If you haven't tried Korean food, you're missing out. Bursting with piquant spices, garlic and nutty sesame oil, each dish offers an exciting combination of flavors and textures. St. Paul eatery Sole Cafe provides an easily navigable menu spanning traditional Korean pancakes, noodles, stews and more.
Sole, which means evergreen ("forever" in Korean), was not always a strictly Korean restaurant. Korean-born owner Kimberly Firnstahl's brother once ran the place as an international bar, featuring all kinds of food and karaoke. Firnstahl was never trained as a cook -- "but I raised two kids and everyone liked my cooking." She skips the MSG and tries to cook naturally, picking up fresh vegetables three times a week at the Minneapolis Farmers Market. These quality ingredients are evident in her food.
Korean food is served family-style: Each meal includes four to six complimentary side dishes, such as odeng (fish cake), potatoes, bean sprouts, kimchi and other vegetables. A recent visit to Sole was no exception, although the spread stood apart in a few ways. Kongnamul, a sesame oil-dressed bean sprout salad, featured a nutty crunch barely present in the softer, oilier versions served elsewhere. Shredded potatoes, which are often served rather sweet, mushy and cubed, held more crunch and texture, while the spicy, pickled cucumbers (oi-sobagi) garnered rave reviews from our photographer. Yeon-gn, also known as lotus root, was pleasantly chewy and bursting with an addictively sweet-salty-tart flavor. In each dish, the main ingredient's flavor shone through the seasonings. In short, the food was freshly made -- seasoned, but not soaked in salt or spice.
Between the large portions, pungent flavors and multitude of side dishes, a meal at Sole is a great value. Jahpchae ($10.95), a dish of cellophane noodles, beef and vegetables, was moist and flavored with savory garlic, soy sauce and nutty sesame oil. Haemul Pajeon ($12.95), a seafood pancake, was loaded with squid, shrimp and chives, all enrobed in a light, savory pancake of egg and flour: a veritable frittata of sea-creature goodness. Kimchi Chigae -- a thin, vibrantly red broth with pickled fermented cabbage and tofu -- is a spicy stew sure to warm your bones in the dead of winter.
The nut-allergic diner will find solace in Firnstahl's Dahk Bulgogi ($12.95) and Jeyuk Bokum ($13.95), meat-centric dishes featuring chicken and pork, respectively. Because Firnstahl finds meat greasy enough on its own, she adds no sesame oil to these dishes ("too much is too much"). Instead of sugar, she uses kiwi to sweeten the meat with natural fructose.
Many of Firnstahl's diners consider Sole the best Korean food in town, and with good reason. With her emphasis on fresh local vegetables, innovative natural sweeteners and no MSG, she sets the bar for Korean food in an area with tight competition.
The churn
If the State Fair doesn't completely overtake your life this weekend -- and hell, why shouldn't it? -- drag your tired self over to the Mill City Farmers Market for Salsa Fest (8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat., 704 S. 2nd St., Mpls.). It will feature a tomato tasting highlighting many different varieties, a chef demo at 10 a.m., Prairie Organic Vodka Bloody Marys and live jug-band music.
