Local chef and food writer is behind Animales Barbeque Co.
A 35-foot food trailer will soon begin serving barbecue outside Northeast’s Able Seedhouse + Brewery.
Chef Jon Wipfli will launch Animales Barbeque Co. this week after two years of exploring barbecue culture and techniques across the country. The operation will showcase Wipfli’s own approach to barbecue, from the meat selection — featuring no antibiotics or artificial hormones — to the light seasoning and sauces.
“I’m excited to introduce a new take on barbeque, to share my passion for combining the highest quality ingredients with the best culinary techniques, and to serve up authentic, delicious barbeque worthy of the Twin Cities’ impressive culinary landscape,” he said in a statement.
Wipfli is known locally for The Minnesota Spoon, a personal chef service that hosts cooking classes around the Twin Cities. He was the opening sous chef of the Bachelor Farmer, worked at kitchens in New York’s Marlow and Sons and Cookshop and wrote the best-selling “Venison: The Slay to Gourmet Field to Kitchen Cookbook.”
Louis Tufte, formerly a pastry chef at Bachelor Farmer, has joined Animales, which will serve lunch and dinner Thursday through Sunday.
The menu will feature smoked meats, tacos, sides like coleslaw and specials. Wipfli is planning a few more experimental dishes, including oyster roasts coming out of a custom fire pit dubbed “Pearl.” Animales will host whole pig roasts, rotating guest chefs, whole animal butcher classes, catering and off-site barbecue parties.
The trailer is located outside Able’s patio between the taproom and the Highlight Center near Broadway & Central. The brewery opened three years ago in a garage outside the former Minneapolis Public Schools building, which has been renovated for office users and a Minnesota Nice Cream café.
“(Wipfli) is uniquely talented in combining culinary expertise and down-home authenticity to craft an incredible food experience — his food hammers on all our senses — taste, smell, visual, nostalgia,” said Able founder Casey Holley.
Animales will have an official launch party at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11. The public event will feature live music, limited Able beers and a couple surprise menu items. Able is located at 1121 Quincy St. NE. It opens at 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday until it sells out.
