After Jon Cheng gave them three stars in the Star Tribune and SK’s crew went for a visit, Colleen and I decided to make chef Soleil Ramirez’s Crasqui our latest night out. We had an opening 5:00pm reservation tonight and were a little nervous when the lovely dining room was mostly empty. That changed by the time we left, but please get the word out that this is the real deal. We need to support the local chefs doing good work in our communities so we can continue to have nice things here in our little corner of the world.

Don’t have too much to add to the Cheng review – Colleen loved the sea bass pictured in his story and I very much enjoyed the pork chop with mora sauce and fondant potatoes (that sauce was a perfect pairing to the meat). I had the calentaito cocktail (4 roses whiskey, diplomatico mantuano, banana liqueur, velvet falernum, bitters) and had both the tequeños cheese sticks and the beef empanaditas for appetizers. In the sides section, I had the rice with Venezuelan sofrito, while Colleen had the seasonal veggies (broccolini). With all the holiday sweets still at home, we skipped the dessert section this time.

Housed in a former Catrinas Grill location next to the Starbucks in the West Side Flats apartment complex, Crasqui is easy to get to from downtown Saint Paul and has a large free parking lot accessible from Wabasha. We loved the aquamarine floor and our server was friendly and knowledgable. Named for an island off the coast of Venezuela, this is a nice addition to the dining scene in Saint Paul.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Update: Jess Fleming from the Pioneer Press also had Crasqui in her 2023 favorites story