Behold the art of the undersell. Heyday’s hipster-familiar look (barn wood paneling, seltzer-bottle-encased lightbulbs) belies the fascinating, intricate food emerging from chef Jim Christiansen’s kitchen. In his hand, every bite feels like a discovery. A single buttermilk cracker shelters an engulfing lamb-tartare universe hiding out below. Poached mussels stay pristine and cool, thanks to a genius blanket of frozen yogurt “snow.” The skin on the roasted steelhead trout is not merely crispy—it crunches. And a sunchoke-hazelnut sundae takes home this year’s Sounds Weird Tastes Amazing Award by a landslide.
What to order: chilled blue mussels, beef tartare, roasted squab with rye porridge, sunchoke sundae
We love: The Replacements references in the restaurant, including the quote behind the bar (“a person can work up a mean mean thirst after a hard day of nuthin’ much at all.”)
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