901 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN
612-767-6978
http://www.chambersminneapolis.com/
Category: Pan-Asian
Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 9
Service: 5
Ambience: 10
Recommendation: Excellent! A trendy restaurant and bar with an Asian inspired menu, amazing cocktails, and art like no other in the Twin Cities. (Restaurant closed July 2009).
Chambers Kitchen (located in the Chambers hotel) is run by world renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. As soon as you set foot in the swanky cocktail lounge (the restaurant is in the basement below it), the vibe is more New York than Minneapolis. The menu is Asian inspired and fabulous (our other favorite in this category that gives Chambers a run for its money is 20.21). The lounge has great views of the Theatre district and Hennepin Avenue outside and modern artwork inside. The staff at the bar is borderline pretentious…this is one of the few restaurants in Minneapolis where dressing up is a must (unless you wish to have all eyes glaring at you)! The restaurant below is minimalist and has some seats right by the kitchen with a huge window where you can see the chefs in action. If you go, check out the artwork…we especially like the one in the hotel lobby made of Indian “chapati” tongs.
Chambers has some amazing cocktails…the Pineapple Mojito and the 
Ginger Margarita being our favorites. The Margarita had really strong ginger flavors and we wondered if they used Ginger Ale in addition to fresh ginger. The Mojito had a nice sweet and sour taste. Skip the Cucumber Mint cocktail… refreshingly cool but lacked flavor and had an overpowering taste of cucumbers. For appetizers, the Rice Cracker Crusted Tuna with a Sriracha and citrus sauce was crunchy and fresh. The creamy emulsion added depth to the dish. We also liked the Crispy Peekytoe Crab which was essentially in the form of a fritter with a sweet chili dipping sauce that was nice and spicy. The Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger and Basil was interesting…not as rich and creamy as the traditional kind but had a nice ginger flavor.
The menu offers a dozen or so entrees and is heavily focused on seafood, which we think Chambers does really well. The seafood here is packed w
ith strong Asian flavors, which we love and reminds us of seafood we’ve had in Southeast Asia. The Striped Bass Crusted in Spices was delicious. The sweet and sour buttery broth it came in was very aromatic. The Halibut (or Cod) with Malaysian Chili sauce was excellent…we loved the crispy texture. Another favorite was the Red Curry Duck. It was creamy and rich and reminded our Cambodian friend of her mom’s home-made duck. The Soy Miso Beef Sirloin was also a hit at our table. The sirloin came on a 
bed of crunchy and sweet bok choy and was topped with a fresh cilantro chutney. Even though we’re not huge fans of Tofu, the Crispy Tofu at Chambers was a winner. Although one can argue that anything tastes good when deep fried, this Tofu has a nice fried crust and a soft and tender inside. We thought the Radish salad it came with was too sour... we found actual chunks of lemon pulp in it. The only entrée that didn’t quite impress us was the Soy Braised Lamb Shank…the flavor and crust were incredible but the piece of m
eat was malnourished and the Apple-Jalapeno puree was a bit too sour. We can’t remember the last time we were served such a measly piece of shank. We finished off our excellent meal with a delicious Warm Chocolate cake served with Vanilla ice-cream and Cocoa Brittle Tuile. Our friends got the Banana Cake with Salted Caramel ice-cream and even 
though we are die hard chocoholics, we have the admit their dessert was better than ours.
Service was really slow even though the restaurant wasn’t packed and our server was inattentive. He disappeared on many occasions.
$$$$. Entrees priced between $20 and $45. Valet parking available ($8).
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Chambers Kitchen
Abu Nader Deli & Grocery
2095 Como Ave
St Paul, MN
651-647-5391
Category: Middle Eastern, Deli
Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 6
Service: N/A (counter service)
Ambience: 5
Recommendation: Average. Located on a quite stretch of Como Avenue in St. Paul, Abu Nader is average at best. If you are looking for a cheap Middle Eastern meal in a casual setting, head to Holyland instead.
Abu Nader is a small family owned restaurant on Como Avenue in St. Paul, close to the St Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. The menu includes a handful of Middle Eastern items such as Pies, Falafel, Dips, and Sandwiches. There is a small grocery store but we visited mainly for the deli. The experience is pretty bare bones…plastic everything with a few tables scattered around but we didn’t mind because we’ve heard Andrew Zimmern talk about this place umpteen number of times so we were sure the food would make up for the lack of ambience. Unfortunately, we were not as wowed as Zimmern. We think Holyland’s food overall rates much better than Abu Nader.
The Pepper and Feta Pie ($2.69) consisted of a pastry shell filled with a mix of 
hot peppers and feta...a good dish that reminded us of Jalapeno Poppers. The Tabuleh ($3.99), which is cracked wheat mixed with parsley, mint, and tomatoes was a bit bland but tasted good when mixed with the other dips we got. The Falafel Plate ($7.99) came with four medium sized falafels that were good but not as good as Holyland’s. The hummus tasted a bit off..there was a starchy taste to it that reminded us of gram flour. We liked the pickled vegetables that came with the dish. The Middle Eastern Rice ($3.99) was a combination of seasoned rice and ground beef but was flavorless and lacked salt. For $1 more, you can add Chicken or Shawarma meat - a great deal. The 
Baba Ghanouge (Eggplant dip, $3.99 for ½ lb) had a nice smoky flavor and we ordered some Pita bread on the side with it. Our favorite dish, the only dish we would go back for was the Open Face Shawarma ($7.99). It included a combination of spiced beef and lamb, topped with warm feta cheese and vegetables and baked on flat bread. The warm feta really hit the spot and the meat was spiced well. The Abu Nader Special Sandwich ($6.99) was 
ok…ground beef mixed with onions and parsley and baked, served in a pita pocket. The dish had a spicy kick to it and came as a pleasant surprise against the others that were under seasoned. For dessert, the Baklava ($1.75) was delicious..it was dense and rich, one of the better ones we’ve had. The Kinafeh ($1.75), layers of puff pastry with ricotta cheese was less than stellar. For drinks, we grabbed a mango juice, which was excellent. They also have Guava juice.
$. All items are under $10. Hours are 11am-9pm Monday-Saturday.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Smalley’s Caribbean BBQ and Pirate Bar
423 Main St
Stillwater, MN
(651) 439-5375
Category: BBQ
Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 6
Service: 7
Ambience: 7
Recommendation: Good. Smalley’s brings a flavor of the Caribbean to Minnesota by offering an authentic Jamaican BBQ experience…rum and all. You have to go to Smalley’s with an open mind… if you go expecting traditional BBQ flavors, you will be sorely disappointed.
We love BBQ in general so were excited to try Tim McKee’s (of La Belle Vie and Solera fame) new restaurant in Stillwater. However, once there we quickly realized that even though this food has the word BBQ in it, its the “Jamaican jerk” that really defines what it is. The food tastes nothing like BBQ we’ve ever had so it was a truly unique experience. The meats are marinated in jerk seasoning an
d cooked over pimento wood (pimento trees are where allspice comes from) so it has a very unique taste to it. The setting is similar to other BBQ restaurants where you get to choose various different meat preparations such as ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, or chicken along with a variety of sides. However, the differentiator is the jerk spice that is used. Some of the sides such as the Curried Vegetables in Jamaican spices, Rice and Beans with Cilantro and Red Onion, and Spicy Coleslaw have Caribbean influences. The menu also consists of three different types of Chicken Wings and
a Pirate Burger which can be customized with a dozen toppings. Four different BBQ sauces are available – a house-made BBQ sauce and three Jerk sauces – Mild, Medium, and Scotchies (Hot!). They have one of the largest rum selections in town…doing justice to the “Pirate bar” in their name. Their specialty cocktails list is also great…we really liked the Blackberry Mojito, it had a nice minty flavor and a very discernable blackberry flavor.
Our favorites were the Slow Smoked Beef Brisket and Pork Shoulder. Both were tender, falling off the bone, and nicely spiced. The Grilled Chicken came with a beautiful blackened skin and the inside was
pretty moist. However, it lacked flavor. The Ribs, which we were most looking forward to, were very disappointing. The look takes some getting used it because they come out completely black (charred). Our server explained that it was the molasses based marinade that gave them that look. However, even once we got over the look, the meat was hard to pull off and was really dry. No amount of sauce was able to fix this dish. The BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich was also a disappointment. The meat was bland but at least this dish was somewhat edible after lathering it with sauce. The Mac and Cheddar and Beer Battered Fries were good (note that the BBQ dishes come with your choice of two sides). You can ask for a side of the Roasted Hot Peppers with salt and lime (complimentary) to raise the heat level further if you dare. For dessert, the Drunken Chocolate Banana cake was excellent. While Smalley’s offered a unique BBQ experience, the restaurant didn’t impress us enough to drive all the way down to the Stillwater for a second round.
$$. Paid parking in adjacent lot.
