Friday, May 22, 2009

Birchwood Cafe

My mom and I went to Birchwood Cafe in the Seward neighborhood for dinner the night before I was leaving my apartment in the area. I knew I wouldn't get another chance to eat there anytime soon so jumped at the chance to choose whatever restaurant I wanted. We got there on a Friday night and it was packed with families, singles, and couples. Everyone seemed like a regular. It could have something to do with its location in the middle of a residential area with no other businesses around.


We ordered and I got to pick out a dessert to eat while waiting for our food. I went with this luscious pineapple caramel bread pudding. I had never had bread pudding and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to do so. This was out of this world. They put a little homemade whipped cream on topped that perfectly complemented the dish. I'm drooling just thinking about this again. It was gone much too soon; I wish I hadn't had to share it!


I ordered the black bean quinoa burger with rhubarb ginger compote, provolone, tarragon orange aioli, lettuce, & onion on a multigrain bun, aka there was no way this could taste bad. It also came with blue corn chips & a small amount of salsa. The burger was absolutely delicious and filling; I couldn't have ordered anything better.


My mom got the Wild Acres turkey burger with Surly Bender mustard, tart cherry ketchup, white cheddar, onion, lettuce, & tomato on a buttermilk bun. The chips also came with her meal. I had a bite and really liked it; she thought it was just a little too spicy.

Either way, you can't go wrong with Birchwood's burgers or desserts (everything in that display case looked killer). I can imagine all their food is amazing, leading to their immense neighborhood popularity. The people in Seward are pretty bike-friendly, co-op-shopping folks, so it fits right in. I hope to be able to go back again before I leave for Paris!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

For a restaurant that's "not a burger place", they sure do make a fantastic beef burger as well. Thousand acres grass-fed beef and cooked PERFECTLY - just on the rare side of medium without even having to ask. Why is that so hard for burger places around here to accomplish?

-m

Faith said...

I know what Michael means about 'why is it so hard..(to do things right)? I think that applies to Birchwood's desserts which are lower in sugar, therefore more like European desserts, and are all FABULOUS. Thanks messmaker for the great review and photos. I've never tried the veggieburgers at Birchwood, will have to soon.

Lee said...

I'm a huge fan of the Birchwood, and especially of that quinoa burger. I always feel like there are 20 things on the men board vying for my attention. The people are great too - they do all sorts of amazing things for Minneapolis and the local food movement.

Excellent post!