MSP magazine visits Mill Valley Kitchen

Marianne Miller of Mpls. St. Paul magazine wrote a piece about her visits to Mill Valley Kitchen, which appeared in the September issue and you can read it right here:

Mill Valley Kitchen
by Marianne Miller

photo by Tim Davis

Walking into Mill Valley Kitchen is akin to stepping into a tony Kenwood penthouse or the clubroom of an upscale warm-weather resort. The strikingly crisp design from the aces at Shea is a welcome break from the usual swarthy river-rock/reclaimed wood combo seen ad nauseum. The moneyed and manicured diners breezily chat away in an understated display; the ever modest Minnesota mindset mimics the decor precisely.

The menu offers a blend of good-for-you grub with a pseudo-Asian-California-spa feel in visually appetizing platings. Fittingly, the menu comes with nutritional information, which complements the type of food being cooked. A word to the wise, however: caloric counts are almost impossible to pull off accurately, so use them as a reference and not an absolute. Unless there is a strict measure of each ingredient in a dish (or a Bunsen burner being used on the line to calculate finished dishes), you can assume a margin of error of approximately 100 calories.

Although there were a few good surprises, such as the sesame carrots (sweet and smoky), they could not compensate for the grass-fed filet of beef that was a mangled end cap of a tenderloin next to underdone "smash potatoes." Sadly this was not just an outlier, but rather the norm with a few exceptions. Upsides include toasty and tasty pita bread with hummus, sparkling and peppy fresh ginger beer, and desserts worth every calorie.

Service was, well, adorable albeit slightly clumsy--big on genuine friendliness and willing to accommodate requests at lightning speed. The complimentary valet is a great added bonus to the welcoming attitude that extends to the hosts working hard to make you feel at home. And the wine menu is notably elegant, offering a well chosen selection of all the best California has to offer. There are a lot of good things going on here; maybe in time the food will catch up.