Luckily for me, I have a fabulous set of dining buddies who are always up for the new and the exciting with me. My regular monthly dining dates, Dish and Tell and LM, have a long list (and growing!), but decided to make our December date at World Street Kitchen. Chef Sameh is a long-time favorite of mine - I adore Saffron (lamb bacon BLT is one of my fave dishes in the Twin Cities) and he is a fabulous supporter of Share Our Strength Minneapolis. I embarrassingly never made it to the WSK food truck, so was thrilled to check out the brick-and-mortar....especially since it's in my 'hood.
And with good reason.
That, my friends, is the MFC (Moroccan Fried Chicken) biscuit. It is every bit as decadent and lovely as it looks. Feather-light poofy batter with a great amount of spice, juicy chicken, a tangy feta spread, and a lemon/carrot salad to provide some crunch....not to mention the buttery biscuit. I felt a bit guilty inhaling it, but it didn't stop me from eating pretty much the entire thing. Hey - at least it didn't come with fries!
My buddies also made short work of their Yum Yum Bowls - one with short rib, one with tofu - and we all agreed that the crunchy, cumin-y chickpeas were a great starter.
But wait - it got even better from there. When Dish & Tell and I were waiting in line, we couldn't stop eyeing the salted caramel ice cream sundae, with marshmallows and smoked chocolate-covered almonds. So we made that happen too.
I loved that it was legitimately salty, not just caramelly sweet. It reminded me a bit of my beloved soft serve with olive oil and sea salt at Pizzeria Lola. The marshmallows added a great textural contrast. The only thing I didn't unabashedly love was the almonds, which were just a bit too smoke-heavy for me for a dessert.
Overall verdict: Awesome. This will definitely be my takeout place of choice moving forward. Next on my list is the red curry chicken burrito.
And then two days later, with lovely friends SD and AM, it was off to The Kenwood. We have long had a monthly happy hour, but have recently stepped it up to actual dinner - in large part because we all wanted to try this place.
As soon as I stepped inside, I felt relaxed and cozy. It is a perfect little jewel box of a place, incredibly neighborhood-feeling and comfy.
We started out with the sweet potato gnocchi with apple and arugula, which was fan-freaking-tastic but which I think is now off the menu, much to my sadness. Also had some hummus - not really worth mentioning. And then, SD was responsible and went for the skate, which she loved. But AM and I went straight for the Kenwood Burger, and were so glad that we did.
Quite simply, this may be my new favorite burger in the Twin Cities. Not an everyday splurge, certainly, but....holy wow. Fried egg, gruyere, Patisserie 46 bun....this was TO DIE FOR. It was a rich, perfectly cooked stunner.
Just to finish off the decadence, we followed it up with the chocolate ginger pots-de-creme - a rich but not too rich mousse with just enough sparkle and spice from the crystallized ginger.
Can't wait to go back there again, and again. It may be joining the list of favorites up at the top.
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