The Craftsman

A restaurant in search of an identity seemed to be the uncomfortable place where The Craftsman Restaurant was when chef Dennis Marron left the kitchen last summer, well shy of the restaurant’s first anniversary. Marron was shepherding a kitchen attempting to fuse his pan-Asian tinged cooking style to disparate elements of the restaurant’s craftsman design ethos, Longfellow neighborhood clientele, and rootsy American wine list. The result was sometimes impressive, but more often confusing, and his early departure seemed to doom Craftsman to the scrap heap of lost neighborhood restaurants that never lived up to their potential.

In a classic case of addition through subtraction, the loss of Marron was Craftsman’s gain, forcing it to reconsider the food style best suited for the room and neighborhood. Enter Mike Phillips, the hard-working and soft-spoken former chef-owner of Chet’s Taverna, for whom local and seasonal foods are a way of life.

Craftsman works better these days—though not perfectly—but you can finally see a synchronous attitude and vibe about the place. Even the odd habit the old kitchen had of frowning on bar fare being ordered in the dining room is a thing of the past. Aside from some inedibly dry pork rillettes, everything I had at Craftsman was good.

Achieving “very good” status is impeded only by the kitchen’s lack of discipline. The extra step that it takes to cut the unappetizing bloodline from a grilled fillet of wild swordfish, the focus required to let a tomato-and-bread salad soften too-hard-to-eat croutons, or the patience to allow a pan sauce to reduce properly before plating a perfectly cooked chicken breast are all eminently correctable as Phillips trains his staff (fingers crossed).

His food is fresh, portions are spot-on for the most part, as are the moderate prices. Pizza and burgers are on the menu, as well as the more sophisticated farmhouse-style fare for which Phillips is known. Service can be hit or miss: Servers are earnest, but wet behind the ears. Every request takes too long and greetings at the door need to be handled by someone other than a server.

Desserts are homier than in Marron’s day, the daily fruit crumble being the best of the bunch. The wine and beer lists are well chosen, there is a jazz combo in the bar on weekends, and the new patio is a delightful oasis. Brunch is a work in progress, but The Craftsman is a boat now clearly upright and sailing in the right direction.

4300 E. Lake St., Mpls., 612-722-0175