Photos from District Fresh Kitchen Facebook page
I’ve never seen so much restaurant action in one Twin Cities suburb. Wayzata has seen so many openings in the past year: 6Smith, CōV, People’s Organic, Lunds & Byerlys has a restaurant, McCormick’s expanded. It’s crazy. Now Anoush Ansari of Hemisphere Restaurants, the guys behind Mission American and the Tavern Grill Restaurants (Edina, Blaine, Woodbury), has jumped into the city by the lake with District Fresh Kitchen & Bar.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
My in-laws loved this room. It’s beautifully designed, very warm, open, and airy. It feels like Wayzata, in a really great way. The kitchen is open (aren’t they all), and the large dining room is split into smaller sections so it doesn’t feel as busy as it likely will be. Service (on day two!) was very friendly, if not fully informed on all the details of the menu. The concept is about eating fresh and healthy, with all the flavor.
WHAT TO ORDER
The seared tuna ($26) was outstanding! I ordered it rare, so there was a nice pan sear on either side with almost an herb crust on the tuna medallions. On the side was a rich chermoula sauce to spice up the tuna, and a farro salad with roasted tomato, mushrooms, and goat cheese.
The grilled pork tenderloin was a rather small portion of pork ($21), but it was full of flavor thanks to a lovely apple maple gastrique.
The snacky starters are good too, especially if you want to pop in for a drink. The oven-roasted olives ($7) were nicely seasoned with fennel seed and a hint of chili; the edamame had a subtle red miso glaze ($5).
DISAPPOINTMENT
There is a kids menu, which is nice, since we saw many families with young kids on Wednesday night. My 10-year-old said the penne pasta was delicious, but it wasn’t very much considering the price tag was $7. No side, no drink, just $7 for a small bowl of penne. My 7-year-old had an individual cheese pizza, also good, but also small, and $7.
SURPRISE
The cocktail situation is fantastic. There’s a nice presence of local spirits on the cocktail list, including Far North, and the incredible new Tattersall gin and vodka. The District Martini is perfect—with gin, lime juice, and green chartreuse. We liked the margarita and the bramble (Prairie vodka, lemon-rosemary syrup, blueberries), too.
BOTTOM LINE
If District Fresh Kitchen & Bar executes this well on day two, this place has a ton of potential. Located inside the new town center/apartment/condo project, there are a lot of customers surrounding this place. And Hemisphere knows how to serve an elite customer, considering the success of Mission American in IDS. It’s worth a visit.
District Fresh Kitchen & Bar, 300 Superior Blvd., Wazata, 952-473-6500, districtfreshkitchen.com
