by Carla Waldemer

Café Maude
5411 Penn Ave. S.
612-822-5411

Location, location, location. Well, let’s add inspiration, too. The new Café Maude, hottest dining ticket in the metro, is way-booked and astonishingly successful because, one, it broke the barrier and brought cocktails—how revolutionary is that? Cocktails!—to Edina, whose well-heeled but moralistic residents had had to make do with merely wine and beer with dinner. And two: It’s uniquely located in a true, walk-your-dog-to-dinner neighborhood. Sit at a sidewalk table, here at 54th & Penn, a street of colonials and bungalows, while you listen to the funky music and sip a martini. (Or not. The lengthy wine list is pretty fab, and offers interesting by-the-glass options, too.)

The digs—a former family-style eatery so unmemorable that I’ve already forgotten the name, are sweet but far from saccharine, nor something Shea Design would showcase in a glossy publication. Instead, walls the color of ripe papaya, heavy wooden tables, a counter for solos up front, and bad art that you figure came from K-mart until your waiter sets you straight.

Oh, the staff! Well, can’t speak for all of them, but our server must have come from Waiter Heaven: knowledgeable, you bet, but in an easy, chatty fashion that carefully steers clear of “Hi, I’m… and I’ll be your best buddy for the next two hours.” Leave him a decent tip so he’ll stick around. Trust his food recommendations, too.

The list is short, and, as Martha would pronounce, that’s a good thing. (Never trust a menu as long as a telephone directory: How can a kitchen possibly master scattergun cuisine?) Seven small plates ($5-12) include a stellar chorizo hash in which the spicy Spanish sausage mingles with grilled octopus, of all things, to flavor their bed of succulent potatoes. Aioli infused with harissa (a peppy Moroccan blend of spices) also helps. Or choose the blue prawns sautéed with charmoula (another Moroccan import) and orange. Italian rice-and-Parmesan croquettes come slathered with hazelnut sauce. Sautéed spinach makes nice with a fried egg, basmati rice and feta. Yes!

We also ordered the daily special, Brussels sprouts caramelized to sweeten their sturdy character, then set upon a haystack of slivered beets and apples—more gentle sweetness—atop a green tangle of frisee. This homely veggie never looked so good, and the flirtation of unlikely taste and texture combinations was a minor miracle.

A side dish of braised greens proved more straightforward—simply the slightly bitter bite of kale & company tempered with lemon, cracked pepper and olive oil. Next time: a plate of that lovely asparagus with parsley-almond sauce and shaved Parm. Or back to the Middle East for the vegetable couscous with cucumber yogurt.

Or go straight for the obvious choice: house-cut fries with cheese fondue. (Hey, your doctor’s not looking.)

We bypassed the comely duet of soups ($5)—corn chowder garnished with tomato, avocado and smoked bacon, and watercress basil vichyssoise with garlic crostini and feta—in favor of a couple of flatbreads ($11), so enticing they could put pizza out of business. The frisee number was piled with savory duck confit, rich and salty blue cheese, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to moisten the designer lettuce. The 24-hour tomato version blended that sweet red fruit with lots of fresh and bouncy mozzarella moistened with a basil-almond pesto. If you leave here without one or both under your belt, don’t say I didn’t tell you.
Salads ($9) tweak their prototypes, too—a Greek salad served with zucchini fritters, for example, or the predictable mixed green plate, here mined with duck confit and avocado. How’s that for generous?

Wood-grilled meats comprise the abbreviated entrée list ($9-14): hanger steak, Moroccan chicken, burgers, and our pick: the lamb skewer, featuring three voluptuous and juicy meatballs, served with curried coleslaw (yum) and a touch of garlic-mint yogurt (There’s that Middle Eastern hint again: Make food, not war.). Good, satisfying, but not earth-shaking.

Finish with cheese, such as grilled Greek haloumi served with tomato jam or bucheron with fig molasses ($4) or something from the five-item sweets list ($6 range). It was late on a Saturday night, and they’d sold out of the chocolate-pistachio torte and the scone bread pudding, so we grabbed the fried ravioli, filled with chocolate and hazelnut cream (i.e., Nutella) and served with a divinely dark chocolate sauce and Sebastian Joe’s espresso ice cream. Or choose your espresso delivered in a cup. A double goes for only $1.40, in line with Maude’s pauper-friendly pricing.

Well, who’s this Maude, anyway? According to the menu, the lady was a neighborhood resident and civic citizen who championed local libraries, schools and parks in the name of “civilized leisure.” Which this is.

I’ll drink to that.