Heartland Contemporary Midwestern Restaurant

09/02/2008 Posted by pollysigh

Six of us dined here on a recent evening. All enjoyed it. The menu contains many unusual items in unusual combinations, and changes frequently. An obvious effort is made to utilize local sources. Here are some we consumed: the lake trout gravlax, watermelon-cucumber gazpacho, hierloom tomato salad with blue cheese, Romano flat beans with walnut dressing, wild sturgeon with crayfish butter, and a chicken breast prep (details escape me now). All were pronounced excellent. I can say the sturgeon, one of my favorite aquatic foods, was outstanding, not only for the quality of the fish but for the sauce. Interestingly, the prosaic flat beans were wonderful. The only disappointment was the bird-like portion of the trout gravlax appetizer. It was $10 but, given the Lilliputian quantity, should've been $6. About six miniature potato chips and a barely detectable sauce accompanied it. I'm seeing this more and more: Extremely small appetizers costing more than they should. Better to increase the size and keep the price. Desserts may have been a bit over the top in terms of combinations; good, but they left us thinking about Cafe Latte's sweet offerings a short ways away. Food and wine prices are reasonable for a restaurant of this caliber. Decibel level when full was still conversational. Our server was fine, but she apparently expected us to tell her at the outset that we wanted the bill split in half. This is a very good restaurant and the beneficiary of one of New Jersey's finest exports, the chef and owner(?) Lenny Russo.

Pros: Unique menu, interesting ingredients and combinations

Cons: Not much; one appetizer (trout gravlax) was tasty yet miniscule

04/03/2008 Posted by kls486

Heartland is a great restaurant for a special occasion. The food is delicious, and reasonably priced for the quality of ingredients. The staff was very friendly and helpful when asked questions about food and wine recommendations. I will definitely be back, and have highly recommended Heartland to many people.

02/16/2008 Posted by Otoki

My boyfriend and I have gone to Heartland four times now. Each time has been a treat. We enjoy high-quality food made from high-quality ingredients, and the price at Heartland is very reasonable for a special-occasion dinner. Having read some customer reviews complaining about the portions, I'm rather curious as to how much they manage to eat, because we leave there happily full every time. The last time we went was on the 13th with three other friends for a non-romantic Valentines day dinner, and everyone had a great time. All three of them called later to thank us for introducing them to such a wonderful place. One thing the place thankfully lacks is the pressure to be formal. It's gourmet food without the pretentious attitude. I have never felt uncomfortable or out-of-place, and the servers have been nothing but kind, helpful, and efficient. If you ever happen to go there as a couple, try the wine bar. Lenny's wife is awesome, and she made that night our best anniversary dinner to date.

11/29/2007 Posted by thegracekelly

In keeping with my theme of buying local, my husband takes me to a well reviewed Heartland restaurant, St Clair Av, that is based on local food. I do not recommend the Heartland restaurant. When we go in, the place is empty (not a good sign for a business). I look at the menu, it is twice the price of my favorite restaurant , however there is a bountiful list of food listed on each item. We splurge, we take the three course meal. The waitress will substitute ice cream for the third course, since I have food problems. Now, where I come from, bread is served with every meal. So the joke of a bad meal is that you have to live on the bread. Well, at Heartland you have live on the bread, which is served first and I can't eat. Then came an appetizer the size of a quarter (I am not joking), served on a big plate. Oh that is just complimentary. The real appetizer comes next, a 3-4 inch diameter of food on a big plate, about 1/4 of what I would expect. It was good, or maybe I was just very hungry. Then the main course comes out, 4 thin slices of lamb hiding a tiny tiny amount of potatoes and carrots. I ask the waitress if I could have more potatoes and carrots, she says there would be a surcharge. I decline. It was good, or maybe I was just very hungry. Even in Europe I had more of a serving for lunch. Then desert came, four small scoops of ice cream. It was good, or maybe I was just very hungry. I think I could have gotten more food walking around the taste testers at Sam's club. My husband was there, or I would have gone begging to kitchen. "Please, just a bit more food, I am very hungry".

Pros: the food was good

Cons: Food Servings are incredibly miserly, the price was high

08/13/2007 Posted by notsofunny

One word for this restaurant is "PERFECT". Stop wondering if you should try this restaurant just GO you wont be disapointed.

Pros: everything

Cons: nothing

08/06/2007 Posted by bettybuckley

Heartland was an oasis in the middle of our road trip from Washington to Maine. I thought we'd be stuck with fast food or potatoes and over-cooked meat for days but I was wrong. We ate ala carte and enjoyed everything from appetizers to dessert. The menu includes very fresh fish and twists on old home cookin' recipes. Lenny, the chef and owner, came out and joked with us that "contemporary Midwestern is almost an oxymoron," something he's trying to change. They have a great selection of wines by the glass so we were able to enjoy champagne before dinner and wine with dinner. Our total bill was $109, which is amazing for so much great food.

04/30/2007 Posted by foodie_27

This was our second visit to Heartland in a few years - we save such places for special occasions and returned to celebrate our anniversary. I wondered if anything had changed since our last experience, which was impressive and memorable - we left again feeling happy and fulfilled. The atmosphere allows you to relax and take your time eating - this is a place dedicated to food, so you must enjoy it. No pretense regarding who you might appear to be (diners dress code varied), service was excellent and gracious all around. The prices are reasonable considering the high quality of product and flavors - all fresh, local ingredients - I had the three course "fauna" and my husband went a la carte - approx. $40 pp for food, we spent an additional $30 on beverages. It was my first time eating roasted goat - done med rare, tender, and mild in flavor with a delicious morel mushroom sauce. Dessert was enough for us to share - rich, flaky buttery chocolate with lavender creme anglaise. My husband had the MN free range chicken breast with garlic cream sauce and spring veg - he said it was the best meal he's ever had. In conclusion, and since Chef Russo reads these reviews, thank you, Heartland, for another experience that left us feeling content, well-fed, and lucky to know you're still there doing great things with food. I keep telling everyone I know that they should go...hopefully we'll be back soon!

Pros: The food, the food, the food.

12/09/2006 Posted by wbeeman

I had heard great things about this restaurant and took several friends, all of whom had been anxious to try it. The main dishers were quite good, with some unusual touches. Pheasant, duck and lamb were imaginatively served, though the principal interest was in the accompaniments rather than the meats themselves. The portions were adequate. I was quite disappointed by the deserts. A small portion of apple strudel (albiet with a surprise ingredient--yams) was served ice cold. The pots de creme were quite ordinary. Coffee was unusually good. However the service was quite inadequate. Our server was totally sour and uncommunicative. When we were missing a fork, she spent five minutes chatting with her supervisor before bringing it. She whipped our wine glasses away before we had consumed all of our wine. She mixed up the orders on bringing them to the table, and brought four of five orders before bringing the fifth nearly five minutes later with no apology or explanation. This dramatic failure of service would be enough to doom this restaurant on the East or West coasts. I note that other reviewers both praise and complain about the service, so I can only conclude that the service is wildly uneven. I hope the owners will get serious about training their waitstaff, because this detracts seriously from the basically good food served here. Also I was surprised that a restaurant charging such high-end prices ($10 for a plate of braised cabbage as a side dish) does not accept American Express. The manager explained that Amex's higher charges "cut into their profits." While disarmingly frank, this is not what a customer spending $60-70 per person wants to hear. NOTE--RETURN VISIT: I returned for a second visit with guests from Washington two months later. The service had improved immeasurably. My guests and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on this second visit, and they told me that this was one of the highlights of their week-long trip to the Twin Cities.

Pros: Good, imaginative food, good wine list

Cons: terrible service, no Amex, pricey: SECOND VISIT: Much improved service

10/31/2006 Posted by clentsch

Reading other reviews made me wonder about whether I wanted to go to this restaurant. I'm glad I ignored the comments about poor service and went anyway. Everything was outstanding, from the diverse menu, the excellent wine list, and yes, the very good service. Maybe it is just me, but when I go out, I expect to have a good time, and that means not over-reacting to some perceived slight by a waitperson, who may have just had a large group's food come up, our just had to deal with some challenging customer

08/25/2006 Posted by boyofdestiny

The Heartland and I are having an affair. Just when it seems that nothing original was ever going to take hold, and last (!) in the Twin Cities, Heartland is still over in Mac-Groveland four years later. It's one of the few restaurants where you don't have to worry that your dollar is going to get stretched too far and get nothing in return. On a recent visit my date had a lovely pecan-encrusted walleye, with grilled green onions with an herb butter sauce. It was perfection. The flavors were solid and uncomplicated. It made one want to drink a gallon of Montrachet. My entree was a seared goose breast with golden raisins, braised red cabbage, and a veal glace that was a perfect balance of earth and sweet. I think the thing that I love most about Heartland is the wine list, the bar manager obviously sees no need to punish people for having good taste at any price range. The markup on all the wine is uniform, unlike most restaurants where the least expensive wine is doubled or even tripled in price! Service is effecient and friendly. I like my service reserved and competent, not overly familiar and inept. And last, the desserts are modestly portioned and never cloyingly sweet. I'd recommend Heartland to anyone for any occasion. The only drawback is that Heartland isn't near any other venues for after-dinner plans. One does have to drive to downtown, still only five minutes away. However, their new wine bar next dar does ease the conundrum of what to do after dinner.

Pros: wine list, consistent food, professional staff

Cons: location