Thanksgiving Brew

Bjorn started brewing beer last year, and we enjoyed his first efforts very much.  He uses brewing kits from Northern Brewer, a brewing supply store here in Saint Paul.  A kit is a great way to learn the brewing process, which is fairly involved, and still expect tasty, drinkable results.  Now that it is fall, it is time to begin brewing again.  Last weekend, Bjorn started a batch of Brickwarmer, a Holiday Red Ale which should be ready in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

The day before brewing, Bjorn activates the yeast.  Brewer’s yeast arrives in an envelope that is activated by smacking the package.  The envelope expands for 2-12 hours.  This can be added directly to cooled wort, or used to make a yeast starter which allows the yeast a chance to eat the wort and multiply before it is pitched, or added to the wort to begin fermentation.  It also makes our kitchen smell like rising bread.  To make the yeast starter, Bjorn heats water and adds malt extract and boils this mixture into wort.  Once it has boiled for a while, the wort is cooled to 75° and yeast is added.  This mixture in transferred to a flask which sits on a stir-plate for about a day.  A small magnet inside the flask keeps the mixture stirring.

On brewing day, our house fills with steam and the heady aromas of yeast, malt and hops.  Here, Bjorn is steeping specialty grain into the water to add colour and flavor.

Apparently, we’re not going observe the “Washing Vegetables Only” label on this washtub…here, malt extract is warming in hot water to help it pour easily.

Bjorn making wort by adding the liquid malt extract to water.

The brew master is starting the wort boil, avoiding boil over (read: mess) and anticipating hot break.  He is also anticipating a Minnesota Vikings victory.

Boiling the wort after the second hop addition.

Once the boiling and adding of malt and grain is completed, the wort has to be cooled before you can pitch the yeast.  Last year, Bjorn used an ice bath in the sink to cool the wort in the kettle.  He found that an ice bath wasn’t efficient, so this year he bought a wort chiller.  A wort chiller is attached to the sink, and circulates cold water through copper tubes inside the kettle which chills the wort quickly, leading to better beer.  First, the wort chiller is sanitized in the boiling kettle of wort.

It took Bjorn some quality time sitting on the floor with a Menards employee searching out a series of sink and garden hose connectors and adapters that allow the wort chiller to connect to our sink.  3 garden hose and sink connectors later, we were in business.

Using the wort chiller, Bjorn reduced the wort temperature from boiling to the mid-seventies in 13 minutes.

Several steamy hours later, the wort is aerated, the yeast pitched, and the carboy of beer is topped with an airlock to allow bubbles to escape while the beer ferments in a cool, dark closet in our basement.  I’m looking forward to tasting this beer at Thanksgiving!

Barrio in Saint Paul and Minneapolis

We’ve been to the Saint Paul location of Barrio, next to the Bulldog on Mears Park and the Nicollet Avenue location of Barrio a handful of times in the past few years since they opened.  There has been a long lull since our last visit, and we made up for it recently by making it to both locations in one week.  

We had a heavy snack / sort-of supper at the Saint Paul Barrio location the other night after attending the 25th Anniversary Party at Summit Brewery.

This meal reminded me that I love the corn chowder with roasted poblano peppers and queso fresco at Barrio, and I sure do wish that one single quesadilla, taco or enchilada on their menu was made without meat.  With the first trip to Barrio in a long time taking place over the dinner hour behind me, I realized that the winning reason for a vegetarian to visit Barrio is for a snack and a drink.  Thankfully, I had the opportunity to do just that at the Nicollet Mall location a few days later.

Bjorn and I planned to meet at the downtown Minneapolis Barrio location after work the other night to enjoy a summer’s end, last hurrah patio happy hour.  I arrived before him and ordered a Caesar Chavez, Barrio’s “Champion Margarita” made with Traditional Reposado tequila and served in a heavy tumbler on the rocks with ice and a big wedge of orange and lime–very refreshing.

During both September 2012 Barrio visits, we’ve delved into Queso Fundido.  It is a gooey-melty cheesy extravagance served hot in an oven-proof dish along with a basket of warm tortillas.  Fortunately, the rich Fundido is not served in an over-abundant portion if you share it among a few people.  The tortillas are soft, fresh and arrive warm with zig-zag char marks, having kissed the grill before being tucked into a woven basket and hurried to the table.

We are used to the ubiquitous “Chips and Salsa” served for free or cheap at Mexican restaurants.  Chips and Salsa are great for staving off hunger but can be accidentally filling and fairly ho-hum if the salsa lacks character or the chips aren’t fresh.  At Barrio, the chips are house made and are a little on the too-salty side–chug your water, not your cocktail…  Their redemption is that they are served with an assortment of 3 house-made salsas, ranging from hot to moderately hot, and a salsa verde which proved to be interesting, plenty kicky and fun to eat.

In both the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Barrio locations, the atmosphere is something to behold:  Mexican wrestling masks, a towering wall of tequila bottles, glittery graffiti-style paintings adorning the walls, candelabras drenched in dripping candle wax and a shining welded-metal toro presiding over it all…Barrio means neighbourhood, this ‘hood is relaxed and lighthearted, yet hip, with a funky edge.  

And, it sure is a great place for a snack.

A Taste of Two Great Twin Cities Patios: El Norteño and Ngon

In the summer we spend almost all our downtime at home on our patio that Bjorn built the first spring we had our house.  We eat here, entertain here, do our internetting, gaze at the garden, plan our trips, rehash the day, daydream, read and occasionally we even get up to pull some weeds.  I am serious when I say that I could spend 10 hours a day here from the minute spring arrives until the fall chill takes hold.  Some days, I do exactly that.  Still there are days when nothing is better than to have someone else cook for us and to return to our haunts from the days of apartment living when patio-dining was our best excuse to spend time outdoors.

I rank Salut on Grand Avenue, the Happy Gnome, and W.A. Frost best patios in Saint Paul for great food and drink.  Relaxing through a meal while tucked into a private corner of these outdoor rooms is a magical summer escape.  Sweeneys and Billy’s on Grand have solid bar food and are happening and fun.  Anyone who has ever set foot in Saint Paul, Minnesota at dinner time in the summer already knows about these fixtures.  This means they’re always busy.  Today, I’m going to share a taste of two patios that have a certain popularity, but are a little lesser known.  As a regular at Ngon and El Norteño who likes to be able to march in and sit right down at an open table, I had to think twice before tipping my hand.  In the interest of encouraging the success of restaurants I like, I’m going to give their patios a public shout-out.  For an escape and a reliably tasty meal, the patios at Ngon and Norteño are hidden gems.

Ngon Vietnamese Bistro – 799 University Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota Telephone:  (651) 222-3301

I’ve mentioned Ngon on my blog before.  We keep returning to Ngon and enjoy the authentic and inventive Vietnamese cuisine.  Their use of local and sustainable meat and produce, their stellar selection of exclusively local beers and their house-made charcuterie that Bjorn has enjoyed on earlier visits have proven to contribute to consistently tasty meals.  We found that we equally enjoyed these aspects of the restaurant when we dined on the patio behind the restaurant, hidden from the world by high fences and shaded from the early evening sun by grapevine-wound pergola.  We entered Ngon through the front door which was a bit of an experience in inaccessibility due to the construction of the light rail on University Avenue.  We requested a spot outside and were directed out of the restaurant and back to the sidewalk through the side door and then into the private patio through a gate under a mosiac sign showing the restaurant’s name.  The hostess informed us that we could not have soup on the patio–it is too hot for the servers to carry this out.  When I heard this, I was a little disappointed.  I have ordered Hủ Tiếu with egg noodles almost every time I eat at Ngon.  I am in love with this steamy bowl of squiggly egg noodles and thinly sliced carrot and daikon, halved brussel sprouts, grape tomatoes, whole green beans and bok choy, all still-crunchy, swimming in a light, tasty, clear vegetable broth.  With a little encouragement by my wise husband, I got past my Who Moved my Cheese? moment and realized that change is good, and its high time I venture out into the rest of the menu because it was way too nice to eat indoors.  Now that I’m thinking about it, maybe eating a huge bowl of hot soup on a 90 degree evening wouldn’t be be too many people’s idea of a good time!?We arrived hungry so we started our meal with crispy Vietnamese egg rolls, a crunchy, freshly-fried indulgence filled with vegetables and mushroom served with a little pickly shredded carrot and daikon.

I settled on Bún, a rice vermicelli salad with organic greens, cucumbers, bean sprouts with a generous amount of saucy fried tofu, garnished with more pickly shredded daikon and carrot, herbs and peanuts.  It was refreshing, tasty and totally solid, but won’t oust Hủ Tiếu from its position as my Ngon favorite.  Bjorn ordered braised pork shoulder with basil pasta which he thought was very good.  I didn’t manage to get a photo.

El Norteño — 4000 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota Telephone: (612) 722-6888

The patio at El Norteño is similar to all the others I’ve mentioned in that it is secluded.  This particular patio wins hands-down for its foliage and flora, which is well-tended– obviously by a green thumb.  There are potted plants bursting with herbs and flowers and thriving perennials layered several feet deep around inside the entire enclosure which creates a wonderfully lush atmosphere for a relaxing meal.  There is plenty of room on the patio.  The food is straight-forward, authentic Mexican fare.  Tacos, burritos, enchiladas, flautas, tostadas and fajitas with chicken, pork, beef or veggies, served with beans, rice, fresh vegetables and traditional sauces.  It is simple.  Norteño isn’t going to win awards for culinary ingenuity, but the food hits the spot.  The servers who also seem to cook, are few in number, so they aren’t going to win praise for attentiveness and speed, but when you are sitting outside on a gorgeous night, sipping a Dos Equis Amber, eating chips and fresh salsa while waiting for your food to arrive, who is in a hurry, exactly?  El Norteño is licensed for beer and wine only, so wine margaritas are on the menu, but none with tequila.  The only other limitation we’ve faced is our ability to gauge whether El Norteño will be open during dinner hours.  With no website to check, we figure it out by taking a quick drive to Longfellow, and end up at the Birchwood, which is nearby when we’ve guessed wrong, which seems to be about half of our attempts.  Though simple, their food tastes fresh and has good flavor.  This is where I go for Mexican comforts- the lightness of lettuce and tomatoes, rich guacamole, warm fresh tortillas, the energy-giving amino acid balance of rice and beans, and seasoned meats for Bjorn.  

If you’re stuck in the Cities for the 4th of July and need a break from air conditioning, a tasty meal on a patio a little ways off the beaten track is the place to find yourself for lunch or dinner.