Food truck puts on the brakes - and becomes a restaurant

Sassy Spoon opening Feb. 4

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

Tamara Brown operated her successful Sassy Spoon Food Truck for three years before deciding to lease the space at 5011 34th Ave. S., in the heart of the East Nokomis neighborhood. According to Brown, neighbors have been pressing their noses up against the windows for months now waiting for the Sassy Spoon Restaurant to open. The official word is that there will be dinner service beginning on Feb. 4, and Brown is eager to bring her concept of “nourishing food” to the neighborhood.

"Regarding the space," Brown said, "it was already built out as a restaurant, having recently housed the Three Tiers Bakery and Bistro. The timing was right and I just got lucky,” Brown said.

Brown is a registered dietician whose passion for healthy eating is obvious. She worked as a nutritional counselor for several years and when the food truck business really took off in 2011, she went for it. Her thought was, “Instead of teaching people how to cook better, why not just cook better for them?” She bought a Chevy Work Horse, had it painted bright pink (her signature color) and hit the road. The meals she popularized with her mobile business are the same ones she’ll bring to her new restaurant: locally grown, high-protein, meat-centric, and with lots of fresh, healthy vegetables.

Brown is a big believer in eating gluten-free, but not necessarily by substituting gluten-free flours. She just does without flour-based cooking. Most foods served at Sassy Spoon are naturally gluten-free. “We’ll be serving delicious meals that keep blood sugars regulated, energy levels high, and sugar cravings low,” she said.

From her perspective, healthy fats are another key to healthy cooking. Brown uses no processed fats whatsoever. The “clean fats” as she calls them: butter, olive oil and lard, are the only ones that will be used in the kitchen. By clean fats, Brown means that the extraction process to get the fats out hasn’t involved the use of any chemicals.

The restaurant space is cheerful, its white walls painted with a pink and purple spoon motif. The effect is quite sassy, and helps set the tone for the casual-style food Brown and her staff will be serving. The hours, at least for the first few weeks, will be Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 4-9pm, Saturday 9am-9pm and Sunday 9am-3pm. Within a month or so, Brown plans to add Tuesdays to the mix, and lunches every day, but she is committed to doing so when the whole Sassy Spoon team feels ready. Her dream for the restaurant is to “start low and slow, with the concept to grow.”

There will be an espresso machine, desserts are still being pondered and, among her many other healthful ideas, Brown will offer a broth bar. It’s not going to be a full build-your-own-soup set-up, but it sounds pretty close, and pretty wonderful, especially during the cold and flu season. At the broth bar, you’ll be able to order simmering beef, chicken or miso broth with optional add-ons like scallions, spicy chili oil or ginger juice.

To her credit, Brown isn’t prescriptive about what foods people should choose to eat. “You have to find what’s best for you, but it helps to understand that healthy food is fun,” she noted. Her enthusiasm for this approach to eating is contagious and, she’ll be the first point of contact when guests enter the restaurant. She’s opted to leave the cooking to others, allowing her to get to know her customers and to answer any questions they might have. Brown encourages people to pay attention to how they feel before and after eating, and to focus on eating foods that make them feel wonderful.

It’s as simple and as sassy as that...