I’ll start with saying that this was the first place since moving to the area in January from Milwaukee that I was excited to try for dinner. My wife and I really enjoy Justin Sutherland’s shows, his cook book and the twin cities spots we have dined at before. Thus, when asked what we should do for dinner on Friday night, we both agreed to go to Northern Soul no questions asked.
We arrived to a very empty dining room at 7pm, slight red flag there as we had to make a reservation earlier in the day as they weren’t accepting walk ins. We were sat for our reservation, received some water and then about eleven minutes later, we were greeted by our server who took our drink order, and then he returned with them about ten minutes later. Luckily, we had put in some starters which turned out to be quite nice and arrived before the Diet Coke and oddest Sazerac I have ever had in my life.
The pimento cheese dip was well done with a nice sharpness, and the burnt ends had me very excited for the brisket I would be ordering on the Northern Soul platter.
My wife ordered the classic fried chicken sandwich, solid, but nothing to write home about. The side of Mac n Cheese looked good, but had very little flavor which was odd. We also shared some creamed corn which was the star of the dinner. Finally, I ordered the “Northern Soul Platter.” I picked brisket, ribs and chicken. The brisket looked as though it had been smoked a day or two before hand, then somehow brought back to life to greet me with a grey and dry hello…..this was a disappointment. Next, the ribs, not great. Mushy and flavorless crust that had a greasy finish………Finally, the chicken, this was the best part of the platter. Juicy, decent smoke and well seasoned. Shame on me for ordering ribs and brisket from a BBQ spot, should have just went chicken I guess……
Anyways, after that forgettable experience, our server returned to ask if we want any more drinks. We asked what they have for dessert to which he said “Um, maybe.”
Well, the maybe was banana pudding, a BBQ favorite. This one however turned out to potentially just be instant pudding with about twelve Nilla wafers placed into it. No chunks or any sign that this was a homemade item, another letdown.
All said, our server returned one final time with the bill for $155 which leaves a sour taste in your mouth, but at the end of the day, I walked through the doors to try Northern Soul, ordered a good amount of the menu to try and no one forced me to do that.
Was this place a let down? Gigantic
Will I ever return? Highly unlikely unless someone figures out the service and quality of actual smoked meats. Maybe it just needs a year to get the kinks worked out, who knows.