Corner Table

Ever since I tried their pate in gougere at the Summit Sausage fest this winter, Corner Table has been on my hit list. Life being what it is, I've been too busy poking around elsewhere to make good on that commitment.  But Restaurant Week is a great time to fulfill those gustatory obligations, and I made reservations at Corner Table weeks in advance to make sure I didn't miss out.

I wish I could say I was tempted by all the appetizer choices. The others were beautifully done (my table companions had one of each, the gnocchi and the bean salad), but when I see the words, "pork belly," the decision-making part of my brain officially retires. And the icing on the cake was the accompanying chow chow.  I've loved chow chow for decades, and think of it most fondly as the mustard-y pickled condiment we pick up at roadside stands in East Tennessee, on the way to meet family tucked into those mountains. If Corner Table had simply offered a bowl of their chow chow and a biscuit, I probably would have left a happy camper.  The pork belly had a perfectly crispy outer layer, providing just the right stiffness to counter the moist interior.  The salty (not overly so) bite of belly was balanced by the sweet brine of the chow chow and the surprise of the chile vinaigrette made me sad to note we'd finished off our bread. I would have gladly sopped up the remainder of soupy goodness with a slice. 

I chose the lamb ragu as my entree, again with little trouble deciding.  The salmon with braised fennel would have been a lighter choice (and it looked lovely on my friends' plates), but I don't get lamb often and marathon training makes justifying pasta very easy. The fresh peas and ricotta were a bright, light balance to the richness of the lamb and made me wonder what else I could throw into a pot with those ingredients. Sometimes, I think I love a restaurant most when it etches inspiration in my head. Ricotta and lamb and peas...filed away for further experimentation.

The finale was decadent and beautiful. Sweet potato donuts were paired with a smear of molasses and a lovely cup of dunk-worthy toffee cream. In my just-a-person-who-likes-to-cook-and-eat-good-food-but-in-no-way-formally-trained opinion, people don't do enough with molasses. That deep, dense, nearly-salty molasses flavor was only lightly hinted at in this plate, but the smear was a perfect companion for the sweet, sweet cream and fluffy sweet potato pastry. A lovely finish to a lovely first (and certainly not last) meal at Corner Table.

Follow me on Twitter @TheMinneapolite