As we pulled into the parking lot, my friend the food snob took one look at our destination and pulled a face. "You're kidding me, right?" he said, his tone half-condescending, half-panicked. "I know a Perkins when I see one."
"Trust me," was my reply, making a mental note not to verbalize my sudden craving for a Tremendous Twelve breakfast. My credibility didn't improve when he spied the building's other tenant, a Bruegger's Bagels. But once I hustled him through the door, the look of relief on my pal's face was palpable.
That's because from the inside, the Wayzata Eatery & Wine Bar does not appear to be a part of its bland suburban shopping-mall setting. Better still, chef Matt Quist's engaging food is refreshingly low on the formulaic mentality that seems to thrive in the burbs. Over the past few years, personable, food-centric restaurants have become standard operating procedure within the city limits of Minneapolis and St. Paul. But out in McMansionland? Not so much.
An approachable menu
What I enjoy most about Quist's cooking is its integrity, its approachability and its occasional unpredictability. There's a kind of travelogue quality to the menu, but the ideas never seem taken out of context. There are flaky samosas, filled with peas and potatoes and finished with tamarind and mango accents. Sizzling lamb chops are dressed in a traditional Argentinian herb sauce and paired with a fragrant wheat berry-mint salad. Tempura-light fried calamari get a brazen wasabi-laced aioli dipping sauce. Thinly sliced flank steak, marinated in sesame, soy and ginger, is the centerpiece of a refreshing Thai-themed salad. Italy's saltimbocca tradition drops the veal in favor of chicken, and it's delicious: The tasty pan-seared bird is rolled around freshly chopped parsley and rosemary, wrapped in nicely salty dry-cured ham and paired with a hearty romesco sauce. It couldn't be better, and it's just $15.
Quist's best dish is perfect wintertime fare: thick slices of Minnesota-raised pork, marinated in tons of herbs and garlic for a few days before it hits the grill, sharing the plate with a hearty bacon-walnut-Honeycrisp apple hash.
There's a fantastic burger, thick and juicy and popping with a big, beefy flavor. The same goes for a beefy New York strip, gleaming with a shallot-bourbon glaze and paired with hot, crispy fries. Small, succulent mussels are big on flavor. Even an antipasti assortment shows signs of discernment and care: lovely cheeses, candied nuts, pickled vegetables and fine, parchment-thin Spanish ham.
There are moments when I wish Quist would venture just a step or two further. At lunch there's an attractive bowl of fusilli tossed with tender pulled chicken, colorful arugula and a fine aged Parmesan -- so far, so good, right? -- but despite first-rate components it doesn't add up to much. Similarly, for all of its good looks, a narrow rectangle of a ricotta-wild mushroom lasagna is pretty, but also pretty dull.
