Eat The Menu: Camden Social

Where I live in downtown Minneapolis, when it comes to dining, I’m spoiled for choice: Beard-tapped kitchens like Spoon & Stable, Restaurant Alma, Owamni. Haute or homey French, from Maison Margaux to Chloe. Ethnic eateries spanning Thai to Japanese, Mexican to Moroccan.

But tonight, I whine, I’m yearning for someplace more down-to-earth, unpretentious, safe from whiz-kid experiments, bitty portions on big white plates, driven by ego-stoked, bold-name kitchen gods. In other words, where’s a roadhouse when you need one?

In a near-north ‘hood, that’s where. It’s called Camden Social, serving Camden’s clientele of all colors, shapes and ages who’ve adopted it as their go-to clubhouse. It opened a couple of years ago but looks like it’s been around forever, supported by locals who count a warm atmosphere, food you recognize and love to eat, and friendly servers more important than Michelin stars. Yes, the roadhouse I was craving, hiding in plain sight.

It was launched in 2022 by two couples familiar with the city’s dining scene, one of whom—Gerard and Brittney Klass—recently debuted Klassics, the new café in the building where I live in the Mill District, and thus ethically off-limits for me to review. So I took the opportunity to enjoy an evening on their home turf. (For the record, Mr. Klass previously has worked in local kitchens including under Wolfgang Puck at the former 20.21 and then Crave, before opening his successful counter-service Soul Bowl in a North Loop food court.)

At Camden Social on a recent Wednesday evening, a violinist roamed among the tables, a la Fiddler on the Roof. The bar stools facing a lineup of prestige bottles were all taken. A chandelier sparkled a greeting over the deep-sea blue dressing the walls, all working, as Mr. Klass has said, to “take everything you’ve heard about North Minneapolis and throw it out the window” and forge a “new narrative” about the neighborhood.

Done, and done, starting with a classy cocktail list, from which we chose the “Is Your Name Fonzie?”, a Remy-based Old Fashioned ($12). The Frenchman Street, topped with a frothy egg white, channels New Orleans, as does some of the menu. The rest salutes country cooking, including the lusty Black kitchens of the South, tweaked by chef-y touches that elevate it from simple duplications.

For instance: black-eyed peas, for sure—but here, formed into golf-ball-size croquettes, accompanied by a meadow of arugula fired with chipotles and pickled fresno chilis, $12. Delicious! Or the collard green dip, served warm—the kitchen’s rich and earthy spin on the customary artichoke dipper of many a local menu, incorporating Parmesan, cheddar, and more chipotles under a streusel scattering of cornbread crumbs. It’s served with flatbread chips.

We made a huge mistake and failed to order the fast-becoming-famous Camden wings, dressed in a house rub, $18. Other starters range from smoked salmon croquettes to a smoked blue and butter Bibb salad or a sausage and caramelized onion flatbread.

But we were yearning for the shrimp & grits, $19, incorporating heirloom tomatoes with the Creole-braised critters. So, alas, was everyone else, so the kitchen had run out. (The weeping heard throughout the restaurant seemed to be coming from our table).

We made amends with an order of buttermilk-fried chicken ($18)—sweet, juicy and tender meat enrobed in a spice-scented (was it cinnamon? Could be nutmeg?), crackly crust. It comes—as it should!—with black-eyed peas, as well as fresnoes, green onion and—this is mandatory—a husky hunk of cornbread: semi-tender, semi-sweetened, just as (if you’re lucky with your genes) your granny made it.

The blackened catfish ($18) beckoned us, too. The lightly-spiced fillets proved sweet, fresh and tender, ably accompanied by a flurry of sweet corn and—the Carla Test of a deeply Southern kitchen—a heap of grits. I like my grits to flaunt their corn-y flavor and offer a bit of textural bravado rather than sinking into pudding territory. These provided ample body but heavier on the sweetness scale than the grits of my dreams.

Other entrees to investigate include a fried chicken BLT and a well-dressed Camden burger. Plus the dish that’s got folks talking—a unique fish & spaghetti combo for the terminally undecided: this union featuring deep-fried, batter-coated salmon and a lemon-buffalo butter sauce along with the usual pomodoro ($20).

And now the number I’ve been waiting for all evening as I patiently made my way through apps and entrees: the kitchen’s legendary caramel cake ($10)—the dream dessert of many a Southern church basement supper. Out came a sturdy square of yellow sheet cake transformed by a creamy house-made caramel sauce, buttery and smooth, plus butter toffee sprinkles and a scoop of vanilla ice cream to gild every bite. It’s good—fine, in fact, but not swoon material. There’s also a white chocolate bread pudding served with berries on the menu.

The evening proved a sum of its parts—none of them a perfect ten—but altogether a comfy, enjoyable experience among neighbors—just what a roadhouse should be.

Camden Social
4601 Lyndale Ave. N.
(612) 489-8073
www.thecamdensocial.com