First of all, an admin note: yesterday’s post on signature drinks is now officially my favorite post. If you haven’t weighed in yet, hop over there and do so, and if you have – your suggestions were AWESOME. And I have a lot of drinking to do.
Ok… onward, to your regularly scheduled programming:
[Maude Armatage] was a guiding light and driving force in helping Minneapolis to come of age in the 20th century. She was born in 1870 to a family who owned a farm on what is now the entire Armatage neighborhood. Her grandparents founded Harmony, MN, later to become Richfield, then annexed by Minneapolis in the mid 20th century. They were civic leaders, founding the library, school, church and parks. Maude continued that tradition, living by the motto of “civilized leisure”. Maude was a lifetime member of the Board at large, elected to the Park Board in 1920, just one year after women got the vote. With leaders such as Theodore Wirth, she founded our fabulous park system and fostered the “greening” of our city. (via)
We (myself and my three awesome roommates) moved into our place in Minneapolis’s Armatage neighborhood last November. Since then, Sasha and I have been trying to Cafe Maude, a small restaurant that at 54th and Penn is just about a stone’s throw from our backyard. I’d only heard good things about this place, so the positive reviews, the proximity, and my insatiable curiosity for all things culinary made me extremely excited to try it.
We FINALLY got to it this past Monday night, joined by Allison, one of our other roomies. I immediately fell in love with the decor and the light fixtures and the art on the wall as it is an absolutely gorgeous place.
More importantly, the food was incredible. First of all, they have a CHEESE PLATE, which I didn’t order this time but will go back specifically FOR that soon because we all know how much I love a good cheese orgy.
Really though, I wanted to order just about EVERYTHING on the menu, but instead just made it a point to pick a few different things so I could try some variety of what they had to offer. Here’s what we ended up with between the three of us:
- Maude’s Mac and Cheese: a delicious grown up version that included cheddar, parm, and fontina cheeses
- Grilled Asparagus: perfectly cooked and with SO much flavor
- French Fries: came with a “truffle fontina fondue” which was rich and creamy and TO DIE FOR. And the fries themselves? I’d put ‘em up there pretty high on the Twin Cities Best Fry list.
- Roasted Corn Chowder: perfect blend of sweet and savory
- Tuscan Rice and Parmesan Croquettes: deep fried rice and cheese? Yes, please!
Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is just remembering all of this. I had a 2007 Pinotage from South Africa with it, and while I’m no expert in wine pairings and such (yet), I thought it was just right for the variety of flavors I tasted.
The best part? They bring you the check in old children’s books – CUTEST THING EVER.
Because I need to basically eat everything on this menu, I plan to return ASAP and often. Anyone want to join me?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
umm, hells YES i want to join you! lol! my mouth is absolutely watering, what a fab place!
Seriously, you had me at the grown up mac and cheese. That sounds fabulous. And the idea for the children's book with the check? CHARMING!
Can you bring that place with you to NYC?
Mac and cheese and french fries…could live off that!
I LOVE Cafe Maude. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizers, drinks, desserts, you name it…everything is delicious. I'm a huge fan of the mac and cheese, crab cakes, fries, chorizo hash, lemon cheesecake. Next time I'm trying the Tuscan rice and parm croquettes on your recommendation!
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