Smoked Salmon Quesadilla and Strawberry Chicken Salad at Pracna
May 5th, 2004
By Archived Story
With summer come tank tops, shorts and sandals. The streets we’ve avoided all winter in exchange for force-heated buildings are now in high demand. Not far from campus, at St. Anthony Main, a little restaurant by the name of Pracna on Main is tucked away.
Pracna’s scenery is one of its biggest selling points. Its front faces the Mississippi, showing off downtown’s skyline in the distant. A walking trail passes by, giving the area a park feel. The cobble stoned Main Street, the oldest street in Minneapolis, takes its visitors back to another time.
This is all great, but even better when you’re sitting in front row seats: Pracna’s patio.
Who doesn’t like to sip on a beer—Pracna has 20 different ones on tap—while unwinding in the sunlight, surrounded by urban wildlife? It’s not a bad place to grab a bite either.
Though the menu is on the small side, I found it to have a good range of items. The Smoked Salmon Quesadilla ($11.95) was nearly a meal in itself. (No, the article doesn’t end here.) It was a twist on the traditional chicken and cheese quesadillas found all over the Cities. The salmon was so flavorful that only cheese and some salsa was needed to complete this dish.
Since the theme was summer time, I tried a light and tasty Strawberry Chicken Salad ($11.95). Everything about it was sweet: the poppy seed dressing, the ripe strawberries, even the chicken, grilled with a lemon seasoning. My recommendation: order the salad and ask for the dressing on the side and extra berries.
Pracna’s special house sandwich, the 1890 ($9.95), which is named for the year the building was built, is a must-try. The flavor mixture of cranberry cream cheese and roasted turkey is one that sounds strange, but turns out to be a house favorite and a wonderful combination, on a caraway rye bread.
The 1890, one of Pracna’s many sandwiches, is served with a choice of their over-sized waffle fries or their better-than-my-mom’s potato salad. If you’re hungry, it’s worth it to order them both.
Even if you are eating light for your summer figure or you just want to stop in for a cocktail, Pracna’s atmosphere makes for a great summer retreat. While Pracna is found in the most established building over time in Minneapolis, we all know that the seasons here change too fast. School’s out, so take time to stop for lunch and enjoy the weather.
Contact Pracna on Main: 117 Main St. S. E., 612-379-3200, http://www.saintanthonymain.com/pracna.html.
