If r.Norman's were the first steakhouse to grace the mean streets of downtown Minneapolis, it would probably be a runaway sensation. But because it has sprouted in the shadows of six or seven other well-established bovine shrines, it has some tough competition. Not that it doesn't rise to the challenge, because the ambitious operation has a lot going for it, starting with the long-empty building that wraps around the Pantages Theatre.
The joint looks good, and it feels good, too. Step in off the street and you're welcomed by a roomy bar slathered in buttery backlit onyx. Just beyond a two-story wine tower is the airy, angular dining room, noteworthy for its tall, scene-setting windows. And that's just on the first floor.
On a busy weekend night, it's hard not to follow the parades of glamazons as they flock upstairs to Seven Sushi and dive headlong into what has evolved into a bona fide scene. It's a frothy mix of nigiri, sashimi, cocktails and flirting, set in a vast lounge illuminated by a pulsing array of pastel lights. It's the kind of room made for showing off a well-used gym membership or a well-padded bank account, you know what I mean?
Upstairs is a rooftop lounge that appears to be the size of a smallish Target store. Once this lousy weather vamooses, I imagine the two best words to describe this chunk of open-air real estate will be "mob scene."
Still, downtown Minneapolis lacks for many things, but another steakhouse ain't one of them. Owners David Koch and Randy Norman have all the goods here; couldn't they show us something we haven't seen a thousand times?
They have it in them, because when the restaurant tiptoes away from the wearisome steakhouse comfort zone, it scores. I love this novel idea: Kobe-style beef, sold in incremental 2-, 4- and 6-ounce portions (and charged accordingly, at $13 per ounce) and prepared with obvious skill. It's so tender that a knife slides rather than saws through it, and the meat's mellow tanginess hangs on your tastebuds like a beautiful pinot noir. Try finding that at Fogo de Chao.
Examine r.Norman's on its own steakhouse terms, and much of its lengthy menu is perfectly pleasant. Premium-quality beef is cut a half-dozen ways and nicely grilled; toss in a few extra bucks and select from 12 complementary sauces and flavored butters.
The most reliable seafood is the simplest: flavorful slabs of salmon or sea bass seared on the grill, steamed whole lobsters, chilled crab legs. But when the kitchen attempts something more ambitious, it can lose its footing, because for every winner (shears of sesame-crusted tuna, jazzed with a punchy wasabi-ginger-soy sauce) there's a disappointing counterpart (overcooked scallops overwhelmed by a clumsy, out-of-season corn relish).
