Restaurant Alma

528 University Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-379-4909
http://www.restaurantalma.com/

Category: New American

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 9
Service: 9
Ambience: 7

Recommendation: Excellent. Our most recent experience was memorable and more than makes up for the first time we ate here.

(September 2007) Restaurant Alma presents an ever changing menu focusing on fresh, seasonal, and organic ingredients. Chef Alex Roberts and his team bring “New American” cuisine in an apt bistro-style setting. The restaurant itself has a very “loft” feel with exposed brick and high ceilings. Large windows bring in a nice amount of light and give this place an airy feel. The décor is minimalist and is complemented by modern, comfortable seating. The moment you walk in, the scents from the open kitchen awaken your senses.

The restaurant served two types of complimentary breads…a rosemary, olive oil with Asiago cheese (which was very good) and a fennel bread. The menu is small but very interesting. They have a selection of 4 options for each of the starter, middle, and entrée courses. The tasting menu allows you to pick a single selection from each of the courses for a fixed price of $42. We highly recommend getting the tasting menu for the best value..you essentially get the appetizer free. While the first two courses had vegetarian options, the third course didn’t. We had gone with some friends and got to try all 12 dishes on the menu.

Starter course: The Smoked Chicken & Watercress Salad as well as the Local Mixed Lettuce Salad was very good. The saltiness from the manchego and crunch from the pine nuts added great flavor to the latter salad. The Marinated Yellowtail Tuna was very good, but a little on the fishy side. The Wild Nettle Souffle was also interesting.

Middle course: The Braised Lamb and Sticky Rice was moist and tender, with just the right amount of rendang curry flavoring. Both the Farro (barley), Calamari, and Lobster Salad and the Heirloom Yellow Corn Grits were memorable. The Saffron Orechiette Pasta is not something we recommend because the saffron overpowered the rest of the ingredients.

Entrée: The experience started to go downhill with the entrees. The Local Grass Fed Beef Striploin was the best dish. The Wild King Salmon entrée was served lukewarm. Even after the kitchen re-heated it for us, we felt the dish lacked flavor. The Grilled Hawaiian Blue Marlin was very tough and rubbery on the top but the bottom was translucent (hadn’t been cooked). The orange flavor was too overpowering. We asked for the fish to be replaced with the Pork Loin, which was good but nothing special.

Dessert: To make it up to us for the entrees, the kitchen served us Strawberry Sorbet and for dessert we had the Chocolate Ganache Cake and the Buckwheat Crepes, all of which left us satisfied.

The service was attentive at times but the time between courses led us to believe that the kitchen was unprepared to handle the crowd on the Sunday evening. This restaurant has the making to be one of the best in the Twin Cities, but at the prices they charge, they have a way to go before they can play in that league.

$$$$. Our bill for 2 people, including one glass of wine each was $145 (incl. tax and tip.)

Update (January 19, 2011) – it’s been over three years since we were last at Alma. Our first and only meal there wasn’t memorable and we just couldn’t get ourselves to go back and give it another shot, especially given that it’s a pricey place and there are a whole slew of new restaurants we haven't made it to. A lot has changed in three years; we’ve seen a constant stream of rave reviews from diners and Alex Roberts is fresh off winning the James Beard Award as Best Chef Midwest for 2010. In the back of our mind we knew the first meal was an aberration and I (Nick) especially was really looking forward to seeing first hand what the hubbub was all about.

Well, after a stupendous meal tonight, I can attest to the fact that Alma really has its groove on and the kitchen is producing some of the most creative and tasty food I have ever had (judging from the oohs and aahs emanating from the rest of the party of seven that I was dining with, I’m not the only one who was impressed).

We started the evening off with a bottle (actually two) of the 2007 Vietti Nebbiolo Perbacco. A fabulous red with a refined finish, yet displays strong intensity. For the first course I was really leaning towards the Roasted Cauliflower, but decided to go with the Parmesan Flan once I realized that most of the table had opted for the former and I was pretty sure I could sneak a taste of someone else’s. Both dishes were fantastic – the flan with its salty and buttery notes cut only by the sweet and fresh celery and fennel salad. The cauliflower and lentils had warm spice flavors that reminded me of Indian cooking. My second course was a Ricotta Gnocchi with Lobster, Orange and Truffle Butter. Tremendous…actually Decadent is more like it. Mine finished too soon – I’d go back just for this course and order three portions of it. I was mopping my plate clean with the bread! For the third course, we had an array of dishes and my favorite was the Pan Roasted Pork Loin – cooked to succulent perfection, accompanied by sous-vide fingerlings, caramelized pearl onions, and the rich jus….wait, I need more bread! You can’t go wrong with the Short Rib or Gently Cooked Salmon either, the latter was an incredible preparation that brought out the richness in the fish. The kitchen was 3 for 3 and having a great night. For dessert, I was craving chocolate and the Dark Chocolate Brownie didn’t disappoint. It was dense and I loved the pairing of mini potato crisps with the ice cream and brownie – what a great twist on sweet and salty. Its a little rich and I recommend that two people share it.

While walking out of the restaurant, I peeked into the open kitchen and realized that this crew had barely broken a sweat. Every dish was executed to perfection and I’m already drooling thinking of what I would order the next time I visit…which will be real soon.