Restaurants that'll make you merry

Christmas tidings are on the menu at several Twin Cities restaurants -- dining suggestions that are sure to fit the bill.

December 12, 2011 at 3:40PM
As evening approaches Brasa gets crowded with in house diners and to go orders.
As evening approaches Brasa gets crowded with in house diners and to go orders. (Elliott Polk (Clickability Client Services) — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

At Lucia's to Go, Lucia Watson's hard-working staff makes holiday entertaining easy, with all kinds of tasty goodies that include Parmesan crackers, pestos, charcuterie and sweets of all sorts. The topper? An oven-ready Christmas dinner goose (lovingly raised at Callister Farm in West Concord, Minn.) that'll be brined, rubbed with herbs and butter and packaged with roasting instructions. Cost is $165, with an additional à la carte selection of prepared side dishes ranging from a root vegetable mash to wild rice pilaf.

Impress everyone with an adorable gingerbread house, but let Solveig Tofte do the heavy lifting. The Sun Street Breads baker/co-owner is making gingerbread house kits that come together in a snap. (The secret? Rice Krispies Treats as an anchor.) "My daughter is 7, and within five minutes she had it ready to go and was decorating," Tofte said. Cost is $35, and it's an all-edible concoction. "Well, there is a caveat on the instructions," said Tofte with a laugh. "It's construction-grade gingerbread -- we make it with bread flour -- so it's not the tastiest gingerbread out there. But it's sturdy."

They're calling it "Christmas-To-Go" at Brasa, and it's an entire ready-made yuletide meal. Choose from roast chicken, smoked ham or beef pot roast with horseradish sauce as a main course, and then feast upon sage-onion dressing, candied yams, mac-and-cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, cabbage-apple slaw, honey glazed cornbread and more. Dessert? Apple pie, cranberry cake or butterscotch pudding. Cost is $26 per person, available for parties of two, four, six, eight or 10.

  • 600 E. Hennepin Av., Mpls., 612-379-3030
  • 777 Grand Av., St. Paul, 651-224-1302
  • www.brasa.us
about the writer

about the writer

Rick Nelson

Reporter

Rick Nelson joined the staff of the Star Tribune in 1998. He is a Twin Cities native, a University of Minnesota graduate and a James Beard Award winner. 

See More