It doesn’t fully feel like summer in Minnesota till we’ve eaten dinner at Tenant. It now feels like summer in Minnesota. We went back to one of our favourite restaurants in the Twin Cities this past weekend and enjoyed another excellent meal.
We arrived a little early for our 8 pm reservation and decided to begin proceedings in their Next Door space. I am pleased to say that the vibe there is still chill and the cocktails still both priced and mixed very well. The missus got the current incarnation of their Collins (with rum, pineapple etc.) and I got their Martini. We enjoyed both drinks very much. We hadn’t gotten very far into them before we were summoned to the dining room through the interconnecting door. We were seated at the counter and it wasn’t too long before proceedings were underway. Here’s how it went.
In case you haven’t been in a while or don’t know, Tenant (still) does a six course menu surprise. There is no menu posted on their website or Instagram and no menu is offered when you sit down. The courses are brought out by the chefs (there are no dedicated servers at the restaurant) and described as they’re set down. If you have questions or want to discuss the dishes, the chefs are happy to do so. These six courses–plus a palate cleaner before dessert—run $80/head. There’s also the option of a wine pairing (not sure how much that costs now; it was $30 last fall); you can also get the wines from the pairing by the glass (there’s no separate wine list).
What was on the menu on the night? (No, I didn’t memorize everything; the restaurant kindly sent me the details later over email.)
Course 1: Ora King Salmon Tartare, Crostini, Egg Salad, Beets, Compressed Cucumbers, Dill
The salmon tartare was over the top of the crostini and the egg salad was sandwiched below. Our only complaint about this dish was that it was a little hard to eat out of the dish it was served in with the cutlery provided. And it was hard to pick it up cleanly by hand with everything going on in it. But in terms of flavours etc. it was very nice and a good start.
Course 2: Fried Green Tomato, Burrata, Basil Remoulade, Frisee, Sorrel, Olives, Artichokes, Roasted Red Pepper
No complaints at all about this dish, which was just excellent all around. The composition of textures and flavours was excellent and it was a pretty dish.
Course 3: Toasted Jasmine Rice, Hamachi, Brussel Sprouts, Fermented Rutabaga, Pickled Mushrooms, Chili Maple Vinaigrette
This, however, was one of the contenders for dish of the night. The hamachi, grilled (?) and skewered was atop the toasted jasmine rice and the rest. There was a nice kick from the chilli vinaigrette, balanced nicely by the acid from the fermented and pickled veg.
Course 4 : Pecorino Toscano Cappelletti, Asparagus Velouté, English Peas, Grilled Pickled Carrots, Pancetta, Aged Balsamic
This course was no slouch either—and this probably was the prettiest dish of the night. I would have been happy to eat the cappelletti by themselves (maybe in some brodo) but the asparagus veloute they were sitting on was ace. Between the asparagus and the English pea this was very much the essence of spring.
Course 5: Rigatini, Lamb Ragu, Sumac, Black Lime, Garlic Yogurt, Mint, Oregano, Fried Shallots
Normally, the fifth course at Tenant is centered on a piece of meat but tonight it was the second pasta dish in a row. I’m not sure if this is a common thing now but I’m certainly not complaining: it was my favourite dish of the night and one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had in a while. The rigatini itself was great, the lamb ragu was great and the mix of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean flavours with the sumac, yogurt, mint and fried shallots put it all over the top.
Palate Cleanser: Citrus slushy
Not as teeth-achingly acidic as some in the past.
Course 6: Lemon Date Custard, Whipped Cream, Streusel
Yes, it was fruit custard for dessert again at Tenant. Some might complain that it’s always a fruit custard of some kind. To them I say: shut up and let me eat my fruit custard. Excellent as always.
The missus nursed her Collins over the course of the meal. After I finished my Martini I switched to a glass of the Brut rosé from the wine pairing (one I’ve had there before). Chef Cecchini said when we sat down that of the wines in the pairing it would bridge the courses the best. It did a fine job.
For a look at everything we ate and drank, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down for thoughts on service, to see how much it all cost and to see what’s coming next.
Chef Grisha Hammes, who runs the front of house when he’s not away or on his night off, was not in the house last weekend. Things hummed along well anyway for the most; though things fell apart a little bit towards the end. It took a long time for checks to come out and then almost 15 minutes for credit cards to be run. I’m not sure if there was a tech issue in the back but folks at the tables were getting pretty restless. Still, we were out the door before 10 pm. Cost? With tax and tip, the total was $265; prices have not changed since last year. On the whole, an excellent meal and we’ll back in the late summer again, in hopes of consuming another incarnation of their tomato water course.
Alright, what’s next on the food front? I’d said last week that this would be my last report from the Twin Cities metro for some weeks. I may have lied. It’s possible I may have a more casual meal report from Burnsville/Apple Valley next week. After that it’ll be Japan, Seoul and Delhi reports for a while.