Bright’s Northfield Restaurant Blog

Fermentations Wine Bar & Bistro
236 Railway Street, N.
Dundas, MN 55019
507-645-8345
www.fermentations-bistro.com

When we walked in, we were pleasantly surprised at the butter yellow walls and oddly unmatched artwork. French? maybe, maybe not. But the tables were nicely set with small vases and flowers, salt and pepper shakers and cloth napkins and mini candles. The rooms seemed sparkling clean and the seating is fairly comfortable.

Right away, let me say, make reservations! We saw several groups get turned away the hour and three quarters that we were there, and the people were so disappointed- so plan ahead!

The food was good, but the prices are high. We nearly spent $100 for two, no wine, no appetizers, just tea, entree and desserts. The service is pretty good, but I have to compare Fermentations, which I have lovingly just nicknamed, Fern’s, to Cosmos, cuz the prices are the about the same…see my Cosmos blog…but the service was lacking.  (And, I had let them know that I would be blogging our experience a week ahead of time.)

Here is how I compare it…when you run out of tea at Cosmos, it is immediately replaced. When you are done with your plate, it is immediately removed. Within a bite or two, you are asked if everything meets with your expectations. When one course is done within a minute, the next is presented. The table water is pure tasting. Pretty much we had good service at Fern’s, but we had to ask for everything and call in the hostess at one point. This is not the level one expects at these prices.

On the other hand, it is nearby and saves time and gas and car wear and tear. That is big. Unless you are going into the cities for a play or meeting or family, or so on, stay here and eat at Fern’s.

I ordered Butternut Squash Lasagna. I had to send the first plate back. No chef should send a plate out like that, especially at $22 a hit. It was overdone to the point of part was unchewable and the other was rubbery. Homemade noodles shouldn’t be rubbery or chewy. No. I sent it right back and within moments got another one which was so much better, I raved about it to my hubby for several minutes. I gave him some and he agreed, it was very good. The server thanked me for telling them.

I do recommend sending things back. It puts the restaurant on notice that not all customers are going to be such nice victims as they might hope. And the rest of us won’t have to go through that as much. To be fair, I’ll repeat myself and say the lasagna was great. A sauce made from the squash, and a delicious, sweet ricotta cheese and homemade noodles, very rich, but not too rich. Highly recommended.

My husband orderd the Lamb Scallopini. It was like that dog says that got his teeth brushed for the first time in the commercial for the “Chihuahua” movie. He says it was “minty!” The lamb was also curiously chewy, even though thinly sliced. Hmmmm. Dh said at Cosmos prices, it doesn’t compare. The pureed potatoes were very plain, and the carrots were fine and sliced on the bias. The gravy or sauce was minty, and I am not sure we like minty gravy on our potatoes. It may be a French thing. Please comment and help us out here, if you are a gourmet of the French persuasion.

We had for desserts two wonderful items which we lovingly shared. I had the Molten Chocolate Mint Ice Cream. Now that’s where the mint is fantastic. I don’t like the chocolate mints from Marshall Field’s, some may know. I always thought that they tasted chalky. This combination from Fern’s was not at all anything bad. It was good. Very good. I think I will go back right now and get another one. hahaha. Just kidding. Gotta watch my girlish figure. The name describes itself, so I’ll move on.

My dh had the Cinnamon Creme Brulee’. We both thought it, too, was fantastic. A very good job. Just skip the entree’s and order three desserts each. You wouldn’t regret it, or would you?

Here’s my hubby’s version, he wrote it himself!

Entree:

Lamb Scallopini $29
Local Sunshine Farms Leg of Lamb, Proscuitto, Mint, Pureed Potatoes, Mint Glace de Viande

Dessert:
Cinnamon Crème Brulee $8

The experience:

I was hoping to get a good meal for the $30 in Dundas, and I went with the servers’ recommendation that the lamb was “great.” Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The lamb portion was razor thin with small portions, yet still chewy. The mint overwhelmed the taste of the lamb, rather than compliment it. They could have just served mint and done nearly as well. Nowhere near as good as other lamb meals I’ve had at other restaurants. The “pureed potatoes” were simply plain, white mashed/whipped potato, same as you can get at most any cafe across the country for a couple dollars, with nothing particularly special about them. Not even any gravy, though the mint sauce was reasonably good with them. The vegetables were simply carrots, which were OK.

Now, on to the dessert. When the Cinnamon Crème Brulee arrived, I wasn’t expecting much after the main course. It looked very dark, so I wasn’t holding out hope. It was actually very good, with a delicious cinnamon flavor, a creamy texture, and the top was surprisingly not burnt.

The verdict:

Compared with other places of a similar price range, Fermentations fell well short. A better route may be to get a main course some place better and stop off for dessert, since dessert was the best part of the meal and though a bit on the high priced side was very good. I doubt I’d return for the main course, though. I can see why wine is sold as such an integral part of the meal at Fermentations. I suggest the slogan should be “You don’t have to drink to eat here, but it helps.” The price honestly far exceeded the quality of the meal and the service.

This is me, Bright, again; Fern’s has a full bar, wine intense and an ever changing menu, check their website every two weeks. They also have special events and you will need to sign up for them.

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not very handicap accessible…and the two parking spaces in front of the restaurant are taken by Fern’s catering trucks. Not very considerate, imho.

I like to leave on an up note, so I shall say that all in all we had a good evening, the mood was light and the room was full of talk and chatter and I even got to hear a little music in the background.