No passport required for Ringo

When did Minnesotans get to be so bitchy?

I'm thinking back to a conversation that I had with a food-obsessed acquaintance last winter. The subject was Ringo. Specifically, we were talking about the restaurant's strategy for presenting a kind of edible, changes-every-month culinary global getaway: you know, the flavors of Ivory Coast in August, Peru in September, Taipei in October.

The polite version of my pal's assessment is that he found the business plan of first-time restaurateurs Jim and Stefanie Ringo to be a bit of a folly. That's putting it nicely.

While I don't possess his powers of clairvoyance, I will admit that the mechanics behind frequently changing menus can be tricky. Still, Lucia's Restaurant has been skillfully switching it up every week for the past quarter-century, although Lucia Watson's enviable success lies in part in a tightly disciplined focus: brief menus, straightforward cooking.

The Ringos, on the other hand, are attempting a dozen-plus dishes in and out each month, with libations to match, all inspired by a veritable United Nations of culinary traditions. Could it all blow up? Maybe. But doesn't it also sound kind of fun?

"The worst curse in this business is getting bored with your own menu," said chef Ryan Aberle. That works for diners too; one more chicken Caesar flatbread and I'll fall into a doze so deep I'll never awaken.

Globetrotting menus

Aberle certainly has the adrenaline required for this kind of feat. After nearly five years of running Wayzata's NorthCoast, where he became known for adventurous, on-the-fly tasting menus, Aberle is now finding himself, for example, spending most of May preparing kimchi for his Seoul-inspired menu, or gearing up for his July foray into South Africa by testing wildebeest recipes.

Authenticity isn't necessarily at the top of Aberle's to-do list. Instead, he seems to be creating his "destination" menus by channeling pieces of various global disciplines through his own experience and imagination. Fine by me.

That kimchi, for example, skipped the centuries-old practice of fermenting vegetables in favor of a less-time-consuming sous vide preparation, and the results were terrific: tangy, lively and beautifully presented.

In fact, much, although not all, of what I sampled on that initial Seoul menu, served from late April through May, tasted far better than what I've encountered at local Korean mom-and-pop shops. Of particular note were the glazed and charred meats, poultry and seafood that came off the kitchen's charcoal-fired grill.

All about Belgium

Aberle's current "destination" menu, a nod to Brussels, is heavy on braising and stewing, a somewhat odd choice for Minnesota's too-brief summer, but the dishes often deliver, particularly succulent, fall-apart cod braised in orange- and coriander-kissed white beer.

White asparagus, steamed in white wine and crowned with a barely-holding-together soft-cooked egg, distilled everything that's lovely about spring, and a Scotch egg, made with a nutmeg-scented sausage, was similarly elegant and flavorful.

Turning to Aberle's standard chops/comfort foods menu -- yes, another menu, making dining at Ringo an exercise in managing paperwork -- I discover that I too am capable of behaving like one of those "Real Housewives" harpies. Here goes:

Why is it that big-box suburban restaurants can't seem to resist the temptation to offer similarly enormous menus? An editor would do a world of good here. Ringo's sheer volume of choices becomes exhausting, and not just for diners but occasionally for the kitchen, manifested in some noticeably long waits.

At lunch, Aberle isn't content to put out a burger or two, he throws his energies into six, pairing them with not one but three varieties of fries. Happily, some paring has already been going on since opening day: Three takes on sizzling, mouth-wateringly juicy grilled lamb (the standard menu's best appetizer) have been reduced to two, and five steaks have been trimmed to three.

For all of Aberle's research, it's a disappointment to see that he's populating that lengthy standard menu with slight variations on dishes widely available elsewhere: crab cakes, sliders, seared tuna. Such inclusions suggest that he or the Ringos are hedging their bets, in case the whole menu-as-travelogue thing doesn't work out, but in the end the effort only dilutes the restaurant's clear concept.

Lunch, when Aberle's work is less self-consciously complicated, trumps dinner. Instead, there are lavishly finished charcoal-fired burgers, a wonderfully seasoned lamb sloppy Joe, a decadent BLT piled high with poached lobster and house-cured bacon, spicy red-snapper tacos and a half-dozen artfully composed salads.

Desserts don't particularly impress, with two exceptions: An amusing s'mores-meets-baked-Alaska, and an insanely luscious Belgian chocolate mousse. The latter, featured on the June menu, is three or four bites for $3, and it underscores why small-scaled sweets really do hit the spot.

The pleasant and comfortable setting, a saturation of woods and rich autumn colors, is playfully capped by a ceiling resembling an inverted circus tent. Despite the inclusion of every latest-and-greatest restaurant-design gadget, including a counter overlooking a gleaming exhibition kitchen, a center-stage captain's table and garage door-style indoor-outdoor windows, it's a step beyond the copycat suburban restaurant model.

That's what I appreciate most about Ringo: It's trying to forgo the same-old, same-old, even if the journey is one baby step at a time. Aberle and the Ringos could have gone 100 percent down the predictable all-things-to-all-customers road that is so prevalent in shopping mall restaurants, but they didn't, and, missteps aside, that's an effort worth celebrating.

Besides, what's the point of imitating Crave, which already has that format down to an art form and also happens to be right next door?

Rick Nelson • 612-673-4757