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Beaujo's Wine Bar
& Bistro
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| A Wine Bar Aspiring to Reach the MGD Set | Edina’s little oasis | |
| I would like to think that
Minnesotan restaurant-goers are outgrowing their meat-and-potatoes
mindset. Basing business plans on such wishes, however, can be a tricky
proposition, as the proprietors of our venue this week are likely
discovering. I highly recommend Beaujo’s Wine Bar and Bistro
for lunch, but unless the Edina crowd starts gravitating away from the
likes of Pearson’s Family Restaurant its continued existence
seems problematic. No more than a handful of other customers were in
evidence on this bright and crisp fall day, and not all of them made any
significant contribution to the bistro’s bottom line. One in
particular captured the mismatch between Beaujo’s ambitions and
its location perfectly. An older woman—from afar she reminded me of
Jill Clayburgh but the resemblance proved to be quite specious on closer
inspection—came in for an MGD (that’s Miller Genuine Draft, for the
import and microbrew quaffers among our readers), took her time
partaking of it, and then left.
Beaujo’s has more wine and beer selections than food items on the menu. I counted about twenty reds and fifteen whites by the glass, plus champagne and a dessert wine—perhaps the restaurant gets the award for the largest by-the-glass selection in town? They even make it possible for the lunch diner to try more than one wine and still return to work hardly the worse for it: wine selections are available by the half-glass as well. Flights of three preselected wines can also be consumed. The beer selection isn’t nearly as extensive, but it’s thoughtful; with Pilsner Urquell on tap there’s no excuse or reason to make it Miller time. Food isn’t the forte of the place, but the selections include sandwiches, soups, salads, a roast chicken dish, several "small plates," plus a few desserts. The small plates refer to cheese and sausage selections, patés and spreads, and an olive bowl. The sandwiches available are beef tenderloin; ham and gruyere, served hot or cold; a "Mediterranean"; grilled portobello; and a bruschetta with red pepper coulis, saucission, and "cheese du jour." Soup and half sandwich combinations can be ordered, and I opted for one, chicken and white bean soup with the Mediterranean sandwich. The soup was nicely seasoned although lacking in texture, the beans overcooked to the point of having lost all firmness. No complaints about the sandwich, though: goat cheese spread on rustic bread with arugula, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and olivida—altogether very fresh and delicious. The sandwich came with potato chips that were crisp and had some body to them. I took advantage of the half-glass option and sampled two of the reds. The first was a cuvée Kermit Lynch Côtes du Rhone: ripe and luscious with prominent blueberry and blackberry notes. I followed up with the Cline Ancient Vines Mourvedre, fruity in a red berry vein and also very good. Beaujo’s is a pleasant place to while away a lunch hour (or two) in other ways too. The interior is quite inviting with a deep mustard and burgundy color scheme that, as long as no Miller brands are in sight, could remind you of Provence. The main room has a good-sized bar with about a dozen seats and about half-a-dozen tables. (There’s also a smaller room in the back.) Our server was friendly and helpful without being overbearing. A good time was had by all present; one only wishes there were more. A |
What’s a
bored Edina housewife to do? That four-year degree from St. Cloud State
– ensconced in a safety deposit box at TCF – beckons occasionally.
Recently, memories of that foreign student from France in her freshman
composition class have been coming back to her. She thinks about that
innocent afternoon in early autumn 1982 when Pierre had served her
rough-cut French bread with cheese, and the wine – warm and metallic
tasting – in paper cups. Alas! Pierre, balding, approaches middle age
in Lyon and here she is, married to John from Mankato State, with two
children. Then one day, as she contemplates buying an outfit for the
first time from a store on 50th and France that she’d
always associated with middle aged women, she sees it – a new
wine bar, Beaujo’s. She reaches for her omnipresent cell phone
and calls Doreen, Bridget and Shannon to invite them to lunch. After a
few glasses of wine the story about Pierre is bound to come out.
The Lunch this week goes to the Beaujo's Wine Bar & Bistro in the heart of Edina. The restaurant (it’s a stretch but one could call it that) is set in clean, minimalist lines. There is a bar in the middle with high tables in the front of the restaurant and more traditional seating on the side and in the back room. The décor is simple and uncluttered with a wooden look. We were the only diners to start with and I was starting to wonder about my mythical Edina housewife; if she was going to be a no show then my whole preamble (already worked up in my head) would have to be redone. But then people started to filter in. And yes Doreen and company showed up on cue with small children and babies in perambulators! The wine is the thing here. Lunch menu consists almost entirely of appetizers, soup (two) and sandwiches. On this day the soups were tomato basil and chicken soup. I started with tomato soup which was surprisingly good after a liberal dose of fresh ground pepper had been added to it. There is a fairly decent wine list and it offers seventeen reds by the glass and a slightly smaller number of whites. The interesting thing about the wine list is the choice between a full glass versus a half glass. We opted for half glasses; of course, this gave us a chance to sample more wine. I started with Liberty School syrah (aromas of blackberry brambles) and finished with a robust glass of Lockwood cabernet. For my entrée I chose the beef tenderloin half sandwich with horseradish sauce. The sandwich was excellent, the beef moist and flavorful. The other items on the menu: Mediterranean vegetarian sandwich (See A’s review about this item); ham and cheese sandwich; portobello mushroom sandwich; and a "chicken on the bone" sandwich. I was pleased with my meal and would recommend it for light dining. A & I have both been here before for an after dinner dessert and a drink. They serve a good selection of chocolates here and we recommend that you try them. This would make a good happy hour spot. There is NO SMOKING! I was a bit disappointed that the lunch crowd was thin but then perhaps we should keep this little spot to ourselves. Our lunch bill came to $40.00. B
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