Farm to Table, Hand to Mouth

Yesterday was the third Saturday of the month ... which means it's time for another adventure for the Wine Club! I love my wine clubbing ladies, it's such a diverse group of friends, but definitely proves the point that we can all bond over food and wine, spending many points of the evening laughing out loud.

This month we ate at Wise Acre Eatery. Wise Acre touts themselves as a food to table culinary experience and I had been wanting to try them for a while ... but when trying to narrow down the selection for April, I was a bit torn based on their reviews. It tended to be a polarizing experience, people either loved them or hated them. They've also been featured a lot lately in local publications ... so, knowing they don't take reservations, could potentially be one of the "hot" places of the moment, and we'd potentially have to wait ... the ladies all decided to meet at five. Which seems super early for dinner ... but based on our Travail experience in January ... we didn't want to take the risk!

The location used to be an old garage, so it has this great retro vibe in a small Minneapolis neighborhood. We lucked out and found a parking spot and got their precisely at 4:55. We were told they don't seat for dinner until five, so we waited in front of their bakery display. (If I ate gluten, I would have been in trouble, they had these doughnut muffins that looked so unbelievable yummy!)

The place isn't huge, but that's what we've been experiencing at most of our places this year, the smaller more intimate restaurant is definitely in (of course this makes the demand higher, right, knowing getting a seat is that much more difficult.).

Our evening started with a popcorn appetizer drizzled in thyme and olive oil presented in a cute baby jar.

I probably ate more than my share of the popcorn, I found it to be that good. Something about taking a simple treat and giving it an unexpected flavor really seemed to win me over.

The next thing that arrived to our table were wild rice cake fritters that some of the ladies split. I didn't have one, but those who did enjoyed them, and there were none left (and I think there were a total of a dozen good-size fritters.)

Then ... probably the only downfall of the evening ... it seemed to take forever for the next course ... which was soup. A lovely carrot-ginger soup ... but I didn't understand the wait.

The soup was really flavorful. The server who brought it out said that we got the last of it (it was the soup du jour) and so it must have been served at lunch as well. The cup was just enough of the delicate flavor of a blend of spicy carrot creaminess. I have learned that I really enjoy soup, and it's pretty much become a staple for me, providing nutrients in a simple and satisfying format. The micro greens on top gave it a nice peppery garnish.

Then we waited a bit more for our next course ...

I had the Shades of Spring Salad, which was greens, a bacon steak, shredded chicken, quinoa, radishes a pickled egg and three vinegar blue cheese vinaigrette. It also was served with a large grilled crouton that the gluten-eaters enjoyed. Let's start with the bacon steak ... salty, meaty heaven. This piece of pork belly I could have just eaten and been completely satisfied with ... the pickled egg was another surprise. I never would have guessed I would enjoy anything pickled. Some of the complaints on yelp are about portion sizes ... but, as you can see by the picture, this was a pretty sizable salad. Even the pescatarians who got the very simple greens salad had a plate full of greens. I didn't really notice the vinaigrette and the amount of quinoa was minimal, but overall, this was a lovely spring dinner.

(They did forget one of the salads, so one of the ladies had to wait a few more minutes... and so that you know we didn't all eat salads, one of the girls ordered their bangers and mash special and raved about it. It looked really good, and appeared to be what many diners were ordering.)

To top off the great dinner, we all opted for their custard:

I chose the vanilla custard and had it topped with salted caramel sauce. (Okay, yes, I am retaining water like mad this morning because of all the salt I consumed last night.) It was delish. One of the ladies ordered the two scoops of custard ...thinking it was just twice the amount we had, but what was brought out was like four times what the rest of us had ... so if you eat there, and want two scoops, something to consider.) The sauce was so good I wanted more, but I was content with my perfect serving size.

To complement this meal I tried a wine I wasn't familiar with ... La Cave de Pomerols Picpul De Pinet from Languedoc France. It was a refreshing, crisp white that had hints of grapefruit (which is my favorite profile in wines for the spring and summer.) It was a nice new treat to add to my repertoire.

(Oh, and I forgot to mention, because of delaying one salad, they didn't charge her for her dessert, so while the service was slow, they made up for it in attentiveness.)

Overall, I would definitely give Wise Acre another try, in fact, I may need to find a reason to go there in the fall when my favorite flavors are in season!