Estaire Godinez Melts Minneapolis
We were lucky enough to catch Estaire Godinez playing Dakota this weekend. Sizzling jazz and Latin beats from Estaire and her band along with some amazing mahi-mahi with hot and spicy green chile mole erased the subzero Minneapolis weather from my mind.
More about Estaire: this Mexican-American vocalist and percussionist hails from California, did a stint with Prince, and has toured all over Europe and South America. Her music combines jazz, pop and Brazilian/Afro-Cuban influences, and she sings in (and speaks) English, Spanish and Portuguese. Here’s a promo video from an appearance at Dakota in 2005.
Estaire Godinez Band Promo clip
More about Dakota: this jazz club and restaurant on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis brings in several jazz acts a week, some requiring the purchase of tickets, some with just a cover charge. The place was packed for Estaire. The food is fantastic. I wanted to order just about everything on the dinner menu and settled on the Petite Heirloom Greens with Hook Blue Cheese and the Line-Caught mahi-mahi with Green Chili Mole, Squash Puree and Pumpkin Seeds with a glass of Angeline Pinot Noir. Perfect. Pumpkin Gnocchi and Korean BBQ Breast of Quail caught my eye for future visits. There’s also a separate club menu with burgers, wings, soup, sandwiches and salads, all less expensive items than on the dinner menu, but the full dinner menu is available at the same time.
When we finally emerged from Dakota it was a shock that the tropical heat of Estaire’s music hadn’t melted the ice in the streets. Still -2. At least my soul soaked up some warmth to go before we headed out into the cold night.
Tagged with afro-cuban, Angeline Pinot Noir, brazilian music, conga, dakota, estaire godinez, green chile mole, jazz, latin jazz, mahi mahi, minneapolis, pumpkin gnocchi, squash puree
