News Room

Rating:

You can think of The News Room in downtown Minneapolis and In Cuisine in St. Paul's Milton Mall as works-in-progress. Both have some good ideas, but the execution is very uneven.

The News Room has a newspaper theme, with each dining area dedicated to a different section of the paper. The walls are plastered with headlines keyed to the sections: sports in one room, business in another.

It's a fun place with a lot of energy, especially in the travel section bar. But unless you are a diehard sports fan, you might want to avoid the sports section, which has 36 television monitors mounted overhead -- all tuned to sports channels with the volume turned up loud. The adjacent entertainment section is much more sedate.

Prices are reasonable, mostly, and the menu is much more varied and imaginative than the usual theme restaurant. Appetizers, all big enough to share, run the gamut from Cajun popcorn ($9.95) and pan-seared scallops to Brie en croute ($8.95) and stuffed eggplant ($6.95). Entrees range from meatloaf ($11.95) and grilled halibut with a coffee butter ($15.95) to pan-fried French tenderloin medallions deglazed with cognac, served with onions, wild mushrooms and garlic ($24.95).

Some of these dishes work well. Cajun popcorn usually means tiny shrimp hidden inside lots of crunchy breading; the News Room's version is a generous pile of medium-size shrimp lightly coated with Cajun spices. The Wilderness flatbread ($7.95) is a winner, too: crisp wafers topped with a savory mix of carmelized onions, wild mushrooms, blue cheese and mozzarella.

Read Full Review »