Sue's review: Spoonriver

It's been a while since TasteBuds got together. Kay's turn to pick the place. The choice was Spoonriver, restauranteer Brenda Langton's (of Cafe' Brenda) second food spot in Minneapolis. Located by the fabulous Guthrie theater and the Mill City Museum, Spoonriver's focus is on local, organic and fresh - well, as fresh as you can get in February in Minnesota - ingredients.

Our reservations were for 6:00 and Wolfie and Sue were the first to arrive. It's not a big place -- long, narrow galley-type restaurant, simplistic clean lines define the interior. After hanging up coats (thank God for restaurants that still provide this service), we approached the hostess, who was about as cool attitude-wise as the 20-degree weather outside. A Minnesota smile and greeting from me didn't seem to thaw this "frustrated-actress-I-wish-I-had a-job-across-the-street-working-at-the-Guthrie-instead-of-being-here" staff. I noticed she was wearing a houndstooth jumper that strangely reminded me of a home ec project I did in 1972, down to the poorly installed Talon zipper in the back. Fashion note: just because it's vintage, doesn't mean it should be worn again.

OK, I've retracted the claws. We were summarily shown our table where we awaited Matt and Kay. The few minutes of waiting time allowed us to observe the clientele around us. It was hopping, obviously a pre-theater gathering place for the Guthrie crowd. Trendy young hipsters mingled with the boomer-aged season ticket holders. Upon our friends' arrival, our attention turned to drinks. The beer offerings were respectable: I ordered the Victory Pilsner on tap, while Wolfie ordered a dark brown ale. Matt and Kay turned to red wine. The cocktail list for Spoonriver was intriguing but we passed on the pricier libations.

We ordered our customary two appetizers to share among the four of us. Due to our husbands' indecisiveness, Kay and I took control and ordered the shrimp dumplings with ginger sauce and the quesadilla with free-range chicken, sweet peppers and other good stuff. I could see eating about 80 of the dumplings myself. The quesadilla was OK and the tortilla had a flaky tenderness to it.

The specials for the evening were a char and a sweet potato gratin. Three of us ordered the char , which was accompanied by a polenta and a green bean salad. It was well-prepared. But not a party of flavor and texture in your mouth. This is a delicate fish and has to be prepared gently, but I was a bit dismayed by the lack of contrast in texture and flavor of this dish. The green bean salad was OK.

Of course, TasteBuds always order dessert when out to dinner. Tonight was no exception. The dessert tray was presented and I selected the gingerbread and whipped cream, garnished by cashews and accompanied by some brandied dark cherries (I hate cherries in general, so Wolfie nabbed those). I do love gingerbread, though, and the fresh whipped cream with the crunchiness of the nuts made for a nice contrast. I had leaded dark-roast coffee, which was very good.

But I have to go back to attitude again. Our server went to the same hospitality school as our hostess, I am afraid. We were never asked how were how we enjoyed our appetizers, much less our main course. It dawned on me later that were not told the soup of the day. Questions we posed to our waiter during the evening elicted what I felt was a forced response and kind of a "hurry up and order already" demeanor. I just don't get it. Anybody check recently how the economy is doing? If I'm going out to treat myself to dinner with good friends, I want to make sure my money is not only for a great eating experience, but a memorable and welcoming environment as well. That wasn't happening last night.

I rate this restaurant 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.