enjoy!

Address:
15435 Founders Ln., Apple Valley, 952-891-6569, enjoy-dining.com

The Scene
Build it south of the river, and they will come! That’s the inspiration behind this 400-seat monolith that sits like a Field of Dining among the increasingly commercialized farmlands of Apple Valley. And flocking they are. From the adjacent Legacy Village development to Newport, suburbanites of all ages and sizes, dressed in a colorful potpourri of suits, business casual, shorts and sandals, come to “enjoy” the well-selected fare.

Our Take
Considering the attractive demographics of the Minnesota Valley suburbs, it’s surprising that enjoy! represents the first real effort to provide food-first dining in this neck of the woods. The menu presents a well-researched global array of interesting dishes, ranging from basics such as roasted chicken breast with apple-riesling sauce and the double-bone pork chop with stone-ground mustard to more adventuresome items such as braised lamb shank and the grilled jumbo prawns with red curry. The tasteful, comfortable architecture that sprawls over five differently themed rooms, an expansive bar, and wrap-around outdoor patio reflects that little expense was spared. High marks also go to the young, energetic wait staff who are required to succeed at a two-week training course that includes daily tests. There’s a definite “can-do” attitude in the air that should keep the crowds coming and content. From a critical perspective, my major qualm was one that seems endemic to all new local restaurants: Too many items arrived too quickly, too slowly, or came over- or undercooked. The kitchen was not yet up to the task of managing its large menu and larger clientele. I’d also like to see it pay more attention to presentation—several dishes were simply heaped onto a plate or plated in ways that made the fare seem less appetizing than it actually was.

400 Seats in Apple Valley?!
The obvious question is, “Why such an enormous undertaking in unproven territory?” In enjoy!’s case, it was more serendipity than science. Heat-N-Glo founder Dan Shimek and his wife, Kay, are the principal owners. The Shimeks, longtime friends of president and general manager and local restaurant industry vet François Paradeise, had been working on a Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, restaurant, Paradise Landing, which opened several weeks ago. Anticipating that the restaurant was a break-even proposition at best, they decided to build a second, which portended a better return on investment. Paradeise’s wife, Nancy—whose duties as Mrs. Minnesota and Mrs. Apple Valley kept her in contact with city fathers—paved the way to the site in rapidly growing, pedestrian-friendly Legacy Village. As for the 400 seats, the gambit is to intimidate potential competitors as well as accommodate customers with demographics that are, according to Paradeise, among the best in the metro area.