Heartland Contemporary Midwestern Restaurant

08/09/09

Great food, normal portions

by dagcoag at Citysearch

Had a large group after a Mac graduation. The servers easily accommodated the group, didn't even add an automatic tip for a large group. My beef entree had enough Morel mushrooms to share among four people. Both "flora and fauna" are well represented, and all dishes I tasted were wonderfully and differently flavorful. Excellent wine selection at a reasonable price. At the end of an extended meal we were satisfactorily full. We were not rushed, and the experience will bring us back from out of town.

• Pros: Bread, appropriate portions, wonderful sides
• Cons: Left standing at the front door for awhile

06/10/09

Not my top pick for a TC wine bar (Wine bar review only.)

by lke326 at Citysearch

Really craving a glass of crisp white wine last night, the hubby and I headed out to try a new wine bar (new for us anyway). We ended up at Heartland Wine Bar in St. Paul which offered us quite an experience. Located off St. Claire in St. Paul, it’s a cute, little place, tucked in next to the neighborhood dry cleaner, giving it a nice, neighborhoody feel. There was a small lot adjacent to the restaurant itself and plenty of parking on the street as well.

The restaurant and wine bar themselves do not open until 5:30, so don’t ask for the happy hour menu, there isn’t one. We were the only patrons in the place at 5:30 and the next guests didn’t show for another hour. The “wine bar” area itself is long with 10 or so spots with a handful of tables in the back. Very quaint atmosphere, quiet, with low lighting, although I would have liked a couple of windows or at least better decorating as I felt wedged into their back hallway. I guess they certainly make due with the space they have.

The wine list was impressive with a lot of unique choices. Although I love when wine bars offer flights, as it’s a great way to sample a nice variety, and Heartland doesn’t offer any. We settled for four full glasses of wine and eventually ordered a bottle of Albarino from Spain. This was the recommendation of our server/bartender and the pick was spot on, we really did enjoy it! We also ordered the cheese sampler, which again was an excellent pick, with three cheeses from Minnesota and Wisconsin.

It was a wine and cheese night, so I can’t speak to their full menu, but overall we really enjoyed ourselves. I would certainly recommend this spot, but for $8/glass for their cheapest glasses and no happy hour specials, the bill adds up quickly.

• Pros: Great wine selection, very helpful server
• Cons: Wish they had wine flights

01/13/09

who knew?

by maryjoy66 at Citysearch

This was my first visit to heartland after hearing years of hype. We were disappointed to find when we arrived that the dining room was closed and only the wine bar was open, this is apparently the case on Monday nights. I didn?t even know there was a wine bar and was surprised to find this hidden gem. The atmosphere was cozy, nice lighting and music, but small. The menu seemed a little over the top and we were unfamiliar with many of the wines on the menu. Our server was very knowledgeable and was patient with my boyfriend and I and our many questions regarding the food and wine. We ended up sharing a few things and everything was seriously delicious and beautifully presented. Keep in mind that the portions in the bar are smaller plates, our server told us this and we ended up getting just the right amount of food and with great suggested wine parings?our bill was still less than $80 for the two of us. We were so happy to find this place and now knowing that the menu changes and is updated on their website daily, we will definitely be back!

• Pros: great food & service
• Cons: small space