The most annoying thing about a roaring campfire is all the grueling labor you must perform first. Locate a virgin forest, then fell it with an axe of purest iron, then ferry the wood home by a stout ox pulling a laden wagon—and who has that kind of time? Certainly not a busy modern person like yourself.
Can’t someone else buy the wood, mix the marinade, and stand around getting dry eyes and burned fingers over hot coals? Why, yes! Lots of local professionals will happily take over the hottest tasks of summer—so you can lead life in the tidiest way, with all the good stuff and none of the ashes.
Smoked cocktail at Brick and Bourbon
Photos by Caitlin Abrams
Smoking Cocktails
Smoke and good hooch have always gone together. That’s why coopers char the inside of whiskey and wine barrels to add those good, toasty notes. A few cocktail bars have taken this principle to its logical (and brilliant) extreme. At Travail, the drink called the Ron Burgundy offers bourbon and Scotch, made in a flask filled with cherry pipe tobacco smoke. The smoke pours over the bar top, and makes you think of old libraries and leather. 4124 Broadway Ave. W., Robbinsdale, 763-535-1131, travailkitchen.com
TRY IT: Brick & Bourbon has created the Instagram hit of the summer, the Smoking Gun Maple Old Fashioned, which it serves under a glass cloche. Liftthe lid and smoke creeps alongthe table like a magic trick. 215 S. Main St., Stillwater, 651-342-0777, brickandbourbon.com
Wood-roasted vegetables at Punch Pizza
Roasted red peppers at Punch Pizza
Fire-Kissed Vegetables
Northeast Minneapolis is your hot spot for fired-up veggies. Don’t miss the cauliflower cooked in that big monster of a wood oven at Young Joni. Blistered shishito peppers give it extra fire (Young Joni, 165 13th Ave. NE, Mpls., 612-345-5719, youngjoni.com).The neighborhood is about to get a new barbecue spot, Lipstick Pig, in the old Legends location, with its own sideline specialty in wood smoke—roasted veggies. Can we put in a pretty please for smoked potatoes? They’re magic. 825 Hennepin Ave. E., Mpls., 612-331-4575, lpbbq.com
TRY IT: Roast red peppers are one of summer’s great joys. If you want to give your grill a night off, head to Punch Pizza in Highland Park (and no other Punch location!) and train your peepers on the appetizer section. 704 Cleveland Ave. S., St. Paul, 651-696-1066, punchpizza.com
Smoked Salmon at Mevyn in Uptown Minneapolis
Smoked Fish
No North Shore journey is complete without a roadside stop for smoked chubs or whitefish. But city slickers also produce a few fair things with smoke and our fin friends.At this writing, Minneapolis desperately awaits the opening of Meyvn (pronounced Maven), a wood-fired bagel and wood-smoked fish spot, on the corner of Lake Street and Bryant Avenue, kitty-corner from the Bryant Lake Bowl. When it opens, the dream team from Saint Dinette, including chef Adam Eaton, will serve wood-smoked sable, sturgeon, salmon, and other delights. 901 W. Lake St., Mpls., meyvneats.com
Fire-Grilled Steak from Martina in Linden Hills, Minneapolis
Argentinian-inspired wood-fired steak from Martina
Fire-Grilled Steaks
The caveman triumph of a good steak over a wood flame can be an everyday indulgence when you know about the good prices and good meat at Bonfire Wood Cooking (which axed “Axel’s” from the name after its 2013 sale). We like the Grand Avenue location of this local chainlet for the whiskey-marinated sirloin, at a very reasonable $18.95. But don’t stint on the $2 asparagus upgrade. Six locations, plus the airport, bonfirewoodfirecooking.com
TRY IT: Chef Daniel del Prado has a sensation on his hands with the Argentinian-inflected Martina in Linden Hills. The smart late-dinner move is to hit the bar for a great steak and a glass of good red wine. 4312 Upton Ave. S., Mpls., 612-922-9913, martinarestaurant.com
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