Red Stag Supper Club

Every now and then an event comes along that sets new standards -- for charity, for food, for collaboration. This Sunday at Solera in downtown Minneapolis has all of the makings for exactly that. Coming together for one special night to benefit Second Harvest Heartland are 16 chefs and 6 farms. Check out the press release below for the who, what, where and when!

Farm in the Cities 2011 is a fundraising event for Second Harvest Heartland to spotlight local farmers’ foods and the restaurants that serve them.  This event is presented by Six Rivers Cooperative and the participating restaurants on Sunday, October 30th at Solera Cocina de Espana in Minneapolis.

A new type of restaurant just hit Madison. One that boasts utter transparency between the kitchen, the bar, and the customers. A restaurant that features the best of local ingredients and drinks. One that even sells its kitchen and bar ingredients in the restaurant. Intrigued yet? Because I definitely am. I had been waiting months to try Merchant, the craft cocktail lounge, restaurant, and urban grocery now open in downtown Madison.

We're happy to introduce Ben Solberg, our newest writer and photographer. This is his first article for Simple, Good, and Tasty.

The next Simple, Good, and Tasty local food dinner, on July 29 at the Red Stag Supper Club (that's head chef Brian Hauke in the above picture, left) in northeast Minneapolis, is completely full. For the lucky 50 people who signed up first, here are the details:

The Strip Club's JD Fratzke and me

I was totally surprised by how much fun I had at Toast and Taste at the U of M Landscape Arboretum last night. My friend Jon and I were glad to have changed into clean clothes before we arrived - the place was absolutely beautiful, and everyone looked great. We were greeted by a tuba duet and the gracious Arboretum staff who sent us on our merry way, armed with a map and a couple of wine glasses.

Bryant Lake Bowl is unlike any other place I've been. The front of the place is a bar/restaurant with a terrific beer list (including local favorite Surly and several Belgian beers) and some of the best tofu and egg scrambles in town.

I realize I'm going out on a limb here, but I've organized a dinner out for those of us who want to try some local, sustainable food at a great a Twin Cities restaurant in the company of friends and like-minded eaters. I'm hoping that talking with the chef and exploring the restaurant, its philosophies, and its processes will be part of the fun as well. Here's the pitch:

Although it's just over a year old, I finally had a chance to visit Northeast Minneapolis' Red Stag Supper Club. Sometime between the flatbread appetizer (local butter, farm raised pork, greens) and the special chocolate dessert (4 kinds of chocolate in the cake, house-made mint ice cream), Red Stag became my favorite restaurant in the city. Here's what came in between: