Inside: First Course

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First Course shines like a bistro beacon in a dimly-lit neighborhood of South Minneapolis. It's truly a food-first restaurant that aims to please not only its most loyal of customers, but surprise newcomers with its polished, flirty menu. The specials change with the seasons (and more) and owner Travis Metzger challenges his patrons to wild game and international fare.

The special "mixed grill" on the night Metromix visited was made up of kangaroo loin, ostrich and rabbit sausage. It was served with a rich onion mash and crisp parsnips. While we admit our eyebrows were raised at the prospect of such exotic morsels, when it came down to it, this was a meat and potatoes meal.

One of the most pleasing things about First Course is the colors that are found on the walls, in the fixtures and in the food. A Halibut with red pepper sauce came out with a carnival of colors, as did the roasted beet salad with goat cheese.

If the colors aren't on the plate, then they're certainly on the palate. A Brazilian fish stew (which was the soup of the day) was rich with coconut with bright herb flavors and firm, delicious seafood.

There are many high-end dishes at First Course, which makes it a spot-on place of a romantic date or special family meal, but to survive in the neighborhood, there are still some "burger with fries" options on the menu. A bison blue burger is served with truffle fries (for $10.50) and the Croque Monsieur comes in at $8.95.

As you can imagine, the desserts are decadent, and constantly changing. Our visit brought us pumpkin bread pudding, although the fallen chocolate cake looked irresistible (with take out available, the neighbors must be in sugar heaven.)

While the food is hard to resist, many come to First Course to enjoy a fine glass of wine, an imported bottle of beer or an oft-changed tap. While there are only about 10 seats to speak of at the bar, the low lights and extensive wine and tapas list encourages patrons to get comfortable.

The wine (both by the bottle and glass) is half-price every Tuesday. We recommend coming down for a nice bottle (they'll cork it for you so you can make it home safe) and ordering up some tapas (the fried green olives with blue cheese or the beef tips with green chili, tamarind and molasses ought to treat you mighty fine.)

It is a small, very warm place, so make some reservations before you come down. But if you do just stop in (its closeness to the airport makes it an amazing layover treat) there is a fire-lit lobby waiting to receive you.

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