Cosmos in Minneapolis

[Elrushbo]

Trying it Wednesday, taking a friend for his 40th birthday. From pictures, the ambience looks breathtaking, and I have heard the food is good.

[CookinBenny]

I did a 3 day stage there and was blown away! Get the tasting menu!

[Elrushbo]

I did a 3 day stage there and was blown away! Get the tasting menu!

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Thanks! Looking forward to it, and your words make me look forward even more! Might do the tasting menu, will have to see what my friend wants, and he has a shellfish allergy. Is the space as cool as people say?

[ulterior epicure]

Elrushbo.

Where've you been?

When I ate at the Cosmos 3 years ago, when it first opened, I was really impressed with the food. If they're serving the "Chocolate Globe" - you MUST get it. Also, it's getting around to game season, and if your lucky enough to be offered venison - I'd urge you to try that too.

u.e.

[Elrushbo]

Elrushbo.

Where've you been? 

When I ate at the Cosmos 3 years ago, when it first opened, I was really impressed with the food.  If they're serving the "Chocolate Globe" - you MUST get it.  Also, it's getting around to game season, and if your lucky enough to be offered venison - I'd urge you to try that too.

u.e.

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Been working a LOT of overtime...wife and I will be moving to the Minneapolis area late this year, early next year, need to save up!

I appreciate your praise of Cosmos, thanks! I will look out for the chocolate globe! I love the pics of Cosmos I've seen so far, it looks very modern and cool, and for me, that helps set an overall good mood. Did you ever by chance get to try Aquavit in Minneapolis? I thought it was very good, suprised it closed, well it wasn't getting enough business, but THAT suprised me. I thought it was on par with Michael Mina's food.

[Brad Ballinger]

I ate there about two years ago. That was the only time. Food was pretty decent -- although I had to send my lamb back because it was overcooked. Service was very uneven. Hope your experience was a good one.

[Elrushbo]

Stunning! I expected good but got spectacular, and for a relatively good price! The ambience is breathtaking, very hip, modern and cool. Service was flawless. My friend and I got the tasting menu...he has a bad shellfish allergy and they were very good in accomodating that. The first amuse was for me a wonderful little scallop thing, can't remember all the details but it was very delicate and delicious. My friend got what appeared to be a tempura fried pastry with artichoke. First course was heriloom tomatoes in mozzarella broth. Wow! One of those things that after trying it you know every single thing you try is going to ROCK! The broth accentuated the freshness of the tomatoes, and it was a very rich, flavorful almost soup. Not a drop left when I was done with it. Next was scallop with cauliflower porridge and foie gras(have to start taking notes at these places). Again, spectacular! Identical to the risotto at Avenues, and the scallop was light, soft but not too much so, and just a little char on the side which added to the flavor well. A silver dollar sized piece, very good. The 2nd amuse was a dollop of pineapple sorbet in pineapple salsa. Great palate cleanser! Next was duck with a green apple salad, foie sauce, and a few drops of the most flavorful and pungent green apple sauce-you feel it in your sinuses! The duck was very good, tasted almost like beef. Next was cheese, three hard cheeses each paired with fruit, all very good. One was similar to pecorino, just excellent cheese that didn't fill you up. Next the Chocolate Globe, the coolest and one of the best desserts I have ever had. They bring you a plate with a 3-4" diameter hollow chocolate globe. The server pours warm chocolate sauce over it-in about ten seconds the globe half melts, with a crunchy cake on the bottom. The richest chocolate I have ever had!

Highly recommend Cosmos-to my dismay there were maybe five tables seated on a Thursday night at 7. In Vegas this place would be slamming every night. Stunning food, and for $60pp, the tasting menu is a bargain.

[Brad Ballinger]

Highly recommend Cosmos-to my dismay there were maybe five tables seated on a Thursday night at 7. In Vegas this place would be slamming every night. Stunning food, and for $60pp, the tasting menu is a bargain.

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Unfortunately, this is more of the rule than the exception with the Twin Cities dining scene. And I'm sure it's been discussed in various ways in a number of threads here. But here are some contributing factors:

1. Most of the high-end restaurants (in terms cuisine, ambience, service, etc.) are in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and most of those are in the downtowns.

2. Thanks to suburban sprawl, the clientele for Cosmos and others like it have to drive a distance to go there. Then they have to park. Blah blah blah. And there's a portion of that clientele that doesn't come into either city for dinner unless there is a "companion" event (concert, sporting event, theatrical show, etc.). Thus many of these restaurants are in the special occasion or destination category. Even though the tasting menu may be a bargain at $60 per person, folks around here don't shell that out many times in a year.

3. The condos being built in either of the downtowns aren't selling as fast as developers have hoped. Perhaps that will yet change, creating a larger "local" clientele.

4. Minneapolis and St. Paul don't do the tourist business or business travel business of Las Vegas.

5. The number of high-end restaurants in a concentrated area is increasing. So those treating Cosmos as a special occasion place may like to try some other places before returning. I'd like to think of the increase in high-end restaurants as a good sign that the market can support all of them, but time will tell.

6. There are many very good restaurants in the neighborhoods of the cities closer to those coming in from the suburbs where one doesn't have to pay to park (or valet park), get dressed up, etc. The suburbs are also starting to develop some good ones.

8. The crowd that doesn't have a problem coming into the city (the younger crowd) for an evening of food and drink on any night of the week will drink and dance at Infinity, but don't go to Cosmos.

I do hope these places all succeed. It's good for the cities. And, by the way, you should love La Belle Vie. Best dining room in the Twin Cities, and food to match.

[Elrushbo]

Highly recommend Cosmos-to my dismay there were maybe five tables seated on a Thursday night at 7. In Vegas this place would be slamming every night. Stunning food, and for $60pp, the tasting menu is a bargain.

←

Unfortunately, this is more of the rule than the exception with the Twin Cities dining scene. And I'm sure it's been discussed in various ways in a number of threads here. But here are some contributing factors:

1. Most of the high-end restaurants (in terms cuisine, ambience, service, etc.) are in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and most of those are in the downtowns.

2. Thanks to suburban sprawl, the clientele for Cosmos and others like it have to drive a distance to go there. Then they have to park. Blah blah blah. And there's a portion of that clientele that doesn't come into either city for dinner unless there is a "companion" event (concert, sporting event, theatrical show, etc.). Thus many of these restaurants are in the special occasion or destination category. Even though the tasting menu may be a bargain at $60 per person, folks around here don't shell that out many times in a year.

3. The condos being built in either of the downtowns aren't selling as fast as developers have hoped. Perhaps that will yet change, creating a larger "local" clientele.

4. Minneapolis and St. Paul don't do the tourist business or business travel business of Las Vegas.

5. The number of high-end restaurants in a concentrated area is increasing. So those treating Cosmos as a special occasion place may like to try some other places before returning. I'd like to think of the increase in high-end restaurants as a good sign that the market can support all of them, but time will tell.

6. There are many very good restaurants in the neighborhoods of the cities closer to those coming in from the suburbs where one doesn't have to pay to park (or valet park), get dressed up, etc. The suburbs are also starting to develop some good ones.

8. The crowd that doesn't have a problem coming into the city (the younger crowd) for an evening of food and drink on any night of the week will drink and dance at Infinity, but don't go to Cosmos.

I do hope these places all succeed. It's good for the cities. And, by the way, you should love La Belle Vie. Best dining room in the Twin Cities, and food to match.

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It's a shame...so many restaurants and it seems the really good ones there struggle. Aquavit was a prime example, excellent food and ambience. I wonder how long it will be before top notch places like Cosmos will no longer stay in Minneapolis.

That said, how does La Belle Vie do? Busy?

[Davydd]

3.  The condos being built in either of the downtowns aren't selling as fast as developers have hoped.  Perhaps that will yet change, creating a larger "local" clientele.

There are over 30,000 people living in the downtown condos within the freeway loop. For a downtown area in a city the size of Minneapolis that is pretty good. OK, it's not Chicago.

I work downtown and live in the Lake Minnetonka area 20 miles west. Most people that don't work downtown in the suburbs have no interest in going downtown or into Minneapolis. I once knew a woman in Shorewood who had never been to downtown Minneapolis! I would venture most of the people that go to Twins, Timberwolves and Vikings games get in and get out as expediently as possible. Since they chow down at those events I doubt they have an inclination to go to a good restaurant but maybe a sports bar before and after.

I know my way around and have 24/7 monthly parking so don't have a problem with downtown. But in the summertime I like sitting on the piers of Lake Minnetonka. Food is secondary though there are some good eats. But we did take in this summer's downtown jazz festival on a Saturday night and had a good meal.

[Brad Ballinger]

Well, I keep reading and hearing about how fabulous this place is. I’ve posted upthread about my okay experience. Gave it another shot Saturday for their Weekend Brunch. This was a special occasion brunch to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the “official” (court-approval) adoption of our daughter, who is now 16. I might as well get it out of the way right now – although I made mention of that fact on the reservation I made through opentable.com (there’s a field where people making reservations can free text any special occasion information), no one acknowledged it. Not the hostess, not the waiter, not anyone else. Okay, on to the meal…

Before stepping into the place, I thought the weekend brunch was prix fix [sic] only from clicking on the “weekend brunch” link on the Cosmos web site. However, we were given menus that listed breakfast, lunch, lunch specials, and the prix fix menu. I figured that meant anything goes. This will come into play later.

I had scoped out the prix fix menu online, and figured that the fussy daughter would have no problem ordering. As I had predicted, she ordered the fruit smoothie for a starter, brioche French toast with Valrhona chocolate sauce, raspberries, and whipped cream for her entrée, and cheesecake with raspberry coulis for her dessert. My wife and I both figured there’s no way we could do a three-course brunch, so we ordered off the breakfast menu. She ordered a fruit smoothie ($6) and lobster frittata ($16), and I ordered the oatmeal brulee ($8) with berries and the Cosmos benedict ($12). The daughter’s prix fix brunch also came with a mimosa, Champagne, or Bloody Mary. I had her Champagne.

After placing the complete order, our waiter tried to either talk our daughter out of the prix fix, or tried to talk us into it, or tried to talk the daughter into ordering different items (something about more expensive items). I never fully understood what his point was, and I still don’t. I noticed that the bottom of the prix fix menu quoted a $28 price per person, so I asked if we all had to order the prix fix brunch for one of us to have it. No, that wasn’t it. Then he was trying to get my daughter to order the omelet instead of the French toast and said something about it being a more expensive choice (not better food). But the French toast was $14 on the a la carte menu while the omelet was $12. So I didn’t get it. I finally asked flatly, “Can we or can we not get what we ordered?” Yes, we could. Problem solved, I guess, if there even was one.

The first things to arrive were the smoothies. Although my wife and daughter each ordered the exact same smoothie, my wife’s was many shades lighter than my daughter’s. It was like my daughter’s had no dairy in it at all. But they each preferred their own to the other’s so we let it be. My daughter’s, however, had several large-ish chunks of ice in it (so not totally smooth). I asked her if she would like to send it back, but she was fine with it.

When they were half-way through their smoothies, my glass of Champagne arrived.

Next, the lobster frittata and French toast arrived. The frittata was very good. Huge amounts of lobster in it. The French toast wasn’t as good. The presentation was wonderful, but the bread was very dry yet. The chocolate sauce was not blended very well and wasn’t what anyone would call smooth. My daughter said she’d eat it though, instead of sending it back. She did. Halfway through those dishes, my oatmeal brulee arrived. It was good, and the berries were fresh and large (except for the raspberries which were smushed). Those plates were cleared. My daughter still had cheesecake coming. I still had my entrée coming. My wife was done.

The cheesecake arrived and then my benedict arrived. The Cosmos version of the benedict was a nice idea in theory, but didn’t work in execution. It was like traditional eggs benedict, with a portabella mushroom replacing the English muffin base. The problem was that the mushroom was cooked a bit too much and gave off too much liquid. And, since this was served in a shallow bowl, the mushroom juice quickly mixed with the Hollandaise, compromising the integrity of the sauce. It was one of those “Oh well, it all goes to the same place anyway” moments. Since my daughter was on dessert and my wife was done, I really didn’t bother to send it back only to arrive when they could both watch me eat.

So, foodwise, the lobster frittata was a standout. Everything else was average or below-average. Definitely, not worth the prices charged. The service was poor from the timing of food to the table to the confusion over what we should order. And there was only one other table of diners in the place. So the kitchen couldn’t have been that busy (unless there were a bunch of room service orders we didn’t know about, and hotel guests trump restaurant customers).

If I ever return to Cosmos, which is highly doubtful, it will be to drink in the bar. I’ll stay away from the dining room.

[Elrushbo]

Well, I keep reading and hearing about how fabulous this place is.  I’ve posted upthread about my okay experience.  Gave it another shot Saturday for their Weekend Brunch.  This was a special occasion brunch to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the “official” (court-approval) adoption of our daughter, who is now 16.  I might as well get it out of the way right now – although I made mention of that fact on the reservation I made through opentable.com (there’s a field where people making reservations can free text any special occasion information), no one acknowledged it.  Not the hostess, not the waiter, not anyone else.  Okay, on to the meal…

Before stepping into the place, I thought the weekend brunch was prix fix [sic] only from clicking on the “weekend brunch” link on the Cosmos web site.  However, we were given menus that listed breakfast, lunch, lunch specials, and the prix fix menu.  I figured that meant anything goes.  This will come into play later.

I had scoped out the prix fix menu online, and figured that the fussy daughter would have no problem ordering.  As I had predicted, she ordered the fruit smoothie for a starter, brioche French toast with Valrhona chocolate sauce, raspberries, and whipped cream for her entrée, and cheesecake with raspberry coulis for her dessert.  My wife and I both figured there’s no way we could do a three-course brunch, so we ordered off the breakfast menu.  She ordered a fruit smoothie ($6) and lobster frittata ($16), and I ordered the oatmeal brulee ($8) with berries and the Cosmos benedict ($12).  The daughter’s prix fix brunch also came with a mimosa, Champagne, or Bloody Mary.  I had her Champagne.

After placing the complete order, our waiter tried to either talk our daughter out of the prix fix, or tried to talk us into it, or tried to talk the daughter into ordering different items (something about more expensive items).  I never fully understood what his point was, and I still don’t.  I noticed that the bottom of the prix fix menu quoted a $28 price per person, so I asked if we all had to order the prix fix brunch for one of us to have it.  No, that wasn’t it.  Then he was trying to get my daughter to order the omelet instead of the French toast and said something about it being a more expensive choice (not better food).  But the French toast was $14 on the a la carte menu while the omelet was $12.  So I didn’t get it.  I finally asked flatly, “Can we or can we not get what we ordered?”  Yes, we could.  Problem solved, I guess, if there even was one.

The first things to arrive were the smoothies.  Although my wife and daughter each ordered the exact same smoothie, my wife’s was many shades lighter than my daughter’s.  It was like my daughter’s had no dairy in it at all.  But they each preferred their own to the other’s so we let it be.  My daughter’s, however, had several large-ish chunks of ice in it (so not totally smooth).  I asked her if she would like to send it back, but she was fine with it.

When they were half-way through their smoothies, my glass of Champagne arrived.

Next, the lobster frittata and French toast arrived.  The frittata was very good.  Huge amounts of lobster in it.  The French toast wasn’t as good.  The presentation was wonderful, but the bread was very dry yet.  The chocolate sauce was not blended very well and wasn’t what anyone would call smooth.  My daughter said she’d eat it though, instead of sending it back.  She did.  Halfway through those dishes, my oatmeal brulee arrived.  It was good, and the berries were fresh and large (except for the raspberries which were smushed).  Those plates were cleared.  My daughter still had cheesecake coming.  I still had my entrée coming.  My wife was done.

The cheesecake arrived and then my benedict arrived.  The Cosmos version of the benedict was a nice idea in theory, but didn’t work in execution.  It was like traditional eggs benedict, with a portabella mushroom replacing the English muffin base.  The problem was that the mushroom was cooked a bit too much and gave off too much liquid.  And, since this was served in a shallow bowl, the mushroom juice quickly mixed with the Hollandaise, compromising the integrity of the sauce.  It was one of those “Oh well, it all goes to the same place anyway” moments.  Since my daughter was on dessert and my wife was done, I really didn’t bother to send it back only to arrive when they could both watch me eat.

So, foodwise, the lobster frittata was a standout.  Everything else was average or below-average.  Definitely, not worth the prices charged.  The service was poor from the timing of food to the table to the confusion over what we should order.  And there was only one other table of diners in the place.  So the kitchen couldn’t have been that busy (unless there were a bunch of room service orders we didn’t know about, and hotel guests trump restaurant customers).

If I ever return to Cosmos, which is highly doubtful, it will be to drink in the bar.  I’ll stay away from the dining room.

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Well, it was fabulous for dinner. Thanks for the heads up on brunch.

[BRM]

The chef at Cosmos, Seth Bixby Dougherty just left. I haven't heard if they've found a replacement. But it bears watching. I have to say that I ate at Chambers Kitchen last friday and it was great fun. To some extent, I think those place are designed for the see-and-be-seen crowd and if that is the case then my wager is that most of them will go to Chambers.

Here's the story from the Strib (might require registration)

Edited December 19, 2006 by BRM (log)

[ronnie_suburban]

From the article linked above by BRM:

What is it about Food & Wine magazine's "best new chef" designation? Tim McKee departed his top post at D'Amico Cucina to open La Belle Vie shortly after making the F&W cut in 1997. Stewart Woodman of Five Restaurant & Street Lounge landed on the glossy's July 2006 cover and was out of the restaurant three months later. Now it's 2005 cover guy Seth Bixby Daugherty's turn. After a nearly four-year run, Daugherty, pictured below, is saying goodbye to Cosmos (601 1st Av. N., Minneapolis). His new job: launching Real Food Initiatives.

=R=

[BRM]

From the article linked above by BRM:

What is it about Food & Wine magazine's "best new chef" designation? Tim McKee departed his top post at D'Amico Cucina to open La Belle Vie shortly after making the F&W cut in 1997. Stewart Woodman of Five Restaurant & Street Lounge landed on the glossy's July 2006 cover and was out of the restaurant three months later. Now it's 2005 cover guy Seth Bixby Daugherty's turn. After a nearly four-year run, Daugherty, pictured below, is saying goodbye to Cosmos (601 1st Av. N., Minneapolis). His new job: launching Real Food Initiatives.

=R=

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In Woodman's case I have heard he is a very hard guy to work with. I also eat at Levain a fair bit and all of the servers and line staff there are happy he's gone. I suspect the same happened at Five. I honestly don't know what the appeal of school lunch programs are for a chef of Bixby Daugherty's caliber. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

[Elrushbo]

Anyone been to Cosmos lately? I'm going Mar 25 for my 40th birthday, wondering what people might recommend.