20.21

1750 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN
612-253-3410
http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/finedining/2021/minneapolis/cuisine.php

Category: Pan-Asian, International, Fine Dining

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 10
Service: 8
Ambience: 9

Recommendation: Excellent! A true gem in the Twin Cities’ culinary scene. Delicious Asian influenced entrees, especially seafood, and desserts that captivate the eyes as much as they do to the stomach.

Original Post (Oct 27, 2007) - 20.21, Wolfgang Puck’s Minneapolis restaurant is in the elite class of restaurant. Located in the Walker Art Center and named after the Walker’s mostly 20th and 21st century art collection, 20.21 serves an Asian influenced menu. As you step out of the elevators, there is a chic lounge area. The restaurant itself has a long chocolate brown bar and an open kitchen, which is a Wolfgang Puck standard. Colors and décor are minimalist…chocolate browns, blacks, and white with occasional splashes of red. About half the seats have gorgeous views of the Minneapolis skyline and the St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The space is small and the tables are sometimes close to each other so be prepared in case it’s loud in there. The crowd here is very well dressed. On a recent Wednesday afternoon for lunch, we met Wolfgang Puck himself (!), who was in town for a dinner he was throwing for his regular clients in the Skyline room.

The menu represents many parts of Asia including Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Thailand, Korea, and India. We recommend going family style, so you can taste the variety of flavors and dishes offered. The server started us off with complimentary “Amuse Bouche” (small bite sized dish to prepare the guest for the meal) of Szechuan Green Beans with Candied Walnuts and Sesame seeds. What an incredible way to start our food journey! The dinner menu has an extensive list of appetizers that will satisfy just about any palate ranging from Ahi Sashimi and Tartare Salad, to Beef Shortribs, to Chinese Chicken Salad, Tandoori Salmon, Roasted Beet & Humboldt Fog and of course, Spring Rolls, and Pot stickers. The dipping sauces and toppings use many flavors we love such as Basil, Tamarind, Pickled ginger, Kimchee, Scallions, and Oranges to name a few. We tried the delicious Pork Pot Stickers that came with a Black Vinegar Dipping sauce, Chili Oil, and Scallions. The servers actually serve the food on your plate (very craft fully and with care) so all you have to do it eat – no work required here! The entrees range from Noodles, to Curries, and a variety of meats such as Pork Chops, Chicken, Duck, Beef Tenderloin. We highly recommend their Seafood entrees as they are classy. The Miso-Sake glazed Black Cod with Chili Orange Noodles and Miso-Sesame Vinaigrette was one of the best pieces of seafood we’ve had in the Twin Cities. The Cod literally melts in your mouth and the Miso flavors provide a good hint of sweetness to the dish. The Thai Seafood Curry with Scallops and Shrimp was also great. The curry was thicker than others we’ve had and we felt was a bit toned down from a spice stand point but the Shrimp and Scallops were fresh and tasted great. The Crispy Quail came with a Pineapple Black Pepper sauce and was delicious. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside with hints of pineapple flavors.

Despite the incredible meal we had here, the highlight of the meal was dessert! 20.21’s signature dessert is the Spoon, Cube & Cherry, inspired by the popular fountain sculpture Spoonbridge and Cherry in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The dessert comes with Dark Chocolate Cream, which has a mousse like silky texture and a Sour Cherry sauce. This is by far one of the best desserts in Minneapolis! Being the chocoholics we are, we also got the Chocolate Sampler, which came with a Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Tart, and a Chocolate Coconut Flan. Our favorite was the flan. The other two were also great (how can you go wrong with chocolate!) but we found them to be too dense. The Bread Pudding with Crème Fraiche Ice cream and Cardamom Black Pepper foam was also good.

Underground parking in the Walker ramp. Wolfgang Puck Catering offers their services at the Sky-line room on the 5th floor of the Walker, which has more incredible views of the city with seating capacity of 200.

$$$$. Lunch entrees range from $15-$20 and Dinner ranges from $30-$45. Tasting menus are offered with or without wine pairings for both lunch and dinner ($61-$79 for 4 course dinner). Brunch offered on Sundays. Closed Mondays.

Update (July 31, 2008) – There are some dining experiences that are just memorable. It might be a result of that special occasion you are celebrating or that special person/people you are with. Either way, for an experience to be etched in your memory forever, the restaurant has to deliver on all fronts. On our trip to 20.21 earlier tonight, all these forces converged and as a result I’m sitting here writing this blog with a big smile on my face (and an even happier stomach). We’re 2 days away from b-day (the due date for our first child) and we decided to go out with our family and celebrate the much-awaited arrival. We were lucky enough to score the large table that sits in the corner of the restaurant and offers a prized view of the city. Although the table was a little large for our party of five, we were able to have comfortable chatter because the restaurant wasn’t loud.

We decided to skip the tasting menu (you get to choose from one of four options, where each diner is served four courses, yet each course has multiple dishes). We started our evening with a round of drinks – of special mention is the fragrant, but strong, Lychee Martini. In addition to the usual suspects (Pork Pot Stickers and Chinese Chicken Salad), we ordered the Korean Beef Shortribs, Tempura Fried Shrimp, and Ahi Sashimi and Tartare Salad appetizers. The shrimp was beautifully battered and the server artfully distributed the accompanying vinaigrette and salad to ensure that we all got to taste the full flavors. The Sashimi and Tartare appetizer was also very good and packed a nice citrus punch. We were quite disappointed in the Shortribs which we found to be dry and lacking flavor (if we want good Korean shortribs, we’re going over to our friend Alex’s house). And although we really enjoyed the appetizers, it’s the entrees that really took this meal to the next level.

The Shanghai Maine Lobster (with crispy spinach, Chinese Risotto, and a Yellow Curry Sauce) was exquisite – the creamy, sweet, and mild curry balanced well with the crispy and slightly bitter greens. Our recent run of excellent beef dishes (see the post on LBV and D’Amico Cucina) continued with the Szechuan Style Beef Tenderloin – the beef was tender and the port sauce paired well, but the winner here was the Stir-Fried Seasonal Vegetables that were truly prepared Szechuan–style and packed a nice punch. The Miso-Sake Glazed Black Cod was as amazing as ever – still can’t get over the fact that the accompanying noodles had a nice orange tang to them. We also adored the Mongolian Lamb Chops with the Cilantro-Mint-Ginger Vinaigrette, but once again it was the accompanying vegetable, in this case the Hunan Style Eggplant, that blew us away. It was so tender and flavorful; if you know someone that doesn’t like eggplant, we’d recommend they try this side at 20.21 – it’ll make them a believer, guaranteed.

By this time we were pretty full, but find it was hard to pass on the desserts. The signature Spoon, Cube and Cherry was delectable, but as good (if not better) was the Manjari Torte – chocolate cake with orange cream and served with raspberry pepper sorbet. The tangy fruit flavors added significant value and depth to this dish. We’d recommend skipping the Lemongrass Pannacotta with Guava – the pannacotta was too mild and the guava felt like an orphan child. Don’t forget a cup of latte to go with the dessert – it’s the perfect complement.

Service was precise – they took pain to carefully serve up the appetizers to each of us. We also noticed that the ladies on the table were served first. The server was well informed and made some good recommendations.

The bill for the 5 of us (including a total of 3 drinks) was around $400.