D’Amico and Sons in St. Paul

I’m spending a few days in St. Paul, visiting my brand-new nephew Jack.

Whenever I travel, I’ve gotta try a new place, so this Saturday we headed out for a light lunch at D’Amico and Sons on Grand Avenue in St. Paul.

First, I absolutely love Grand Ave., with its numerous quaint shops, coffeehouses and restaurants. One place I’ve been to, Dixies on Grand, does some great nouveau-ish soul food. Appetizers are half-price from 3-6 p.m., every day.

This time, though, we head to D’Amico. It’s a smaller setup, with salads and some sandwiches in a deli-type case and cooks putting together dishes in the back. It’s an interesting and different concept, sort of fast-casual, but a bit more of a restaurant than say, Chipotle, or something.

The cold salads were calling my name, so I got a full plate of the black bean and roasted corn salad. It’s a February special, so check it out while you can. It’s also got brown rice, poblano peppers and roasted pepitas. I got a hot cup of the perfectly strong coffee.

I found the salad to be super tasty, a bit spicy and with wonderful texture from the brown rice and black beans.

My dining mates got the Tuna Melt Panini, with dill pickle, arugula, tomato and Swiss cheese on a Ciabatta bun and the Knife and Fork Egg Salad Sandwich, served warm with provolone, tomato and arugula.

Beside the St. Paul location, there are D’Amico restaurants in Minneapolis, Edina, Golden Valley, Wayzata and Roseville. There’s also one in Naples, FL.

Lunch at D’Amico was a great change of pace from the norm. There’s a ton to try out on their creative menu and it’ll be a place I frequent when I’m back in the area.

Related articles

• D’Amico Kitchen closing at Le Meridien Chambers hotel (bizjournals.com)
• Mill Valley Kitchen owner opening restaurant at Le Méridien Chambers hotel (bizjournals.com)
• Minneapolis Vacations (orbitz.com)

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