January 2010 Tasting Notes – On the Sausage Trail

Minneapolis, Minnesota

If your in downtown Minneapolis on a cold January evening (a string of redundancy I realize) the place to go for food, beverage and sights is Zelo.

In New York or Chicago Zelo would be priced too high for a blue collar sausage fan. Luckily Zelo has the sensible Minneapolis balance of great ambiance, great food at good prices. Zelo has this trifecta down pat.

I’ve been coming to Zelo since 2002. I always eat in the bar. It’s well stocked with an above average wine list and a very eclectic clientele.

Zelo has a very above average bar dinner menu. Halfway through my first vodka I was still trying to discern the best available dinner. With a lot of choices it took a long time by personal standards to make a choice.

Zelo also employees above average bar tenders. Unlike our last President, Zelo employees bar tenders who speak in complete sentences. On this night I benefitted from the sage advice of Walter. I wanted the Molinari sausage in the mushroom risotto instead of the chicken. Walter made it happen.

There’s not too many things better on a snowy cold evening than risotto. It wasn’t on the menu but Zelo was flexible with customizing the risotto for me.

Skip the chicken and wild mushroom risotto and go for the sausage and mushroom. This takes the risotto from very good to excellent.

Jack Nissim is the guy in charge at Zelo. A veteran restaurant guy and very good host. But, I have to give a special Sausagefest “well done” to Nicky Mondt, the manager on duty.

“Kent, tell your readers, we’ll put sausage in anything.”

This may have been the most intriguing thing any female host as told me. There’s no good response to this type of comment so I went back to the red wine and the risotto.

Find Zelo at:
831 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402
612-333-7000
Click here for Zelo's Website

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