Umami Café and Catering opens up at Sioux Falls airport
Umami Café and Catering is Sioux Falls’ newest restaurant at Signature Aviation, a private airport right next to the Sioux Falls Regional Airport. The space at 3501 N. Aviation Avenue used to be Thyme Café & Catering until Jess Blodgett took it over a couple weeks ago.
Blodgett is the executive chef for the Canaries and had revamped the concessions after the Canaries changed ownership this year. But with the baseball season over, Blodgett was looking for something else to do, and the perfect opportunity came up.
Taylor Massey, who ran Thyme Café, was pregnant and needed someone to take over the café. The two had joined forces before and had a good rapport, Blodgett said.
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“So it really just worked out perfectly,” she said. Blodgett renamed the restaurant Umami and created a whole new menu.
She said “umami” is that extra layer of flavor you can't always describe, but it makes something perfect and delicious.
What's on the Umami menu?
Blodgett describes the menu as “super homey comfort food” that people will recognize in some capacity, but everything has its own twist.
The chicken marsala, which is made to order, quickly became a fan favorite, she said. Another popular item is the chicken club, which comes on homemade focaccia bread.
“I’ve never had a place small enough that I can make my own bread, so it’s nice that I can now because I think homemade bread is one of those rare arts, and it’s an important detail,” Blodgett said.
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The autumn salad is one of her favorites, and it comes with beets, honey, sweet potatoes, lettuce, black beans, feta cheese and pita.
Other menu items include the triple-decker grilled cheese BLT and the Buddha bowl with black tea sauce, which is vegan friendly if you request it without the feta cheese.
The menu also features her twist on a Banh Mi wrap with Korean BBQ pulled pork and a classic made-to-order burger called the Umami burger.
All-day breakfast includes menu items like strawberries and cream crepes, avocado toast and a breakfast burrito.
The menu only features two desserts for now: the Baklava cheesecake and the hummingbird cake, which is like banana bread with pineapple and frosting. Blodgett plans to add more dessert options in the future.
Blodgett also plans to add take-home meals that people can pick up from a cooler from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Umami is serving custom take-home meals for Thanksgiving. Customers will be able to make an order, choosing from multiple side and entrée options to create a combo meal they can pick up between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving day.
If it goes well, and if Blodgett can get the help, she’s considering doing the same for Christmas. Right now, only she and her son work there. Her son was the sous chef at the Canaries.
“We really work well together,” Blodgett said. “He’s following in his mom’s footsteps, and I’m super proud of him. And I’m honored that he wants to be here with me.”
Running the café and Canaries concessions together
One of the things Blodgett likes about running the café so far is that she can go at her own pace, she said.
“It’s a lot less stressful than baseball season. I can breathe easier, and here I can make a lot more things from scratch," she said. But that won't stop her from going back to the Canaries next season.
More:Sioux Falls Canaries making big changes to concessions this season. See what's on the menu:
“I fully intend to do both. I know I can do both,” she said. “It might just be a matter of scaling things back.”
That might include doing less catering and events during the summer, Blodgett said, or slightly scaling back the menu. She also plans to make scheduling and logistics changes at the concessions, saying she has a better idea of what works and what doesn't now that they've made it through a season.
Umami Café is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. Blodgett said in the future, she may add a Sunday brunch time if there is enough interest.
“It’s been fun so far. Everybody has been really patient and have gone away happy with their food,” Blodgett said. “And at the end of the day, that's what really matters.”
People can find Umami on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Umami Café and Catering opens up at Sioux Falls airport
