Culinary adventure take two, Travail Kitchen and Amusements

On our second day of the Fall culinary adventure we traveled to Travail Kitchen and Amusements for a spectacular dinner experience. We were told to arrive at around 4:30 pm as they opened at 5:00 and to be prepared to stand in line until the doors opened at 5 to procure a spot, because this place was very popular.
They were not kidding. We arrived at 4:00 and no one was there so we walked around the neighborhood for a while and came back at 4:15 and there were two young ladies there so we stood in line and soon there were about 25 people there waiting for the doors to open ( they don't take reservations). The time came to open the doors and we entered with instructions to take a seat at the bar or at the long multiple-seat table in the center of the room so that is what we chose and it turned out to be providential to our enjoyment of the experience. We decided on the tasting menu @ $70.00 per couple and added a beer and some wine to the bill. Our servers were 2 or 3 guys and ladies and began our experience with a shooter of thick cranberry juice with a parsley and thyme foam which was quite interesting. Next came a first course of  eight total consisting of a flower pot with two kinds of cake in the form of "dirt" with several other ingredients and a "fertilizer" of curry. It was fascinating!

The courses were interrupted with little bites of amazing creativity, such as a Pork Belly Pop and an Italian Meatball and a small panna cotta that I can't remember the name of, then a second course, soup with popped wild rice and red wine foam and then a mushroom soup poured over it in a bowl to create a beautiful soup with exquisite flavor. The third course was an amazing array of Beef Tartare, Beef Carpaccio, Horseradish Foam with Beef Jerky, Shredded Egg Whites with Truffle Oil, Red onion Marmalade, and a Course Ground Mustard with a fried cracker to stack all of these delectable delights on.
the fourth course was a Agnolotti pasta, stuffed with Wagyu Beef Cheeks and a red wine foam, microgreens and an aioli that I  can't remember. Next was a plate with spaghetti and Italian sausage meatballs, two  perfectly cooked Sea Scallops and  pureed Eggplant Parmigiana with Tomato powder and peeled tomatoes.
The fifth course was preceded by our server bringing a small crock with cover and a topped quail egg on top set on a bed of mashed potatoes. He told us to wait until the next course was presented and then he came with a small pot of broth and told us to pour the quail egg into the broth he had poured into the crock and stir  it around and wait for the next step. Soon he came with the Chicken course and told us to pour the now Egg Drop Soup into the chicken platter that consisted of a sliced chicken breast and chicken thigh with no bones and chicken skin wrapped around the meat. It was amazing to say the least! I wanted to lick the plate clean of that broth, it was that good. The chicken was that tender and moist and the skin crisp and tasty.
Next was a palate cleanser that was the talk of the restaurant. Our server came with a smoking pot of something we couldn't recognize and he told us it was a blueberry yogurt frozen with liquid Nitrogen and he said it was time-sensitive, so I had to down it as soon as he put it in my little cup he had provided. I put it in my mouth and there was a literal explosion in my mouth like pop rocks and smoke coming out my mouth and nose like I was about to catch fire. The restaurant crowd was watching and cheered when they saw the smoke coming out of my mouth. It was hilarious!
Our next course was a lovely Risotto with a variety of ingredients that I can't remember and topped with crumbled Ginger Snaps. Excellent! The dessert courses were next and the first was a trio of Macaroon, S'mores and Cream Soda that was exquisite.
Our final stop on the culinary experience was a Halloween dessert of toasted Marshmallow over a trio of fillings decorated like a graveyard and topped with hand made cotton candy. I did not want this evening to end because it was so amazing and delicious. Another bonus was the fact that we were seated at a long table with about 14 other people who were enjoying the food as much as we were and it was like a little community of new friends enjoying an experience together. It was the highlight of our culinary weekend and I cannot wait to go back and enjoy the 15 course tasting menu. You simply MUST try this place for an experience you will not forget!
Great eating,
Tim

The first stop on our culinary adventure weekend.

A Culinary Adventure weekend

Teresa and I just returned from a weekend of culinary adventure in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. We had originally planned to do Kansas City but those plans fell through so we decided on the Minnesota version. We researched several restaurants in the area and settled on a few that sounded like our style and made a tentative schedule and hit the road. I made a reservation at our first stop on the tour for Thursday evening at Sanctuary, on Washington Ave. in Minneapolis. It is a beautiful space, decorated in a Gothic style with a few Gargoyles here and there but not overdone. It felt very comfortable and not too stuffy  or too dark. The host greeted us and it turned out to be a guy I went to high school with and also happened to be one of the owners, Mike Kutscheid. Small world. We decided on their tasting menu and our server Ericka explained the process and we began.
The bread service was a locally baked baguette with garlic oil and spiced toasted almonds. Very Nice. The first course of five was a cheese course with a hard goat cheese, olive oil and Fleur de Sel with Kalamata Olive and cornichon, paired with an Italian Pinot Grigio. It was a great cheese and I will be looking for it. Next, was the salad of roasted beets, dressed microgreens and Lavender, paired with an amazing Chateau de Campuget Rose that we both thought was the best wine of the evening.
The third course was a surprise of a spicy lamb sausage slider with baby bok choy and a green cherry tomato salad. It was paired with Angeline Pinot Noir from Santa Rosa, California, which cut nicely through the spiciness of that lamb sausage and lent some fruitiness as well. Next was a gorgeous risotto with preserved walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes. It had a nice sweetness to it brought by the walnuts which I had never seen before. They are whole walnuts, picked early before they are ripe and preserved in a heavy sweet syrup and they are soft to the tooth, which was somewhat strange but delicious. the risotto was paired with Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc, aged in smoke to "soften" it a bit. It was excellent.
All during this experience, Ericka asked if the pace of courses was right, if we needed anything more, explained the courses and ingredients as well as the pairings of wine and the reason for them. She was an excellent server! The dinner was very relaxed and she made it that way.
Our final course was dessert and it consisted of a square of fine mixed chocolate on a Cayenne Chocolate sauce with a Dark Chocolate Ice cream and Dark Chocolate coated crisped rice kernels arrayed on the plate for a touch of crunchiness. Ericka then surprised us when she said she had made something special for us; a Bloody Sidecar cocktail with a few different liqueurs, Blood Orange juice,Prosecco, and topped with a skewered slice of that preserved walnut and some Curcao faux caviar beads on it. It was a wonderful end to a wonderful dinner. The quality was excellent, the presentation elegant and the flavors spot-on. We will be back and I highly recommend it for your dining enjoyment.
Good eating,

Tim