Restaurant news: Citizen Supper Club, Cantina Laredo and so many more openings

November 25, 2015 at 7:27PM
The bar at Citizen Supper Club.
The bar at Citizen Supper Club. (Randy Salas/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Openings, openings

Citizen Supper Club (11 E. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, ­citizensupperclub.com) has opened in the InterContinental St. Paul Riverfront Hotel.

Chefs John Occhiato and Jennifer Farni serve breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, preparing dishes such as lobster club sandwiches, roasted chicken with ricotta dumplings, shrimp toast, duck a l'orange, shrimp scampi and baked Alaska.

The restaurant's mid-1960s vibe pays homage to the building, which opened in 1966 as a Hilton hotel. The hotel is owned by Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures (Grand Casino Hinckley, Grand Casino Mille Lacs) and the restaurant is managed by Graves Hospitality (Bradstreet Craftshouse, Rival House).

A second hotel restaurant has debuted: Cedar + Stone, Urban Table in the new 342-room J.W. Marriott Minneapolis Mall of America hotel (2141 Lindau Lane, Bloomington, marriott.com), serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

More at the megamall: Cantina Laredo (300 West Market) opened last week. The Dallas-based chain specializes in tacos, enchiladas, grilled fish and chicken and a bar stocked with three dozen tequilas. Lunch and dinner are served daily, along with Sunday brunch and a weekday (3 to 7 p.m.) happy hour.

Kaskaid Hospitality, the juggernaut behind the Crave empire, has two Mall of America newcomers: Zio Cucina & Bar (321 South Avenue), specializing in pastas, pizzas and contemporary Italian fare, and the adjacent Burger Burger (321 South Avenue), which focuses on prepared-to-order burgers, fries and malts.

Kaskaid is on a roll: The company's Avenida Cocina & Bar (11390 Wayzata Blvd., Minnetonka) is tentatively scheduled to open Dec. 3.

One final Mall of America note, and it's huge: Shake Shack (shakeshack.com), New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer's universally adored burgers-frozen custard chain, is opening its first Minnesota outlet early next summer in Culinary on North, the third-floor food hall located in the mall's recent $325 million expansion.

Landing the Shake Shack is a leasing coup for the mall. The chain currently operates in 13 states and the District of Columbia, as well as London, Moscow, Dubai and Tokyo.

Lowry Hill Meats (1934 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., lowryhillmeats.com) is open for business. The full-service butcher shop — owned and managed by Erik and Tiffany Sather, Jonny Hunter and Mel Trudeau — specializes in locally sourced meats and poultry (pork from Altura, Minn.; beef from Blooming Prairie, Minn.; lamb from Rushford, Minn.; goat from Fountain, Minn.) as well as cured products from Red Table Meat Co. and Underground Meats of Madison, Wis.

The shop also features a fine cheese selection, and it's doing a brisk business in sandwiches.

"When we opened last Saturday, we thought we'd do maybe 40 sandwiches," said Erik Sather, formerly of Bar La Grassa and the Seward Co-op. "We ended up selling 160. It's a little bit crazy, but it's a good problem to have."

Don't miss the slow-roasted pork on house-baked focaccia, or the roast beef, stacked inside a Rustica-baked baguette.

Mornings sing with the house-baked English muffin filled with American cheese and ham (both made on the premises) and a fried egg.

Oh, and if there's whitefish salad in the to-go deli case, by all means, grab it.

Celebrating winter

Holidazzle (holidazzle.com) is moving to Loring Park this year, running Thursday and Friday (5 to 9 p.m.) and Saturday and Sunday (11 a.m. to 9 p.m.) from Nov. 27 to Dec. 20.

Along with free music, movies, ice skating, opening- and closing-night fireworks and other activities, there will be plenty to eat and drink from more than a dozen vendors. Look for Kramarczuk's sausages, Fulton Brewing beer, mulled spiced cider from Sociable Cider Werks, plus two favorites from last year's iteration at Peavey Plaza: superb potato pancakes from Burbach's and spaetzle from Spatzi by Venus.

Nearby Cafe Lurcat and Bar Lurcat (1624 Harmon Place, Mpls., cafelurcat.com) is also getting into the celebratory act. Bar Lurcat will be open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 28 and 29 and Dec. 5, 12, 13, 19 and 20.

Enjoy beverages at an outdoor lounge — complete with fire pits — on the bar's patio on Loring Park, including hot apple cider infused with cinnamon and caramel; espresso with chocolate; brandy with crème de cocoa, Tia Maria and whipped cream; whiskey with hot apple cider, and more.

Or warm up inside and graze across a menu that includes mahi mahi tacos, burgers, roast pork-brie-cherry relish sandwiches and cinnamon- and sugar-dusted mini-doughnuts; a kids' menu, features grilled cheese sandwiches, corn dogs and more.

This is the first year of the reimagined Holidazzle, where it's Holidazzle Village, rather than the Holidazzle parade. Here, fireworks light the cold night sky over downtown Minneapolis, launched from Vincent's Friday, Nov. 28, 2014.](DAVID JOLES/STARTRIBUNE)djoles@startribune This is the first year of the reimagined Holidazzle, where it's Holidazzle Village, rather than the Holidazzle parade
Holidazzle fireworks return on Friday night. Last year’s fete was at Peavey Plaza, above. This year, it’s at Loring Park. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Rick Nelson

Reporter

Rick Nelson joined the staff of the Star Tribune in 1998. He is a Twin Cities native, a University of Minnesota graduate and a James Beard Award winner. 

See More

More from Eat + Drink

card image

Deep-fried puffy tacos, dough ‘knots’ and s’mores ice cream sandwiches scored high on our list.

card image