“Restaurant News: Bayport joint to open with potent mix of barbecue and blues”

Restaurant News: Bayport joint to open with potent mix of barbecue and blues

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 10:09 PM PDT

The old Bayport Cookery was always a destination restaurant, and new owner Chris Johnson hopes to continue the tradition. The former fine-dining restaurant on Fifth Avenue North near Minnesota 95 in Bayport reopens on Sunday as Bayport BBQ. For the next several weeks, until the kinks are worked out, the restaurant will be open for lunch only.

The 70-seat barbecue-and-blues spot will serve Texas-style barbecue cooked on a pit that recently arrived from Dallas. Expect a menu of dry-rubbed brisket, house-made hot links, chicken and spareribs. For Texans, barbecuing is also about a little Texas spirit, so Johnson's new spot won't have TVs blaring from all corners of the room. Instead, live blues will be part of the mix.

"We're calling it a deep-blues juke joint," says Johnson, who ran the Deep Blues Festival at the Cabooze in Minneapolis and the Washington County Fairgrounds. "We're excited to bring in outsider and alternative blues bands."

The live music will be a great attraction, but it's debatable how much dancing one can do after consuming a rack of ribs and a side of beans, potato salad and coleslaw, not to mention house-baked breads and desserts. Before Johnson was an insurance agent or a Texas barbecue aficionado, he was a baker at the famous Black Dog Bakery in Martha's Vineyard, Mass.

Over the years, Johnson honed his art of smoking meat and started catering parties. He also spent a lot of time in Texas, especially at Smitty's Market in

barbecue-crazed Lockhart. Now that he's ready to live his dream of opening a barbecue joint, he plans to pay tribute to that cuisine and culture.

"If someone compares us to Smitty's Market," says Johnson, "I would be very proud."

SAY CHEESE CURDS

In other breaking culinary news, Snuffy's Malt Shop has added cheese curds to the menu ($2.75 small, $5.75 large). But they're only at Roseville. If the cheese curds are selling well there (and according to the restaurant, they are) the other three locations — St. Paul's Highland Park, Edina and Minnetonka — eventually will add them to the menu, too.

Why did Roseville get the honor of being the first? My guess is it pays to be near the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

BIG PAPA

Papa John's is the latest to glom onto the customer-loyalty band-wagon. The pizza chain now rewards customers who order online. You get one Papa's Point every time you spend $5, and 25 points results in a free pizza.

SPOOKY MEAL

If you haven't made plans for Halloween, you may want to check out Water Street Inn's patio event on Saturday in downtown Stillwater. A $10 ticket at the door entitles you to all-you-can-eat scrambled brains (chili over noodles) and chunky booger soup (chicken and dumplings) as well as one beer, glass of wine or cocktail. The party runs from 8 to 11 p.m. If it's chilly, there will be a fire pit and patio heaters. Costumes are encouraged but not required.

FREE BURGERS

Kids eat free if they come in costume on Saturday and Sunday at Burger Jones in Minneapolis. The fine print says they have to eat before 6 p.m., order off the kids' menu, be 12 or younger and be accompanied by an adult.

FREE MEAL FOR MILITARY

Once again, Applebee's is saluting veterans and active members of the military with a free meal on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Sorry, old-timers — no SOS. But they do have steak, ribs and three-cheese chicken penne pasta.

CHOCOLAT CELESTE IS BACK

When Mary Leonard closed Chocolat Celeste on University Avenue near Minnesota 280 in St. Paul earlier this year, she vowed to reopen. And now she has. The new St. Paul location is a block north of University on Transfer Road, and Leonard's focus is now on growing her Internet business. But she's still open to the public. For more information, go to store.chocolatceleste.com.

Pioneer Press restaurant critic Kathie Jenkins can be reached at 651-228-5585 or kjenkins@pioneerpress.com. Follow her on Twitter @ JenkinsCritic.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured article: Beyond Hiroshima - The Non-Reporting of Falluja's Cancer Catastrophe.

Cookery

Thursday, October 28, 2010