Muffuletta

Parasole’s first restaurant got a solid kick in the ass a few years ago and went from being a middling, predictable faux-trattoria into a food-focused, seasonally aware neighborhood bistro. Much of the thanks goes to chef JD Fratzke, now a co-owner of The Strip Club on St. Paul’s East Side. Fratzke’s successor, Jason Schellin, has some time under his belt now, and we stopped by for a bite the other night after hearing talk that he is one of Parasole’s rising stars.

Schellin’s impact is not strongly in evidence on the menu, and when his specials underwhelmed us, we defaulted to some standards and ended up with a mixed experience. Muffuletta’s signature beer cheese soup remains the version by which others must be judged, beautifully balanced between rich cheese and beer bite. An asparagus soup special was light and clean-tasting as well. Parasole’s restaurants, outside now-spun-off Oceanaire, have rarely had good crab cakes, and Muffuletta’s jumbo lump (so the menu says) cakes are over-mixed and mushy from exterior on in. Caesar salad was middling while another menu classic, tortellini Baronesa, meat-stuffed pasta with Fischer Farms bacon, peas, and wild mushrooms, suffered from an alfredo sauce so underseasoned that the dish couldn’t overcome its inevitable too-richness. Sour cream cherry pie is offered in a delightfully small portion but is more of a crumbly tart with a dry mixture of fruit better suited to cookie filling than pie. Nice idea, though. You get the impression a lot of thought and attention goes into the specials, but the rest of the menu at Muffuletta needs some tweaking and a bit more care.

Muffuletta’s large patio is under reconstruction and will make a beautiful space to dine all summer, overlooking the gorgeous St. Anthony Park library. The interior is seeing more traffic than it used to and feels a bit worn. The portion we sat in, near the windows, was desperately in need of paint and some general TLC.

Muffuletta, 2060 Como Ave., St. Paul, 651-644-9116