Bayport Cookery

328 5th Ave N
Bayport, MN
651-430-1066
http://www.bayportcookery.com/

Category: American-Upscale

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 9
Service: 6
Ambience: 6

Recommendation: Excellent. A gem…the New American fare, with meticulously conceived dishes and skillful preparation, embodies the art of cooking.

Let’s be honest – when you hear the name Bayport Cookery the first reaction is always “where’s that?” For the record, Bayport Cookery is located in the town of Bayport, just south of Stillwater. This restaurant’s been there for 10 years and it was the Top Zagat-rated restaurant in the Twin Cities from 2005 to 2007. It’s thriving and credit goes to chef and owner, Jim Kyndberg. The restaurant is located in a non-descript building and even the interior doesn’t have a “wow” factor. Don’t get us wrong, it’s charming, but when you think of a New American Upscale restaurant, you think glitz and glamour, chic and modern. Maybe that’s what makes Bayport even more remarkable. A large stone wall with fireplace forms the backdrop to the dining area. And there’s a delightful patio at the back of the restaurant.

The menu changes per the seasons and availability of ingredients. There are nine courses and you can choose a prie fixed 3, 5, or 9 course meal. We…Ok, a group of 10 of us visited there recently to celebrate Nick’s birthday and were delighted to see that the theme of the menu was Pacific Rim inspired Seafood. We all opted for the Chef’s 5-course tasting menu. While we waited for the first course, we nibbled on fresh-baked bread (yes, it was warm). The first course was a Miso Marinated Halibut with Pad Thai Noodles and Ginger Chive Broth. The flavors in the fish were subtle, yet the broth was fragrant albeit a little salty. The presence of the noodles and peanuts added great textural balance. Our second course was a carpaccio of Pacific King Salmon with Shaved Daikon, Asparagus, and Jumbo Lump Crab. A winner all around – the daikon and asparagus were nearly as thinly shaved as the Salmon! Our next course was the Pork Tenderloin with Eda Mame (puree), Tempura Scallops, and Soy Sake Glaze. This preparation had a lot going on but nothing really seemed out of place – the ingredients of pork, bacon, and mushroom are familiar and just when you think you know what this dish presents, you’re in for a surprise with the Asian inspiration of the glaze, eda mame, and tempura scallops. Bravo, Chef. Before our next course we were presented a Pineapple and Lime Sorbet to cleanse our palates. With the crisp and clean flavors of the sorbet, we were ready for our next course…a surf and turf. The most complex preparation yet – Beef and Tuna with Ying & Yang Risotto, Port Wine Reduction, Foie Gras, and Morel Mushrooms. On one side of the plate we had a sous-vide beef preparation - tender and juicy meat, creamy risotto, a hunk of morel and a sweeter port reduction…a not too unfamiliar preparation of a meat course. On the other side of the plate was the antithesis – Tuna instead of beef, a wild rice preparation to differ from the risotto (in both texture and color) and a savory foie reduction instead of the port wine sauce. We savored every last morsel of this dish. Finally, we’re on to our last course, dessert. By this time (3+ hours into the meal) we were the only ones left in the restaurant and were frankly getting a little impatient. We were surprised to see the chef send out a few plates of each of the two dessert options on the menu. The Kona Coffee Cake with Coconut Ice Cream and Banana Spring Roll was a creative preparation and had nice flavor combinations. Although, it was the Citrus Mango Tart with Pineapple Sabayon that blew us away – crisp and sour flavors were the perfect finish to this meal.

Service was a mixed bag. Our servers were attentive and cordial but the whole experience took close to 4 hours. We did have a group of 10 and can appreciate the challenge when serving a multi-course meal to such a large group, but there were times between courses, where the wait seemed too long. And there were instances where we felt the food just wasn’t hot enough (temperature wise). Nevertheless, these things are little annoyances and of little consequence when the food is of this caliber.

$$$$. 3-course meal is $35, 5-course is $55, and 9-course is $85. Our total with wine, tax and tip was about $90 per person.