Spec Piece- Mill Valley Kitchen- “Delivering Real, Good Food along with Real, Good Feeling”

Restaurants are an essential staple around many different communities. We are constantly on the go, rushing from point A to point B, taking care of business, and often have little time to run to the grocery store let alone make a healthy, full quality meal for ourselves and our families. While we may enjoy the occasional guilty pleasures of fast food, we occupy that pleasure along with guilt and inevitably, those choices aren’t always filling our bodies salubriously.

Mill Valley Kitchen will both fill your body salubriously, while allowing you to take a little bit of time to relax, and thank yourself for yet another long, victorious day. No matter how stressed you felt, you still did it. You deserve some time away, but you do not have any interest in going out to eat as usually, the noise, the clanking of the dishes, the wait staff running around frantically, and the lack of professionalism makes you feel even more stressed. Not here, so go escape with Mill Valley Kitchen.

Located on a quiet corner right outside of the hustle and bustle of Uptown Minneapolis, this restaurant has you feeling like you’re walking into a Californian Hideaway with its warm décor and inviting atmosphere. Instantly, you will become encompassed in the obvious, willful dedication to the design that was meant to deliver a feeling, not just a pleasant sight. The staff will greet you with a welcoming presence and a demeanor in which they feel relaxed, in complete control, and happy to serve you.

Mill Valley Kitchen has on site parking, so you don’t need to worry about finding a meter or ramp and walking eight blocks to get inside. Can’t find a spot? No worries, just pull into the lot right up to the door, hand your keys to the professional and skilled valet, and let them take care of the rest. Mill Valley Kitchen doesn’t hire just anyone for their valet services, they run extensive background checks and require experienced drivers, so you can rest assured that your vehicle will be well cared for.

Once you are escorted to your table, you will be greeted with a warm hug from the comfort that is nestled in the booth or seat of your choice, as Mill Valley Kitchen only chooses the very best in quality of furniture. Take a moment to look around, take in the smells, the calm lighting, the dancing flames of the lit candle between you and the person accompanying you. Let the atmosphere do what it is meant to do, which is help you unwind, sit back and relax to a nice evening of comfort.

Your wait staff will pour you a perfectly chilled glass of refreshing, filtered water and ask if you have any interest in something else. I recommend trying the O'Shaughessy, Oakville Chardonnay. Mill Valley Kitchen has this wine chilled to the absolute perfect temperature that no matter how long you sip on it, it stays crisp and stimulating. It flows into your mouth like a replenishing cascade of succulence and flavor and really puts you in the moment.

Next, the wait staff will go over the specials with you and explain in detail what the dishes are and what is in them. Everything about their service is meticulous, orchestrated, and considerate. Again, they just have this display of confidence that confirms their level of control, care, and thoughtfulness. They deliver a feeling, not a sales pitch or a script. They take time in answering all of your questions (even if you’re picky like me) and it never feels as though you are inconveniencing them. They are there to take care of you, and they want you to feel it.

The food- I can’t even begin to describe how incredible the food is. I have tried quite a few things, and from the grilled broccolini appetizer to the Miso Glazed Seabass, they know what they’re doing. Something as simple as broccolini takes you a place of euphoria, where your taste buds are enthusiastically doing a happy dance inside your mouth as the flavors are perfection- always just the right amount of spice, acid, salt, umami, and texture. Dishes like the Miso Glazed Seabass, the Pork Chop, and Roasted Chicken are beyond delicious. Every relishing bite melts in your mouth with the perfect textural balance and consistency that you can’t believe you’ve been missing all this time. You take one bite and feel like you love what you just experienced, and the experience loves you back.

You’re probably thinking that all of this sounds nice but, if the service is so relaxed and the food is so delicious, I probably don’t have time for this experience nor do not want to spend an arm and a leg on food. This is another thing you don’t have to worry about. Although relaxed, the service is still quick, especially if you mention you’re under a time crunch, and the pricing is magnificent. The most expensive dish (the Grass-Fed Beef Tenderloin) is only $44 which is half of what you would pay at an upscale steakhouse. However, you get even more, as their mindful mission to prepare quality foods from organic farms with humanely raised animals, and the produce in its freshest state, you know what you’re putting into your body. This food furnishes the feeling of comfort, but at the same time the feeling of rejuvenation, as you know that it is truly, really good for you.

Mill Valley Kitchen is simply magical. Get in there and envelope yourself into the all of the comforts that bring you the feelings that you’re truly deserving of- enchantment, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Your mind, body, and taste buds have earned it.