurants committed to local foods to advertise their local vittles. Since so many local foods are available on a day-by-day basis, printing menus ahead of time, or posting them online can be almost impossible.

Trotters Cafe and Bakery makes it easier for themselves by advertising aplenty once you walk through the door.

And trust me, Trotter's loves how you walk. At Trotter's, every Saturday is Locals Night. Receive 10% off your meal simply because you live within two miles of the cafe. Another 5% off if you walk, bike, or bus it.

Trotters is located in St. Paul, just a short distance from the Lake Street bridge. Like other cafes and bakeries, Trotters rokks the handwritten signage all over the place - but they take it to an insane degree, and I like it (i.e. each cookie in the case has an ingredient list posted over it). Locavores can meander around the cafe learning about the foods they're about to consume, and there's no shortage of local foods at Trotters.

You can find the following at Trotter's most of the time, all served with a local flair:
breakfast (including organic oatmeal and free range eggs)
sammiches
soups
salads
baked goods
pizzas
pastas
burgers
nachos
quesadillas
home made granola

I recently enjoyed a locally sourced, free range poached chicken salad sammich and a wild rice salad for lunch. I also nibbled on a grilled ham sammich with pasta salad. Both were served on organic, whole grain bread. All of it tasted great, and while I was eating it, I felt fortified.

Worth noting:
-their breads are made with organic grains,
-their cheeses are local, including everything from chevre to cheddar
-their produce is local and seasonal,
-their ice cream is local from Pumphouse Creamery,
-they feature Minnesota Cannon River wines and New Belgium beers,
-they use pure maple syrup and local Minnesota honey as sweeteners in some dishes
-they feature Beeler's All Natural Pork out of Iowa
-they've got plenty of vegetarian offerings

I cannot express the awesomeness of the baked goods at Trotter's.
Right now they have Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Pie on the menu, and I'm about to freak out if I don't have a piece in the next 3 hours. Hate refined sugar? No problem. Trotters has you covered in their bakery; their Okee Dokee cookie contains no refined sugars, and their muffins are are sweetened with pure maple syrup and local Minnesota honey.

And yes, for all of you cupcake freaks out there, they have cupcakes - drizzled and frosted, and delightful.

Be delighted!

Trotter's Cafe and Bakery
232 Cleveland N. Ave.
St. Paul MN 55105
651-645-8950

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