Scott Kee's Tour de France Restaurant
Andrew Holtum
[All of the personal info contained in this article was taken
from the local news media here in Minneapolis.]
Why is a restaurant review/description in rec.bicycles? Because
the restaurant in question is *Scott Kee's Tour de France*, a place
with ties to Greg LeMond.
As many of you may know, Greg's off-season home is in the Minneapolis
suburb of Wayzata. One reason he chose this area is because the
LeMond's have friends and relatives here. Kathy LeMond was a student
at Gustavus Adolphus College in St.Peter. MN and I believe she's
originally from Milwaukee.
[INTERESTING SIDEBAR: Do you remember seeing Beth Ruyak, one of
ABC's sports commentators covering this year's TdF and thinking
"How the heck did she get that job?". Well, she's a former Miss
Minnesota who just happened to be Kathy's roommate at school!]
Anyway, the restaurant's head chef, Scott Kee, is Greg's brother-
in-law (not the one who accidentally shot him). He was head chef
at Primavera, a major restaurant in the area, before striking out
on his own. Greg and his father-in-law put up the money for the
venture.
The place opened last summer and is located in a small 100 year
old three story house- what used to be an interior design studio-
on France Avenue S. (of course!), a major secondary street running
through *downtown* Edina (another Mpls. suburb). In fact, it's
only about three miles from my house.
[ANOTHER INTERESTING SIDEBAR: My wife called me at work one day
last month to tell me she saw G.L. in full Z Team colors cruising
through our neighborhood down France Ave., presumably toward the
TdF restaurant. I'm still jealous. This was when he was town
for the DuPont series race discussed on the net earlier.]
The interior is decorated in a sort of casual-contemporary European
decor (rather ugly, actually- but I'm no expert). The only hint
that the restaurant has any connection at all with G.L. or cycling
is not a subtle one to cycling fans. One of Greg's yellow jerseys
from the 1989 race hangs in a glass box on the wall immediately
facing you as you come in the door. However, it's understated
by the fact that there is no placard or identification of any
kind displayed with it.
The place is cozy- only about 20 tables maximum for all floors
combined. The tablecloths and napkins are linen; the plates mono-
grammed; the background music (recorded) classical; the flowers
fresh. You get the idea.
The menu featured mostly fish with a pork and a beef entree represented
as well. I imagine it changed at least monthly. There was a rather
long wine list, too. The food we had was excellent. But then, I'm
a bike racer- I'll eat anything! :-) ! We're talking quality stuff
and the bill reflected it. Between my wife and me we had three
glasses of wine, two appetizers (soup), two entrees, one dessert,
and 2 espressos and the total, including tax was about $70.00
(tip excluded). Consequently, this is not a place we'd go to
spontaneously! We happened to be celebrating our birthdays and
anniversary, all of which occur in October. If you get a kick out of
eating at an establishment where presentation as well as flavor is
a main concern, it's probably worth it. If you're in Mpls., check
it out, anyway.
Some additional comments:
On the way out, I took another look at the yellow jersey and thought
it looked rather small. I'm a bit smaller than G.L. and it looked
to be a tight fit for me. It was genuine. It had the Castelli
trademark scorpions and the team sponsor panel (ADR and Agrigel in
this case). Maybe the tour winner gets special, smaller *presentation*
jerseys as well. Anyone know?
The *monogram* on the plates is actually a crest which, aside from
the usual lions and shield and stuff, incorporates a representation
of the cup awarded the Tour winner. This from the waiter.
Outside, we could look into the basement which was the kitchen and
see the preparation in progress. Instead of the customary chef's
cap (I'm not sure what it's called), the head chef Kee (my wife
recognized him from a local talk show appearance) wore a Z Team cap!
Andy Holtum
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John R. Mudd
>One reason he chose this area is because the
>LeMond's have friends and relatives here. Kathy LeMond was a student
>at Gustavus Adolphus College in St.Peter. MN and I believe she's
>originally from Milwaukee.
Nope. She's from LaCrosse, Wisconsin. My mom was born and raised there.
Nice town. Apparently, Kathy's dad works at the same hospital as my aunt,
and everybody there was watching the TdF, albeit for different reasons than
you or I.
... John