Onion rings at Wayzata Bar & Grill
Wayzata’s municipally run bar is the last of its kind still operating in the seven-county metro area, and it’s a popular one. A reader wrote in some time ago recommending the cheesecake here, and we finally stopped in to check out the scratch-made dessert — and more.
It turns out, the Wayzata Bar & Grill, whose proceeds go right back into the city, is proud as can be of its scratch kitchen. While we loved the pumpkin cheesecake drizzled with caramel, a big honking slice for $11, we were equally wowed by the bar’s signature appetizer. These enormous onion rings are hand-battered and, as the menu proclaims, “crispy as all get out.” (It’s true.) A big pile of them comes with regular ranch and a chipotle-spiked dressing, for $13.25. (Sharyn Jackson)
747 Mill St., Wayzata, wayzatabarandgrill.com
Butternut squash ravioli with wild mushrooms at 801 on Nicollet
For every pumpkin-spiced latte my friends chug, I’m reaching for a meal of brown butter fried sage and roasted butternut squash — preferably with some kind of stuffed pasta. Usually, I’m making all this in my own kitchen, but at lunch inside the newly minted 801 on Nicollet, I ordered one off the menu.
The restaurant, most recently known as 801 Fish, closed for a few weeks and rebranded. Now it’s back with a slightly less seafood-focused menu and more casual setting. But the kitchen is still putting up power lunch-worthy meals, including this solid take on the classic flavor combo ($28). The crispy wild mushrooms and brittle sage contrast texturally with the velvety squash and filled pasta. Plus, the serving size yielded enough for leftovers the next day. (Joy Summers)
800 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., 801onnicollet.com
Okonomiyaki pizza at Sanjusan
At Sanjusan in Minneapolis’ North Loop, the culinary conventions of Japan and Italy come together in often unexpected, remarkable and fun ways, like a Dungeness crab fettuccine with shiso and saffron butter, or lumache pasta with cod roe and nori, a riff on mac and cheese that you never knew you needed.
The pizzas at Sanjusan often follow a similar hybrid approach, like one with spicy raw tuna and cilantro. We got the okonomiyaki pizza ($27.50), topped with an onion-miso cream sauce, shrimp, charred cabbage, kewpie, bonito flakes, pickled ginger, scallions and a sweet and savory okonomi sauce. It brilliantly captured the essence of okonomiyaki, the Japanese savory pancake typically made with shredded cabbage and pork belly. In either case, the bonito flakes do their wiggly little dance.
