Local

UPDATE: the noon class has filled up, so we added an 11:00 AM. Please call to reserve a spot!

___________

Big Bowl at Williams –Sonoma in Edina Galleria

April 5, 2012 at noon

Recently, one of our most requested recipes from guests has been for our Panang Chicken. Our guests who love it really, REALLY love it. It’s almost drinkable; it’s so good.

It’s a fairly complex recipe, starting with toasting the spices and making the curry paste from scratch. It has taken a while for us to complete a reduced recipe as there are so many steps.

Join Big Bowl in Ridgedale Center for a cooking and cocktail demonstration on Saturday, December 17 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. This special event—hosted by KSTP Twin Cities Live—features Chef Angel Luna Lopez and Mixologist Jon Olson. The will be preparing Big Bowl’s popular Summer Rolls, and the tasty and seasonal Hot Spiced Rum and cider.

Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning relief from Black Friday. We've got a complimentary dessert just for them.

Tired after a full day of shopping or harried by the mad dash to get home, take-away is often the way to go. Now it's easier than ever at Big Bowl in Roseville at the Rosedale Mall.

A carry out window dedicated to take away orders has opened, making it easier and faster for you to bring a taste of Big Bowl home. To celebrate its opening, you'll have the choice of choosing a complimentary order of potstickers or cheese cake with every order (that includes an entee) from now until the end of the month.

September 1 at noon
Class location:
Williams-Sonoma
3512 Galleria
Edina, MN 55435

Big Bowl’s popular dumplings are among the top served items at the restaurants. Served with either a classic ginger soy or a fiery hot pepper dip, these meaty little pockets do not fail to satisfy. In China, the making of dumplings is often a family activity, and recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Market Chef Dave Hawley demystifies the crafting of dumplings, and will teach you how to make them at home.

Join us at William-Sonoma on June 2nd (noon) for a "saucy" inspired cooking class. Peanut sauce, satay sauce, bumbu kacang, or sambal kacang is a sauce widely used in the cuisines of China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Africa. When prepared well, this is a sauce that can elevate a good dish to nirvana. At Big Bowl, we are especially proud of our peanut sauce, and guests are always asking for the recipe. Market Chef Dave Hawley shares the secrets and techniques of making our peanut sauce from scratch, and he will also show a number of ways that it can be used.

 Presented by Big Bowl in Edina, MN

May 5 - noon

Continuing with the popular monthly cooking series, Market Chef Dave Hawley demonstrates how to make Big Bowl’s most popular dish at the Williams-Sonoma in the Edina Galleria. At Big Bowl, the attention is on the ingredients and preparation, and Chef Hawley will show you exactly how to achieve the same results at home.

Presented by Big Bowl in Edina, MN

April 7 - noon

Market Chef Dave Hawley demonstrates the art and science of making curry from scratch at the Williams-Sonoma in the Edina Galleria. At Big Bowl, Chefs arrive early every morning to toast and grind the spices to make flavorful curry pastes, and Chef Hawley will show you exactly how to achieve the same results at home.

The place to be this weekend if you're of the pint-sized set is the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the adjacent Children's Theater Company for the sixth annual Rock the Cradle, a day of hands-on, musical fun for families with kids ages 2-8. Sponsored by 89.3 The Current, the February 20 event, which draws more than 10,000 people, brings communities together in celebrating music, theater, puppetry, art, and books.

In honor of China's President Hu Jintao's trade mission to the U.S. and Chicago, we're offering a trade deal of our own. You'll get a complimentary fresh ginger ale in exchange for naming one of the Chicago area companies that will be a inking deal with China. For clues, click here.

When winter starts to settle in and unsettle us with its cold temperatures, the equalizing factor is soup - a bowl of goodness that's hot, warm and comforting.

At Big Bowl, the hot and sour soup remedies the cold with its depth of flavor, heat and zing. A classic soup from China's north which knows a thing or two about the cold, hot and sour soup is both yin and yang. No wonder it so easily warms after coming in from the cold.

Just because the weather is getting cooler, it does not mean that our local farmers are hibernating like bears. It's true, you won't find strawberries, but it's squash season and the brussel sprouts are coming in...there is a plethora of beautiful produce available. In addition, you can find local cheeses and baked goods, local meats, eggs and poultry.
"But where are they? They are not in the usual spot." Like any sensible people, they have moved indoors.

In celebration of the new vegetarian menu at Big Bowl, Chef Keith Wood visits the Kare 11 studio in Minnesota to talk about some of the new dishes, and to demonstrate the recipe of the new Lucky 8 Vegetables with Tofu. As promised, the link to the video and recipe follows:

Events starring the city's leading chefs occur throughout the year but one of the best takes place Friday, October 15 at Macy's on State Street, the Chicago Celebrity Chefs Ball. The event is the major fundraiser for Meals on Wheels, the organization that delivers food the elderly and homebound.

Chicago's best chefs, including Big Bowl's Marc Bernard, will be offering a taste of their restaurants. There's also dancing, a casino and great cocktails. Tickets are still available at the door.

For photography student Jacob Yeung, being at the right place at the right time proved to be everything.

A Big Bowl host and carry-out staffer, Yeung accompanied Executive Marc Bernard and the team to the annual Green City Market's chefs barbecue over the summer. His job that evening: photograph the event, which would provide photos for the restaurant and practice for Yeung. Yeung is two years shy of earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine art photography at Columbia College.

You may be wondering, “What on earth is Big Bowl doing on a home improvement show?”  If you have not seen this show, you are in for a surprise.

Last Tuesday, the chefs and managers from the three Minnesota Big Bowls spent a day out at Untiedt’s Farm in Waverly Minnesota. Big Bowl chefs dedicate a lot of time and energy to sourcing local produce, and Untiedt’s has become one of our main suppliers. Untiedt’s goals are right up our alley; family, employee and agricultural harmony.

For two days, chefs from all eight Big Bowl locations gathered in Chicago to talk, eat and experience farm-fresh food, starting from a visit to Nichols Farm and culminating with a feast in the backyard of Executive Chef Marc Bernard. Each chef prepared a dish, inspired by the farm visit and Bernard's garden. The purpose? To taste truly fresh local ingredients and to be inspired. Look for Bernard's upcoming blog post for more details.

Who are the people at Big Bowl and what do they do? Meet them here under the Spotlight.

Who: Bobby Rogers

Alias:  Triple B for "Big Bowl Bob"

Years at Big Bowl: 10

Position: Divisional Trainer, Staff Whisperer.

What you would do if you weren't working at Big Bowl: professional tri athlete and a personal
trainer with a focus in nutrition.

A best friend may not tell the whole truth and a child might "forget" essential details, but you can always count on numbers. According to a recent tally of Big Bowl best selling new menu items, Cashew Chicken rules the roost.

Since the new menu rollout earlier this summer, Cashew Chicken is preferred about 27 percent more than the second most popular dish, Steak and Noodles. But if you dine at the Edina restaurant in Minnesota, you prefer this chicken dish 50 percent more often.

Bangkok Shrimp and Scallops comes in at No.

For the next week, raspberries get all the attention in the surrouding community, including all Big Bowl locations in the Minneapolis area.

During the 76th Annual Raspberry Festival in Hopkins, MN., from July 10 to 17, Big Bowl is giving the diminutive fruit with big flavor top billing with specialty drinks and dessert.

The 4th of July is over but backyard barbecues, picnics and summer gatherings have many more weeks to come. Here's a look at favorite outdoor games.

How do you pass the time? Got any favorites? Share them below for others to enjoy.

The place to play the field this summer is at the Walker Art Centerwhere a good time is only limited by the imagination. Through an experimental project called "Open Field," the art center is transforming its 3.75 acre back yard into a "cultural commons...a kind of intellectual, recreational, social, and artistic platform" created for the public.

Who has the best takeout in the Twin Cities? According to the June issue of Edina Magazine, it's Big Bowl.

For the sixth year, the editors of Edina Magazine, one of the suburban publications of Metro Mag, asked readers to name their favorite destinations. They responded in "droves, telling us everything from the best day care and best barber, to best dessert and best massage therapist," says the magazine.

Keith Wood, our chef for the Minneapolis locations, stopped by the famed Minneaoplis Farmers Market and picked up gai lan, gai choy, pea greeens and of course lots of asparagus for the restaurants. Don't wait for the latter - those delicious spears won't be around for long!

Star Tribune: Here Today, Gone In A Few Weeks

Two great words; “al fresco.” Enjoy lunch or dinner outdoors and soak up the great weather. Our 3X3 Menu is also available on the patio in addition to the bar area, starting at 2:00 PM.

We all appreciate – and can use – a good laugh which is why the Brave New Workshop should get all the props it can.

We love the Walker Art Center for its multidisciplinary approach to the arts, from its early years of collecting sculptures of Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti, to its permanent collection that reflects the contemporary artistic developments in performing arts, film and education. And of course there’s no denying the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry that has come to symbolize the Twin Cities.

Just as seasonal produce is an expected part of summer at Big Bowl, so is the Uptown Art Fair from August 6 through 8, 2010. If you think we’re crowded on a weekend night, chew on these numbers: attendance at the art fair is around 375,000, making it No. 2 in statewide attendance, second only to the Minnesota State Fair.