Bird Town is Bangin'

Last night as my husband and I discussed where we would go on one of our rare nights out, I suggested Travail Kitchen and Amusements in Robbinsdale. My husband rolled his eyes and suggested another place. I persisted. Having been there on prior occassions, but not with him, I urged him to consider it and assured him he'd love it. Under duress, he agreed, but spent the drive there staring out the passenger window and I'm sure wishing he didn't have such a relentless spouse.

We arrived and I expected a wait, but thankfully, the best seats in the house were wide open.  First of all, you must go there.  And when you do, sit at the seats along the open kitchen. The "show" is amazing.  You will get to see and hear and be a part of the action that you miss if you are sitting at a "regular" table.

We grabbed our seats. I began explaining how the place works, hoping he'd somehow be persuaded to love the place as much as I do. He felt a little better when one of the chefs approached to get drinks for us and he found out that there was plent of Surly available on tap. 

I pointed out the chalk board hanging above our heads and told him that the menu seems to be ever-changing, with ingredients that are fresh and often local.  He was side-tracked by the "Blue cheese tots" and probably didn't hear much of the rest of what I said. We ordered them, along with the beet salad. 

One of the cool things about Travail is that you truly dine "together".  I mean, you wouldn't have to, but having been there with friends and then been there with the hubby, I can assure you that it makes for a fun, interesting dinner if you can taste the same things, discuss them and compare notes. 

The other thing that I adore about this place is that there aren't servers and hosts in the traditional sense. The chefs do it all, and they exude their love of what they do, passing it on to each and every diner and creating an atmosphere that is rich and welcoming and comfortable and fun, all at the same time.  "It's like a chef hosted food party" I exclaimed to my husband, who still wasn't sure about all of this and looked a tad incredulous.

Then the tots arrived, and they were the first hit. More like scrumptious little deep-fried balls of blue cheese mashed potatoes, one of us couldn't stop, and that same person began to be just a little bit sold on this whole Travail scene.

Next up we ordered the agnolotti, which was stuffed with marscarpone cheese and involved squid ink. I got a raised eyebrow from my significant other that implied I may need psychiatric care for ordering it, but one bite in, the eyebrow lowered. Two bites in he looked at me and said "Seriously. Best. Pasta. Ever." I win.

We also sampled a sea bass sent from heaven, some house-made tofu that was pretty good, and a cheese plate that reminded us of a time quite a few years ago when we strolled the Rue Cler in Paris wandering in and out of small cheese shops.

This place is an experience.  If you've got the time to spend enjoying a few courses and truly soaking in the atmosphere, it truly can be a celebration for the senses. 

As we were getting ready to leave and were sharing some friendly banter with one of the chefs about how one of the two of us didn't really want to come along for the Travail ride, he laughed and told us that the next time we want to bring someone there not to tell them it's in Robbinsdale, but to tell them it's just eight minutes outside of downtown, right in Bird Town. 

No problem, because with Travail in the house, Bird Town is bangin'.