Eat The Menu: Renaissance on Rondo

It’s about time. Golden Thyme, that is. The new restaurant is boosting the rebound of Rondo Avenue, the one-time heartbeat of St. Paul’s Black community. Golden Thyme’s reboot — orchestrated by longtime restaurateur Randy Norman (remember the nightclub Bellanotte, the belle of downtown, back in the day?), with support from the Rondo Community Land Trust.

Golden Thyme’s new location, smack in the middle of a cluster of well-kept homes, opened its doors a few months ago, inviting locals and destination diners alike into its cozy, compact setting (maybe a dozen or so tables), swathed in the green, gold and purple tones of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras.

And that’s the theme of the menu, too — a slim and well-curated list of Southern favorites, from gumbo to grits, modernized to shed a bit of that fat-and-carbo overload to suit today’s Yankee diners. Adam Randall, a proud Rondo resident, heads the kitchen crew.

Settling into our two-top aside an airy window wall, we turned our eyes to the menu’s list of small plates ($14-18, plus a meal-in-itself grazing board, $21). You want wings? Got you covered. Fancy a cheesy collard dip? You’re good. And how about macaroni croquets? Well, that’s a new one to me, so bring ’em on!

Gilding the lily that is America’s favorite comfort food by incorporating bacon bits and snips of chives into a quartet of tennis ball-size globes, the dish is served with a bonus pitcher of more of that come-hither cheddar sauce, just in case your arteries are still functioning.

Because I’m not seated next to my doctor, we tossed the calorie counter off the table and proceeded to ogle the list of super-Southern entrees ($22-28 plus a $42 ribeye), shamelessly beckoning our tastebuds like the culinary equivalent of ladies of the evening — jerk chicken to ribs and slaw, tater tot gumbo to jambalaya linguini — as New Orleans jazz on the sound system urged us on.

My companion chose the blackened catfish ($25), providing a couple of slim fillets, minimally dusted with seasoning and dressed in a sheer shmear of creamy remoulade, while consorting with Dominican peas and rice and a heap of collard greens (sans ham bits to please pescatarians). Straightforward, no surprises and just fine.

For me, shrimp and grits — can’t resist ’em. They’re delivered in a deconstructed plate starring an octet of the plump, perfectly timed shellfish marching down the center, sided by a golden trail of grits to soak up their spice on one side and on the other flank, a lusty, tomato-forward Creole sauce, improved (if that’s possible) by batons of andouille sausage ($23) — the winning dish of the evening. A side order of Johny cakes — a pair of airy, corn-forward pancakes — hit the spot. Or add sweet potatoes, collard greens with ham, coleslaw, or the classic beans-and-rice duet ($9-14).

This is not a kitchen at which to skip dessert. All ($8-15) are made in-house, and all sound like Granny had a hand in them — Kentucky butter cake to GT donuts; Adam’s cheesecake to The Selby Cake — and our (excellent) choice, sweet potato brulee. This is not a cousin of the fancy fare out of a French kitchen, but more like Thanksgiving dinner, skip the marshmallows and fire the sugary crust. And just fine.

Leave the jeans and sweatshirt for another time — this undercover-chic little hideaway serves a crowd who knows how to dress for success. And that’s what we wish for Golden Thyme Restaurant & Bar.

Golden Thyme Restaurant & Bar
934 Selby Ave., St. Paul
(651) 207-5945
goldenthymeco.com