My wife and I had partaken of the brunch here several times in a relatively distant past and thoroughly enjoyed it. This was our first dinner here - 20 September. Alas, it was a bit disappointing. For appetizers, we got crispy calamari (is there anyone who does not serve this?) and pecorino stuffed risotto b___s with an herb pistou. (Citysearch censored the word here because it's ""inappropriate"". It's even on the menu. Hint: It's the object that baseball and tennis players play with. Are unreconstructed Puritans, and stupid ones at that, in charge?) The former was afflicted with the all-too-common thick breading, although the squid itself was fine. The latter was quite tasty but we were shortchanged on the herb pistou. The quantity was so miniscule that it was barely detectable by sight and not at all by taste. The salads were excellent. The hearts of romaine, gorgonzola, and bacon salad was a standout, and my wife was very pleased with her baby greens salad. For entrees, my wife continued her quest for a risotto better than or even equal to the ethereal gold standard at Pazzaluna by getting the seafood risotto. Certainly edible but in last place behind several other restaurants. My choice was the gnocchi gratinee with lamb ragu. The tenderness of good gnocchi was lost in this preparation. In other words, I don't know if it was good gnocchi or not. The parts didn't coalesce into a satisfying whole. Grapefruit and mint oil was supposed to be present, but I couldn't detect them. A frozen chocolate dessert was very nice and nicely presented. Our server was pleasant and timely in his appearances. Some menu pretentiousness was present; e.g., ""puffed"" wild rice? If it's done, it's going to be puffed, so what's being communicated here? All in all, this is one of the TC's most pleasant restaurant venues - very pretty, a park next door next to the St Anthony Falls, and the decibel level of the restaurant is wonderfully low while not being crypt-like.
Pros: Very nice venue
Cons: Entrees disappointing on the basis of only one dinner
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