Brasa

It's been a crazy week, and much to my fiance's credit, we haven't had much free time together, so we had a little "date night" and figured we would hit up Brasa in NE MPLS. Brasa focuses on comfort food based on creole cooking, with 100% natural and locally produced and organic ingredients.  Their meats are slow cooked rotisserie, braises and roasts, and they emphasize from scatch cooking.   Considering that Brasa's chef/owner is Alex Roberts (2010 James Beard winner), it's not surprising on the quality of food that comes from this kitchen. Brasa offers a unique menu, with many plate size options. This is very nice, as one can try and order many small plates without being concerned about not liking something. Or, if you know what you want or don't want to mix it up, you can order a large plate or sandwhich.

We ordered a small plate of braised and seasoned smoked beef, with sweet and spicy BBQ sauce, a small plate of crispy yuca with citrus and garlic (I love these), roasted yams and andouille, a piece of cornbread with honey glaze, a romaine and mozarella salad, and a scrambled egg and spicy sausage sandwhich, with pepper jack and tomato. The food all tasted very fresh, and it is great to be able to try small plates of things that you may not typically order, as a small side order plate is only $2.95. One thing to be aware of is that the NE MPLS and the Grand Ave-St.Paul locations have slightly different menus (only STP has the mac and cheese). Brasa MPLS also has a great outdoor patio that looks super cool with the lights this time of year. Get out and try some creole cooked food.