Duplex

There are a few restaurants in the Twin Cities that are very well known and that I have never been to. Risotto, Duplex, Amore Victoria, Nick and Eddies, Saffron and the list could go on and on. Enter in my challenge to slowly check a few of these off the list.

Duplex was the choice for Monday evening, a cute neighborhood bistro in Uptown in Minneapolis. It is in an old house with seating upstairs and down. We got a nice quiet table upstairs and were able to really enjoy dinner. I was craving a nice big glass of red wine and a hearty dinner since my eating had been so sporadic since last Wednesday with the funeral, my niece being born and two 5+ hour car trips! The wine choice was easy, I wanted something big, bold and red and a Carmenere from Chile caught my attention. It had really nice full flavors with hints of berry and pepper. Delicious.

Gnocchi was my choice, and they were perfectly browned and had a nice flavor from the parmesan cheese. The gnocchi had oven dried tomatoes, balsamic roasted portobello mushrooms, shallots, rosemary and parmesan cheese. I love gnocchi and really wish I could figure out how to make these at home!

What could be wrong about a nice hanger steak with gratin potatoes and some broccoli rabe. I am not a huge gratin potato fan but there were really fantastic and the dijon sauce on the steak was very flavorful.

Dessert sounded appealing and the largest slice of boston cream pie was presented, I had about three bites but that plate was clean by the end of the evening ‘ 

I really enjoyed the local flair of Duplex, the food was fantastic but the service was a bit slow. They were pretty busy and only had 1 server on, so he had his hands full. Even though it was a bit slow he was still very attentive! I want to go back to Duplex in the summer when I can sit outside and enjoy a nice glass of wine and people watch in Uptown.