Girl Friday

New Thai in Northeast

Actually, the title of this entry should read "Only Thai in Northeast," but whatever.

A "coming soon" sign has graced the window of the former Palm Court space at Central and Lowry, and Sen Yai Sen Lek Thai Rice & Noodles promises to move in soon.

I'm already excited; there are exactly three Asian restaurants in my neighborhood, all claiming to serve authentic Vietnamese food, and all are crap.  (Okay, that's harsh; Que Viet isn't terrible, but I'd rather walk the 6 miles across town to Quang wearing 4-inch T-strap heels before I'd eat at Cali's or Kim's.) 

Anyway, being the fan of all things Southeast Asian that I am, I will welcome Sen Yai Sen Lek Thai Rice & Noodles with very open arms.  No word on the opening date yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Who's My Daddy?

What exactly is taking this movie so long to come to a theater near me?  The damn trailers have been online for like a year.  I'll see it without English subtitles, I don't care.  I'm not going for the moral message.

Goings On

If you're planning to go to the vita.mn Poolside Fashion Show tonight, keep your fingers crossed for dry skies.  I have a hunch they'll remain clear, but in the event they don't, the show's rain date is next Thursday.

Rock The Garden is on Saturday and you're kinda S-O-L if you didn't score tickets already.  The event has been sold out for a while, but I do keep getting emails from friends saying they've managed to find a ticket.  There are a handful for sale on Craigslist as of today.

Northeasters and all lovers of barbecue, cocktails and good tunes take note: Next Wednesday night, Mill City Cafe launches their "Hot Summer Nights" series.  The cafe will be open from 6pm-9pm (they are usually only open days*) and $20.00 gets you two drinks, food--including veggie barbecue options--and live music by The Mill City Grinders.

*Mill City Cafe does private parties at night, and I highly recommend the space if you've never been there.  The room is cozy and elegant and there's a great bar, as well as a pretty outdoor patio.

48 Hour Film Project

Apologies to everyone that tried to contact me this weekend and was either treated with an unreturned phone call or one-sided text conversation.  I was busy making a movie for the 48 Hour Film Project, which kicked off Friday night with a deadline exactly two days later.

Our team had a tricky genre: "silent."  Especially difficult since the 48HFP adds on a handful of additional requirements, one of which was a line of dialogue.  Here's the list of things every team had to include in our movie:

Character: Mr. or Ms. Perkinson, a substitute teacher
Object: Fish
Line: "You look very familiar."

The 48 Hour Film Project premieres start tomorrow night at the Riverview Theater.  Red Card is the name of our team, and our film screens Wednesday night at 8:30pm.  Click here for the whole schedule.

Week In Review

Things that happened this week, in no particular order:

• Cafe Havana closed.  It's apparently going to reopen as a different restaurant soon.  Also, they're using the space right now to film this movie.  I have no more information than that, which I got from Johnny.  We like to call him The Man Upstairs.

• vita.mn published the Summer Guide '08, possibly all you need to get through the next three months.  Definitely pick up a hard copy.

• I overheard my mom.  Raucous laughter ensued.

• All this recent talk about fried plantains kicked my own craving into high gear and I had to fry some up with dinner last night.  I went the tostones route, frying green plantain slices once, smooshing them, frying again, then topping them with garlic, fresh lemon juice and kosher salt.  I refuse to admit just how many of them I ate, but I will confess that there was some teeth-baring over the last one (which I scored).

• I got the good news that my friend Kara is now selling her gorgeous jewelry at Cliché in Uptown.

• I went bicycle shopping and came home with nothing.  I can't seem to find any used bikes I like, so I might just bite the bullet and buy a new one.  I'm kinda paranoid about not liking it, though.  How's the resale market for bikes under $200.00?

Reader Mailbag: Fried Plantains, Anyone?

Dear Girl Friday,

I found your blog and thought maybe you could help me with something. I was born and raised in Minneapolis and have just moved back after living in New York City for the past few years. In New York I lived near several Colombian restaurants and they turned me on to sweet plantains. I'm wondering if there's a place in Minneapolis that serves them up right? I would guess that Sabor Latino, the Ecuadoran restaurant on Central Avenue would have them but I caught a glimpse of their menu online and it doesn't mention maduros. Do you have any ideas where I can get good sweet plantains fried to perfection?

Beth

Oh boy do I. 

In Northeast, you can grab a side of fried sweet plantains at Brasa.  Some things there are hit or miss for me, but the maduros are always good.

But my absolute favorite place to get fried sweet plantains is Victor's 1959 Cafe.  And don't limit yourself to just one plantain dish while you're there!  They also fry up green plantains, or tostones, crispy and salty and drizzled with Victor's lime juice "mojo."  The nearby El Meson also serves up an appetizer of green plantains.

It looks like Sabor Latino has green plantains but not sweet plantains.  (Although I've discovered that a lot of small ethnic restaurants might have what you're looking for somewhere back in the kitchen, but just not on the menu.)  Fogo de Chao offers fried green plantains as one of the gratis appetizers with dinner, and Julio tipped me off to the green plantains at Puerta Azul, the Puerto Rican restaurant in St. Paul.

So what's with all the green plantains everywhere but not so much with the sweet ones?  Beats me, but I don't go into Andean restaurants very often (my vegetarianism can be troubling).  I actually prefer my plantains green; they're starchier, less sweet and fry up quite nicely.  But I still like a nice ripened one every now and then.

Watch for the comments in this blog post, as one of my amazing readers will undoubtedly come up with someplace spectacular for you to check out.  I also started a "fried plantains" tag on vita.mn, so keep an eye out for that.

Indio

Alright, I finally made it to Indio last weekend.  Here's my mini-review on vita.mn:

Chef Hector, Please lower your prices!

Indio was a knockout dining experience. From the perfectly mixed, juicy cocktails to the fresh-fried tortilla chips to the black bean mole on my enfrijoladas. But I must say, the biggest wallop came with the check when we saw the high price of our delicious meals: $112.00 for three ladies who each ordered just one cocktail with dinner, and no dessert afterwards. Chef Hector Ruiz's dishes are simple and delicious, using basic ingredients and traditional combinations of Mexican cuisine.

I don't know if I can bring myself to order an $8.00 dish of guacamole again any time soon, but I'd go back for the $7.00 mojitos on the patio outside.   Rating: ***

To add to that, I do want to say that the management at Indio is top-notch (hi Ken!), and the kitchen staff provides extra eye candy for your dining pleasure.  But I'm serious about not knowing if I could spend that kind of money on simple Mexican fare again. 

Indio uses fresher ingredients and lighter cooking methods than the joints a bit further down Lake Street (like my beloved La Poblanita), but should I be paying over twice as much?  $13.00 was too steep, in my opinion, for sauteed onions, onions and more red onions wrapped up in fried corn tortillas and covered in a pureed black bean sauce.  And yes, $8.00 was a shocking sticker price for a little bowl of guacamole.

My sister says I've become a Mexican food snob since mastering basic and intermediate methods of cooking the cuisine in my own kitchen.  Sorry, I can't help it.  Maybe I should open up a little takeout place of my own up here in Northeast.  If Indio is still in business in one year, charging the same prices (transportation inflation irrelevant), then I'll seriously consider it.

The Northeast Mexican Restaurant Shuffle

I think I may have sort of gotten the scoop on the ownership changes on all the food joints on the 2400 block of Central.  It's complicated, so pay attention:

The former owners of Chiapas are now operating Durango Bakery next door.  Former Durango owners are no longer in the business.  The new owners of Chiapas are the same people that had opened Adelita's across the street, not the other way around as previously thought.  The recently opened Dos Puertos is now closed.  San Pablito is now operating in the former Dos Puertos space, with either the owner or chef being a former owner or chef at Me Gusta on East Lake Street (the tail end of that story got lost in translation, sorry).

What part of the above paragraph matters?  None of it, but pay attention to this:

San Pablito delivers!

That's right Northeasters, our options have opened up beyond pizza and Afghani cuisine.  Not that we were complaining about Snap or Crescent Moon, but it's always nice to have options.  And Mexican delivery is a pretty nice option, if you ask me.

Especially when it's good Mexican, which is exactly what I had for dinner at San Pablito last night.  I tried the tacos de nopales platter--which I've tried to order twice recently over at Chiapas, but both times they were out of nopales--and it was wonderful.  Tangy cactus strips grilled up with sliced onions and mushrooms, then sauteed with gooey Oaxaca cheese.  Served with a hearty heap of refried pintos and seasoned rice, as well as a perfectly citrusy, perfectly salty Mexican salad (that lovely pile of lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro and lime juice which accompanies most entrees).  All that with a stack of warm, soft corn tortillas and I needed nothing more to be totally sated-- although the basket of chips and ridiculously hot red salsa were certainly not turned away.  The green salsa is much milder; I recommend both.

My Mexican had the alambre platter with various meats, which is basically a handful of open-faced tacos topped with your choice or choices of meat, sauteed with onions, peppers and Oaxaca cheese.  (If you've never had it, Oaxaca is kind of the Mexican mozzarella, so you can imagine the great gooey, chewy texture it adds when melted with grilled meats and vegetables.)

Service was very friendly and fast.  No beer on sale, but there are plenty of glass-bottled Mexican sodas to quench your thirst.  Don't forget to have them throw a couple in your delivery order.

Takeout menus were not available yet, and it sounds like delivery is only during the day and sporadically at night (just like Crescent Moon, you know the drill).  Delivery is limited for now anyway, until business picks up and they have the staff to regularly run orders for dinner. 

So go to San Pablito and let's get another full-time delivery option on the Northeast map!

Friday Five: What People I Know Are Up To Edition

1. Amber is making a prediction about who dies in the Sex and the City movie.

2. Reetsyburger is letting go of polka dots and redesigning her blog.

3. Christian is realizing why it's sometimes a bad idea to buy drinks for strangers in Northeast bars.

4. Leif is discovering Mexican Coke for the first time, starting a love affair he quite possibly won't be able to stop.

5. Cherish is moving to Chicago, where the cost of living is going to seriously cramp her shopping style.

I have to confess that I've never actually met Cherish in real life, but we've been reading each other's blogs for a long time.  In the spirit of not really knowing someone but still wanting to share useful information about something, here's a bonus link:

6. LJ Twin Cities is on a quest for latte art, and wondering what the tipping etiquette is for this fancy extra.

Panna Cotta (As In, The Best In Minneapolis)

Kickin' it with JDR and the G-ride.

This photo was taken at the vita.mn-sponsored Voltage pre-party Tuesday night at Nick & Eddie (wow, that was kind of a mouthful).

I wanted to thank manager Doug Anderson on my way out the door, but the man who had been bustling behind the bar almost all night was nowhere to be seen when it was time for me to go.  See, none of the passed hors d'oeuvres were vegetarian, so Doug very kindly had a couple sent out for me from the kitchen.  That's customer service, people!

He also very surreptitiously handed me a panna cotta, but my friends spotted it so then I had to share.  It was, hands down, the best panna cotta I've ever had.  Not gelatinous at all; only creamy and beautiful.  There was a fantastic strawberry sauce on top that was so lively it just had to be a puree and not a reduction, and a chocolate meringue cookie on the side that melted in your mouth with heavenly citrus and dark chocolate taste.  It was like all the elements of a fresh strawberry shortcake were reassembled into a different, more better dessert.

If God or the devil made a panna cotta, it couldn't possibly taste any better than this one.