No, I’m not reviewing seven different restaurants. There’s a steakhouse in Minneapolis called Seven. Um, yes, I did say steakhouse. They also have a sushi bar upstairs. But anyway…
A couple of months ago, Ari and I went to a Twin Cities Gay Mens’ Chorus Prelude event, which was being held at Seven. We were impressed enough by the spread and the space that we decided we needed to go back for dinner sometime. Well, sometime finally arrived.
Now, in case you haven’t been reading the blog (or I haven’t mentioned it), I’m allergic to Bovine Growth Hormone, or BGH. As you might guess, that means I can rarely eat steak. And unfortunately, Seven’s staff couldn’t gurantee that their locally raised cows weren’t given any BGH. I suspect if they single-source their beef, they’ll know next time someone asks.
I’m going to take a moment to talk about the space, because it’s wonderful. We were seated in a tall-backed booth, and could see, across the dining area, 7th street and the side of Block E. While it’s not the most exciting street to look at , it still adds a metropolitan feel to the otherwise relatively austere space. The austerity, however, wasn’t that uncomfortable better-than-you kind of thing. It was borne of simplicity, and actually made a perfect backdrop to the meal. Also, the booths were comfortable. You could sit up with your back against the back of the booth and still easily reach the table, and your dinner.
From the moment our waiter stopped by the first time (before we’d had a chance to decide on anything), to the instant we stepped out of our booth, Luke was magnificent. He made suggestions. He explained things about the steaks I didn’t know (which makes it ever so slightly more sad that I couldn’t have one). He helped with considerations for my allergies. And he was both personable and proficient throughout.
As I mentioned, we were a little slow to decide on what we wanted. I was apparently in a fickle mood, as I couldn’t find wine I liked, then I couldn’t decide whether I wanted sushi or not (this should say something to those of you who know me!). While I was hemming and hawing about what I wanted to drink. Luke suggested a wine for Ari. I did end up with a Manhattan, sweet, with Maker’s Mark. It was perfectly executed.
After deciding I didn’t want sushi after all, we opted for Calamari as our appetizer. It was tender, and flavorful. The breading nearly melted in our mouths. We even got exceptionally tiny octopi deep-fried and even more tender. It came with a sauce that I was allergic to, but it didn’t need anything at all.
I had their Caesar salad, which was a half-head of romaine, grilled just enough to warm and lightly wilt it, topped with a lovely creamy italian dressing. Simple, and perfect. My main course was lobster ravioli. I considered the mushroom ravioli instead, but the squash pasta won out over the spinach choice. It, too, was exactly as advertised, with a lovely lobster-cheese fill in squash raviolis, topped with a pink sauce that had additional, good-sized chunks of lobster in it.
Finally, for dessert, we had creme brule. Now, there were many choices, but if there’s creme brule on the menu, Ari and I will try it. And so, that was our choice. Once again, it was a superb example of exactly what was advertised.
The evening ended with an Outloud! concert, making it a perfect evening all around. Seven is definitely a wonderful place to go for a fine dining experience, and while the price tag can be on the steep side, it’s worth every penny in my book.
Seven can be found on the web at http://www.7mpls.com/
