One person’s comfort food is another person’s heartburn: Comfort food is emphatically not health food, yet there’s no denying the comforting power of food. As we lament the darker, shorter days, it’s important to remember that there is still pleasure to be had. It’s a Minnesotan’s prerogative to bolster ourselves with the simple and the familiar, served piping hot in a cozy room. Luckily for us, we’re blessed with many opportunities to soothe the soul via the belly. Here are some lake-area standouts.
Surly-braised Short Ribs
Nearly every dish on Birch’s menu deserves a spot in the comfort food canon: after all, the restaurant’s motto is “we want you to feel at home.” There has been a lot of ink spilled over the heavenly Buckhorn chicken (buttermilk herb soaked for 24 hours and double fried), but the short ribs deserve equal hosannas. Slow-braised in the popular local Surly microbrew, the rich beef is enlivened by horseradish-mashed potatoes and a generous napping of zingy horseradish cream. Anyone who claims not to like Brussels sprouts would instantly convert for these caramelized, crunchy globes. The whole shebang is slightly sweet, deeply flavored and meltingly tender. Short ribs can be greasy, but not here—there are just enough fatty bits to fight over while managing the neat trick of being both fall-off-the-bone and stick-to-your-ribs delicious. The napkins are actually towels, so feel free to let the juices fly. $23.95. 1935 W. Wayzata Blvd., Long Lake; 952.473.7373
Walleye Milanese
"Bacio" means kiss in Italian, and this restaurant’s menu is one sweet smackaroo in the comfort zone. There are a multitude of medicinal pasta options, but any self-respecting lake-area local knows that walleye is the best balm. Bacio’s Walleye Milanese is breaded with panko crumbs, fresh herbs and parmesan cheese, and sautéed in butter. The generous filet reclines on a mound of buttery mashed potatoes dotted with marinated tomatoes for that requisite touch of acidity. The consensus is overwhelming: Despite being a non-seafood restaurant, Bacio tears through one ton of fish per month. Coastal Seafoods supplies the fish, and if it’s not fresh, it’s not on the menu. On any given night, the dining room bustles with familial conviviality falling just short of a din, and the table lamps cast a rosy glow on the scene that’s as comforting as the bosomy embrace of Mamma Mia herself. $24.95. 1571 Plymouth Rd., Minnetonka; 952.544.7000
Mrs. Hering’s Chicken Pot Pie
Lakeshore Grill at Macy’s
Holiday shopping demands a specific kind of comfort. When the straits of retail are dire, we recommend the judicious administration of the famous chicken pot pie at the Lakeshore Grill in Macy’s at Ridgedale Center. Folklore has it that Mrs. Hering, a clerk at Marshall Field’s in 1890, shared her own lunch with some hungry customers. It was so delicious that it wound up on the stores’s menus in perpetuum. We believe it. The individual-portioned crock sports a dome of golden puff pastry. Tender cubes of chicken beckon from a rich, white gravy under layer after flaky layer. There are also peas and carrots— period. No “creative” fusion, odd spices or unrecognizable ingredients. It’s also served with the Lakeshore House Salad. This is familiar territory. Sink into a leather banquette by the fireplace and savor every bite before diving back into the fray. $9.95. 12401 Wayzata Blvd., Minnetonka; 952.591.6727
Lola’s Mac & Cheese
Lola’s Lakehouse is a cozy haven for Lake Waconia snowmobilers, ice fishermen and families alike, dishing up comfort galore. Lola’s Mac & Cheese is the paradigm, with an ideal balance of sauce, crunch, cheese and noodle. The corkscrew-shaped Cavatappi noodles are highly efficient sauce vehicles, and you’ll want to get every bit of the fontina-and-grueyere-laden béchamel. Bright chunks of tomato and asparagus provide a little vegetable action, and a layer of breadcrumbs crisped under the broiler prevent sogginess. Just enough fancy to elevate, but not so much as to alienate. The kids’ version substitutes American cheese in the béchamel, et voila, custom comfort for the whole family. Add some protein (chicken or salmon) and get back to the icehouse with renewed vigor. $12.95; chicken and salmon extra. 318 E. Lake St., Waconia; 952.442.4954
Dry-aged Duroc Pork Chop with Creamed Corn
Is the degree of comfort in direct proportion to the fat content? Probably. Consider Gianni’s 12 oz. pork chop surfing a sea of creamed corn with cherry-wood smoked bacon. A small dish of intensely fruity Peach Mostarda nails the trifecta for an experience that’s creamy, smoky, sweet and rich. What’s a Duroc and why should you care? Dubbed “the Black Angus of pork,” the local Compart Family Farm hogs boast a high degree of marbling—i.e., fat—which translates into extra juiciness on the plate. You will be mesmerized by the golden corn kernels swimming in thick cream with so many chunky pig bits, but don’t forsake the chop itself: it’s juicy, crispy and thoroughly soul satisfying. $28. 635 E. Lake St., Wayzata; 952.404.1100
Chicken Meatballs
Hazellewood Grill and Tap Room
Remember that song “On top of spaghettttiiiii, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed”? Well, don’t let that happen to these babies! Hazellewood Grill’s marinara-sauced pile of spaghetti sports two of the most magnificent meatballs around, with enough density and zing to see you through a year’s worth of winters. Every bite brims with fennel, garlic, pepper, parmesan cheese and basil, and each portion comes with hearty slabs of grilled garlic bread. Park your weary bones near one of the multiple fireplaces and slurp it up by the noodle just like when you were a kid. $16. 5635 Manitou Rd., Tonka Bay; 952.401.0066
Dublin Boxty
Boxty might sound exotic, but it’s just a traditional potato pancake—in Ireland, that is. Jake O’Connors’ Dublin Boxty satisfies our local yearnings, too, with fat shrimp, sweet scallops, chunks of cod, salmon and mahi-mahi in an unctuous lobster bisque smothering the potato pancakes. The pancakes themselves are delicate: fine-grained with a hint of onion. The result? Both oceany and earthy, fresh and deep. The restaurant itself is the epitome of comfort: Dark wood, leaded glass, leather seats, and semi-enclosed booths called “snugs” for extra warmth and privacy. Old world memorabilia, glowing lamps and brass fixtures make it picture perfect. $20.95. 200 Water St., Excelsior; 952.908.9650
XXX Bola Chili
Our informal poll of comfort food favorites uncovered a great shared fondness for chili. There are as many ways to make chili as there are to skin a cat—maybe not the best analogy in this case—but all agree it should be piping hot, at least a little spicy, with multiple topping choices. The Lone Spur Grill offers a mild smoked brisket and kidney bean version, a somehow blasphemous chicken and wild rice combination, and the purist’s delight, a dynamite XXX Texas-style Bola (no beans and no refunds!). The Bola chili is primal—smoky, chunky, beefy—with an engaging but not scorching kick, though this cowgirl likes it muy picante. The brisket is Minnesota beef and is smoked onsite, as are the chilis. Add a side of sour cream for coolant and use the accompanying flour tortillas, multicolored corn chips and cornbread for ballast. You can even order a 44-ounce margarita: Sometimes there’s a thin line between comfort and comatose. The décor is Love-Boat-era Acapulco, as familiar as apple pie. $8.49. 11032 Cedar Lake Rd., Minnetonka; 952.540.0181
