Red Stag Supperclub

Address
509 1st Ave. NE, Mpls., 612-767-7766

The Scene
Red Stag Supperclub, just over the Hennepin Avenue Bridge in near Nordeast, is a generous space of exposed brick and hewn timbers with a thirty-foot marble bar and a gleaming, open kitchen. Tables for four, comfy booths, and communal tables for ten-plus fill the dining room. An antique beer-can collection and framed black-and-white photos propped on an ancient upright piano play to the theme. A pantry, visible beyond the kitchen, is stacked with filled-from-the-garden canning jars. Be you a neighbor from a nearby condo or family home up the street, a tie-loosened banker, a single lady meeting friends, or a middle-aged housewife a-waiting her spouse, you’ll feel welcome in this convivial place. LED bulbs illuminating the rough ceiling save electricity, but there’s lots of good energy here.

Our Take
Sure, there’s a Friday fish fry and plenty of steak, but if this is supper-club food, then I’m Posh Spice. Chef Bill Baskin, formerly of Cosmos, has cooked in England’s renowned Fat Duck and is no stranger to the pleasures of the hunt. Take the appetizer of Scotch quail eggs encased in duck sausage with potted duck, or the venison stroganoff with slivers of homemade pickles, or seared duck breast on acorn squash-ravioli brightened with preserved lemon. Each dish riffs on tradition with flair: a winsome Waldorf salad of dried and fresh Granny Smith apples and smoked raisins; tender chicken with potato dumplings enriched with a poached egg; smoked, braised, fried veal-and-lentil “casserole.” Though touted as sides, the tempura veggies, lobster-and-truffle mac and cheese, and triple-cooked British–style fries made terrific starters or bar fare. Friday’s fish fry flaunted mini lobster cakes spiked with ham, a basket of crisp fried perch, and smelt “fries” served in a paper cone with sweet onion tartar and smoked tomato sauce (perhaps too “smelty” for some). All the sweet finishes were winners, especially the chocolate choices and cake of the day. You’ll want to stick around and sip a Flat Earth Belgian Pale Ale or Young’s Chocolate Stout and watch the DJ spin honest-to-god LPs.

Green Room, Green Fare
A former sheet metal shop has been transformed into the most environmentally aware restaurant in the state. Red Stag uses low-electricity lighting and energy-efficient ventilation and composts its own waste. The building’s wood products are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Red Stag has been worth the additional time and cost to owner Kim Bartmann, who found retro style and savings in salvaged booths, marble, sinks, and doors (made into tables) and expects to see significant savings in operating costs. Red Stag’s menu expresses Bartmann’s values: Local plays large here—Fischer Farms pork, Star Prairie trout, Dry Weather Creek Mill cornmeal and flour, Schultz Organic chicken and eggs. The pickles are from Chef Baskin’s garden. Seeking grits from native corn, she says she gave Dry Creek Mill a sample from her favorite Southern source and “now they’re milling the best-tasting grits anywhere.”