2940 Lyndale Ave South
Minneapolis, MN
On Friday November 20th, Akleema and I went to Moto-I with our friends Larry O’Brien and Jenifer Waligoski. Moto-I is a brand new Sake Brew pub that opened in the Mantu Pichu location on Lyndale Ave and Lake Street in Uptown. It’s the same owners as The Herkimer next door. The is not a Sushi Restaurant, in fact they serve no Sushi, it is a Japanese Pub. Picture your favorite brew pub and replace the great selection of beers with homemade sake. At this moment they have only 3 different kinds with plans to expand the selection to a total of 9 Sake’s.
The atmosphere was higher end, but very relaxed. We had a great corner table and our server, Leisha, was really patience and informative. I would say that the lighting was a little low.
Rioja Vega ($24.00)
Larry O'Brien, Erik Bergling and Jenifer Waligoski
Leisha, our server, cheesing it for the camera.
Sake Flight ($12.00)
No of us are real Sake fans, so our server recommended that we try their Sake Flight. The flight consists of three different types of Sake. The cloudy one is cloudy due to the extra rice starch that is intentionally left in it. Surprising, each Sake had a melon finish. We all thoroughly enjoyed them…Larry and I even ordered one after dinner.
Akleema was feeling pretty good after this one.....
Special Lotus Bun ($7.00)
This little baby was heaven on a plate!!! If you have ever been to Jasmine Deli on Nicollet, you might have had a version of this before. The Vietnamese have a little sandwich that they call, Bánh mì. Light French bread with any number of fixings. When we were in Vietnam last year, I ate one with pate, headcheese and other goodies. Moto-I’s version is a take on the sandwich. However they use this soft donut like bun that is exactly deep fried. They then stuff it with pork, bacon and veggies. They were so good that we ordered a second round, but requested extra spicy. Simply Outstanding!!!!!
Green Curry Beef Dumpling ($6.00)This was a very typical dumpling. If you like steam dough, this was a good take. No flavors really stood out. Nothing we would recommend.
Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings ($5.00)The sauce was sweet but not spicy. They consisted of Hoisin Sauce and ginger for the most part. After we asked for pepper sauce, they were much better.
See what a little Sake does to you.....
Larry and I were the responsible ones......
Basil Mussels ($7.00)Akleema thought the mussels were the best part of the meal. They were nice. Not over cooked and they had a great sauce.
Mushroom Miso Soup ($4.00)The broth was amazing. A classic take on Miso Soup. We were told that it was a special and might be offered every night. A great treat on a cold night.
Taro Shoestrings ($3.00)A new take on the childhood classic. Instead of using potato, they used Taro root, which has the same starch quality of a potato. The best part was the spicy dipping sauce.
Another shot of Sake? Mr. Bergling......
Jenifer, do you feel anything?
Sata Andegi ($4.00)
A 5 spice laced donut that was warm in the middle. It would have better with a little ice cream.
