BY CARLA WALDEMAR
Think globally, eat locally. Healthwise, it’s a boon, because when food is harvested close to home, preservatives aren’t needed. As a socio-political statement, the practice lends support to smaller, local producers rather than vast agri-conglomerates. Eco-conscious diners have adopted this mantra to cut back on use of transportation fuel, too.
But the best reason to adopt the scheme is the one chefs have been touting forever: When it’s fresh and natural, food simply tastes better. Bonus: In this age of homogenized, mega-chain eating, locovores help keep the Midwest’s unique dining traditions alive. Grandma’s farm cooking is worth preserving, thanks to sweet corn, snap beans, fresh berries, and chickens sans hormones and preservatives, straight from their free-range days near the coop. Here’s the cream of the crop of cafes presenting and preserving much of what the Midwest grows best.
Heartland’s Lenny Russo was proudly cooking local long before the movement even had a name. Virtually everything on his homespun menu comes from the Midwest, from a chilled asparagus-hazelnut soup to Fischer Farms pork croquettes, Wisconsin elk tartare, Money Creek Ranch’s wild boar, and ribeye courtesy of Thousand Hills Cattle.
FireLake’s exec chef, Paul Lynch, member of the Heartland Food Network, is also a big believer. And because the restaurant is the flagship of the Radisson chain, he’s able to introduce out-of-towners to treats like walleye and eggs for breakfast, followed by Star Prairie, Wis., trout with wild rice cakes, corn-crusted walleye, bass with summer succotash, and the season’s best strawberry shortcake.
Restaurants Alma and Brasa, both under Chef Alan Roberts’ rule, go so far as to thank individual local producers on their menus—starting with pork from Cottonwood, Minn., the most popular item at Brasa. Down the road at Alma, you’ll find fancier fare like smoked whitefish with watercress or the occasional wild nettle soufflé—and that’s just the starter list.
Common Roots’ owner, bagel mogul Danny Schwartzman, uses flour from Swany Mills in Freeport, Minn., for his primo bagels, to slather with Wisconsin-made cream cheese, butter from Hope Creamery and Ames honey, all born close to home. His veggies, eggs, cheese, chicken and beef also come from nearby neighbors.
Lucia Watson, founder and still inspiration of the eponymous Lucia’s (as ownership undergoes a change, but food philosophy remains a constant), from the get-go has mandated a menu that’s ultra-local and seasonal. She also walks the talk as a board member of area co-ops and supports inner-city kids’ garden projects, buying their greens to shine in salads that side her asparagus and gruyere tart, Hill & Vale lamb, and Hill Run Farm’s veal, which flavors the kitchen’s rich ragu.
Although The Dakota searches more widely for ingredients than in its primal, passionate youth, it’s still your source for cornmeal-crusted walleye cakes, Star Prairie trout, Dakota Farms bison ribeye, and an unbeatable strawberry-rhubarb shortcake for dessert—as well as Sebastian Joe’s ice cream, as local as heavenly gelato gets.
Speaking of bison, it’s something you won’t find in New York or L.A., so fill up on the lean, healthy (and over-the-top tasty) protein here in Minnesota, where it was raised and grazed. Try the bison hash and eggs at Bryant Lake Bowl or French Meadow’s seasonal bison pot pie, where it mingles with black beans, onions, carrots, celery and cabbage beneath a beyond-flaky crust. Or back at Common Roots, when winter returns, watch for the bison/wild rice meatloaf, served with caramelized onion gravy and worth wishing for sub-zero days (well, almost). Hell’s Kitchen does a dynamite bison Benedict, laced with a tangy tangerine-jalapeno hollandaise and served atop multigrain toast points. Bison burgers sell well at The Bad Waitress and also are on offer at Burger Joe’s.
Want to talk real Minnesotan? Then let’s talk about walleye, our revered state fish. Beyond FireLake, you’ll find it well-prepared at Normandy Kitchen, where it’s treated to an elegant potato-horseradish crust and sent out atop a risotto of wild rice (how Minnesotan is that?). Or choose the walleye sandwich. Or the Wild Acres country-style chicken dinner, gussied up with gingerbread-cherry stuffing.
Walleye has been the signature fish dish at Rainbow for over 20 years, too. Prepared Chinese-style, the whole fish first is gently steamed, then spritzed with soy sauce and dressed with green onions, ginger and cilantro—then, finally, given a shot of hot cooking oil to crisp its delicate skin. Summertime, Tin Fish, on the shore of Lake Calhoun, serves walleye (and more fresh fish—much more) in everything from fillet form to tacos.
So, never mind the hot dish and Jell-o salad. These days, eating Minnesotan offers means eating pretty darn well.
