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Local Business
300 First is 'hip and comfortable'
4/2/2008 11:02:10 AM
By Jeff Kiger
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
A big fireplace, a gurgling fountain made
from bottles and a wine rack, warm colors,
smoking martinis and corn-fed steaks. Like a
magician turning a woman into a tiger, the
families behind Creative Cuisine have
unveiled their latest trick -- 300 First.
The restaurant began serving dinner
Thursday and will open for lunch for the
first time Tuesday.
About a year and half after coming up
with the concept, the Currie and Zubay
families have transformed a long-time
Rochester favorite, the Broadstreet Cafe,
into 300 First.
"Completely relaxed, kind of hip and
comfortable" is how Denise Villeneuve of
Creative Cuisine describes the new
restaurant that has arisen in place of the
Broadstreet.
Along with the new feel comes a new menu
built around a selection of high-grade
steaks served with one-pound baked potatoes
topped with butter churned fresh at the
restaurant. The prices range from $15.95 for
a Prime Grade Bauvette Steak to $29.95 for a
Prime Grade Bone In Ribeye.
Other entrees include Seared Fresh Red
Stripe Grouper, Brick-Baked Chicken and
Asian Chopped Rare Tuna Salad, among other
items.
"The menu has a broader range of
selection as well as a broader range of
prices," said Villeneuve. "The prices are
lower than most on Broadstreet's menu."
Looking around the completely changed
restaurant, even the staff seemed amazed at
the difference.
"I'm shocked we pulled it off," says Mark
Currie, one of the restaurant's creators and
Villeneuve's brother. "It is not like
Broadstreet at all."
He admits that he feels more at ease in
300 First than he did in the previous
restaurant.
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"Here you don't worry if you pick up
the wrong fork," Currie said as he stood by the
leather couches and fireplace of the Parkside
Lounge.
The lounge is one of four areas within 300
First. Parkside is a room at the front of the
restaurant where diners can have a drink and
appetizers while waiting for a table or maybe
wrap up an evening with dessert and coffee. In
the main dining area, 300 First has
copper-topped tables and booths along walls
exposing the building's almost 100-year-old
bricks.
"We're lucky. The building has a natural
charm," he said.
Large, locally-made copper artworks back-lit
with neon replace the antique tapestries that
previously hung on the walls. They share wall
space with large, striking photos created by the
restaurant's "resident artist."
Chris Skogan, head bartender at 300 First, is
also a photographer. His work can be seen
throughout the restaurant.
The bar Skogan works behind was turned 90
degrees in the reconstruction. Now the shiny,
dark bar is illuminated by irregular glowing
light fixtures. Copper ice-filled boxes keep
bottles of beer and wine chilled.
A new line of "Smokin'" martinis have been
added to the drink menu. A smoking martini has a
dry ice pellet in the bottom of the glass that
produces the "smoke" effect as well as keeps the
drink cold.
The $7 martinis sport names like Grapefruit
Cosmo, Moscow Monk, Darjeeling and El Poeta.
At the opposite of end of the restaurant is
"The First Table," which seats eight to 16
people in a semi-private room.
"We call it the First Table, even though it
is the last table in the restaurant," says
Villeneuve. "It is the only table we take
reservations for."
While it is completely different, such change
is not unknown to the Creative Cuisine crew,
which also runs The Redwood Room, City Cafe and
Newt's. Over the years, it is estimated they
have opened about a dozen new or revamped
restaurants in Rochester and elsewhere.
How do they feel about this opening?
"When you change things around, you always
wary about how people will react," Villeneuve
said. "But we have had nothing but positive
feedback so far."
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