7 Minute Miles

Dinner at 4 Bells


For Christmas this year, kid one read my restaurant list and made us reservations at 4 Bells in Minneapolis. I had heard good things about the former Joe’s Garage space that is now being run by the Butcher and the Boar people and really wanted to try the fried chicken. Chef Brendan McDonald was mentored by Jack Riebel and is a St. Paul native, so he’s got two things in his favor right off the bat.

We went at 6pm on the Saturday after Christmas and I had a bit of trouble finding parking. I don’t like having to use valet, but that is really your only option in that part of town when the limited street parking is full. The space inside looks totally different from before and has multiple seating options (I’d like to go back and try the year-round rooftop sometime). We were seated on the first floor in the lounge area, which was nice and lively.

The drink menu had lots of good options: Colleen had a glass of La Fleur Bordeaux, while I tried the butterscotch spiced hot cider – perfect for a Minnesota winter evening. The scarlett butter and gem salad ($11) looked beautiful and tasted great (can’t remember what Colleen started with – perhaps a soup?).

For the main course, Colleen had the pan roasted grouper ($27) and I, of course, ordered chicken (whole order – $27, with several pieces to take home). We added sides of fries ($5) and biscuits ($5), which were both excellent values. The honey-lavender frosting that came with the biscuits was amazing. Service was good and the overall bill with tax and tip was right around $120.

Rick Nelson from the Star Tribune gave 4 Bells 2.5 out of 4 stars and you can read his review here. A few more pics below.

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Originally published by DK on February 7, 2016 at 1:58 pm in Family, Food, Holidays, Longform


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