Stillwater, MN is a wonderful little community full of shops, restaurants, and other interesting places along the St. Croix River north and east of the Twin Cities. It's one of the more picturesque communities in the Midwest. It's certainly a treat to head out to Stillwater to get a good dinner. While I was in the Twin Cities recently, I was on the far east side of the city doing a meeting for Ultimate Electronics and I've always wanted to go try a burger at a restaurant in Stillwater - The Kitchen. I went out there for lunch that one day.
The Kitchen is located on South Main Street in downtown Stillwater (see map). What sort of threw me a bit, it's actually located in the back of a small boutique mall on South Main. You can see their outside eating area from the side street on the north side of the small mall. There is an entry way into the mall off of the north side, but I went to the front of 326 S. Main and walked through the building, hoping as I kept walking along that I wasn't getting lost. As I turned a corner toward the back of the main floor, there was a sign pointing up a set of stairs to the restaurant.
The Kitchen is a contemporary American restaurant that was established earlier this year in what was the old Stone's restaurant in Stillwater. Ben Hiza and Erick Harcey are the principal owners and also are involved with Victory 44 in north Minneapolis. The menu at The Kitchen is an eclectic mix of items that include beef, poultry, seafood, and even something called "Duck, Duck, Goose" - a duck breast with duck hash topped with a goose liver sauce. Intriguing, to say the least.
But I had read during an earlier visit this fall to the Twin Cities that The Kitchen had something called "The Perfect Burger". It's a half-pound burger topped with pickles, mustard, bacon and Minnesota cheddar cheese. That's what I was looking for.
I sat at the large, square bar in the restaurant. I would have to say the place was about a quarter full for the lunch time. It was a very rainy day and I'm sure it was keeping the crowds away that would have been there had the weather been nicer as the leaves in the trees were brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow around the area. One of the chefs at The Kitchen, Dan, was seated at the bar going over schedules. I got a menu from the bartender and ordered a water.
There it was on the menu - The Perfect Burger. When you have a restaurant that calls their burger "perfect" that means they're putting all the marbles on the table. OK, let's see how good this burger really is.
I ordered mine, medium, and the bartender asked if I wanted any fries or any other sides. Nope. Let's go for the burger. He told me he'd get it out to me as soon as possible.
Actually, it took a little longer than I expected. After about 15 minutes, the bartender came out and apologized for my burger taking so long. The chef at the bar asked him what was going on in the kitchen and he said, "Backed up."
The chef said, "Do I need to go back there and help him?" The bartender said he didn't think so. And just then, a waitress brought out my burger.
It was big and juicy, a very light and fluffy bun adorned the top. There was large pickle slices along with two large strips of bacon. The bartender asked if I wanted any ketchup and I took him up on his offer. From the first bite I could tell it was a very, very good burger. A true gourmet burger with a sharp cheddar cheese topping. It was - totally - a spot-hitter.
The bartender came over and asked me how the burger was. I said, "Excellent. Very, very good."
The chef at the bar said, "Aw, you're just sayin' that 'cause I'm sitting here."
I said, "No, honestly. I eat a lot of cheeseburgers on the road and this is very, very good. I don't know if it's a 'perfect' burger, but I don't know what a 'perfect' burger is."
He said, "Our head chef came up with this burger. We feature it at our sister restaurant and he just brought the burger over here to put on our menu. Actually, I've had them at both places and I think ours is better than at Victory 44." (I may have to try Victory 44 to make sure!)
The Kitchen's "Perfect Burger" is a little expensive - $8.95 - but it's a very, very good burger. The jury is still out as to whether I can move it into my Top Ten list of burgers, but I have to give it a high honorable mention. (It may also be time to update my Top Ten list.) And while I have trouble calling the place a "burger joint", The Kitchen is a high quality restaurant that just happens to serve a good burger. As for The Kitchen overall, I think they're going to be a favorite for tourists and locals alike for a long time in Stillwater.
(Update - Upon doing some research to add links to Urbanspoon, I found that The Kitchen closed their doors in the early part of January of 2011. No word as to why they closed.)
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