Storms leave Twin Cities restaurants with soggy hangovers, a new eatery for St. Anthony Main, and more

The swampy summer created havoc at restaurants across the Twin Cities after weekend storms. Thanks to power outages, Sunday and Monday services were canceled at Diane’s Place, the popular Northeast restaurant from chef Diane Moua. Meanwhile, her neighbors at Baker’s Field Flour took advantage of their wood-fired oven and baked in the dark on Sunday, but closed on Monday. TokiDoki Burger and Ramen Kazama, from chef Matthew Kazama, were still waiting for the lights to come back on as the week started. And Sea Salt weathered power outages late last week, but started this week with a small kitchen fire, which curtailed their menu late Monday.

In St. Paul, Crasqui from Soliel Ramirez was knocked out by the storm and vandalism; plants were stolen and outdoor furniture damaged. Salsa Collaborative canceled their Monday night residency at Black Stack Brewing after a power outage wiped out their food inventory at their commercial kitchen space. And over in Edina, Mr. Paul’s Supper Club canceled Sunday dinner, and Sweet Science Ice Cream was also down a day of scoops, but rallied by Monday.

Perhaps the most heartening story of the Minneapolis culinary community was at a sushi pop-up scheduled for Sunday evening at Picnic in Linden Hills. The restaurant hosts chef takeovers every Sunday, and July 14 was Sushi by Baaska, from chef Baaska Tegshbileg. With a cooler filled with prepped fish and a forecast in the 90s predicted, service became a ticking timer worthy of an episode of “The Bear.”

“It was about 6 a.m. when I got a call that the power was out at my commissary kitchen,” said Tegshbileg, whose tiny operation is just him and maybe his fiancée. He hauled over to the kitchen and loaded up the fish from the (thankfully) still-cold coolers. With a pit stop at Cub for ice, he made it to Picnic, where the restaurant’s coolers were saved by generators.

In the dark kitchen, he worried over the product, “I was talking to Pete [Nguyen, Picnic’s general manager], I’m not feeling great about doing dinner. Should we call it off? He was like, ‘I think we can turn this situation around and do a lunch pop-up.’ The whole neighborhood had no power. Everyone was out and walking around.”

After a few Instagram posts, orders started rolling in and friends arrived at the back door to pitch in. The owners of Càphin, the coffee shop and truck, his friend Chef E, as well as his commissary neighbors Bao Bao Buns joined in to help support the service.

The sushi had to be arranged and served on disposable plates and containers since there was no dishwasher. Still, the orders flew out the door from neighbors who saw the Instagram post and others who were just out and about without power at home.

Nguyen said everything was gone within two hours.

“I think that’s the thing Picnic is trying to do with these Sunday dinners. Just bring in friends and family and forget hard things,” said Tegshbileg.

It doesn’t hurt to have friends with sharp knives, either. Tegshbileg agreed. “It is good to have friends who will throw themselves in.”

Sushi by Baaska’s next pop-up will be an exclusive, cocktail-paired omakase dinner at Earl Giles on July 28. Tickets are available through Tock. Picnic’s next Sunday meal will be July 21 — brunch from chefs Marshall Paulsen and Sanjeev Azad.

Work is underway at Aster House, another eatery and entertainment venue from Jeff Arundel, owner of the Aster Cafe and Jefe Urban Cocina. Aster House is slated to open this fall in the St. Anthony Main stable house (225 SE. Main St., Mpls.), and Arundel has brought in chef Karyn Tomlinson of St. Paul’s Myriel as a “culinary coach” to executive chef Josh Jones, who will write and oversee the modern supper club menu.

Ingredients will lean into items that are seasonal and locally raised, with Tomlinson bringing in her farmer contacts. Early dish ideas being bandied about include wild rice croquettes, juniper-braised bison with parsnip, salt-roasted carrots, and hasselback potatoes with sour cream and chives. Dinner will be served six nights a week, with a brunch menu expected to follow not long after opening.

The dining room will seat 120 with a main stage for music shows. Upstairs will be a mezzanine with vintage-style theater seats plus more dining. A members-only club with an interior designed by Anne McDonald will occupy the lower level.

If the exclusive members-only club with a big-name chef idea sounds familiar, Arundel also worked with the Minneapolis Club on its Charlie’s Exceptionale revival.

Aster House is aiming for a September opening. Follow the progress on Instagram @AsterHouse.

No longer relegated to bar menus and the State Fair, a new frickle era has dawned. An official Fried Pickle Kitchen is now open at 759 E. County Road D in Vadnais Heights. In addition to baskets of battered and deep-fried pickle slices, there’s also a pickle flatbread pizza to enjoy the dilly goods.

The restaurant specializes in all kinds of homey treats, from wings and fried chicken sandwiches to mac and cheese, tacos and ice cream. (No pickles were harmed in the making of this ice cream. It’s the regular stuff.) Open from 11 a.m. until late — 11 p.m. weeknights and midnight Fridays and Saturdays.

The first bar business inside the new North Loop Green development is open. Bassett Hound (350 N. 5th St., Mpls., bassetthoundnlg.com) is a casual dog-friendly spot with an expansive patio and a cruise-up-and-snack feel. There’s a wide selection of beer, cocktails and wines and a casual menu that tops out at $19 for charcuterie boards, paninis and flatbreads.

The new retro sports bar inside Uptown’s Fool Me Once/Blue Door Pub/Country Bar address is up and running. The walls at Beckett’s (3006 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., beckettsmpls.com) are filled with vintage pennants and memorabilia. There are plenty of TVs, lots of bar stools and a QR menu that offers a few bar snacks. Bonus: The kitchen is open until midnight Mon.-Thu. and 1 a.m. Sat.-Sun.

Gluek’s is celebrating 90 years of beer and memories on July 25 from 5 to 8 p.m. with trivia, karaoke, specials, prizes and more (16 N. 6th St., Mpls., glueks.com).

And Butcher & the Boar (901 N. 3rd St., Mpls., butcherandtheboarmpls.com) is holding backyard bashes on July 20 and Aug. 17 from noon-10 p.m. with solid lineups of music and a spread of barbecue favorites, including brats, footlong hot dogs, ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, burgers, fries, cheese curds and more.