Bento boxes may be the world's greatest invention. A laquered box with 6-8 compartments for meat, fish, rice, vegetables, and other sides, it's the grown-up way to demand that your food be "not-touching!" in your dish. Bento boxes also showcase what Japanese food is really all about: separate flavors that seemingly lack harmony, but when united as a team give the diner the sense that all their tastebuds have been exercised. Japanese culture dictates that there are 5 senses: salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami, which might loosely translate to "savory" here but in Japanese simply means "delicious." I've had bento boxes wherever I can find them in restaurants, which is more frequently now that the Midwest has finally gotten on the Asian bandwagon. The most authentic bento box I enjoyed was on the island of Maui, where the fish was caught that morning and the pickled plum made your tongue shrivel into a tiny ball...I still dream about that box.
Imagine my surprise then when I learned a few years ago of a restaurant on Lake Winona that only serves delicious food in bento boxes. I am now a frequent visitor to Cerulean whenever I'm in the area, and I can only rave about how cool, upbeat, and tasty everything is there. The entire place is done with ultra-modern decor that isn't space-freaky, just light and airy. There are views of the canal to the lake, and pretty, colorful pictures on the walls of flower close-ups. I have never had a bad meal at Cerulean, but here are my favorite menu choices:
Butternut squash soup with toasted sage and pancetta
Bento box with basil-soy salmon, sweet orange and almond mix with honey-balsamic dressing, asian noodles, and edamame
Poached peach pavlova with cinnamon cream
Everything is perfect and unusual, I plan on taking guests there whenever anyone visits just for the experience. http://www.ceruleanrestaurant.com/
