A few weeks ago, I planned to take SK to a steakhouse, since the rest of the family had other plans and the two of us are really the only ones who eat steak. I wanted to go to the new place in town, Alan Bergo’s Salt Cellar in St. Paul. But alas, I didn’t plan far enough in advance and they were booked solid all night. I found an old City Pages top ten Twin Cities steakhouse article online and found a place I had never heard of before – number nine Erté in northeast Minneapolis. A quick call and the helpful person said if we got there by six, we could have a table. We grabbed SK’s friend Jack and I drove like a madman across town.

The space is really quite nice, with a bar on one side (the Peacock Lounge) and a large, high ceiling dining room on the other (separated by a huge sliding glass door). We got a table in the corner near a small stage that eventually had a three-piece band playing by the time we left. Our server was very nice, but I think they were short-staffed, as it took a very long time to place our order. Once the food started to arrive, though, all was forgiven.

Jack and I had blue cheese salads that were very good. For main dishes, Jack ordered the crispy duck confit ($21), SK had the filet mignon ($35) and I ordered a ribeye ($28, which the menu says is 16 ounces of P-H-E-N-O-M-E-N-A-L). We also ordered a bunch of $5 sides to share: erte bistro frites, creamy dreamy corn and the signature gruyere potato au gratin. There were easily a half dozen other things on the menu I wanted to try too. SK wanted crème brûlée for dessert (of course) and really didn’t want to share. Didn’t matter – she ate it so fast, Jack and I never had a chance…

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