MINNEAPOLIS - A new restaurant is coming to the Walker Art Center and it's got a big name behind it.
Doug Flicker, the mastermind behind Piccolo, Sandcastle and a five time James Beard semifinalist, will be the executive chef of the new dining hot spot Esker Grove.
The Walker states Flicker will create the menu, which includes a seasonal cuisine that will highlight locally sourced and regionally influenced ingredients.
"I don't know if I have a food philosophy," Flicker said in a press release, "but I believe that cooking for someone is a gift that needs to come from the heart or it is meaningless. One must cook with integrity; otherwise it's a lie."
Esker Grove will feature "a modern, but unfussy, approach to vegetable and grain-focused cooking using classic techniques." The Walker Art Center states the restaurant will also have craft beer, cocktails and a small coffee menu.
The space will seat 94 people, with an express service for lunch and table service in the evenings.
An outdoor dining terrace accommodates another 60 seats located under a canopy of honey locust trees.
Esker Grove is scheduled to open to the public in early December 2016. Additional menu items will be released later this fall.
