Even though his providence is South Dakota and not Northern Minnesota, Landon Schoenefeld knows about the tater tot hotdish. "My mom was not a good cook," he explained while he whipped through the impossibly skinny kitchen at his first restaurant, Haute Dish. "That would have been a little fancy for her to make."
The dish has been on the menu since he first opened the doors on this North Loop restaurant, but his recipe dates back to even before these days. He was running the gastropub menu at Bulldog Northeast when his business partner's girlfriend suggested he do his version of the dish.
For the uninitiated, tater tot hot dish is usually a some what gloopy (but beloved) casserole assembled from canned green beans, hamburger, cream of mushroom soup and topped with tater tots before being baked until the potatoes are crispy brown.
Shoenefeld's version retains all the elements, but uses the highest quality ingredients. Short rib beefs up the protein element. Fresh, local green beans are used in the summer that he picks up from the Minneapolis Farmer's Market, but at this time of year, he sources beautiful, slender haricots verts. Butter sauteed porcini mushrooms are balanced up top and the dish is surrounded by potato puffs with an ethereal interior. The entire dish is finished with a velvety jus. Deeply satisfying, soul-sustaining, cut with a judicious spritz of lemon on the beans: this is a dish worth carrying the mantle of a great restaurant.
