No booze review this week either—though I will have one next week for sure. Instead, this week’s booze review slot is taken by the Twin Cities restaurant report I failed to post last Wednesday. This is of the missus and my anniversary dinner, eaten at Alma in Minneapolis at the end of June. Between lunch at Grand Szechuan the weekend after our return from our travels and this dinner at the end of the month, you could say we were well and truly back in the Twin Cities dining scene. Of course, there’s been big news in the fine dining part of that world this year: the announcement that Minneapolis will be part of Michelin’s new Great Lakes regional grouping. I followed some of the local food discourse about all of that in the spring and early-summer—not without some amusement—and may have some thoughts to share about it in the next few weeks that will surely make me even more friends in the local scene. But that’s for later; here now is a quick account of what was a very nice dinner at Alma.
As I noted in my very belated write-up of our previous dinner at Alma in January, Alma’s menu format has evolved since the beginning of the year. They still offer the three-course prix fixe at $97 with choices in each of three savoury courses plus dessert at additional cost. But now you also have the option of a six-course tasting menu at $140/pop (inclusive of dessert). Both sets of prices include service for which there is no added expectation. I was tempted by the larger menu at time of booking but we decided to stick with the three-course option.
It began as usual with spiced olives and almonds being set down on the table alongside cold, moist towelettes and some of their very good focaccia, served with beet rillettes. From the first course options, the missus selected the Local Asparagus and Ricotta Bruschetta and I got the Bison Tartare “Chaat”. Chef Marge, who was in the kitchen, very kindly also sent out a plate of their Spring Greens and Snap Pea Salad (this is your reminder here that since my pop-up dinner at Alma in Feb 2023, we receive “friends of the house” treatment at Alma to some degree or the other; please factor that into your reading of my reviews of meals here). The bruschetta was very good and the “chaat” was outstanding. Basically, this was bison tartare dressed with tamarind sauce and what was effectively raita. It was very good with the tartare eaten on the sesame crackers but was even better when I broke the crackers and mixed everything up a la paapri chaat. The comped salad was very good too.
For the mid-course I got the Crispy Mung Bean Griddle Cakes. An Alma classic that always calls the Korean bindaetteok to mind, this was served with braised pork belly, gochujang and excellent rhubarb kimchi. The missus meanwhile ate the hell out of the outstanding Meyer Lemon Orzo Pasta with king crab, asparagus and littleneck clams. The final savoury course was no disappointment after this. The missus’s Sauteed Alaskan Halibut with dashi butter, wilted spinach and fingerling potatoes might have trumped the orzo; and my Pan Roasted Duck Two Ways with grilled asparagus, rhubarb compote and saba jus was as good as Alma’s duck always is.
And so to dessert. Further on the comps front, we were given little bits of an ice cream before we got to dessert proper: we shared their Raspberry Clafoutis, which was excellent indeed.
Oh yes, drinks. Small pours of welcome prosecco arrived when we sat down (this is a perk reserved for Alma regulars in general, I think). The missus followed with their Cherry Grove Cosmo, which she liked very much. I did the asshole thing of asking for a cocktail not on the menu. I love their La Opuntia mezcal cocktail which has not been on the menu this year. Thankfully, they readily made me one and I loved it again (even though it was not exactly the same as in the past). Later, I got some pinot nor to go with my duck. I couldn’t decide between the Refugio from Chile (past iterations of which I’ve very much enjoyed) and one from Oregon—luckily, they offer a Chile vs. Oregon head-to-head on the menu and so I got two small pours of both. I tried them blind and preferred the Oregon. We were also plied with a little more comped wine, including the Quarts de Chaume, a very nice dessert wine from the Loire Valley.
For a look at the menu as it was in June and at everything we ate, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down to for thoughts on service, to see how much it all cost, and to see what’s coming next.
Service was excellent, as always. Alma remains the high-end restaurant in the Twin Cities that has service that is both professional and natural. Price? Not including the comps, the cost of what we ordered and ate came to just short of $292 all-in. Not cheap but definitely worth it in the Twin Cities, especially for a special occasion.
It was nice to get back to Alma after several months and it was also very nice to be able to chat with Chef Marge again during our meal. Speaking of that 2023 pop-up, we did talk about the possibility of doing something else again this coming winter. Stay tuned to see if anything comes of that…
Alright, tomorrow I will have another Bombay report. Wednesday’s Twin Cities report—also from the high-end, this time a birthday meal in July—will make me current with my Twin Cities reports. Later in the week, there’ll be a report from Seoul and also that report from Newark that I failed to post last week.