Catzen Cafe, High Tea at the Hewing, and the Brasa Supper Club

The Tap for Friday, April 25, 2025

The Tap is a biweekly newsletter available in full for Heavy Table subscribers at the $10/month level and above. Today we’re making the Tap available to all paying subscribers because we couldn’t bear to put adorable cafe cats behind a paywall for any of our people.

Our subscribers will also receive the Hearth, our home cooking and recipes newsletter, at noon today. Regardless of what level you subscribe at, thank you for supporting our work and making it possible.

QUICK HIT: Supper Club from Brasa

Clara Emma / Heavy Table

We're already fans of Brasa, so after learning that they're offering a periodic supper club, it was a no-brainer to give it a shot. The process is pretty straightforward: Choose between two or four servings ($70/$135), preorder (the most recent dinner ended up with a waitlist), and then choose a pick-up time to stop at the Northeast Minneapolis location.

The April menu seemed like a deeper dive into the flavors that are staples on Brasa's menus. There were two meat entrees with six sides and a dessert. Brasa’s supper club menus don’t accept any dietary modifications, but several things on the April menu were vegetarian and/or gluten-free.

I ordered the two-person box and was somewhat surprised by its size, then worried that it wouldn't all fit in my (teeny) fridge. But the box was oversized for the amount of food. At first that was a relief; the number of dishes seemed reasonable for the price. As my husband and I don't have the appetites we used to, the small portions were appealing, but may not cut it for people who need more food.

Everything was packaged carefully, and an enclosed sheet explained in detail how to heat and serve the already-cooked foods. It was hard not to wince at the amount of packaging involved, none of which was recyclable or compostable (our recycling company doesn't take aluminum foil). The plastic items were sturdy enough to wash and reuse, or would have been if my cupboards (and those of pretty much everyone I know) weren't already packed full of similar dishware. We'd love to see Brasa work on reducing the packaging or work with things that could be recycled or composted.

We divided the dishes into two separate meals. The first was the Chimirojo Roasted Chicken Thighs with Puerto Rican Black Beans, Garlic Butter White Rice, and a Romaine Salad with Mozzarella, Grana Padano, Sunflower Seeds, and Sherry Vinaigrette. We expected considerable flavor from the red chimichurri, but that's not what we got; our chicken was fairly bland and would have benefited from much more sauce.

In contrast, the sides were the better part of the plate. The rice had the richness of butter with a garlicky tang. The beans were lovely, infused with cumin. The salad was fresh and crisp, and the only off aspect of it was the enormous serving of the sherry dressing that was provided. We're not opposed to leftovers, especially of a nice vinaigrette, but it seemed odd that it came with enough dressing for a lot more than two salads.

The next dinner was Pulled Pork Shoulder with Fresno Chili Sauce, Charred Asparagus with Lemon and Parsley Gremolata, Honey Ginger Carrots, and a dessert of Banana Pudding with Whipped Cream and Ladyfinger Cookies. This was more successful across the plate. The pork was tender and lightly garlicky, perfectly fine on its own, but even better with the zippy chili sauce applied. The charred asparagus was slightly bitter (in a good way) and a great pairing with the lightly sweet carrots.

The pudding put us in a downright nostalgic mood, but the kind of nostalgia that acknowledges the memories based on little grocery store boxes that seemed good when we were kids, but this pudding was so much better. Banana can be a tricky flavor, especially in a pudding, and here it was the primary flavor, light and sweet, without any of the chemical-y undertones of its grocery store predecessor. The whipped cream was a nice touch, although not really necessary. The ladyfingers were crunchier than expected, and dipped into the pudding gave the whole bite a bit of childhood glee.

Would we try another one of these supper club boxes? Sure. The hits outnumbered the misses. As mentioned above, we'd love to see the packaging issues addressed. – Amy Rea

THE TAP

The Tap is the Heavy Table’s ongoing biweekly account of noteworthy Minnesota restaurant openings, closings, and future openings. Please send any tips to editor@heavytable.com. All dates are approximate based on best information available; opening dates, in particular, tend to shift around a lot.

NOW OPEN (Up to 3 Months)

Pizza Karma (Dinkytown), 409 14th Ave SE, Minneapolis ■ The well-regarded Indian-meets-pizza chain that has racked up a series of suburban locations has moved into the heart of the metro with a new shop in Dinkytown, Minneapolis. Opened April 16, 2025.

Joshua Feist / Heavy Table

Karol Coffee Company, 1503 Hamline Avenue North, Saint Paul ■ Fresh, locally roasted coffee and specialty drinks anchor the menu at this shop, which is named for Pope John Paul II. Soft opening March 25 (6:30am-2pm), grand opening March 29 (8am-4pm).

James Norton / Heavy Table

Tres Bandidos Asadero Grill, 143 Snelling Ave. North, Saint Paul ■ Carnita, barbacoa, and rotisserie chicken are the titular bandits that give this restaurant by the owners of Taco Libre its name. Plated meals with slow cooked meats are the foundation of its menu, and it may open for breakfast in the near future. Opened April 1, 2025.

Brenda Johnson / Heavy Table

Khue’s Kitchen, 693 Raymond Ave., St. Paul ■ Khue’s Kitchen Chef/Owner Eric Pham is the grandson of Lung Tran, who opened the locally legendary Quang on Nicollet Avenue. Opened March 6, 2025 after a fire-related delay. Profiled in the April 11, 2025 edition of the Tap.

Cafe Yoto, 548 North Washington Ave., Minneapolis ■ A casual, counter service-driven Kado No Mise spinoff by Chef Yo Hasegawa, riffing on that restaurant’s internal pop-up concept Yo Monday Cafe. Opened March 4, 2025. Reviewed in the March 28, 2025 edition of the Tap.

Papá Chuy’s Bakery, 2409 Lyndale Ave. South, Minneapolis ■ The former Vegan East cafe location is now a Mexican panaderia. Opened February 26, 2025.

James Norton / Heavy Table

Hikari Hand Roll Bar, Eat Street Crossing, 2819 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis ■ The rapidly evolving Eat Street Crossing food hall turns over another space as a sushi hand roll spot opens up. Opened January 31, 2025.

CLOSED AND CLOSING (Up to 3 Months)

Lago Tacos (Lyndale) ■ This Lyndale Avenue gringo taco mainstay is moving to Saint Louis Park. Closing in May.

James Norton / Heavy Table / File

The Sonder Shaker ■ This remarkably good (but almost aggressively low-key) joint is calling it quits. The owners plan to reinvent it as an Italian restaurant (name to-be-determined) in early May, as per Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. Closing April 19.