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©2002 Tobie Nidetz |
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Copper Bleu is the best of its kind Copper Bleu in Lakeville proves that good dining can be found in the suburbs. Jeremy Iggers, Star Tribune
Q When will outer-ring suburbs such as Maple Grove, Eden Prairie, Lakeville and Woodbury get the kinds of sophisticated bistros and upscale fine dining restaurants we have in Minneapolis and St. Paul? A Probably never. But if they are really lucky, they may get more restaurants like Copper Bleu, the glitzy new American grill in Lakeville. There are a lot of different reasons why you can't find restaurants such as Levain, Lucia's or La Belle Vie in Lakeville, ranging from the economics of suburban commercial real estate to housing density and differences in culture and lifestyle. If you wanted to open a little neighborhood bistro like Corner Table in Eden Prairie, where would you put it? In a strip mall? It wouldn't work. The future of dining in the Twin Cities suburbs belongs to free-standing big-box restaurants, located near major malls, that offer a stylish ambience and a big menu with something for everybody, from burgers and pastas to steaks and seafood. This kind of restaurant can be done well or badly. I have not been impressed by my visits to Enjoy! in Apple Valley, or the Redstone American Grill in Minnetonka, but Copper Bleu, (in spite of the hokey name), is the best of its kind that I have seen. The cuisine is consistently good, and the design -- with copper-clad exterior, curved walls, and chandeliers that refract light through hundreds of glass tubes -- is striking. The menu was created with the help of chef/consultant Tobie Nidetz, who has designed many local restaurant menus; his signature Szechuan green beans are a highlight of the small-plate menu. But we also were delighted by the other starters we tried, including garlicky shrimp-cargot (shrimp prepared escargot style) and deep-fried calamari, dusted with spicy Indonesian sambol seasonings. The very fresh ahi tuna, served sashimi-style, was wonderful in spite of the too-thick teriyaki style sauce that accompanied it. The seafood pan roast, a soup brimming with shrimp, lobster and crab, was underseasoned, and the Caesar salad was way overdressed, but those problems are both easily remedied. All the entrees got high marks: The roast chicken, marinated in honey and lime, was wonderfully moist and flavorful, as was the cedar-plank salmon (though the flavor of cedar didn't really come through). I find filet mignon boring, but the friend who ordered the blue-cheese-crusted filet was delighted. I much preferred the 20-ounce rib-eye, a wonderfully juicy cut of meat, ordered medium-rare and cooked to perfection. The roast chicken also showed up in a chicken BLT; the chicken was again delicious, but serving a BLT on a baguette, with big slices of tomato slapped on top, is a dumb idea. The most exotic entree on the menu -- and maybe too exotic for some customers -- is the lobster noodle bowl. Our server warned us that the combination of kaffir lime leaves and fresh coriander smelled like Lemon Pledge furniture polish, and then told us we could send it back if we didn't like it. We tried it and liked it -- a spicy Thai-style red curry with generous quantities of lobster, rice noodles and red and green peppers in a coconut milk base. Preparing mashed potatoes at tableside is an entertaining novelty, and the results are delicious. You choose the ingredients, from a list that includes green onions, garlic, bacon and horseradish, and the server whips it up in a copper-clad pot. Otherwise, service was friendly, but generally lacked polish. One big faux pas: vacuuming in the dining room during the dinner hour, which we witnessed twice.
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