Alma, Spring 2024 (Minneapolis)

Here is a quick report on the second of two meals we ate at Alma in a span of just over two weeks. The first meal was one of our regular meals out. The missus and I ate one of the last outings of Alma’s winter 2024 menu (and enjoyed it very much indeed). 16 days later we were back with a much larger group and this time we ate one of the earliest outings of the current spring menu. This was a retirement dinner for one of my colleagues and in keeping with his long service and the high regard in which we hold him we decided to throw him a farewell dinner at a fine restaurant in the Twin Cities. Alma was at the top of our wishlist and as it happened there was no other restaurant that could have accommodated our group as comfortably as they did. And the food was not half bad either.

Alma has a number of spaces for private dining and can accommodate pretty large groups if necessary. They were very easy to work with: communicative, on top of all details and accommodating to all reasonable requests. We were 22 and they set us up very nicely in their cafe space. As the cafe is closed in the evenings, we had the entire space to ourselves, which was great. They were also kind enough to offer our entire group the usual Alma-style menu—typically groups of more than 10 get a more straightforward individually-plated meal. And when they sent the spring menu over we knew it was going to be a treat. We made some adjustments for dietary restrictions—vegetarians got substitutions for all the meat/seafood components and dishes, all allergies were worked around. All that was left to do after that was to select wine to drink with the meal and champagne for a valedictory toast.

ANTIPASTI

Marinated olives with orange zest and thyme
Spiced almonds with brown sugar and pimenton
Hearth Breads with Hope butter and fleur de sel
Morcella Soft-Ripened Cheese with pistachio butter
Duck Liver Paté with port jus, poached apricot, bacon lardon
Marinated Cauliflower Arancini with caper-lemon aioli, mixed herbs, chile oil

The olives, almonds and the bread and butter were as good as they always are; which is to say, very, very good. The antipasti trio that followed them—individually plated for all of us—was rather excellent as well. The sheep’s milk cheese—from Shepherd’s Way, just a few miles from us—was excellently paired with a dab of pistachio butter and the paté was very nice as well but at our end of the table most of us had the arancini as the pick of this round.

All the savoury dishes after this were presented as shareable large plates. Somehow we managed to not come to blows over any of it. No small feat for a large group of humanities types.

FIRST COURSE

MAIN COURSE

Duck Two Ways, Swiss chard, salsa verde, foie gras
Pan-Roasted Sturgeon, Prosciutto, grilled asparagus, rhubarb compote
Braised Spring Vegetables, Fava beans, sweet peas, spring onions, white wine-thyme butter

The duck brought some controversy with it as we could not agree on which version, roasted breast or confit leg, was better. I was in the roasted breast camp. You must forgive me, however, for being an asshole and saying that the lentils the duck sat on were the best part of the dish. Also excellent were the braised spring vegetables. The sturgeon, alas, did not make it to those heights. It was tasty but my piece was just a bit overcooked (a far more likely outcome, I would guess, being prepared and held for 22 rather than in the dining room).

For a look at the food as it was served to us, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down for a few closing thoughts.

Alma, Morcella Soft-Ripened Cheese, Pistachio Butter

The food was very good and the service matched it. There were two staff members dedicated to us and they took excellent care of us. One of the chefs came out with each course to tell us all about the dishes and everyone was solicitous while not intruding at all on our celebration. Alas, we have more retirements coming up on the horizon. I’ll try not to look forward to the prospect of marking them at Alma as well.

As I said, what we ate is the current spring menu. As good as it was at our setup for 22, I would imagine it’s even better in the dining room. If you’re looking for a place for a special dinner—and in Minnesota the arrival of spring is reason enough to celebrate—I recommend you give this menu a go before it turns over in the summer.

Alright, this report was a bit belated. I was planning to put it up on Tuesday—which is normally when my Twin Cities reports post—but fell behind on account of various commitments. I’ve also fallen behind on my Korea meal reports and now a few meals from my short trip to New Jersey/New York are also breathing down my neck. I’m going to try to step the pace back up in the next few weeks. I’ll have a report from Busan tomorrow and next Tuesday will see a Twin Cities report in its normal spot. That’ll be on dinner at Kim’s this weekend. At least two more reports will be posted later that week as well.