Signature Café and Catering is a treasure on the intimate, tree-lined streets of the Prospect Park neighborhood of Minneapolis, not far from the towering Witch's Hat. This cozy and welcoming café, which in past lives was home to a meat market, grocery store, and Tulips, a French restaurant now in St. Paul, is a respite for those seeking down home dishes with a modern flair. Chef Nathalie Johnson, who since 2002 has co-owned Signature with her husband Tony Parsons, offers unique and hearty creations classically crafted with fresh, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients. Speaking of past lives, Nathalie was once a domestic policy analyst during the Clinton administration, and nowadays operates Signature Café with a sincere respect for our region's prudent land stewards, who provide her with only the best quality ingredient s for her restaurant. Such stewards are Charlie and Carol Johnson of Whistling Well Farm, where Nathalie sources apples for her Apple Walnut Spinach Salad, and her Lutheran Church Basement Apple Crisp.
Whistling Well (so named because their well whistles when the wind is just right) is a mile off of the St. Croix River, south of Afton. Charlie and Carol grow apples, pumpkins, squash, and raspberries on their 67 Food Alliance Certified acres and have always been committed to environmentally friendly production methods. The Johnsons have 3,000 apple trees, which they spend the winters meticulously pruning, a practice that increases air flow between branches, making the trees less susceptible to disease. The Johnsons are regulars at the St. Paul Farmers Market, where August through mid-November, you'll find them offering their beautiful apple harvests, including the Snow Sweet and Sweet Tango.
