Best Bites of 2012

Sanctuary, Zen Box and Victory 44 offer a trifecta of delectable meals that give reason to be excited about eating out this year

Served on an open-faced brioche bun with black truffle ketchup,french fried potatoes,and dill pickle chips, Sanctuary's foie gras took all the pretense out of the notorious protein.

Image credit: Naomi Williamson/Sanctuary Restaurant

Recommended by the Editor

The Detox Diet

Winter Delights

By: Mecca Bos

The New Year is barely upon us, but my belly – and my notebook – is already filled with a host of new favorite dishes. Here’s a rundown of some of the best meals I’ve had to date.

The best little restaurant you’ve forgotten about, Sanctuary fills the cavelike space tucked away under the mediocre sushi restaurant Wasabi, on the east end of Washington Avenue. This place is a favorite among theater-goers, but you should try and make your way even if you don’t have tickets in hand.

The biggest reason for the success here is Chef Patrick Atanalian, one of the Twin Cities’ preeminent play-with-your-food innovators (Atanalian was putting gummi bears in your finishing sauce when the Victory 44 and Travail guys were mere zygotes). His small but mighty kitchen at Sanctuary is no different, giving way to the sorts of dishes that will make you smile, laugh, and if you’re into transporting experiences through taste, maybe even shed a tear.

A recent foie gras presentation, served on an open-faced brioche bun, with black truffle ketchup, french fried potatoes, and dill pickle chips, took all the pretense out of the notorious protein. Sound like a hamburger? It was. And it was also the best you’ve ever had. The boudin sausage also served as a blissful taste of the Big Easy, where Atanalian spent a number of years.

The menu changes regularly, but whatever is on offer during your visit there’s simply no way you’ll leave without the feeling that this is the most fun you’ve seen on a plate in some time.

Not far from Sanctuary is hardworking little Zen Box, serving up Izakaya, Japan’s answer to tapas. It’s my observation that Japanese is a hard sell around these parts when sushi isn’t on the top of the roster, and that’s a shame with all of the surprises to be found at Zen Box and Uptown’s Moto-I. The Tori-Momo (chicken thigh with crispy skin) were the ultimate chicken nuggets—crunchy fried chicken without the fuss of bones, yet decadently juicy within. The Buta no Kimchi (sliced pork belly served with kimchee and ponzu) was decadently fatty, and addictive in the way bacon is.

It’s difficult to stop ordering here, and luckily, you don’t have to. Every dish comes in under $12, with many falling in the $5 to $8 range, so this is the ideal place to go with a group and let the table groan with possibilities. I should also mention that this is some of the friendliest service in all the Twin Cities. One small gripe: the room is a little odd, with the banquette area offering up a view of absolutely nothing, and the bar (and the entirety of the restaurant) over-lit. The addition of some candlelight would do this place the justice it deserves.

Our town is rife with superior brunches, making it almost impossible to say one stands above the others. Haute Dish, Tilia, and Grand Café, each know their way around an egg. But a recent visit to Victory 44 may just have earned my vote for our town’s best benedict. The cheese-infused tots stood in for ubiquitous old hash browns, and hollandaise got an update with the addition of stone ground mustard. It goes without saying that the perfect poachers oozed with butterscotch-colored yolks while shaved Benton’s ham (some of Kentucky’s finest) offered smoke and heft. If you need yet more decadence, have a salted caramel latte—exactly what it sounds like, made with Dogwood coffee, from the recently added adjacent coffee bar. The meal will leave you in power-lounge mode, but the coma is worth every bite.

+ METRO's resident foodie Mecca Bos contributes to the magazine's food and drink section. She blogs for metromag.com between meals. See more of her work on her author page.