I recently ventured back to the old neighborhood (my husband's that is) to check out Northeast Social Club, which opened a little over a year ago in the heart of Northeast Minneapolis. It's easy to find located just north of Broadway and University Avenue NE, 359 13th Avenue NE.
To be honest I was expecting a bit more of the "blue collar" side of Northeast. Instead I was pleasantly surprised with a quaint, artsy and even dare I say "foodie" type of place. We hit it on a great night. Apparently, the rest of Minneapolis seemed to be at their cabin; it was busy, but not the standing room only crowd that they often get.
Northeast Social has great ambience. The dining room is small with mature brick walls, handsome dark wood floors, a stately bar and a vintage stamped tin ceiling. The front windows shed the restaurant with natural light and you can see from one end to the other. Once you are finished gazing at the beautiful ceiling you'll notice some fun artwork scattered throughout the room. On a nice evening you can enjoy sidewalk dining as well.
As with most good restaurants, the menu is limited. We ate "small plate style" so we tried several things. The scallops were by far the standout dish of the night. They were lightly seared; served on a bed of sweet corn, roasted garlic and tiny pieces of bacon; and dressed with an amazing limoncello sauce. We also tried a mozzarella cheese and vegetable pairing, which the chef took in a very creative direction. Northeast Social makes its own mozzarella which was paired with roasted asparagus, strawberries and a balsamic reduction glaze. This is a dish I will definitely copy at home. To my surprise, I also loved the lamb sausage with ground mustard and crostini. The calamari was the only thing we tried that did not fall into the "must have this again" category. Don't get me wrong it was tasty - done in a light tempura batter and had a great homemade cocktail sauce - it just wasn't a stand out like the other dishes.
As for the social side they serve beer and wine only. They have an adequate selection of wines by the glass and the majority of them are under eight dollars. They have several beers that are served "social style" meaning you share one large bottle with several people. My only wish would be for a few more Belgian beers.
All in all, this is a great place that I highly recommend trying.
