Dining: Star of the north at Victory 44
Victory 44 is the third restaurant in as many years to jump into the trim brick storefront anchoring the corner of 44th and Penn. Drop the building into the south Minneapolis street grid (a hypothetical exercise, since the intersection would be submerged off Lake Harriet's western shore), and the location would be hot stuff. But this address lies in the Victory neighborhood on the city's restaurant-starved North Side, where success requires a whole lot more than mere geography.
I'm thinking the restaurant's skinny, gently salty house-made potato chips might be a smart first nudge toward black ink. Co-owners Erick Harcey and Ben Hiza treat them like a salutation, serving them by the basket with a punchy crème fraîche-chive-Grana Padano (in the Parmesan family of cheese) dip; the winning combination speaks volumes about this engaging new enterprise in just a few delicious bites. But rather than letting the menu do the talking, I asked Harcey to put his business plan into words. He described the venture as a cost-conscious twist on the gastropub. "But not so pork-driven," he said. "More neighborhood-oriented."
It's not exactly a game-changing formula, but the menu's scratch cooking, attention to detail and affordability (most prices falling below the midteens) are refreshing. Highlights include bacon-wrapped dates that shine with a brandy glaze. Cold, medium-sized prawns have a cool, snappy bite. Fried calamari is crispy outside, tender inside. A thick blue cheese dressing and bits of smoky bacon make an iceberg wedge stand out. There's a burger with fries (the house-made ketchup is a treat), roast chicken, tempura-quality fish and chips, a decent charcuterie plate, a nicely sloppy Reuben, just the kind of easygoing, everyday fare to keep the neighborhood coming back, often.
From noon on, Harcey drops the word lunch in favor of daytime. "Because my favorite meal is breakfast, but I never eat it for breakfast," he said. That explains why half the offerings have a hearty a.m. vibe: fish cakes Benedict, corned beef hash, French toast with bananas and walnuts, sausage gravy over buttermilk biscuits.
Harcey, a longtime Nicollet Island Inn vet, and Hiza -- both the Inn and 20.21 are on his résumé -- have plans to take the concept to other metro-area neighborhoods ("It's a very good time for finding real estate," said Harcey); their Gas.tro.nome, which was scheduled to have opened this spring, is still on the planning board for the space just a few doors down from the new Butcher Block in northeast Minneapolis. Props to Harcey and Hiza for test-driving their strategy in an area of the city that's crying out for dining venues.
"I kind of wonder why people don't know about this neighborhood," said Harcey. "It's such a gorgeous area and the neighborhood has already been so hospitable to us. It's really one of the gems of the city."
