Right in the heart of the North Loop lies Borough, an innovative American restaurant with an ever changing menu filled with classics and unique dishes.  It’s a fairly small place, but on a Friday night, it’s bopping.  The space looks industrial and casual, but the booths are cozy and the dim lighting offers a more sophisticated atmosphere.

The menu is unusual since there are 3 courses listed with the first two being small plates.  You can order off of any of the courses which presents plenty of options.  I decided to get 3 dishes from the first course while other people ordered a first/second and a third.

I started with the sturgeon which was about as good as it looks.  The fish was smoked with capers, onions, eggs and cream cheese along with an “everything” crêpe.

Next, I ordered the steak tartare which was prepared with mushrooms and a raw egg. What I loved about it was the extra little sauce reductions that came with it. The black was a truffle reduction and the white was a milk one. They paired beautifully on the toast together.

I ordered the duck confit for my small “entré” which was made delicious by the lingonberries that it was garnished with.  The duck was cooked fabulously and tasted delicious with the sweet/sour addition of the berries.

The deserts at Borough are very unusual as the choices are limited but extravagant.  I ordered the persimmon dish which had a custard, a to die for sauce, sour cream ice cream and dried sponge cake.  I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like, but I ended up loving it!

Here are some of the other dishes that were ordered.  Everyone agreed that they were great!

The salmon

The lefse with smoked trout

The salad greens

Overall, Borough is a great place to have a special dinner if you enjoy funky and innovative food.  The menu is a little mature, so it might not be the place for picky eaters.  However, if you want to try something different then this is the place.  The only down side is that the restaurant gets very loud as it gets busier and I believe it is because of the limited space.  It gets a little hard to hear, but the food is definitely worth it!

Website: http://boroughmpls.com