Haute Dish

119 Washington Ave N
Minneapolis, MN 55401
612-338-8484
http://www.haute-dish.com/

Category: American-Upscale

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

Recommendation: Very Good. Haute Dish with its creative play on classic meat and potatoes American fare is a welcome addition to the downtown Minneapolis dining scene.

We’ve been waiting a while for the old Café Havana space to become occupied and couldn’t have asked for a more intriguing restaurant to take up that space. The space itself still retains its lovely character and wonderful charm – it’s a pleasure just to step in here and take in the décor, from the dark leather seating, to the long vintage bar. The dim lighting and warm colors add to the romantic setting, its upscale yet inviting.

Chef Landon Schoenefeld, a stalwart in the Minneapolis dining scene, has his genius all over the menu. Taking some traditional (and sometimes basic) dishes and putting his twist on it is what he does so well. The Chat-Cuts (Yar!) charcuterie plate might be the single most impressive thing on the menu. Our favorites on the plate were the strongly flavored head cheese terrine, the subtle chicken liver with brandied cherries, and the Mortadella with cornichons and Dijon. This starter sets the stage for what’s to come. The Steak and Eggs, a rendition of the classic tartare, presented in a fun “egg in the hole style”, was quite good but played second fiddle to the charcuterie. We were quite excited about the Mac and Cheese with King Crab, but it just lacked something, and a little too mild for us. There were a couple of great beers that went well with the first course – a Blanche de Bruxelles, mild wheat beer and the Lagunitas Something Something Ale, a hoppy beer with hints of fruit.

For the main course, you can’t do wrong with the Tater Tot HauteDish, which went down nearly as quickly as the charcuterie. It’s hard to pass up on short-ribs when done right – tender, flavorful, and fatty and Haute Dish will have you coming back for more. They’re served with the crispy croquettes that have a melty mashed potato center. The hearty Ribeye Steak and Potatoes was done very well, with the accompanying marrow a real pleaser. On the other hand, the Duck in a Can failed to
leave its mark. Ostentatious in its display, the can is actually opened tableside and turned onto the plate, but the presentation just felt like a hodge-podge of items dumped onto a plate although the flavors had the making of something quite spectacular.

We were in a rush and didn’t have a chance to sample the desserts but I’m sure we’ll revisit soon. The servers at Haute Dish took great care of us and their food and drink recommendations were spot on – our server even recognized us from our visit to Sea Change about six months earlier, where he was working at that time.

$$$. Street parking is readily available, but they also have valet service.