Cocktails will delight, designed by the same team the runs Estelle’s bar program in St. Paul
Rarely am I blown away in a first look, soft open, first night of service scenario. Things are often sloppy, service is confused, cooks are trying to get things exactly right. Usually I don’t write about these experiences—because the point of a soft opening is to work things out. But you need to know about Liliana in Woodbury, which is both an absolute dream of a neighborhood restaurant for people in the east metro and also a destination worth your attention.
The people are part of it: Jason Hanson and Peter Sebastian continue to excel at Estelle in St. Paul, their sandwich/pizza shop Mario’s is my favorite sandwich in town, and they tapped one of my favorite young chefs in town, Kenzie Edinger, to run the kitchen in Woodbury.
In fact, three years ago I called her a “Chef to Watch” raving about her talent with flavor, texture, and balance when she was at Mucci’s. She last was at Saint Dinette in St. Paul, and she’s clearly been thinking about pasta and flavor combinations for a long time. That paid off with Hanson’s culinary talent, as they teamed up on this menu.
Liliana’s prosciutto bruschetta
Her talent is on full display at Liliana. There’s restraint: a prosciutto bruschetta has beautiful, creamy stracciatella cheese (the inside of burrata) on top of a punchy melon marmalade ($15). Perfect texture on the indulgent rice croquettes stuffed with mozzarella, dipped in a side of a pepperoni-laced ragu—pair this with a beer at the bar and you’re good to go ($14 for 3).
Rotolo is a pinwheel-shaped roodle, like a lasagna
And then the pastas… $26 is a ridiculous bargain for the braised beef paccheri, sort of an oversize rigatoni noodle. Perfect for soaking up a decadent beef jus, brilliantly topped with the acid and crunch of a freshly made giardiniera. They told us it had Italian beef vibes—the textures sure were, but this is just perfect braised beef, no herby flavor to it like the Chicago sandwich would give.
You can’t miss the rotolo, which is a lasagna-inspired classic Italian dish, made famous by the New York City restaurant Don Angie. Liliana’s version costs just $24 and is made with a noodle rolled pinwheel-style in a circle, filled with ricotta, mozzarella, fontina, whipped cream cheese, and spinach, then bathed with arrabbiata sauce. The whole thing is then charred on top to give a little smoke, a little crunch, and a major wow.
Liliana’s pork and lobster stuffed farfalle
I also adored the the lobster and pork farfalle with a decadent fonduta and just enough Calvados brandy in the sauce—shocking to see the $27 price tag.
Smoked pork belly is a beautifully composed dish
The pastas are so good, you may have to come back for the main courses—which were glorious in their own rite. Beautiful execution on the smoke pork belly with a sweet balsamic agrodolce sauce, served on polenta with herbs and corn. And only $28! Desserts are excellent as well with a moist carrot cake slice served with brown butter ganache and miso caramel, and a perfect tiramisu served in a dish.
Liliana is in a newer mixed-use shopping/living neighborhood called City Walk right off Woodbury Drive. When all the furniture arrives, the patio will be a nice hang as well. Dinner only for now, and brunch and lunch are on the way. Tons of free parking, and they do take reservations.
Liliana, 10060 City Walk Drive, Woodbury, 651.493.9089, lilianamn.com
Note: We visited on the first night of a soft open experience; the restaurant paid for all food and drinks, and we left a hefty gratuity.