DeRusha Eats: Marin
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – In most large cities, some of the best restaurants are inside hotels.
For whatever reason, Minneapolis doesn't really have that scene.
But Marin is trying to change that.
It's healthier food, without being like the stereotype of healthy.
Chef Mike Rakun arrives at 10 a.m. in the morning, and often works until 10 p.m. at night.
He has a lot of work to do.
"Healthy food immediately makes people think it's not gonna taste good.
Right, which is a big misnomer which we've set out to disprove," Rakun said.
When you look at what he's cooking in the gorgeous basement kitchen of Marin in downtown Minneapolis, it doesn't look stereotypically healthy.
"I use a lot less butter and a lot less reduced cream," he said."We stay away from the deep fryer…It makes us feel better, not weighted down," he said.
It's about a menu with calories clearly disclosed, and dishes marked as gluten free or vegan.
"It's really eye-opening as a chef. When I took the challenge a handful of years ago, I was a little nervous and scared about it. It's cool when you create a recipe and a dish. And you put it in the software and it spits out this information at you, and you're like 'Who knew?' Is there anything we can do to make it a little healthier for you,"
So right now, you may be thinking this food sounds like cardboard. It's not!
The chicken and dumplings are delicious and bright, and just 600 calories.
"There's no butter in this," DeRusha asks while tasting the chicken and dumplings.
"No butter," Rakun said.
"It still tastes so rich," DeRusha said.
For brunch the huevos rancheros are made with chicken chorizo sausage, homemade sort-of refried beans, it's gluten free, 370 calories and delicious.
They do desserts too, but there's no calorie count on those beauties.
"This is unique in downtown," DeRusha said.
"I would say so. The concept is Northern California-inspired. Which to me means sourcing locally, following the seasons and creating a product that's a little bit healthier for you," Rakun said.
This is the third concept inside the Le Meridien Chambers Hotel.
Chef rakun hopes Marin stands out on its own.
"We are a restaurant first. We are a part of a hotel, but I wouldn't say we're a hotel restaurant. We're a restaurant," he said.
Chef Rakun really wants people to know about his weekend brunch, which is new, because they're in a hotel they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We've talked about their cocktail program in Mike's Mix before, as well.
In the summer they offer nearly 50 types of gin. Right now they're offering six different Negronis in their basement Library bar!
