Sanctuary: What a Difference a Chef Makes!

What a difference a chef makes!

Patrick Atanalian is now in charge of the kitchen at
Sanctuary, and the cuisine at the Washington Ave. hideaway is dramatically improved. It’s a reunion for the
talented Marseilles-born chef and Sanctuary’s managing partner Michael Kutscheid, who first worked
together back in the mid-90s, when Kutscheid owned Kapoochi’s, one of the most
innovative restaurants of its time. After a dishonest employee bankrupted the
restaurant, Kutscheid went on to become a familiar face as a manager at
Oceanaire, Martini Blu and Babalu, and Atanalian went on to work at the Loring
Café, Vintage, A Rebours and Le Cordon Bleu’s culinary school.

Atanalian became notorious for such cutting edge culinary
pranks as beef tenderloin with plantains, pepperoncici, sweet mango rum sauce
and a Coca-Cola crème fraiche, and halibut with a gummi bear crayfish
broth. He plays it a bit straighter this time around, but there is no lack of
invention in the current Sanctuary menu. Among the highlights of my most recent
visit: starters of carpaccio enlivened with white anchovies, a candied lemon
fennel salad ($8), and a Napoleon of crisp taro root, roast mushrooms, sundried
tomato tapenade and a mascarpone mousse ($6). The lamb shank braised in coconut
curry ($19) and the glazed salmon with sweet and sour potato wontons ($23) were
both delightful, but there is a lot more on the menu that I would like to try –
including the duck confit risotto croquettes, the salad of baby frisee, salmon
gravlax and goat cheese, and a chateau of sirloin with lobster reduction and
potato cakes ($25).

Kutscheid says he plans to start offering a prix-fixe $35 five
course tasting menu Mondays through Thursdays, starting next week, with an optional flight of four selected wines for $12.

One little annoyance to mention: to park on either side of the
building, you have to pre-pay an automat, which reportedly is fussy about
accepting credit cards or paper money – so bring along $3 in quarters.

Sanctuary, 903 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis 612-203-5058.


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