Travail - Robbinsdale, MN

Omg. I don't know how else to sum this place up. What a fantastic spot, and in Robbinsdale no less. Since they don't take reservations, two girlfriends and I headed down pretty early so we wouldn't have to wait and good thing we did. We sat down right away at the bar, but maybe 10 minutes after we were nose deep in a glass of wine the list at the door was at least five or six parties long. The service at this place is awesome. Just a bunch of hipster dudes who obviously love food running their own joint which is clearly their dream come true. The chalkboard menus were lengthy in desireable treats, and I think we sampled a good deal of them. We shared a bunch of plates, including the Figlets (bacon wrapped figs - just try to go wrong with that), Bleu Cheese Tots (seriously), Scallops (not my favorite, but only because I wasn't expecting the mushies in the bowl), and Pork Belly with this amazing carrot puree with honey dijon mustard. Now that was pretty amazing. The plating here is phenomenal - you just don't even want to eat anything because it's all so playful and thought out. One of the girls ordered a bowl of the soup de jour, black bean with a cream based sauce and a butter-poached onion ring. YUUUUUM. So creamy and delicious, this soup was so comfy and flavorful that it was really hard not to steal the bowl from my girlfriend. She also ordered Fish and Chips, which were to die for. The fish was so delicate and perfectly prepared, with a light batter that was perfectly done, slices of potatoes and a fried egg on top. There was also a delicious little pile of pickled onions off to the side to act as a cole slaw accompaniment. Tasty. We felt the need for more, and ordered the Italian Sausage Pate Melt. Holy SHIT is all I can say. I was a little hesitant about this one, but the server suggested it so we went with it. It came with some home cut fries which were fried in some delicious meatty fat. But that sandwich, oh man. The perfect pretzel roll with a briny mix of olives or gardiniera or some kind of pickled heaven topped the sausage. This thing was amazing, I have to tell you. Probably the best sandwich I've had in a while, and certainly one I'll crave. Oh but then the desserts. Oh the desserts! We ordered the tasting menu, which was this circus of the most perfect little bites and pieces of sweet and tart goodness. The first was a spoonful of Peanut Butter Sugar Cookie. Need I say more? It was cookie dough, people. Another was a plate of peanut and cherry concoctions, served in multiple ways, oh and of course there was chocolate. Another plate came out in a bowl and the pastry dude poured liquid nitrogen in the Pineapple Fruit Bowl. It looked like a tiny tropical garden, with pineapple and other tropical fruits served a few different ways. The last was the Apple oh god what did they call it, something like Apple Madness or something cute that described it perfectly. Raw apples, apple tart with caramel, apple sorbet, apple and celery foam, baked apple with caramel. Go here. Go to Robbinsdale and just eat here, for the love of God. It will be worth the wait. Every bite was scrumptuous.