Spring at Myriel

Myriel is one of the best restaurants in the Twin Cities. Chef/owner Karyn Tomlinson serves an incredible tasting menu in partnership with nearby farms, many of which invite her to forage on their land in addition to providing amazing produce and meat for the restaurant's whole-animal butchery program.

While they do offer some a la carte seats each night, the focus of the restaurant is their 12-course tasting menu, which we have enjoyed twice. They also offer a great wine pairing with the tasting menu. Both times we have visited, the service has been spectacular - and Chef Tomlinson has been there to introduce the menu, tell us about the restaurant's approach to food sourcing, and welcome guests.

Here's what we enjoyed in late May at Myriel:

Welcome bite: fresh (raw!) asparagus with cultured butter. I had never had raw asparagus before and it was a delight especially dipped in the butter.

Tea course: herbal tea, pink potato chips with walleye powder, house-made ham, duck pate. Three perfect bites.

Lamb tenderloin and birch cream on a beet slice. Perfectly paired with an onion-garnished gin and aquavit martini. The birch cream was beautifully sweet, and the bite overall had suggestions of dessert even though it was also quite savory - a fascinating balance.

Nettle soup with ramps, prickly ash, and violet flower. This tasted so green in the best possible way.

Salad: Radish, wood sorrel, violet sorrel, and house-made cottage cheese. Normally I'm not a cottage cheese person, but this cottage cheese was very burrata-esque and beautifully creamy.

Classic French omelette. So buttery. Incredible. I believe this omelette is kind of a classic signature item at Myriel.

Whitefish mousseline with sumac buerre blanc. The buerre blanc was incredible and had a lovely acidity that complemented its richness excellently.

Savory wheat porridge with runner beans. The beans had been preserved from last summer - because Myriel is so focused on local and seasonal cooking, they do a lot of preservation and fermentation to extend the life of summer produce through the winter and spring.

Pork jowl with black walnut glaze and ramp leaf. The pine needle "toothpick" reminded me of noma, which is unsurprising because Chef Tomlinson has been involved with MAD, the organization noma's Rene Redzepi founded.

Palate cleanser: Viili with milkweed capers, honey, and spruce tips. Viili is a Scandinavian fermented dairy product similar to yogurt with very long cultures that create kind of a cheese-pull texture when you scoop it up. The culture they used to make this is over 100 years old!

Roast chicken with spinach, sorrel cream, chive oil, and bread and butter. The way they managed to keep the cooked spinach supple and al dente but still tender had to have been sorcery.

Lamp steak, onion, rhubarb, and mustard seed au poivre-style sauce. Every element of this dish was fabulous but the humble onion was the standout here. Rhubarb in this savory application was also really fun!

Carrots cooked in whey (a byproduct of Myriel's in-house cheese production) and garnished with flower vinegar and fennel pollen. A great example of the ways in which Myriel finds uses and re-uses for all the produce they use and dishes they make. The texture of these carrots was also perfect.

Lemongrass and celery sorbet with sorghum and maple water soda. This made my friend who allegedly doesn't like celery say, "Maybe I like celery."

Buckwheat cake with creme fraiche and spring parsnips. The parsnips were so fun in a dessert application!