When Solera opened on Hennepin Avenue in 2002, it was a BFD in the local restaurant scene. Tim McKee and Josh Thoma were basking in the early critical glow of then-Stillwater-located La Belle Vie, and the tapas they installed next to the Orpheum were a revelation. It was a foundational restaurant for many in the … [ Read more]
News from the Travail Universe: New building, PAMP Brewpub, BBQ details
The ever-expanding Travail Gastronomic Universe (TGU) has announced plans for the their next spate of blockbusters. Here are the broad strokes: Minnesota BBQ Company opening this August Kale Thome has been with the TGU since 2010, and the Wichita, Kansas, native will soon open the long-awaited Minnesota BBQ Company at 816 Lowry Avenue in Northeast … [ Read more]
Recipe: Roasted Duck with Duck Stock and Cracklins
Roasted Duck with Duck Stock and Cracklins This month, Minnesota Spoon writer Steve Hoffman witnessed what happens when the gastronomical mad scientists behind Travail Kitchen and Amusements, Bob Gerken, James Winberg, and Mike Brown are thrown into a kitchen that Betty Crocker might have recognized. Read Steve Hoffman’s full story. Enjoy the Travail team’s recipe for roasted … [ Read more]
Minnesota Spoon: Travail cooks traditional with Bob Gerken, James Winberg, and Mike Brown
So they arrived, the guys from Travail Kitchen & Amusements. Or rather two of the three guys. The third guy might swing by later. The two guys, Bob and James, got out of their white pickup. Introduced themselves. We smiled at each other. Bob had kind eyes and a scruffy black beard that failed to … [ Read more]
Minnesota’s 12 James Beard semifinalists
Twelve Twin Cities chefs, bakers, restaurateurs, restaurants, and importers have been named semifinalists for the 30th-annual James Beard Foundation awards, reports the Star Tribune. The so-called “Oscars of the food world” recognize and celebrate excellence in 21 categories.The category with the most local names is Best Chef: Midwest. The Midwest region includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, … [ Read more]
How Travail’s model is creating chefs that meet diners’ expectations face-to-face
Ferran Adria, the father of international modernist cuisine, visited Minneapolis for the first time in October, less than 24 hours after news broke that the father of the modern Minneapolis restaurant scene, La Belle Vie, would close its doors later that month. It was an auspicious coincidence that left us wondering about the expectation we … [ Read more]
Time Magazine names Pig Ate My Pizza among nation’s best
TIME Magazine has singled out Pig Ate My Pizza in Robbinsdale as one of the 10 Best Pizza Places in the U.S. While any such list is doomed to be subjective and incomplete (this one includes only one NYC spot and none from New Haven, Conn.), it’s still a terrific nod to the sweet, crackly … [ Read more]
Pork & Pickle pop-up set for Lyn65
Geoff Hausmann, charcuterie-whisperer of Travail, will bring his next Pork & Pickle pop-up dinner to Lyn65 on August 24th. The six-course dinner includes tax and tip for $50 (booze available at a cash bar). The special chef’s table seatings are sold out, but regular seating is still available via Brown Paper Tickets.