Bellecour

John and I visited Bellecour recently. He had not been yet and I was more than willing to go back. I'd managed to get a reservation just the day before. Must have been a cancellation or something. It's worth keeping an eye on openings even if they are booked.

I don't have much to add since the last visit, but I wanted to share the photos of the food so we can remember what we ordered.

 seasonal sidecar and winter cup cocktails

 shrimp cocktail

 endive salad

 We both had the hanger steak.

 hanger steak and béarnaise 

My coat check ticket to hold the leftovers until it was time to go. That's a new one!

hazelnut profiteroles 

The service was excellent once more and the food was very enjoyable as well. I'd like to return for brunch sometime. The menu looks wonderful.

Here's a link to my first visit to Bellecour:
http://whereshouldwegomsp.blogspot.com/2017/09/bellecour.html


Bellecour
739 Lake St E
Wayzata, MN 55391
Phone: (952) 444-5200
https://bellecourrestaurant.com/

St Genevieve

Stephanie and I decided to try St Genevieve in Minneapolis for our latest dinner adventure. It is a French bistro style cafe- very cute, very small. Reservations were not that difficult to get a few days in advance though. It opened min-2016, so it has taken us awhile to get around to this one.

frites with bernaise - very fresh and crisp

celery soup

oysters - cute presentation

sauces for oysters

scallop and squash

agnolotti - this is basically a type of filled pasta- very good. 

carrots

skate wing - unusual, it was a light fish, not at all fishy or strongly flavored. 

chocolate brownie

panna cotta

The service was excellent throughout our visit, very attentive, very helpful, very friendly. We enjoyed everything we ordered. It is hard to pick a favorite item we had- I think the scallop was very good and the skate wing was something I'd never tried before and it was delicious. The menu changes often though, I suppose based on seasonal availability of items. The experience overall was wonderful, a relaxing experience and delicious food made for a fun evening.


St Genevieve
5003 Bryant Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55419
Phone: (612) 353-4843
www.stgmpls.com

Meritage

Apparently I’m on a bit of a French restaurant kick. It is really just coincidence though, as we’ve been meaning to visit Meritage for a long time and decided to go before a concert.

We arrived a bit early and they were not quite ready for us yet as it was the first seating, so we had a drink in the bar. The hostess come for us once they were ready and things proceeded quickly from there. The service was actually very good throughout our visit and the server offered helpful suggestions as well.

We started with a half dozen ousters as they were on special  for oyster day at $2 each. I think I forgot to snap a photo of them though. The special oysters were fine for me and John ordered a few Glacier point oysters as well.

John had the hanger steak with pommes frites and bernaise sauce on the side. The steak was very tender and delicious. The fries were not bad either.

I had the herb de Provence crusted ahi tuna nicoise with crushed potatoes, summer beans, tomato marmalade, escarole and black olive oil. The tuna was wonderful and cooked rare as requested. I only wished for a larger portion of the potatoes. It was a very fresh, spring-like dish.

We finished with the creme brûlée, because it is my duty to try it in as many restaurants as possible. This was an excellent rendition and I recommend.

Meritage was an excellent experience and I highly recommend visiting. The food and service were all wonderful, even when they were quite busy before an event at the Xcel center. Reservations are of course, highly recommended.


Meritage
410 St Peter St
St Paul, MN 55102
Phone: (651) 222-5670
http://www.meritage-stp.com

Bellecour

Stephanie and I visited Bellecour in Wayzata. We did Spoon and Stable last year and we were very excited to have another Gavin Kaysen restaurant in the western suburbs. I made a reservation well in advance, but it was not too difficult to find openings.

We arrived slightly before our reservation and were seated right away, as it was a very early reservation. Our server was Ricardo and he did a great job even though he also had a large group next to us, though we found the service became pretty slow toward the end of our visit.

We started with drinks and Stephanie had the Beach Bum, a rum cocktail. The lime on top was flaming on arrival. Super cool touch. I think I had the Daily.

Bread basket. Fresh, warm French bread.

Our first appetizer was the tuna nicoise. It had a nice citrus flavor in addition to the fresh fish. Simple, yet a bit complex.

We also shared the chilled shrimp. The garlic aioli was a nice option to the cocktail sauce.

Stephanie’s entrée was the short rib on the bone with mushrooms duxelles and sauce au poivre. The meat was very tender and flavorful.

I had the halibut with peas. It basically tasted like spring and the fish was very light and delicious.

A side of pommes frites with ketchup and garlic aioli. The aioli was great with the fries.

And since we both love dessert was both had to order one. I had the vanilla crème brulee. Plenty of actual vanilla beans in this!

And the chocolate opera cake with espresso butter cream and candied almonds. The hazelnut ice cream was very rich tasting.

We both enjoyed Bellecour a lot. It feels a bit more casual than Spoon and Stable, maybe as it is in the suburbs or near the lake. I'm not sure exactly why. The prices are definitely on the high end, but the quality of the food is very high and you won’t be disappointed.  The service could have been a touch better, but our server was helpful and friendly throughout. I look forward to going back. I think if you order carefully and left off a couple courses, the total bill could be kept lower. The bar would also be a nice option for a quick snack or drink.


Bellecour
739 Lake St E
Wayzata, MN 55391
Phone: (952) 444-5200
https://bellecourrestaurant.com/

Barbette

Barbette is another one of those Minneapolis restaurants that has been around for years and I have never tried. Stephanie and I went there recently after visiting the Art Institute for a special exhibition. We were able to find free parking on the street nearby and we did not have a reservation, but got right in as it was quite early in the evening, around 5pm I think. The room is open with a bar on one side and funky light fixtures scattered around the room.

Our server greeted us in a timely manner and we ordered drinks. They offer a full bar with beer, cocktails and wines. I had the Frida y Diego drink and Steph had a Bent Paddle beer.

Stephanie had the soup of the day, which was some sort of vegetable soup if I recall correctly.

We both ordered the Parisian style steak frites. The French fries were very good, very fresh, hot and crispy. I liked the Bearnaise on the side also. The steak is more of a braised beef or roast style, than an actual steak, but the meat was very tender and had great flavor.

Parisian style steak frites

Since we did to order any appetizers, we tried two different desserts. First, the vanilla creme brûlée, which was very good. It was rich and creamy with a warm, crisp top.

The second dessert was the squash tart. It had bourbon carmel sauce, marshmallow fluff and candied pecans on the plate. It basically tasted like pumpkin pie and this is not a bad thing. I suppose squash and pumpkin flavors are so close, they taste more or less the same.

We enjoyed everything we ordered and found the ambiance and service to be great. I would like to return and try a few items from the brunch menu.


Barbette
1600 W Lake St
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Phone:(612) 827-5710
http://www.barbette.com