Friday Food - Blackbird Cafe

It's not often when you get to go back to eat at a restaurant that has burned down. But Christopher and I did just that this week. Well, sort of.

The original Blackbird Cafe was a tiny place with antlers all over the walls, and a menu that was both rare and well-done. Vegetarian dishes side-by-side with meats. Sandwiches next to pastas. A little of everything, all done with style.

And then there was a fire that took down the Cafe, another restaurant, and at least one shop. And we thought we had said good-bye to Blackbird. (You thought I was going to say "Bye Bye, Blackbird," didn't you?)

But Blackbird didn't say good-bye to Minneapolis. Instead, after months of hard work, they re-opened, recently, in a new - larger - location. They've got more seating, more windows, a larger bar, and metal chairs which are unsurprisingly chilly in January.

Christopher and I met a couple of friends there on Wednesday night. The same friends we had met on our first visit to the original Blackbird. And, like that first night, we had good food and great conversation. Good wines and beers were had. And our waiter was just the right amount of attentive.

The menu remains eclectic (at various times our table had tomato soup, chicken giblet salad, roasted cauliflower - as a main course, a shredded beef sandwich, and gnocchi), and, yes, there are still antlers on the walls.

There's a slight downturn in the ambiance (the metal chairs may not have been the most Minnesota-friendly choice, and the large open space is a little noisy), but overall Blackbird is definitely back.