Tonight, Cheri and I will be going out for dinner with friends. We're going to Muffaletta on Como Avenue in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood near Luther Seminary and just across the street from a beautiful old library. My old CSF office was also close by over on the UMN St. Paul Campus.
We first discovered this wonderful little place back in the mid-90s a few years after we moved to the Twin Cities. We loved the neighborhood, the quaint old buildings of Milton Square, and the wood-paneled dining rooms of the restaurant. It has a warm and inviting atmosphere perfect for good conversation and fine dining.
We've had a lot of sweet times at Muffaletta that include Valentines Days, anniversaries, wedding dinners, Sunday brunches, and special meals with visiting out-of-town friends and family. We even met our daugher-in-law, Sara, there for the first time. She was our server there on one or two occasions. Little did we know that several years later, she would meet our son, Page, and eventually marry him. Kinda crazy!
It's been a little too long since we've been to Muffaletta, so we're excited about going there tonight. From what we've heard and read, it's better now than ever before. We're looking forward to finding out for ourselves.
Here are a few paragraphs from a 2005 review in the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
The relaxing and unpretentious neighborhood restaurant, named after a sandwich invented in New Orleans, has been one of St. Paul's favorite dining spots for 27 years. Sure, it has gone through an ugly-duckling phase, but now it's better than I remember and shows no signs of slowing down.The longevity can be attributed to the owners, the same group of guys responsible for longtimers Manny's Steakhouse, Figlio and the Good Earth. They have the uncanny ability to stay one step ahead of their customers. In Muffuletta's case, earlier this year, they spiffed up the room with a coat of paint and some new art and moved a chef over from one of their other restaurants to tweak the menu.
JD Fratzke, former sous chef at the mega-popular Asian-influenced Chino Latino in Minneapolis, added such dishes as Moroccan tagine and mahi mahi with curry sauce to the roster of American-bistro favorites.
Kathie Jenkins, St. Paul Pioneer Press
January 13, 2005
Awesome! I hope you have a wonderful time. I, too, have heard good things about Muffaletta, but have never been there. It's on the list! I also will say that any restaurant I visit that is a part of the Parasole group never disappoints. From Manny's to Chino Latino, and from Salut! to Burger Jones, they are all dynamite.
ReplyDeleteKris-
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was as cozy as ever. Maybe we can go again sometime with you and your wife when you're ready to check it off your list.