Eat The Menu: Corn Palace

There’s a sole burning reason to visit Mitchell, S.D.: to view its county courthouse-size edifice completely shingled in ears of corn. The Corn Palace is a folk-art wonder that draws 500,000 visitors a year.

Let me suggest a tastier alternative: Snag a rez at Oro in Northeast Minneapolis, a dining palace where corn is king. Holy, in fact. It’s the mission of chef/patron Gustavo Romero and his wife, Kate, to save heirloom Mexican corn and introduce it to the dining public in a sweet spot called Oro (i.e., gold, as in precious as well as color).

The effort started a couple of years ago by setting up an ironing board on a sidewalk to sell their corn-proud tortillas. Today, the chic dining room that grew from that endeavor sports dark wood tables anchoring a blond-boarded floor, all overseen by painted portraits of Katrina, the iconic Mexican skeleton lady, fancied up in frilly finery. Not what I expected when I made my (very necessary) reservation, and what a swell surprise.

Cocktails are inventive and right on the money, including my grapefruit-forward Palomina ($14). To accompany them, our tour guide — er, server — steered us well when suggesting as a starter the aguachile de sandia ($14) from the Snacks list, which leads off with guacamole (adding crickets is optional) and ends with quesabirria, the beefy menu staple, for which I’ll certainly return. The entire list represents intricate, thoughtfully created items of fine-dining quality to enjoy in a cheery, upbeat setting.

That watermelon-based aguachile ($14) was a wonder. The thin leaflets of melon — less juicy and somehow more compacted to render the essence of itself — delivered a strong, sweet and compelling flavor, accented by translucent green rounds of tomatillos, jalapeño circlets, onion strands and ribbons of cucumber, served alongside a pile of corn-y tostadas. Miss this dish and regret it forever.

Then, from the Masa section of the menu, we snagged a couple of tacos ($7 each) to share, starting with one built upon milpa (squash). It’s present in sweet, tender lumps as well as pureed, along with beans, bits of dried fruit and a sweet, slightly smoky salsa roja. Next, a taco plump with pork confit livened with a pert salsa verde, along with hints of onion and crackly chicharron (i.e., pork rinds) and a freshening burst of cilantro. Tacos starring tongue or shrimp are available, too.

On to the Platos (entrees, $24-35). We chose the pollo con mole, the staple of nearly every Mexican menu, to try this kitchen’s version of that iconic, chocolate-colored sauce. I once spent a lifetime (well, an entire day) in a cooking class in Oaxaca mastering one version of that classic, which featured 20 ingredients. This one, said our server, goes far beyond that paltry number, by saving out a part from each day’s kettle to anchor the next day’s version (sort of like the starter in sourdough, right?). Here, it serves as the plate painting for the rest of the recipe’s ingredients — divinely smoky, subtly sweet and deeply rich in flavor.

On it, there’s that chicken. Not the slab of white meat in many a Mexican restaurant’s presentation, oh no. Nothing that simple. The chicken is presented in marshmallow-sized rolls of white meat, wrapped around a core of chopped and seasoned meat, accompanied by little dumplings of plantain and masa, pickled onion and a shower of (what’s this?) granola. Yes, it’s kind of precious, and yes, it works.

We proceeded to share another entrée — the barbacoa, which delivered a rack of lamb sliced into meaty, tender but still nicely chewy chops (a steal at $35, in case you haven’t priced similar racks on menus lately). It’s sauced with pipian negro — ground-up pumpkin seeds and green peppers, etc. Beats mint jelly! Instead, there’s an adobo demiglace, pickled cucumber-like chayote and deep salsa roja. (I salivate again as I type this, but I have an aromantic doggie bag waiting in the fridge.)

Yes, there’s a dessert list (8 items, $12 each). Bypassing the tempting but expected arroz con leche and tres leches, each with a twist or two, I opted for the dessert mole. It’s a tasting-is-believing combo of a dark, shiny pasilla pepper stuffed with — get this! — chocolate corn cake and chocolate mousse, then garnished with peanut brittle and a swipe of Nutella on a slice of plantain. I couldn’t get past the sharp, almost tinny taste of the enveloping pepper, so off-putting (to me) that the rest went back to the kitchen, unexplored.

The evening, buffed up by a polished, friendly and uber-informed corps of servers, was a delight. Can’t wait to go back.

ORO
1222 NE Second St.
Minneapolis
(612) 200-808
nixtampls.com/oro