Category: Italian (Page 2 of 2)

A Mall Date & "Bachelorette" Party: Tucci Benucch & Amstardam Bar

Jake and I are getting married.

Not too long ago, we spontaneously picked a date and made it official.

In less than a week, we’re going to have a small ceremony with just our immediate family, with a reception later the spring.  What was supposed to be bare bones has become more complicated and large source of stress.  I can’t remember the last time I spent a whole weekend at our home in Fargo.  My weekends are spent driving to and from the Twin Cities after busy weeks of school, work, and writing.

Despite my most earnest intentions, I am wearing something white, shiny, and uncomfortable. I made the seamstress loosen my dress, twice, before I deemed it tolerable.  She commented, “But it’s your wedding. You won’t feel like eating much anyway, right?”  I wanted to punch her.

This weekend, I cracked into tears as we exited the car after our three and a half hour drive following a hectic workweek.  I felt dangerously close to a Jungian mental break.  Should this occur within the next six days, I hope I’ll at least have a Red Book to show.

Saturday afternoon, Jake and I grabbed some alone time.  The rare kind where we weren’t driving somewhere or watching 30 Rock on our couch.  Some may call this a date.  We completed errands at the Mall of America and had lunch at Tucci Benucch before our respective bachelor and bachelorette parties.  Before we moved to Fargo, we lived near to the Mall of America and occasionally went on mall dates.  We ate at Tucci Benucch a couple of times before they hired Asher Miller as their new Executive Chef (I’m not sure if he is still in this position).

Knowing that I did not plan to drink much that evening, I started with a mimosa, $6.99 while Jake ordered coffee which arrived freshly brewed, $2.99.

Our server brought us warm bread and garlic-flecked olive oil.

We ordered a starter of calamari, $9 to share.  For an entree, I ordered a half serving of Scottish salmon with lemon risotto and arugula salad, $13, while Jake ordered a half serving of spaghetti carbonara, $9. 

Upon delivery, the calamari smelled strongly of seafood but tasted fresh.
The texture of the calamari was very tender and was salted to the point of being almost too salty.  The breading remained on the seafood, though it seemed to have absorbed a little more oil than I would have found ideal.  Overall, we enjoyed nibbling at the calamari, but left some on the plate when the combination of the seafood and the aoli felt too oily.  

The half portion entrees were more than enough for lunch.  
The lemon risotto was, thankfully, subtly lemon-scented.  It was creamy and rich, though, it, like the calamari, bordered on almost too salty.  Since the small fillet was skinless, some of the salmon flesh was a little crispy-chewy where it was seared but the inside was moist.  The salmon, like the calamari, tasted fresh.  The arugula salad provided a needed bite and acidity.  I doused the dish with more lemon juice since the richness and saltiness of the risotto was making me dive for my mimosa. 
Jake’s carbonara was not what I had envisioned.  He said he enjoyed the dish. Even the runny egg yolk, which he has typically been wary of.  I liked the flavor of the rendered bacon chunks. While I didn’t feel the sauce tasted bad, I thought the dish was over-sauced and wondered what made it brown.  
Overall, we had decent meal, though the combination of the calamari and our entree selections were very rich.  Our server seemed overwhelmed with tables but was very pleasant.  
In the evening, the boys hit The Strip Club Meat & Fish while the girls met at Amsterdam Bar & Hall.

Jake raved about the meal and limoncello he shared at The Strip Club. 

We shared orders of Amsterdam Frites and dipped them in herb garlic mayo and curry ketchup. 
The skin-on fries were crispy and salted just right.  We enjoyed both dipping sauces, though the curry ketchup was my favorite.  I also enjoyed that the fries were topped with raw onion.  The others left most of the onions behind, while I awkwardly clamped bits of onion onto each bite of fry. 
I also ordered a small house salad with croutons, shaved Gouda, and house vinaigrette, $4, plus a petite dutch sandwich (broodje) with curried calamari and shrimp, $5.

All of the salad greens were pristine, the homemade croutons were full of umami, and the vinaigrette was lovely.  Tart in a well-balanced way, and flavorful.

The curried seafood sandwich was truly one of the best things I’ve eaten for a while.  It induced a moment where I just paused and reflect on how good it tasted. The bun was toasted and buttered. The calamari was tender, the shrimp were firm, and both tasted fresh. The creamy curry sauce was surprisingly spicy enough to induce a a sweat.  I couldn’t tell you what type of curry I tasted, my only clue being that the sauce was rosy-hued.  I used the bun to scrape every bit of sauce from the flimsy cardboard boat and am plotting a way. . . any way. . .to return for another sandwich, soon.

The rest of the evening matched my introverted style. Chill and conversation-centric.  In search of evening dessert, we bypassed Meritage’s hour long wait for Kincaid’s where a table of women applauded my bachelorette party hat.  I can’t describe the hat further than mentioning that the girls made me remove it when we inquired about tables at Meritage.  The evening ended over leftover smears of a fried waffle sundae and bread pudding with pear soaked in bourbon sauce.

Despite the stress, I remind myself as often as I can that our family and friends are doing everything they can to make this experience special.  It’s also hard to think my mom won’t be here, as she passed away in 2008.  For now, I’ll take one day at a time and enjoy the well wishes from friends and family.  

Broders’ Cucina Italiana: Comfort me with eggplant

A time to be selfish

My comfort foods are now Jake’s comfort foods.  After almost two years, he has earned full access to my coveted comfort food sources.  

Early in my epic Match.com experience, I unwisely revealed two of my favorite comfort food sources, entirely too early, to new dates.  Who I do not want to run into.  Ever.  At my favorite comfort food locations.  Especially when I am having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  


One in particular stared me down while I was eating a delectable limoncello-flavored cake, attempting to rush me with his beady little eyes, so I would make out with him.  Luckily, he didn’t ask me to share the cake, nor did I offer.  It was him or the cake and I chose the cake.  Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too?


Ready to share

I’m ready to share. To gradually proclaim my favorite comfort foods from the rooftop of this blog. 


A few of years ago, I worked at Broders’ Cucina Italiana and have enduring respect for this establishment.  During this time, I seriously considered going to culinary school in which I looked at The Art Institutes International Minnesota and St. Paul Community School, experienced unethical, high pressure bullying by Le Cordon Bleu admissions, and interned at Spoonriver.  This may be an interesting future blog post.  Even after utilizing my staff discount, eating staff meals, and taking home leftovers, I still crave the same foods I came to love during my employment. 


Cucumber, fennel, & orange salad, roasted piquillo peppers stuffed with goat cheese



To the left are small, sweet, roasted piquillo peppers stuffed with an herbed goat cheese.  These peppers are sold by the pound in the deli case and are similar to Solera’s version.  My usual deli case favorite is Broders’ Beet Salad, $12/lb, made with tender slices of beet, oranges, & red onion in a citrus vinaigrette.  I did not see the beet salad this evening so I tried a salad made of shaved cucumber, fennel, and orange  in an herbed vinaigrette.  While refreshing, this salad had a strong herbal flavor and did not replace my craving for beet salad.  


Emilia Salad, Large, $7.95



This salad is made of mixed greens, Parmesan shaves, silky and translucent slices of prosciutto, pine nuts, and onions.  The sweet and tangy dressing is made with Broders’ balsamic vinegar which is relatively affordable and syrupy for it’s price point.  


House-made Foccacia, $2.95 and Olivata Nero



We always order a loaf of focaccia, $2.95, to enjoy throughout the week.  I believe Broders’ other types of bread are from New French Bakery but this focaccia is made in-house.  Jake especially loves their black olive spread that can be bought by the pound.  The garlicky Olivata Nero is intensely savory and full of umami, tasting faintly of anchovy. 


Eggplant Special Pizza, 18 inches, $19



The Eggplant Special pizza is covered in mozzarella, red bell peppers, sweet caramelized onions, chewy strips of roasted eggplant, and swirls of goat cheese.  You can buy this pizza by the slice if it is the pizza special of the day, but can order a whole pizza at any time.  We always order a large, which never survives past 24 hours.

Jake and I usually share everything and keep no scores, but our love is not strong enough to bridge the serious transgression of taking more than half, exactly half of this pizza.  In the past, eating this pizza was rather stress-inducing as I watched Jake’s slice count from the corner of my eye, trying to keep up.  For the first time, we peacefully counted the number of pieces and evenly divided them, leading to more leisurely eating and less indigestion.

Eat pizza and prosper.

P.S.  Your welcome.

P.P.S. The limoncello cake may be a seasonal product.

Broders’ Cucina Italiana
2308 West 50th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55410

broders.com

612-925-3113

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