RESTAURANT WEEK

GREETINGS FROM CARMELA'S CUCINA,

It is the beginning of March so it must be restaurant week in the Twin Cities. Last year, my foodie son, Teddy informed us about this one week bargain at many of our area restaurants. Another couple joined Bob and I at D'Amico Cucina for a fantastic meal at a very affordable price.

Well, it is that time of year again. For complete information and details go to www.mspmag.com for a complete listing of participating establishments and menu offering.

Yesterday was my first meeting of the Edina Magazine Advisory Board and our meeting was being held at Crave in the Galleria in Edina. Our waitress told us about the Restaurant Week offering for lunch that they were featuring and I decided to go with it. It was two courses and I did not pick up the tab, but my understanding is that the lunch offerings are between $10-$15 and dinner between $20 and $30.

The first course was a wonderful fresh spinach salad with slices of pears and apples, cheddar cheese shreds and pumpkin seeds in a light vinaigrette. The portion was so large, that it was a meal in itself. But I did manage to enjoy the next course even though I was already pretty full. Nealy a half of a pork tenderloin was cut into coins and served with the center still lightly pink. The pork was tender and moist with a light sesame sauce over it. Delicious! And with it was a pesto risotto. I would like to have seen it a little creamier, but it was tasty. The risotto was made with fresh basil and freshly grated Parmesan Cheese and the color was just beautiful.

We were a group of about 20 and were seated in Crave's new patio area, with the fireplace burning. It was perfect for a cold winter day. I can't wait to return when it is warm and the windows to the patio are all thrown open and we surely will be seated in a garden like setting. It will be fantastic. The service at Crave was great too, especially since we were a large group and also trying to conduct a lunch meeting. The portions were generous and our waitress was well informed and kept our beverages full.

Restaurant Week was created to keep our eating establishments filled in what is considered to be a pretty slow week. In this economy I am sure even slower than usual. The prices are right so take a look at the web site and make some dinner reservations for yourself and get to eat in some of the Twin Cities best. I am off to Cave Vin on Friday night. I hope to see you there.

Buon appetito,

Carmela Tursi Hobbins