By TOM HORGEN, Star Tribune
"Pork candy" as bar food? A cocktail named after Manny Pacquiao? One of downtown's newest restaurants carves out its own nightlife niche.
As I sat at the bar, drinking out of a coconut, I thought to myself: The Twin Cities could use more places like this.
Wait, that makes it sound like I want more bars that serve cocktails in coconuts. While I found this tropical drink amusing, it was the entire vibe of the new bar and restaurant that had me smitten.
Subo opened quietly in early December in the old Hell's Kitchen space, half a block off the Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis.
Even with its foodie inclinations (Asian tapas) and a complete re-imagining of the space, Subo hasn't necessarily garnered the tidal wave of attention that it deserves. The ownership team includes New York-tested chef Neil Guillen and well known Twin Cities businessman Jim Hays, plus a behind-the-scenes Kieran Folliard, who is helping Subo get established while overseeing his own Irish pub empire.
The concept
Subo is a Filipino word that means "to feed." Guillen, who previously worked at the Kuma Inn in New York, said Hays (a Kuma Inn customer) persuaded him to move to Minneapolis to run a restaurant inspired by his Filipino heritage.
With its railcar-narrow layout, small-plate menu and burgeoning bar scene, Subo could be on its way to becoming an Asian version of Barrio.
While Guillen's focus is on the kitchen, where he crafts traditional Filipino dishes as well as Southeast Asian favorites (the menu features a lot of seafood), he and general manager Johann Galera have made no secret of their nightlife aspirations. The front lounge is nearly twice the size of the dining room.
What's to like
More than the original Hell's Kitchen, Subo has maximized the vintage mystique of the 103-year-old Handicraft Guild Building. After gutting the interior, Guillen and company discovered cobblestone-like flooring under old carpet and plate glass windows behind wallboard.
Source: startribune.com
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