The dinner menu is divvied up into three categories: “From the larder,” “From the fields” and “From the wood oven,” which roughly move from the smallest dishes to more substantial, starch-heavy ones. Unfortunately for the mission, the restaurant stumbles on achieving even its relatively modest aim of enjoyability.

“We’re not necessarily trying to convert people to become vegans, but we’re really trying to say, this way of eating can be really enjoyable,” SingleThread chef and owner Kyle Connaughton told the Robb Report. To wit, these days, “plant-based” operates as a signal that these businesses are aimed at omnivores who relish meat but may want to eat less of it for environmental or health reasons. Save for co-owner Laurie Ubben, a philanthropist and animal rights activist, most of the people involved are not vegan. You don’t live it per se - you’re just “based” there sometimes. This is the soft-footed approach favored by peer restaurants like San Francisco’s Wildseed and food tech companies like Impossible Foods, which are careful not to spook skittish meat eaters who don’t want to be seen in public making too much of a lifestyle choice. Santiago Mejia, SFChronicle / Santiago Mejia, SFChronicleīut first, I should clarify - Little Saint may be technically vegan, with no animal products involved, but its serving staff hesitate to use the word when you ask, preferring “plant-based” or “vegetable-forward” instead. RIGHT: Items from the summer menu at Little Saint, Saturday, Aug. LEFT: The stuffed chard greens (with beet merguez, tomato sauce and sunflower seeds) at Little Saint, Saturday, Aug. Little Saint’s 10,000-square-foot space - once the award-winning Shed - is filled out with a myriad of concepts, including a coffee bar stocked with beans from indie roasters and a retail section featuring perfect piles of summer squash and pottery. Croix River just 10 minutes east of Woodbury.When you dine outside, whether in the main dining room or the upstairs lounge where indie rock star Phoebe Bridgers performed a surprise show two weeks ago, you do so amidst the quiet rustle of gently swaying eucalyptus tree branches. Swirl is located in the Shops of the Afton House Inn at 3291 St. We combined that by filling a need and desire of others to be a part of a really fun wine club with serious wines yet fun people and great events.” “Because of our relationships we are able to bring in wines that are absolutely amazing, almost all under $30 and most of which people can’t practically find anywhere else. “Swirl is really just what people have been asking for,” says David Jarvis of Swirl and co-owner of the Afton House Inn. Our Promise: Attentive service, experience, great wines, great value and a conversation-friendly atmosphere with class, style and of course, a lot of fun! Our Objective is simple: Offer a really cool wine club with an extremely high value proposition, stock high quality and unique wines that people will love…without breaking the bank, create really fun events, and provide a place for friends to gather, relax and celebrate. We listen for the wines that others want, find wines that we love, add them to our shop and share them with our customers. Swirl is a Wine Bar, Wine Shop (Retailer) and has taken the Wine Club model to a new level, and it’s just the beginning. We took everything that people wanted and created a very non-pretentious and approachable setting, philosophy and wine program yet more than suitable for the serious wine drinker. Sw irlwas basically created by the ideas and desires of those in and around the Twin Cities.

Swirl wine bar