Ann Kim, the James Beard award-winning chef/co-owner of Young Joni and Pizzeria Lola in Minneapolis, is turning her attention to the suburbs.
Eagan, specifically, where she will place her imprint on the primary restaurant in the Omni Viking Lakes Hotel.
"We like to utilize local partnerships whenever possible," said Devin Burns, vice president of rooms and food & beverage for Omni Hotels & Resorts. "We did our research, then we had the fun experience of tasting the food at Young Joni. Then we met Ann, and that was the icing on the cake. We love her passion, and her view of hospitality. We were lucky that we could talk her into it."
Kim will be overseeing Kyndred Hearth, and fans of her work will recognize her touches at every turn.
The restaurant's centerpiece will be the same copper-clad wood-burning oven — imported from France — that anchors Young Joni and Pizzeria Lola.
Along with Kim's wood-fired pizzas, the seasonal menu will focus on handmade pastas and "other things that I've never been able to do at the other restaurants," she said. Kim said she's also excited about the prospect of serving her first breakfast menu, which will feature what she described as "twists on what I love to eat."
That includes airy ricotta pancakes, a variation on the egg-and-cheese sandwich that sustained her when she lived in New York City ("Mine will kick it up a notch and start with a Japanese milk bun," she said) and a souped-up version of the Korean rice porridge that was a childhood staple, here made with jasmine rice, locally sourced wild rice, mushrooms, pickled vegetables, fried ginger and fresh herbs.
"I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner," said Kim. "It's like a savory oatmeal that's good for you."
