12051 Elm Creek Blvd
Maple Grove, MN 55369
(763) 416-2225
www.biaggis.com
Neighborhood: Northwest Suburbs – Arbor Lakes Maple Grove
Cuisine: Italian
Cost: $$ = $11- $30 – Moderately priced (average entree $12-$34)
Three Forks = A Value. Merits a drive if you’re looking for this type of food.
Hours:
Monday through Thursday and Sunday 11AM – 9:30PM
Friday and Saturday 11AM – 10:30PM
SPECIAL FEATURES: For larger groups, group event options are available.
Handicap accessible: Yes
Parking: Private lot
Vegetarian options: Yes
Kid friendly: Yes
Liquor served: Full Bar
Wine List: Very good. They have a large variety of wines at reasonable prices. A ”Reserve Wine List” is available that is decent. We brought our own wine for our group event and the corking fee did not change with the larger format bottles, awesome!
Outdoor seating: No
Reservations: Yes
Complimentary: Bread basket including two kinds of bread including a Focaccia served with Olive Oil, fresh grated Parmesan and cracked black pepper.
Unique: One of only two locations in the state of Minnesota providing a somewhat more unique experience than a typical chain restaurant. Many fellow reviewers report that they believe the prices are a lot more reasonable than Olive Garden.
The decor is very beautiful, spacious and modern. It’s a large open room with booths and tables. The noise level can be high at times, but the cozy bar with a fireplace is separated and is fine to eat in when they are busy. The place feels comfortable if you’re dressed up but at the same time, you don’t feel out of place if you go in wearing casual clothes. It think overall it has a nice ambiance with a classier feel to it than any chain restaurant.
Bill and I have been here numerous times. We’ve dined with friends, come very causal with our kids and even hosted our company Christmas Celebration here in December of 2012, where we chose the most popular option for Biaggi’s banquet dining; the FAMILY-STYLE approach. In the Italian spirit of sharing, this format provided us with many different platter-sized dishes to pass around the table. It included a pre-determined number of appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts with pricing based on our specific choices. The family-style meal offered our guests a more diverse dining experience and we were allowed to bring in our own wine! Info on this dinner below.
The menu is good. They offer a lot of the traditional Italian fare and we haven’t had anything bad here, but nothing really blows us away either. We recently dined with another couple with reservations who hadn’t tried it prior. Until this evening, I hadn’t ever recalled the portions being as large as these entrees! In the future, we would likely split meals.
We started off with:
Bill and I shared the Roasted Beet Salad $8.99
Fresh beets roasted with a honey balsamic marinade and served with arugula and field greens, avocado, sun-dried cranberries, roasted pistachios and whipped garlic-herb Montchevré goat cheese. It was delicious. There were two colors of beets cut in various sizes that were roasted perfectly. The flavors blended beautifully with the soft cheese but our only complaint is we would have preferred a few more pistachios and cranberries as they were few and far between.
Our guests Robin and Deb shared a Cesar Salad, $5.99/$9.99
Romaine lettuce tossed with homemade Caesar dressing and Parmesan croutons. They said it was fresh and flavorful!
Entrees:
Bill chose the Special, which was Veal Porcini, $18.99
It was a gravy style presentation with potatoes and crispy fried artichoke leaves and asparagus. He enjoyed the dish I tasted the crispy side, which was good – but what isn’t deep fried? I did find some of the asparagus to be tough and inedible.
I went for the Osso Buco, $24.99
Veal shank slowly braised with garlic, herbs, vegetables and white wine until fall-off-the-bone tender. Served with delicate gnocchi tossed in a sage-brown-butter sauce. I ordered it because I was hungry for gnocchi and we had been unable to obtain reservations at Bar La Grassa. While the portion was huge and having recently eaten veal shank cooked by my friend Pete, this was good but didn’t come close to the quality or flavor of what I was craving. The shank had a lot of fatty parts and was missing simple seasoning like salt! It did come piping hot, which was a plus and the vegetables tasted good, but the gnocchi was mushy and underwhelming.
Rob chose the Rigatoni Alla Bolognese, $14.49
A massive portion of large tube pasta tossed with hearty meat sauce, Italian sausage and a touch of cream. It was very flavorful and delicious. He was pleased with his dinner; what a value!
Deb enjoyed the Ziti Al Forno, $15.99
Savory shrimp and chicken baked in a lobster-cream sauce with Italian cured bacon, caramelized onions and our Italian cheese blend. This was a really decadent dish. Rich and creamy and everything I love to eat in a white sauce with melted cheese!
When we hosted a group of 18 Family style in December of 2012, Our Menu included: Fried Ravioli (very good!), Sicilian Meatball Pizza (delicious!), House Salad (good, but a bit over dressed), Farfalle Alfredo (very good, but not as tasty as when ordered in an individual portion), and Grilled Pork Chops (Excellent! Marinated and grilled to perfection.)
While dining with our friends, we noticed that they had kept our empty large format bottle of Joseph Phelps for their display!
Though this location doesn’t offer a private room they did a nice job of accommodating our large group!
Dessert: We don’t typically order dinner, but have had the Creme Brulee during our Holiday Celebration, $6.99
Homemade custard made with Tahitian vanilla beans and topped with a layer of caramelized sugar. This was very well made!
For this dinner with friends, Bill selected a French wine: 2010 M. Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Petite Ruche, $50
We had it decanted and it became more fruit forward as it opened up. Visibly dark violet and deep purple and was opaque except at the edges; It had hints of smoke, black fruits, meats, and pepper. It was missing some fruit when consumed by itself, but paired with the veal well. It is definitely a food wine. 100% Syrah made by a reputable producer in the northern Rhone is delicious!
Overall it’s pretty good food at a great value. It is decent service with neatly dressed servers; a clean and comfortable environment; reasonably price, close to home and has a decent wine list. We’ll be back!
Bon appetit!
~Chris
