Black Duck Spirits & Hearth — Restaurant in Minneapolis

When it comes to elevated fare, I am an inveterate cynic. A hater even. Ingredients like dijonnaise on a menus usually are a sign that my uncultured palate should stick to Matt's. I once had an elevated chicken pot pie at a hip place with a long wait that was a flavorless abomination against everything comfort food should be. It made me swear off "elevation" as a scam perpetrated upon those who care more about posting pictures of their meal on social media than actually eating it.

However, my experience at Black Duck tonight has made me eat my words when it comes to my suspicion of elevated cuisine. I will be more than happy to endure the bitter taste of chugging my own haterade if it means I can eat a burger as great as the one I just had.

Simply put, Black Duck was one of the best dining experiences I've ever had in 45 years of shoving burgers down my gullet. I had the double duck burger - minus the dijonnaise 'natch - with a duck egg on top and the only word I can use to describe it is transcendent. The way the flavors all worked together added up to a symphony of scrumptiousness. I don't know the technical terms for what I was experiencing, but I can tell you that each bite was ambrosia for a hardcore burger head like myself. I thought the Bungalow Club had the best non-Matt's burger in Minnesota, but Black Duck's double duck is the new uncontested heavyweight champion of the state. We're talking a Sub Zero style flawless victory here.

"But how are the fries?" you may be asking yourself. Well let me tell you: They are the greatest waffle fries I have ever eaten. EVER. Do you know how many "it was good enough I guess" dining experiences I have had in my years on this planet as a picky person pining for perfection? Countless. These fries were so great it beggars description. My wife couldn't finish hers so I had one and a half giant plates of these fries and would have eaten a third had it appeared on my table.

But wait, there's more: We had the miso gnocchi as an appetizer and it was incredibly addicting. The umami of the miso worked so well with the doughy goodness of the gnocchi. Again, I could have eaten like triple the amount of this I did because it was so addicting.

This place was so phenomenal we had to have desert too, and the pumpkin paczki did not disappoint. This was a delectable confection that served as a delicious punctuation mark on the best night out in a restaurant I've had in at least five years, if not the past decade.

Bottom line: You must go to Black Duck ASAP. You owe it...

Welcome to the neighborhood Black Duck Spirits & Hearth. So glad that Black Duck has finally opened in Northeast. It is a welcome addition to the neighborhood, offering an excellent spot for drinks or a meal, with a menu that offers an excellent range of options to choose from.

The restaurant is a cozy, casual space, with the bar in the front room and an open kitchen and dining space in the next room. The smell of woodfired cooking from the large open hearth greets you as you enter the restaurant, forecasting the delicious foods that await.

Our server Eric was excellent, providing excellent descriptions and recommendations for our food and beverage selections around fun banter and engagement. The open kitchen allowed us to see the playful collegiality between the wait staff and kitchen crew. Seems like a fun place to work and definitely creates a warm, familial feel within the restaurant.

For our first dining experience here as a group of four, we split the Beet aquachile, which was a bright, flavorful, vibrant dish and then had our own entrees. The crunchy tostada, marinated beets, and creamy avocado combine for a delightful burst of flavor.

Our companions shared the smash burger and the half chicken. The smash burger got rave reviews and the half chicken was outstanding, woodfired chicken encased in crispy skin with a rub on it. The beet horseradish offers a beautiful flash of color contrast with the plating. Their Ceasar salad was outstanding

The porkchop was phenomenal, perfectly seasoned and cooked, with rich, savory flavors. The grilled peach and succotash offer a nice sweet contrast. The cacio i pepe gnocchi is savory, with earthy flavors from the mushrooms complementing the creamy sauce. The carrots were heralded as one of the best dishes on the table with the red pesto and goat cheese providing great complementary flavors to the roasted carrots.

The desserts were great. The Pączki were wonderful fluffy dough wrapped around a just sweet enough raspberry filling. The Basque cheesecake is not your typical cheesecake in terms of density, but has wonderful flavors when paired with the sauce.

The cocktails here are on point - the Oaxacan and Old Fashioned were wonderfully complex takes. The En Tus Suenos was beloved by the whole table. They also have a nice beer list.

Watching other dishes being prepared and brought out to the tables only made us all excited to come back and try other dishes at Black Duck! I have a feeling that this will become a regular...

I've been to Black Duck a few times now, and my review is a mixed bag.

Their sandwiches, burgers, and tasters are excellent. The duck burger and smash burger are done Oklahoma style with those delicious caramelized onions. I haven't tried the Chicken Sandwich or the Bologna Sandwich yet, but I'm sure I will. This part of the menu is reasonably priced. Adding house waffle fries to your plate makes your meal a bit more expensive, but who does house waffle fries anymore? I think they're worth it.

The duck pate, pierogies, and grilled oysters are all phenomenal.

I've tried almost every cocktail on their menu, and I would say that the drinks are good, but fall short of great.

However, my most recent visit to Black Duck was for my partner's birthday, and we were left feeling... underwhelmed. After having been here a few times for smaller bites, we were expecting great things from their much more expensive selection of entrees, which unfortunately did not live up to the hype.

I got the steak, she got the duck. Both proteins were cooked beautifully, but the accompaniments to the proteins were simply not good. The steak comes with "seasonal vegetables" that might as well have been from a can or a freezer bag. The vegetable medley was entirely small cubes of what I'm pretty sure were boiled vegetables. Honestly, what happened there, guys? I was very much expecting the vegetable side to be treated with the same amount of love and care as the protein. Kissed by the wood burning fire, in pieces large enough that you can actually identify and appreciate each vegetable. There are so many better ways to do this.

The duck came with sort of confusing accompaniments, but the big issue I had is that my partner's duck plate looked nothing like it does in other photos. Her duck arrived in mostly sauce with only a couple of beans, and the sauce color was much darker than shown in other photos. There is no way that her duck dish tasted like the other duck dishes that inspired her to order it in the first place.

I believe that this restaurant is still finding its sea legs, but when you end up spending $200 on a special night out, you want to feel great about it. The entrees lack consistency, and you may or may not receive great service.

Don't let this review scare you away, because most of what I've tried here is great. Hence, 4 stars. But if you're looking for a showstopper to impress somebody special, you might want to...