Counter intelligence: 112 Eatery didn't put foodie to shame
When Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl made a recent whirl through the Midwest to promote her new book, "Garlic and Sapphires," Chicago Sun-Times columnist Debra Pickett had the misfortune of making a turn-in-your-foodie-card mistake. She took Reichl to a Chicago restaurant for a lunch that was, to put it politely, a train wreck. Pickett later recounted every humiliating moment in a hilarious column.
"I am slowly sinking further down in my chair toward the floor," wrote Pickett. "A normal person would not have brought Ruth Reichl here."
To make matters worse, added Pickett, Reichl had enjoyed her dinner the night before in Minneapolis. "At a little restaurant that turned out to be a chefs' hangout," wrote Pickett. "Everyone, of course, recognized her." The restaurant? 112 Eatery (112 N. 3rd St., 612-343-7696).
TAKES THE CAKE
A big guy deserves a big cake, right?
At a fundraiser last week at St. Paul's RiverCentre, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was feted by an enormous 5-foot-wide, 5-foot-tall layer cake (crowned by a model of -- what else? -- the Empire State Building) created by Franklin Street Bakery whiz Michelle Gayer-Nicholson. "The bottom layer was so big it wouldn't fit in my car," said Gayer-Nicholson. "We had to bring it to Home Depot to cut it."
Not that anyone at the event got a slice of the Volkswagen Beetle-sized party favor. Its layers were Styrofoam, not devil's food, although the whole shebang was covered in 15 gallons of highly edible buttercream icing, which required nearly 100 pounds of butter. "It was the craziest thing I've ever done," said Gayer-Nicholson with a laugh. "And will ever do."
AROUND TOWN
The first changes new chef Jack Reibel has made at the Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant (1010 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, 612-332-1010) are in overhauling the lunch offerings, served weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The menu now includes elegant crab-pike cakes with curry and pickled vegetables, a poached egg on brioche toast over frisée tossed with a bacon vinaigrette, a half-pound Angus beef burger, and beer-battered walleye with French fries. The restaurant's signature brie-apple soup remains. A new dinner menu should debut in early June.
Teeny Rice Paper (2726 W. 43rd St., Minneapolis, 612-926-8650), An Nguyen's Asian-fusion restaurant in Linden Hills, is doubling in size this summer. The additional floor space means opportunities for an expanded menu, including serving dessert and beer and wine for the first time. "We're finally going to have space for people to hang out," said Nguyen.
Fans of the much-missed Jenny Lind Cafe in Stockholm, Wis., will be pleased to learn that chef-owner Ruth Raich is resurrecting her bakery-cafe in Red Wing. When the Smokey Row Cafe & Bakery (1926 Old West Main St., next to Red Wing Pottery Salesroom) opens in late June or early July, Raich will serve her full line of Jenny Lind breads and sweets -- don't miss the extraordinary cardamom rolls -- along with breakfast, lunch, espresso and ice cream.
Rick Nelson is at rdnelson@startribune.com.
