March 24, 2002 - The Grand Hotel Minneapolis
Various Sushi
It was an occasion of great celebration when the Minneapolis Bailliage of the Chaine des Rotisseurs ventured to The Grand Hotel. This unique culinary venue, a recent addition to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, has a newly-wrought kitchen under the direction of Chef Michael Broughton. Chef Mike brought to us an exquisite palate of creations, certainly more in the French tradition than in the Japanese, even though the hotel is known for its fine Japanese restaurant and its sushi bar. This led us to a bi-polar dinner, Asian and European – but not fusion.
The newly weds Margaret and Kevin Leto
The evening began with elaborate presentations of sushi, beautifully flavored, as fresh as the winter ocean in the early morning with all imaginable colors supplied by the denizens of the deep. This was, however, but an introduction to the talents of The Grand Hotel, for upon retiring to a room worthy of the palace at Versailles, we found a master chef with a magical palate capable of turning an excellent meal into an exceptional meal.
Crème Brûlée with edible Chaine logo
Lobster and crab were bound together into a salad core of an avocado cream with such delicacy as to allow the full expression of all three component flavors. It was followed by a dish that has been much neglected in our chapter: sweetbreads in a morel mushroom sauce. Its crispness and the morel finish to the dish were inspired.
After an intermezzo of cantaloupe sorbet, a spring lamb loin was served, highly nuanced with flavors from the herbs in which it had been marinated for three days.
Following the salad, we were offered a lavender honey crème brûlée, accented by tulles and adorned with the Chaine emblem.
To add to the festivity of the evening, Maitre du Table Margaret Leto presented her husband. Collectively they regaled us with the nuances of their marriage at the Vatican this past January. We were further privileged to have with us Ted Farrell and his wife Laura, also newlyweds. This in no way detracted from Ted’s stepping back from the newlywed role to deliver his wine critique, which has now become a high point of our Minneapolis Chaine dinners.
All agreed that The Grand Hotel will be an important partner in the culinary scene of the Twin Cities.
Michael Broughten, Executive Chef