New at Turtle Bread Co. Chef Landon Schoenefeld, formerly of Bulldog N.E. and Cafe Barbette, will be adding a new name to his résumé: Trattoria Tosca, which is filling the long-empty square footage next door to Harvey McLain's original Turtle Bread Co. (3421 W. 44th St., Minneapolis, turtlebread.com). Currently, Schoenefeld is preparing a counter-service breakfast and lunch: omelets, fritattas and Benedicts in the morning and salads, sandwiches and pastas at noon. When dinner service begins sometime in January, it will follow a simple format: a few basic starters, a soup of the day, several side dishes and a small number of salads, pastas and entrees. "It will be bold, rustic Italian," he said. "Along the lines of Marcella Hazan and Mario Batali."
Schoenefeld was looking to open his own place ("That's still in the works," he said, "but it's on the back burner for now, given the economic times") and dropped in on McLain for advice. He ended up with a job instead. "I just took one look at the kitchen," said Schoenefeld. "And I said, 'All right, I'll stay a while.'"
Stomaching an old/new taste sensation The last time I saw chicken gizzards on a Twin Cities menu was, well, never. But there they are at 112 Eatery (112 N. 3rd St., Minneapolis, www.112eatery.com) - although chef/co-owner Isaac Becker wisely utilizes their more palatable Italian name, ventriglio. Becker sautés them ("them" being the bird's secondary stomachs) in butter, finishes them with balsamic vinegar, soy and tahini and serves them on toast, all for an anti-foie gras $6.
"They're for people looking for something different," said Becker, a Thanksgiving turkey gizzard fan from way back. "It's easy to come up with ideas using shrimp or chicken, so I'm constantly trying to find different, reasonably priced ingredients." (That would explain another 112 talker: Veal tongue, served with soba noodles, for $10.)
Whether gizzards - sorry, ventriglio - are destined to become the next Hot New Thing remains to be seen. "It's a hard sell," said Becker with a laugh. "We sold five on Friday night. What happens is that someone at the bar orders it and likes it, and then we'll see a run on that item coming from the bar."
Back in the kitchen J.P. Samuelson, former chef/owner of the recently closed jP American Bistro, is now Steve Vranian's sous chef at Nick and Eddie (1612 Harmon Pl., Minneapolis, nickandeddie.com). One of Samuelson's additions to the menu is a daily bar menu entree for $8. "Yeah, eight clams," said manager Doug Anderson. So far Samuelson has prepared roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, lamb stew with polenta and what was my Sunday supper, scrambled eggs paired with slices of roast lamb and a cucumber salsa. It was delicious.
Vranian & Co. are cooking a number of budget-minded options, including this easily shared whopper: a smorgasbord plate topped with bite-sized Swedish meatballs, pirogi, gravlax-topped blini, potato pancakes crowned with a hearty whitefish salad and more for just $10.
New in the north The new name in the northern suburbs is D'Avita Ristorante (2112 11th Av. E., North St. Paul, 651-770-8074). First-time restaurateurs Dave and Adelaide McGuire have purged all traces of the former Whiskey Rack for their venture, which features an Italian-American menu of familiar pastas (including a design-your-own pasta bar for $11), salads, pizzas and sandwiches. Top price is $14.
RICK NELSON
