Mission American Kitchen & Bar

Rating:

Talk about giving the public what it wants. At a recent lunch at Mission American Kitchen & Bar in downtown Minneapolis, it appeared as if a shoehorn would be required to squeeze in another diner. When financier Irwin Jacobs appeared at the door, I seriously wondered if he would be asked to wait at the bar. (He wasn't). "Was it ever this crowded at Aquavit?" asked my friend, referring to the space's former tenant. I'm going to go with "No." While its cutting-edge predecessor was on speed-dial at the editorial offices of Gourmet and Bon Appetit and had a reputation, deserved or not, as a haughty special-occasion destination, Mission's ownership - Anoush Ansari and Hadi Anbar (the pair behind the nearby Atlas Grill) and chef Jordan Smith - are taking their newly acquired IDS Center real estate in a far more democratic direction. There's a little something to please a broad spectrum of the dining public: food that appeals to distinctly American tastes but doesn't pander to them, prices that won't shock middle-management expense accounts and a setting that won't threaten those who lament the demise of Mervyn's, but won't turn off anyone on a first-name basis with the Hubert White sales staff. Smith, an alumnus of the D'Amico culinary empire (his most memorable gig was as executive chef at the late, lamented Azur), is a talent to watch. His best dishes, all presented with a polished minimalism, are contemporary but not risky, comforting but not sellouts to comfort-food cliches. At dinner, he sears salmon then steams it in a flavorful mix of tomatoes, sesame oil, fermented black beans, soy and vodka, resulting in fish that's crispy outside, lusciously creamy inside. Pork ribs are braised in a traditional sweet-sour barbecue sauce until the meat falls off the bone and melts in your mouth. Crispy-skinned roast chicken is laid out on an arugula-bread salad tossed with vinegar-kissed pan juices. Tender pieces of catfish are fried to perfection and paired with a heaping plate of piping-hot fries, a marvelous fish-and-chips twist. On the lunch menu, zesty house-made sausages, a canny cross between andouille and chorizo, are served with a cold rice salad. A simple plate of greens, snappy shrimp and unusually flavorful cherry tomatoes is dressed with a retro green goddess dressing. The superlative Caesar is a fetchingly arranged pile of Romaine spears lavished with a garlicky dressing and dusted with grated Parmesan. Daily omelets are creative and satisfying. A sinfully juicy half-pound Kobe beef burger ranks with the best in town. Ditto the smartly prepared club sandwich. Other great ideas? Smith's buy-by-the-piece options, which allow diners to tailor choices based upon their appetite and MasterCard limit. The options range from cheeses (a California chevre, cow's milk blue hailing from Faribault, Minn.) to oysters, clams and my favorite, a build-your-own shrimp cocktail paired with a blazing horseradish cocktail sauce. Several starters are the kind of nibbles I'm powerless to resist, particularly the perky curried deviled eggs and the house-baked crackers studded with black sesame seeds and served with pesto. Two desserts should not be missed: the excellent house-made ice creams and the whimsical floating islands, delicate poached meringues wafting in a vanilla sauce and topped with pecans. (The boxes of B.T. McElrath chocolates and the root beer float are sweet touches, too). And bucking the unspoken rule slavishly followed by what seems like every new Twin Towns restaurant, Smith steers clear of pizzas and offers just a single pasta, and only at lunch. Not everything works. The most notable disaster is a monstrous, flavorless slab of thinly pounded and breaded veal, which bears an alarming resemblance to chicken-fried steak, but no self-respecting Texan would shell out $35 for this disappointment. A nod to vegetarians - layers of carpaccio-thin slices of eggplant, onion, zucchini and tomatoes - is an oily mess of indistinguishable flavors. What starts out as a droll idea - an upscale green-olive riff on that trashy bar-food staple, the jalapeno popper - turns into an unpleasant salt grenade. I was embarrassed to treat a guest to a salad of past-their-prime greens topped with greasy Buffalo-style chicken. A lemon pudding cake was dull and dry, and while the dramatic chocolate souffle for two is a swell piece of dinner theater, its thin taste was in direct opposition to its thickly intoxicating scent. And the kitchen occasionally slips on Restaurant 101 basics: meats that should be sizzling hot but are not, severely overdressed salads, wildly over-salted soups, coffee that tastes like burned cardboard. Comparisons to Aquavit are inevitable. And pointless, when the only trait shared between the restaurants is an address. Minneapolis design firm Partners & Sirny has cleverly reconfigured the space - relocating the bar, opening a much-needed street entrance, eliminating the chef's table - and replaced Aquavit's aloof Scandinavian beauty with soothing autumnal colors, dark woods, richly textured fabrics and densely arranged tables. But despite a few distinctive works by local artists, including Tom Berthiume and Sharon Ulrich, and several amusing sight gags (most notably booths upholstered in thick, Flintstones-esque fake fur), the space teeters toward the impersonal, as if it were the dining room for the neighboring Marquette Hotel. It's when it's trying to cater to as many demographics as possible when Mission gets a little skin deep. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing how Smith stretches his kitchen into unexpected - no, make that un-focus-grouped - directions. But in the meantime, since this smart addition to the downtown dining scene appears to be already pleasing lots of folks most of the time, here's one certainty: I'll book my lunch table in advance. . Rick Nelson is at rdnelson@startribune.com. . Two and a half stars Mission American Kitchen & Bar . Location: 80 S. 8th St. in the IDS Center, Minneapolis, 612-339-1000. Hours: Lunch 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, dinner 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Bar menu 2:30 p.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday. Bar open to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday. Atmosphere: A savvy mix of comfort and urbanity. Service: Attentive, swift, friendly. Sound level: Pleasant even when full. Recommended dishes: Deviled eggs, roast chicken, steam-fried salmon, pork ribs, catfish, floating islands, ice creams. Wine list: Wide, intriguing collection; some especially good values. Eighteen choices ($8 average price) by the glass. Most bottles are half-price Tuesday nights. Ten bourbon cocktails. Price range: Lunch entrees $9 to $16, dinner entrees $14 to $35, desserts $5 to $9. Credit cards: All major credit cards. Smoking: In bar only. Wheelchair accessibility: Completely accessible. Parking: Free validation in IDS Center ramp after 5 p.m., $6 valet on 7th Street after 6 p.m. Children: No separate menu, but special requests are accommodated. . WHAT THE STARS MEAN Four stars - Exceptional Three stars - Highly recommended Two stars - Recommended One star - Satisfactory

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