Moving to Minneapolis

[tapdance]

I'm moving to Minneapolis from New York in June. Is there a place to get real jewish rye with carraway seeds?
Also, are there good vegetarian and fish restaurants?
Thanks.
tapdance

[GutGrease]

It might be worth noting that many restaurants here serve walleye since it is the official state fish. So to balance out TDQ's post, she is right that you'd have to ship in expensive fish from the oceans at most seafood restaurants but then again, this is the Land of 10,000 Lakes so there are lots of good, local, lake fish to eat.

[The Dairy Queen]

I find the local lake fish pretty hard to find in Twin Cities restaurants, actually. That's not to say it's not available, but it's harder to find than I thought. As far as I know. Firelake in Minneapolis is the only restaurant that regularly has MN (Red Lake) Walleye on its menu. I'd love to know other places that have it.

Tavern on Grand in St. Paul does always have walleye (I guess it certainly qualifies as a "fish restaurant"), but I'm pretty sure it's Canadian and not Minnesotan.

Lake trout, herring, and salmon is wonderful if you can get it, but, again, it's not easy to find on menus in MSP restaurants, partly because it's seasonal, of course.

I'd love to be pointed in the direction of Twin Cities restaurants I've overlooked...

~TDQ

[sandylc]

I rarely see local fish on menus here, despite eating somewhat frequently at "locavore" restaurants.

[AnneInMpls]

Cheeky Monkey Deli currently has Star Prairie Trout on their dinner menu. (I'm pretty sure that Star Prairie is local.)

The thing is, lots of good restaurants have one or two fish dishes available. (For example, Restaurant Alma usually has a stellar fish selection that changes weekly or monthly.) But a full-blown "seafood" restaurant? Very rare here.

Tapdance, could we interest you in a Juicy Lucy burger?

[bob s]

Had walleye at Lucia's this past weekend, but forgot to ask if it was local.... Their menu changes weekly, so it may not be around for a long time.

[mitch cumstein]

Lake trout is relatively inexpensive, and availability is relatively consistent, but I've said this before when the blue herring comes up. Last season it fluxed between $9-13 wholesale pound price, with a non-existent market established. There is huge waste potential there, in my opinion, and it would be hard to undertake that. I can't remember, however if I have seen a commercial fishery for lake salmon, beyond smoked. I have, in the summer, been pretty happy with the availability of lake superior whitefish.

[The Dairy Queen]

Interesting, thank you!

Where in the Twin Cities can we typically find whitefish (in summer)?

~TDQ

[ibew292]

Coastal had Whitefish last week. I didn't ask where it came from.

[The Dairy Queen]

True! Coastal, Lunds and (apparently) Cub all usually have it, and year-round even. I was wondering if it was available in a restaurant setting.

~TDQ

[discus]

The way the restaurant business works, if one establishment gets fresh fish, then it's available to everyone. There are a large number of specialty fish distributors that bring in live fish (packed in ice) nightly. These are cut into steaks and available for sale every morning (except Monday, no Sunday night shipments). So all restaurants can get access to high quality fish, if that's what they want on the menu. Distance from an ocean is not an issue with a major airport in town. I was able to get high end, fresh seafood in Des Moines recently.

The freshest fish, of course, is available in Asian restaurants. If Mandarin Kitchen can have live fish in tanks (also shrimp, clams, crabs, eel, etc.) at the front of their restaurant, there's no reason not to settle for seafood that has been frozen for a couple of months.

[Freeze666]

Closest thing to a real New York Jewish deli is Cecil's in Highland Park. That's your place for REAL jewish food in MN.

[KTFoley]

Visitors & chowhounds with direct experience of NY Jewish delis -- even a glatt treif one like Cecil's -- have been known to disagree sharply with one another on this claim.

There are many thread mentions on both sides, but my plan right now is to set down the keyboard and run for cover.

[gryffindor249]

I like Cecil's a lot...but all of the food can be questioned in comparison to the delis of New York and to one's favorite deli.

However-

There is no question that their breads, particularly their rye breads are not only the best in town, but the best in the region.

[Seige]

I really like Cecil's rye bread and Cecil's in general, but I grew up in North Dakota which, while known for lots of things, its Jewish population is not one of them. That said, I have eaten at Katz's and while Cecil's is no Katz's I do think it's pretty good for what it is... a Jewish deli in St. Paul, MN. :)

[The Dairy Queen]

Welcome.

There are a few, but not many, good seafood restaurants here. Obviously, fish would have to be brought in from the coasts unless it were fresh water fish: Sea Change and Oceanaire (yeah, a chain, sorry) both in Minneapolis for fine dining, Meritage (St. Paul) for oysters, Sea Salt Eatery (Minneapolis) for snack shack fare, April through Oct only.

There's lots of good vegetarian food here. http://www.chow.com/search?query=vege...

Other than giving you some ideas of where you might look, I'll leave the rye question to someone who knows better than I do. I think Kramarczuk's Eastern European Deli in Minneapolis might be a place to start, as would be Rye Deli, which is new, in Minneapolis. I haven't been to the latter. You might also be interested in Mort's Deli (in Golden Valley), only because I know they bring a few things in from NYC. Fishman's in St. Louis Park might be another place to investigate.

~TDQ

[ibew292]

Fishman"s has been closed for over a year. In the western area I would try Crossroads Deli. Some of my friends swear by it. I find it good not great.

[The Dairy Queen]

Yeah, it's been a heck of a year for me. I guess I missed that. Thanks for filling me in!

~TDQ