The Many Shades of Red

Young chef Marianne Miller brings something new and breathtaking to twin cities fine dining

A A A Comments By Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl Wednesday, Jun 2 2004

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These big entrées tend to be Miller's weakest point; she's not always content to let the pricey prestige proteins that center these plates do their own work, and tends to gild them into a lesser state. Two little $28 lamb chops, for instance, were utterly overwhelmed by the too rich, too concentrated sauce of plums, cherries, and fresh figs that surrounded them.

Then again, trying too hard is not the usual sin in Twin Cities dining.

Raoul Benavides

Fifteen years after the collapse of communism, the Reds invade downtown Minneapolis

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Eagerness to please is the leitmotif at Red, you see it in all sorts of other aspects of the restaurant. The desserts, by pastry chef Nicole Francoli, are capable and charming. I particularly liked a coconut panna cotta ($7) which was paired with a fresh fruit salad dressed with a "water" conjured from candied orange peel, basil, and lavender. Again, just when you think you've witnessed the intellectual exhaustion of fruit salad, voilà, enter Red.

Red's wine list, done by chef Miller, covers a lot of ground usefully. And while it's got lots of prestige bottlings at prestige prices, there are also plenty of choices for everyday celebrating: A bottle of Kim Crawford dry Riesling, for instance, at $28, has the zest and zing to brace against oysters, as well as the finesse to stand beside a richer fish. The Champagne list, which stands besides the caviar list, is pricey, but it has a few very good approachable bottles, like Veuve Clicquot for $76, or flowery Roederer Anderson Valley brut rosé for $50, and if you've got an occasion that calls for Champagne and caviar I can't think of anywhere more pleasant to call for it--not in this time zone, anyway.

The service at Red is likewise raring to go. Hosts are sweet and helpful; every single server I encountered had an encyclopedic knowledge about the food at hand. Frankly, sometimes it even got a little silly, with servers announcing dishes and their contents as if they were footmen at the king's ball. But, you know. There is so little decent service in town that if we start condemning good service because it's a titch too eager, well, if we start condemning eagerness, we risk losing any population of beavers that might set up shop here. And groups of talented, hip, eager beavers should be welcomed with nothing so much as a red, red carpet.

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