The Greatest Things.

A Haiku Regarding Restaurant Ettiquette, and Expecting to "Have It Your Way."

Please fully cook it?
No skin? Come on lady,
it’s not Burger King.

Dinner at Heidi's

After scoring a 20 dollar gift certificate to Heidi’s a couple of months ago at the Kingfield farmers market, Greta and I finally made another trip to the restaurant last Friday. Though I had intended to do a write up soon after, I’ve been sick for the past few days and feeling especially lethargic.

Greta ordered the Lobster Bisque and Fillet in Beef Tongue Sauce. I ordered the Calves Liver and the Arctic Char with Gnocchi.

The Lobster Bisque was Greta’s favorite item of the night, and for good reason. Served with sweet potato wontons it was a warming bowl that worked perfectly with the cold and rainy weather outside.

I too preferred my first course to the entree (at least my entree) though I thought the Calves Liver was slightly lacking in the intensity that normally attracts me to liver. I loved that the dish was conceived as “liver and onions” which meant that the liver was served with two perfectly cooked onion rings over a sauce of caramelized onions. Though the caramelized onion sauce was strong in flavor it’s richness was cut with a slaw that provided a complimentary clean sweetness that saved the dish from being too heavily focused on the onions.

The Arctic Char was flawlessly prepared, though I was shocked at how mild the beet and red wine sauce was given the intensity of it’s color. I thought the Gnocchi was slightly salty but easily muted when eaten with the buttery savoy cabbage.The crispy skin was easily my favorite part of the plate, especially when contrasted by the creamy, perfectly cooked, flesh. Though I rarely hesitate to order fish at a restaurant, after eating such a flawless execution of it, I fear no one else’s will hold up to it.

Greta’s Fillet of Tenderloin in Beef Tongue Sauce was astounding. She was kind enough to let me have one of the larger slices of tongue that sat in the sauce and it was so tender it practically disintegrated before I could chew it. The beef was served with an ingenious potato “mille feuille” that functioned as sort of a stack of french fries one could grab at will. This helped ensure every last bit of the sauce could be consumed, but didn’t stop me from reaching across the table with leftover bread to make sure there wasn’t anything left. Ultimately It was the sauce made me love the dish, as I can’t imagine it’s easy to make such a complex combination of flavors but still balance and respect each individually.

But then again, it’s that proficiency that has solidified my opinion that Heidi’s is the best restaurant in the Twin Cities. While other places may compete in ingenuity with Heidi’s, I have yet to see another restaurant match its technical prowess. Given my level of income it’s not easy to rationalize spending the money to eat out at Heidi’s pricepoint (about 80 dollars for two people if you’re drinking the cheap wine) but on the occasion that I do feel so inclined, I have no doubt that I will get exactly what I pay for there.

Take a look at their website here and the Shefzilla blog (of which Chef Stewart Woodman regularly contributes to) here.