City Tins 2020 the pandemic year
Another pandemic thing.
25 City Tin coasters. 25 restaurants we won’t visit.
Four years later, still processing my pandemic sh*t. Not really. I am just moving notes and journal entries off a service I don’t use anymore.
The backstory
For Christmas 2019, I was gifted a City Tin. By spring 2020 it was quite clear we wouldn’t be using those nifty little $10 off coasters. Even if we would ever go to a restaurant again, there was no way we would try to use a coupon.
Each week, we reviewed the menu of a restaurant selected by the little spinner and tried to recreate a dish and drinks at home. We tried our best to find the actual recipes. In some cases we punted.
No 1. Friday, July 24. The Naughty Greek
Fast, casual. Locally-sourced Greek.
Menu: fried zucchini, chicken souvlaki on pitas with tzatziki. Fries. Baba ghanoush.
Drinks: grappa, white wine (Italian, not Greek)
No 2. Friday, July 31. Dixie’s on Grand
Classic Southern US.
Menu: Chicken and sausage gumbo, buttermilk biscuits.
Drinks: Shreveport sour, Sazerac, red wine
No 3. Saturday, August 8. Nolo’s/Basement Bar
American comfort.
Menu: The cheeseburger (double In N Out, animal style), fries with sauce
Drinks: Hearts of Fire (tequila, dry curaçao, lime, fresh jalapeño, grapefruit soda), Rosemary’s Baby (Hendrick’s, lime, honey, rosemary)
No 4. Saturday, August 15. DeGidio’s
Classic Italian.
Menu: Tomato bruschetta with house made ricotta*, chicken parm, deconstructed cannoli
Drinks: The Oldest Fashioned (bourbon, trinity bitters, City of Mpls aquifer), red blend (Spanish, not Italian, alas)
*Bonus: leftover ricotta used for Hell’s Kitchen lemon ricotta hotcakes
No 5. Thursday, August 20. Pourhouse
Sports bar and sausage factory.
Menu: philly sammies with house-smoked beef, pickles, chips
Drinks: better than rail pour G and T
Special guest: Julie
No 6. Friday, September 4. Nico’s Tacos
Inspired by Mexican street food.
Menu: pork el pastor tacos, roasted salsa and chips
Drinks: Nico’s Pipino (tequila, cuke, lime, agave with added curaçao for marg flavor), Mexican Mule, Up in Smoke (tequila, smoke, bitters, curaçao), Country Style Paloma
No 7. Monday, September 7. The Butcher & The Boar
American craft food, beer, bourbon.
Menu: Hungarian chicken with rice (recipe off their website vs menu, made with stuff on hand)
Drinks: B&B old fashioned
No 8. Friday, September 18. Brasa Rotisserie
Southern, Caribbean.
Menu: Mojo pork, green sauce (see recipes for recipe), cheddar grits
Drinks: Traditional red sangria
No 9. Friday, September 25. Parlour/Borough
Contemporary American, cocktail bar.
Menu: Parlour burger (chuck, ribeye, white American cheese) + R&R mushrooms, fries with leftover green sauce
Drinks: Bourbon and cider (we didn’t have any of the things to make their fancy cocktails)
No 10. Thursday, October 6. Saji-Ya
Traditional Japanese.
Menu: Miso soup, shumai, miso ginger grilled salmon on sushi rice, Momo sushi rolls: Spicy Girl, Momo, Tibet Mt
Drinks: sake
Soup, dumplings, maki courtesy of Momo Sushi takeout.
No 11. Thursday, October 15. The Sheridan Room
Contemporary casual and cocktails.
Menu: Bar nuts (Jeff’s fragrant nuts), Mother Clucker (grilled chicken, green apple, brie, honey mustard on french bread)
Drinks: Shiner Octoberfest, whiskey old fashioned
No 12 Friday, October 23. Eli’s East
Contemporary casual and cocktails.
Menu: Chicken Marsala with buttermilk mashed potatoes
Drinks: Cider and bubble water, beer
Special guests: Summer and Vivian
No 13. Saturday, October 31. P.S. Steak
“Millennial” steak house in the old La Belle Vie location.
Menu: Ribeye from Ready Meats with pommes Arigot (Gruyère, mozzarella, Tomme, chives)
Drinks: Smokey vodka martini and smokey old fashioned, Red Car Syrah (on their wine menu)
P.S. (ha!) A few years later, we went to P.S. Steak for a birthday dinner. My pommes Arigot were better.
No 14. Saturday, November 14. Beast BBQ
Traditional BBQ.
Menu: Smoked fish cheese dip and Ritz crackers, smoked ribeye, baked potato
Drinks: Home 75 (with none of the correct ingredients), Logan Collins, wine
No 15. Saturday, November 21. Emmett’s
Traditional Irish pub (sister to Dixie’s).
Menu: 696 brick press sandwiches (corned beef, pepperoncini, mustard, havarti, sriracha, and thousand island on a french roll), chips
Drinks: Mother’s Ruin (with none of the correct ingredients), Rosewood Manhattan
What about the other ten?
I don’t know. We petered out, or got distracted by the holiday season and ran out of days in 2020. These years later, I can’t recall. It makes me angry I don’t keep a journal.
Butcher & the Boar Old Fashioned
Ingredients
- 2 ounces B&B Knob Creek Single Barrel
- 1/2 house made Demerara syrup
- 3 dashes Angostura Bitters
Serve with an orange spritz.
References
Photo from eBay