I've been excited to write about Minneapolis' Common Roots Cafe for a while. I love so many things about the place, including their swanky logo, the building facade, the fact that they compost, the vegetarian options, the delectable pastries (from mostly - if not entirely - local, sustainable ingredients), and the fact that they are so involved in the neighborhood. Last week they provided free bagels, muffins, and scones to nearly 50 families at my boy's elementary school. All of the food was locally grown and made.
Common Roots is located at 26th and Lyndale (612-871-2360), less than a block north of French Meadow, and they truly walk the talk when it comes to locally grown, sustainable foods. Here's swhat it says on their website:
At Common Roots Cafe we are committed to supporting our local community. That means we use ingredients created right here by farmers we know. We base our menu on what our farmers tell us is in season that week, meaning that customers get fresh food that doesn’t have to be frozen on travel across country in the back of a semi. For us, “local” is not just a buzzword. It means that we are doing business by keeping dollars in our communities, lessening our environmental impact, and making food that tastes great.
As this quote suggests, the menu is ever changing. I ate there this week with my friend Scott, who was pretty pleased with his maple glazed chicken sandwich with sweet potatoes. I had a white bean veggie burger (possibly my first) with greens and corn chips. It was an excellent veggie burger, so tall that I had to eat it with a knife and fork. I was tempted to get the locally grown blue cheese burger. The guy next to me had one, and it looked phenomenal. It was one of the few things on the menu that you'd find at a typical lunch joint (if the typical lunch joint cared about the quality of the ingredients and where they came from).
While I like the lunch and dinner food and selections, I'm totally nuts about the bagels, muffins, and scones they make. My boy thought the bagels were so good and creamy (his word, not mine) that they didn't need any cream cheese. My wife is sure that the bagels are some of the best in the city, and the New Yorker in me agrees. Common Roots also offers a conference room for rent and a catering menu. Definitely worth checking out.
