Kincaid's

As often as I explore the Cities' eatery offerings, I'm often met with exclamations of horror when people hear that I've failed to experience a local favorite.  Nearly 6 years after moving here, it's nice to know I've still got much to see and taste.

 One such recent shocked exclamation (with a twinge of judgement against my Minneapolis-centric lifestyle) was in regards to my frequenting downtown St. Paul and somehow never eating at Kincaid's. When I worked in St. Paul, Kincaid's was definitely above my payscale. And now, it's still pricier than my preference.  But as this experience was provided courtesy of winning a bet at the recent Swarm game, I was happy to indulge on somebody else's dollar.

We stopped in after the game, probably around 9:30, so we weren't looking for supper but a bit of late night fancy snacking. The bar was peppered with a few other couples and small groups, definitely not crowded but not dead either.  I didn't drink but my date claimed the bar's Manhattan was a solid execution of the classic. 

The trio of fries appetizer was perfectly sized for two or three people, providing classic fries, sweet potato fries, and truffle chips.  The truffle chips were my favorite, because how do you not make truffle anything your favorite?  But I have a documented weakness for sweet potato anything and I polished off that serving with little help from my companion.

Dessert was a tough decision as the sundae with homemade fudge and called my name pretty clearly.  But being a Southerner trapped in the Northern tundra, I'm always curious to give bread pudding a whirl up here.  It's often overly soggy and sickly sweet, which is a disappointment, but I had high hopes for Kincaid's and they did not let me down.  Bread pudding should still retain a bit of it its "bread" character, with that eggy sweetness pulling the flavors together to form a slightly sticky, slightly dense brick of goodness. Traditionally, I'd look for cinnamon and raisins in the mix, but Kincaid's went with a pear variety, which was a nice cold weather twist. The pudding was topped with a house made bourbon sauce that perfectly seeped into every nook and cranny and there was a nice side dish of extra sauce to properly sop up with those last bites.  As desperately as I miss my former New Orleans home, it was lovely to find such a well-executed version of an old favorite.

All those shocked expressions were right, Kincaid's was an experience I needed.  And now I know where to get bread pudding, when the distance from New Orleans feels especially daunting.

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