On our journey through the alphabet, we decided to venture outside the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to see what the suburbs had to offer us in the way of local, organic, and sustainable cuisine. We decided on Good Earth, which has two locations both in the 'burbs, one in Roseville and another in the Galleria in Edina. Their mission is to 'cook in harmony with the seasons' while using local and organic ingredients. The menu was a wide range of soups & salads, sandwiches & wraps, natural burgers, options from the sea, and from the farm, and many vegetarian dishes. They also had a extensive menu of fresh juices, smoothies, and natural shakes. The wine and beer list included some local offerings, and even a vegan, organic wine.
From the 'Small Plates...Sharing Plates' section of the menu we selected the Bangkok Ch
icken Satay and the Sun Dried Tomato & Basil Pesto Pizza. The satay was a Thai marinated and grilled chicken, served over a napa slaw. Two excellent dipping sauces were served on the side; a peanut sauce and spicy chili sauce. The sun dried tomato & basil pesto pizza was a great Italian classic. The thin crust was good, although a bit on the soggy side. The pizza was topped with spinach, red pepper, onion, cherry tomato and covered in a nice layer of gruyere and shredded Romano cheeses.
Our first entree 'from the sea' was the Grilled Salmon & Mango Salsa. The salmon was quite good, especially when combined with the mango salsa. However, it was served with a very bland wheat berry rice and green beans. Neither had much flavor. The wheat berry rice was literally just that and nothing else, no herbs, veggies, or seasonings. I added the leftover sauces from the Chicken Satay to add some pep.
Our second fish entree was (not any less) boring! The Tilapia Tacos were a breaded and bland disappointment.The salsa was a very small portion and lacked any spicy zip. It was more like a Swedish taco than one of Latin America!
The Turkey Meatloaf made me dream of Thanksgiving. The meatloaf had a distinct sage and stuffing (dressing) flavor. The cranberries were seasoned with allspice and nutmeg. And the yams tasted of pumpkin pie with all the cinnamon and nutmeggy sweetness.
To try something different, we sampled the Coconut Curried Chicken topped with shaved coconut. It was served with a great, and slightly smokey, mango chutney. Its sweetness complimented and contrasted the saltiness of the curry sauce. My disappointment with this dish was that it was served with white rice. (Brown rice would have been a more healthy choice.)
As we were leaving, we ordered a Keylime Cookie to go. Basically, it was a sugar cookie with a great key lime flavor. It was delicious and I'm sure it made up for any calories that we may have avoided during our dinner.
Good Earth is located in close proximity to the Rosedale Mall. The building looked and felt like it was a converted Bakers Square or Perkins. The interior felt similar... large open space with very generic decor. Their menu items were reasonably priced. However, I could have made any dish that we sampled at home for quite a bit less and made it much tastier. We felt that most of their menu items were bland and typical of what most people think of, when they think of 'healthy' food. This doesn't need to be and shouldn't be the case of a good healthy meal in my opinion. There are so many ways to add flavor without using 'unnatural' ingredients or lacing food with salt. If you prefer a Norwegian-style of seasoning and are looking to start supporting restaurants that utilize natural ingredients, perhaps you would enjoy Good Earth. For those of us who prefer to be dazzled with our meals, perhaps we will head back into the city!
Other recommendations from our club that start with a 'G':
-Galactic Pizza - Organic and local veggies when available, delivered in electric cars by spandex wearing super heroes!
-Gianni's Steakhouse - A yummy steakhouse (though they don't use grass fed/ organic beef) with an amazing salad
-Ginger Hop - A fusion of Asian deliciousness, and very budget friendly
-Good Day Cafe; A delicious destination for breakfast (and it's in the 'burbs)!
-Grand Cafe - Charming neighborhood spot serving local products and organic wines
-Grand Ole Creamery - Homemade ice cream, enough said!!
Next month's destination - Haute (pronounced Hot) Dish
Bon Appitte!
