We got served

The Bachelor Farmer

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:03:00 +0000

Visited on Sunday, April 29th

Erin's Review
If it isn't completely obvious, we are definitely losing steam on keeping up this blog. We have long since given up any charade of updating regularly, obviously, and if it were up to Ben, we'd be done with the blog completely. With the last several posts (probably since we had kids), it feels like a burden to him, which isn't worth it.

I have been trying to remember what I originally loved about starting this blog - and for me, it really is just about remembering the experience of going to a new restaurant, and taking photos. I find food absolutely beautiful, and I love taking photos of it, regardless of if it is food that is supposed to be pretty. A delicious hamburger is just as beautiful to me as a 9 course meal at La Belle Vie (and sometimes a lot more appealing), so it doesn't always need to be fancy food for me to enjoy photographing it. I also love sharing photos. Maybe it's my inherent extroversion coming out, but a photo to me is worth nothing if it's not shared and enjoyed by many people. I don't pretend to be an amazing photographer, but with many of the photos on this blog, I have enjoyed taking them and I want people to enjoy seeing them as well.

When we started this blog, I had absolutely no clue of the food scene that exists in this town, despite growing up here. Because of starting this blog, I grew to love blogging and photography even more, which in turn led to a love of cooking and baking. Typically, I am very much a creature of habit, so I have loved having this blog as a reason to try new foods and restaurants. I also used to love the community that existed in the comments, but that has died off since we do not update regularly - while the blog exists purely for us, part of the joy for me is interacting with people, and hearing back from readers. I love getting emails from readers asking for restaurant suggestions, and knowing that people tried a new place because of our posts.

On that note, we'll still share something when I do remember to bring the nice camera to a new restaurant, but it won't be anything as formal as it has been. We've enjoyed the ride, and hope you've liked reading as well!

Onto our actual dining experience... we haven't had a real date since our last post, about Saffron. It's been awhile! We've been out individually, and for group events - but date nights with just Ben and I haven't been a priority lately. Thanks to the children getting to an easier phase and being pretty good with babysitters, it's easier to leave sometimes now! Because of the beautiful weather this weekend, we initially planned to find a patio - neither of us have been to W.A. Frost, so that seemed like an obvious choice. However, basically the moment we got there, it started sprinkling a bit - it looked short lived, but I wasn't sure - so I told Ben to call The Bachelor Farmer and see if they had any tables open, which they did! We headed over in that direction and got the last open table.

Neither of us knew anything about The Bachelor Farmer other than it was a pretty hot reservation to get - I'd tried before, weeks in advance, and not been able to get a table ever. Little did we know that they actually don't even take reservations on Sunday nights, and that it's a set Sunday Supper. Kind of a cool situation to happen upon! I also had no clue even of the type of food served - just that it was organic and fancy-ish. Only learned later from my sister that this is actually a Scandinavian restaurant. Kind of a cool story behind this restaurant, but I'm glad I went into it with very few expectations. I loved the ambiance of the restaurant - very casual, and comfortable. The whole place seems almost unfinished, but in an interesting way instead of seeming lazy.

The menu that night looked appealing, but I don't typically enjoy prime rib so I wanted one of the other options. I'm sure the prime rib here would have been a bit different than what I'm used to so I probably should have tried it, but the vegetarian option sounded delicious. I am a sucker for poached eggs on anything! Since there were also eggs on the salad, it was a lot of eggs, but that's fine with me!

The salad was delicious due in large part to the eggs. They offset the bitterness of the dandelion greens nicely. I was starving and wished they would have brought the biscuits that came with the main course with the salad, but oh well. It paired really well with the Riesling I had. On Sundays, you can get a half bottle of wine, and they open the other half of the bottle to the restaurant, so you can try wines that normally aren't served by the glass. I was interested in the Barolo, but was not willing to pay $23 a glass for that ;)

I loved my main course - the eggs were served on some kind of grain-cake thing, with vegetables. I felt pretty healthy, which was good because we were also getting dessert :) Dessert was also delicious - I love chocolate mousse always. The "white chocolate gel" almost tasted like ice cream to me. I would have enjoyed a decaf coffee with this, as usual, but I elected to have a 2nd glass of wine instead. Good choice.

There are a lot of interesting touches to the decor here, as I mentioned above, including the wall of accolades near the restrooms. The check came in a little book where you could write up a review which then gets put on that wall eventually. I also loved the little almond cakes that were sent home with us - Annie enjoyed one the next night!

It was still a beautiful night, so we took a walk around the Warehouse district in search of a place to have a drink. Pretty dead on a Sunday night, but we ended up going up to Borough and sitting at their bar for a coffee for me and a drink for Ben. That looks like a really fun spot, cool bar in the basement, but it was empty when we were there, but we did run into a friend who had just eaten there and said it was amazing.

Ben's Review
A slight rain kept us away from the W.A Frost patio, so we ended up at The Bachelor Farmer in downtown Minneapolis. They had one booth open, so I snatched it up while Erin took a couple photos outside.

We didn’t realize it, but on Sunday nights The Bachelor Farmer has only a three course set menu available. The main course was prime rib, but they had chicken and vegetarian alternatives. Not being a prime rib fan, I opted for the chicken breast stuffed with duck sausage. The first course was a dandelion green salad with bacon and poached eggs, and for dessert it was chocolate mousse.

I got a sazerac after a few minutes of contemplation as we pondered our meal choices. We made our orders and enjoyed being without kids at a restaurant :)

The salad came out a little while later and we devoured it, as we were both starving. The poached eggs on a salad was a delicious item that I hadn’t tried before and the bacon was obviously great.

Our main course came out not too long after the salad, and included four biscuits cooked in a cast iron skillet with some honey butter. I had been craving a basket of bread so this was a delightful surprise. We had one left, and the server packed it up and even sent the butter home too which was great to find the next day.

My chicken came with fingerling potatoes and roasted brussels sprout. All of it was delicious and perfect in portion size, not grossly indulgent but didn’t leave me hungry. By the time we finished dessert I was indeed full. The chocolate mousse was excellent and I’m not usually too excited by mousse.

Even though we were in the back booth by the kitchen, it was still a pleasant experience. The hosts and servers were all friendly and helpful, a great date night out.

Deets

The Bachelor Farmer

50 North 2nd Avenue

Minneapolis

Saffron

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 16:55:00 +0000

Visited on Saturday, January 26th

Erin's Review
Ben's birthday present to me was tickets to Aida at the Pantages Theater, and dinner out. I'm not in love with any of the dining options immediately near the theater district downtown, so expanded my search to include the warehouse district. Saffron has been on our list since we started this blog, but for some reason has been passed by in favor of other options, but that obviously was a mistake because our meal at Saffron was amazing!

The owners of Saffron are the same people behind the ever beloved World Street Kitchen food truck. Now that I am working on the U of M campus, food trucks are the thing I will miss the most about working downtown (well, it's a tie between that and the skyways, especially right now... although this has caused me to probably already save hundreds of dollars due to not ever wanting to leave my building!). I know that food trucks occasionally come to the U - hopefully WSK makes a visit this summer!!

The few days before our visit to Saffron, I found a few reviews which definitely guided my menu choices. I quickly chose a reasonably priced bottle of red when we got there, and also ordered the hummus royale immediately because we were both ravenous. I really hate the awkward waiting for the server to open the wine right by your head, taking several minutes. This one was particularly bad, but that was the only service annoyance of the whole evening, so it wasn't that big of a deal. I really enjoyed this bottle of wine, but couldn't drink too much or else I would have been sure to fall asleep during the musical (as it was, I almost did anyway - probably more the fault of constant sleep deprivation of young children than the wine!).

The beef ham and manchego cheese croquettes were predictably delicious. As evidenced by all of our reviews, we love deep fried cheese filled things (or I do at least), so it was no surprise these hit the spot. The bastirma was something I read about in one of the reviews, and sounded intriguing. The beef was so tender it almost melted in your mouth, and along with the almonds it was a delicious combination.

After all of these appetizers, I wasn't exactly hungry anymore, but the Morrocan duck kefta tagine was still on it's way. I was very glad the server had advised us to order the smaller size, which was still pretty huge. I love the richness that the egg yolks provided, and this was just enough food to get me to the point of being pleasantly full.

Of course, I had to then put myself over the edge by ordering dessert, but that was a given after I'd seen the salted caramel trifle on the menu. I attempted to make something somewhat similar for Ben recently and failed miserably. It was nice to see how this dessert actually SHOULD taste! I also got decaf coffee, and appreciated them brewing a fresh batch for me.

We both LOVED everything about Saffron - the food, the service and the ambiance of the restaurant. We've been to a few other restaurants in this area, and this was my favorite of the bunch by far.

Ben's Review
For Erin’s birthday I got her tickets to see Aida and dinner at a place of her choosing. Not a bad gift, since I get to enjoy it as well :) I arranged for my sister to babysit the kids and we left around 5:30 to Saffron in downtown Minneapolis.

I dropped Erin off at the door and found a parking spot around the corner by Sex World, glad to have found a meter so we didn’t have to pay at a ramp twice in one night. I walked back to the restaurant and Erin was already seated at a table in the middle of the room in front of the bar.

Saffron is not very large, but they don’t squeeze the tables together so you don’t feel like sardines, which I appreciated. The server came out soon to take our drink orders. Erin is the one who orders the wine, so she dealt with that while I also ordered a Manhattan. The server seemed a little confused, “Oh, so you’re going to have a cocktail first, and then have wine?”. To which Erin sarcastically replied, “Oh, no, the entire bottle of wine is for me!”. I think the server was judging me, though she claimed not to be :)

She left to get our drink orders in, as well as the Royale hummus that we ordered as we were starving. A few minutes later we had an awkward experience with the sommelier who spent an inordinate amount of time opening and pouring our wine. Erin tasted it, and it was fine, so we relieved him of duty.

My Manhattan came out a few minutes later with the hummus. Their cocktail glasses are small and curvy, but they give you the leftovers in a small glass on the side which I love. It just feels like you’re getting the full value of your cocktail. The Manhattan was delicious too.

The Royale hummus comes with spiced beef bits and it was excellent, especially given how hungry we were. We decided on a few more appetizers, the ham and manchego cheese croquettes and the bastirma, and one of the tagines, the Moroccan Duck Kefta, to share.

The croquettes and bastirma came out sooner than the tagine which made for a nice progression of food as we enjoyed each other’s company sans kids. I actually realized halfway through the meal that we hadn’t talked about our kids at all yet, which is rather impressive.

The croquettes were little balls of dough with ham and cheese inside and were freshly made and delicious. The bastirma is thin slices of cured beef with whole almonds. This was surprisingly good and lighter than I would have expected from a meat dish.

We saw a few tagines get served while we were waiting on ours, and it looked cool. They bring out the large tagine dish that comes with a heavy conical top. They set the whole thing down in front of you and then remove the top to a large waft of steam that comes out of the dish, it shows very nicely in a restaurant.

Our tagine was the Moroccan duck kefta, which had duck meatballs in a tomato sauce with two runny egg yolks dropped in the middle. We were told to break up the yolks and stir them into the dish to give it a little more richness.

Even though I was getting full, this was some awesome comfort food for a winter evening. We had wisely ordered the smaller size of the dish and we took the whole thing down. The meatballs were tender and the sauce was rich and flavorful.

Obviously we were getting dessert as well and Erin had already scoped that menu out before we arrived. I recently had a trifle for the first time when a coworker brought some into work one day and I fell in love with it. Erin noticed they had a salted caramel trifle on their current dessert menu and knew that we’d love it.

The trifle came out in a small glass that doesn’t appear to be much, but after you’ve had a full dinner, you don’t really need much dessert, especially one this sweet. It had caramel pudding with a cashew brittle, and a cookie layer towards the bottom. You really can’t go wrong with that list of ingredients, regardless of how you put it together.

We had to rush out to make it to Aida, but we absolutely loved going to Saffron, it lived up to it’s reputation. We got pretty tired during the show as well, likely due to the excessive amount of delicious food we had just ingested :)

Deets
Saffron
123 N 3rd St
Minneapolis

Tilia

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 03:11:00 +0000

Visited on Tuesday, January 1st

Ben's Review

To fully utilize the time my parents were watching Annie and Luke, we wanted to go out to breakfast on New Years Day after our sushi dinner the night before. We struggled for a bit deciding where to go, knowing we wanted a place that was NOT close by, since we didn’t mind the drive with nothing else going on in the morning. Also, we struck out on a couple places that didn’t appear to be open on the holiday.

I was looking over our list and randomly clicked on Tilia to see what it was, and they helpfully had an updated web site that showed they were indeed open on New Years Day. Located in Linden Hills, it also fit the bill for not being close by, and Erin had been wanting to check them out, so we were set.

We arrived around 9 o’clock to a restaurant that was about half full. I appreciated the heavy curtains on both sides of the door that did an effective job of blocking any cold air from coming in when people entered or exited, very smart.

The host attempted to seat us near the door which, in spite of the curtains, was certainly colder than NOT being by the door, even though there were far better tables available. I asked if we could instead sit closer to the exposed kitchen and the host complied, but she certainly seemed a touch annoyed. We weren’t having seating luck on these New Years Eve restaurant outings.

Our server stopped by soon after and got our coffees going. When our coffee was brought out, I was immediately in love with the coffee mugs. They were white, simple, easy to hold, and had a thin rim. I loved them so much that I located them at Crate and Barrel and have since bought us four of them :) They’re only $4 each too.

The coffee setup was cool too, with a nice matching cream cup, and large hunks of brown sugar for Erin to get her fix. The actual coffee itself was just ok, it tasted a bit burnt to me, but the mug more than made up for it :)

Looking over the menu, I came across their Cuban breakfast sandwich and knew that I was done looking. “¡El Sapo en la Cubano!” has your typical Cuban ingredients of pork, ham, pickle, mustard, and they add a runny egg on top. Either the mustard had horseradish in it, or they added horseradish on its own, because there was a ton on the sandwich that nearly made some bites inedible it was so strong.

Other than the occasional hit of horseradish, this sandwich was amazing. The people leaving at the next table over helpfully told me to just break the egg and use a fork and knife, and that was certainly necessary. The sandwich is humongous and would be difficult to eat as a normal sandwich (and I hate getting my hands messy anyways). Tilia uses high quality ingredients in their food and it definitely showed with my dish, it was absolutely superb.

While we ate we had a chance to check out the restaurant and I really want to make it back in the evening for dinner sometime. The entire restaurant is well decorated with a rustic, vintage feel to it, and the bar is no exception. They have a great list of tap beer and a large wine selection as well. The quality of our brunch makes me think the dinners are also excellent. We may have to venture over to Minneapolis again soon to give it a try.

Erin's Review
I was really excited to find out that Tilia was actually open for brunch on New Year's Day. I've been wanting to try the place since they opened, but we very rarely got over to Linden Hills, and I knew that the chances were slim of getting a table quickly if we did have time for brunch - the idea of waiting for a table with 2 little ones was not appealing! We have been able to go out for brunch a few times on weekdays, but none of the good places are open then. This time, we got lucky!

I was really surprised at how not busy it was when we got there. As far as I know, this is still a pretty popular spot, but maybe people were like us and just assumed they'd be closed. Their loss, our gain! I was glad that we decided to move over the side of the restaurant by the kitchen since it was freezing outside and the vibe on that side was much more pleasant and bustling. I loved the decor here, everything was very simple but felt very thought out and worked well together with the beautiful bar and the open kitchen. We saw some kiddos and it looked like they had some little fun stuff for kids to play with which is awesome.

We immediately ordered coffee and I got a cinnamon roll since I was starving. The menu had many enticing options, but I can never turn down a benedict, and the Reuben one on the menu sounded amazing. I went with that, and enjoyed the coffee. The coffee was ridiculously strong, so it took quite a bit of cream and sugar for it to be prepared to my liking, but I made do. The cinnamon roll was pretty good, but I've had better and it would have been a lot better if it was warmed up a bit.

Our food came out pretty quickly, and I had to chuckle at the couple who came over and told Ben how to eat his cuban - the instructions were great, but the fact that they name dropped the chef as if they were best friends (and, I guess, maybe they are??) seemed like a very Linden Hills thing to do. It was good, because Ben honestly did look a little confused as to how to proceed, so he clearly needed some direction.

My Reuben benedict were simply amazing. The corned beef hash croquettes were the best part, along with the perfectly poached egg and delicious hollandaise. Sooo, everything was the best part. It was just delicious. Definitely the best breakfast dish I've had in recent memory. We lingered over our food for a long time, and I had a few more cups of decaf as well. It was so nice to enjoy a nice long breakfast without having to manage the kids.

I loved our meal at Tilia, and would definitely go back. I'd love to try their dinner options, but wouldn't hesitate to go back for brunch or lunch or any meal for that matter.

Deets
Tilia
2726 West 43rd Street
Minneapolis

Bagu Sushi

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 02:42:00 +0000

Visited on December 31, 2012

Erin's Review
December was a month that was jam packed with family activities and holiday celebrations. My birthday came and went without the time for Ben and I to slip away for dinner alone, so I told him I wanted to get sushi on New Years Eve instead because his parents watch all the grandkids that night each year. I originally had suggested Origami, but Ben was wary to go to a place that doesn't accept reservations on New Years Eve. He suggested Bagu Sushi, since he'd been told by a few people that it was a good spot.

When we got there, it was quite a bit brighter and more casual than I was expecting. It reminded me a lot of Midori's - and I had no reason to expect it would be fancier based on their website, but the last few sushi places we've been to have been a little more upscale, I guess. It was definitely packed - I wasn't sure what to expect since it's not really a typically NYE spot, but every table was full! Ben was more annoyed than I was about the location of our table, but I was glad that we could move to the sushi bar, even if it wasn't really a nice sushi bar to sit at because you couldn't see the sushi chefs doing their work quite as well as you can at some places.

The service was not so hot - it wasn't clear who we should order from, and it took a really long time to even be acknowledged at all by anyone. It appeared that most people at other tables had water (so it should have come standard) but wasn't brought to us until I asked for one later. The service seemed to get better later (after some parties left, probably) but they were quite overwhelmed at first. I immediately ordered the Japanese Bagel Balls as an appetizer - deep fried salmon, cream cheese, and green onions with eel sauce and started with a coke as an attempt to stay awake until midnight.

The bagel balls were very tasty - especially since I was ABSOLUTELY starving. I had been to a spa day prior to dinner, and all that relaxing apparently worked up an appetite! I decided to get the bagel balls as a way to slightly change things up from cream cheese wontons. Living on the edge, for sure. I also like to get a philly roll, so this took the place of that as well.

I got a glass of white wine to have with our sushi - I don't typically handle white wine very well, but I don't like red with sushi and didn't feel like beer. Luckily, my reaction to this glass wasn't quite the same as it was in my early 20s... probably has more to do with the fact that this time, I didn't drink an entire bottle... just a thought.

We got the caterpillar, spicy tuna, and the "sumo" roll, which was deep fried salmon with avocado and topped with spicy mayo and eel sauce. I really liked the caterpillar and spicy tuna, but could only handle a few of the sumo rolls - they were a bit hard to eat and the deep fried part seemed almost a bit burned. I also had a few bites of Ben's pad thai before he added spice and it was pretty standard but tasty.

This was certainly not the best sushi I've had, but was a cute neighborhood spot. For the money, you can get far better sushi elsewhere, although some of the rolls are pretty affordable. I've heard they have a great patio, so it might be worth going in the summer but it's not a place I'm likely to return. We did have a fun dinner here, despite the service issues at the beginning.

Ben's Review
With my parents having a standing overnight with the grandkids on New Years Eve, we made plans to try out Bagu Sushi in south Minneapolis.

I called for reservations a couple weeks beforehand, and they seemed a little surprised that anyone would be calling to reserve a table, but they took our reservation nonetheless.

We arrived right at 7:30 and the small restaurant was packed. We were brought to our table, way in the back and around a corner. There was our table and another table of four already in the middle of their meal. Certainly the worst table in the restaurant, and I was a little annoyed at getting seated there given I had called so far in advance. Luckily, a few spots opened up at the sushi bar right as we arrived, so we asked to move over there instead.

We gave the server our drink order and waited for quite awhile before she brought it back, so we didn’t really get off to the best start. Then there was some confusion as to who we should be ordering from - the sushi chef at the bar, or the server who came around. We got it sorted out and placed our order with the server. Erin got rolls of course, and I opted to try their Thai food and got pad thai. Suspiciously, there was no option to add or remove spiciness from the pad thai, which concerned me that it was already made in a big pot in the back.

Bagu was loud on NYE, mostly from a particular table behind us of people who were seemingly shouting at each other. The restaurant acoustics seems to amplify the crowd noise as well, which didn’t help much. I found myself having to put my ear right next to Erin to hear what she was saying half the time.

Our food came out, and it took an appropriate amount of time. I prefer the food take longer to come out, so you have a fighting chance of it being prepared when you order it. This isn’t really an issue at the sushi bar, since you can watch the chef make the rolls you ordered :) The pad thai was actually very good, in spite of my concerns that it might not be freshly prepared. They also offer a side of red pepper to add some heat if that’s your thing. As with most Thai food places, the portion was huge and I didn’t come close to finishing it, but it made for good leftovers. It was good, but a little on the dry side, I prefer a little more sauce.

We were considering dessert but being that we were completely stuffed we decided to pass. It’s a rare dinner out without kids that dessert doesn’t happen, so this is rather notable :)

I’m glad we went to Bagu as the sushi rolls were excellent and you get a decent amount of food for the money. The service left a little to be desired, but not so much that I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Deets
Bagu Sushi
4741 Chicago Ave
Minneapolis

Heartland

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 03:18:00 +0000

Visited on Saturday, November 10th

Ben's Review
Erin had been antsy to go on a date night to a nice restaurant and gave me a short list of places to choose from our list. We settled on Heartland because they actually had a reservation available at a reasonable time, and it was within walking distance of a pre-dinner drink spot.

I had some credit with the new driver service, Uber, that recently launched in the Twin Cities, so I figured we could really make a night of it and get a ride to and from dinner.

Using Uber is way easier, and more fun, than ordering a cab. You request a driver through their iPhone app and then optionally watch the car on the map as they arrive at your pickup location. The phone tells you how far away they are as well as the driver’s name. When you arrive at your destination, you simply get out of the car and go on your way. No money changes hands, as Uber has your credit card info and will charge it automatically. Tips are also built-in and there is zero pressure from the drivers.

We had Uber drop us off at Barrio in Lowertown, about two blocks away from Heartland, to get a drink and an appetizer. We had a little over an hour to kill, so we were in no rush at all. Barrio was surprisingly (to me) quiet for 6pm on a Saturday and the bartender joked that IF they got busy, it would be much later.

We sat at the bar and got drinks and chips with salsa. I was impressed with the chips - they were salty, thick tortilla chips that came with three different salsas of different heat levels. I was less impressed with my martini that was small and watered down. That’s what you get for ordering a martini at a tequila bar I guess.

We made our way to Heartland a little before 7:30. It was oddly warm out (a stark contrast to this Monday morning), so the walk over was pleasant. Heartland is across the street from the Saint Paul Farmers Market location, which I’m more familiar with at 9am on the weekends with kids in tow.

We were seated right away in the bar area. Heartland seems to have several different rooms with slightly different feels to them. The bar spot was fine with me, I think the bar there is rather pretty, as is the entire building for that matter.

We had the server recommend a bottle of wine for us, within our price range, and he chose a Green & Red zinfandel. It was good, but I’m not one to judge a wine. I’m sure this bottle would be $30 cheaper at the liquor store, but not much you can do there.

Erin quickly settled on getting the three course tasting menu. The tasting menus are a decent value, but I saw the cassoulet and instantly had fond memories of our dinner at Meritage a couple years ago and how awesome the cassoulet was there, and I knew I had to try Heartland’s.

I wanted something else to share with Erin, but her tasting menu came with an appetizer already, so I got the broccoli with smoked tomato bechamel sauce for myself. The broccoli was excellent, with a rich, creamy tomato sauce drizzled over the top. Also, it wasn’t very filling, leaving me with a fighting chance of finishing my cassoulet. While we had our appetizers, we were also brought dinner rolls, which I happily had seconds of when they came around a second time - so much for not getting full :)

The cassoulet came out in a bowl that didn’t appear to be large, but was deceiving by it’s depth as well as the richness of the food inside. The creamy mixture of beans with several variations of rich, cured meats was absolutely delicious. In spite of all the food that I’d had so far, I still managed to finish the bowl, though I woke up painfully full around 3am. Probably not the wisest choice, but fun at the time :)

As we sat finishing our glasses of wine, I inconspicuously requested the Uber driver to head over to pick us up. I could see that he was a few minutes away, so we were in no rush to leave. We had a great time at Heartland and I would definitely go back.

Erin's Review
It had been awhile since we got to have a date night that didn't involve a wedding, so we confirmed with my sister and her husband that they could babysit, and I set out to try to get a reservation somewhere! Most of the places we have left on our list are definitely on the expensive and fancier side. I checked quite a few places in downtown Minneapolis (including the new-ish Butcher & the Boar and Bachelor Farmer) and saw they had ZERO reservations available even a week in advance! We decided on Heartland, and had no issues getting a reservation. Lowertown definitely has more action than it used to, but it certainly will never be the same as downtown Minneapolis. I actually went to Heartland for the first time back in April with girlfriends and LOVED it, so I was excited to check it out again with Ben.

We enjoyed our pre-dinner drinks at Barrio, and walked the few blocks over on the unseasonably warm evening to Heartland. The building that Heartland is in is quite beautiful - it's a very open space, with a few different rooms. They also have a separate market that is more like a deli and you get get things to go. I loved the bar area where we were seated this time - the separate rooms have a bit more formal of a feel to them.

Heartland changes their menu daily, and has two 3 course menus - Flora, vegetarian, and Fauna, with meat. I got the Flora last time and really loved it, so wanted to try the Fauna this time. It was settled when the main course even had "Irish Creek Annie" beans in it - I'm a sucker for trying anything with my daughter's name in the description! I was a bit nervous reading that the beef and beans were in a goat's milk sauce, as I am not a fan of goat cheese no matter how many times I try it. I wasn't really sure if goat's milk always had the same flavor as goat's cheese so I figured I'd give it a try regardless. The flora option also had something with goat's cheese too and for some reason I was set on the 3 course menu.

Ben requested a zinfandel for our wine, so I asked the server to recommend one that paired well with the food we were getting. He talked for awhile about how the one he recommended was a good "food" wine, and how many zinfandels are not... whatever. I enjoyed the wine and it DID seem to pair well with our food, so he chose well! While we enjoyed the wine, we were brought an amuse bouche of butternut squash mousse and apple which was delicious.

I LOVED the first course of my meal - the fish was so tender, and the sauce was amazing. I wished there was much more, especially because sadly I was not a fan of the 2nd main course of beef roast and beans in the goat's milk sauce. For anyone wondering (and yes, I should have asked), goat's milk does indeed have the same flavor as goat's cheese. The meat also LOOKED like it would be tender and delicious but I found it very tough. The server came back and raved about how delicious the sauce was - it wasn't his fault I don't like goat's milk so I just smiled and nodded. After the bread, appetizer at Barrio and the first course, it wasn't as if I was actually HUNGRY, so I wasn't too upset about it.

The dessert course was fine. Nothing amazing, nothing bad. The pairing of flavors was a bit odd to me. Pumpkin pot de creme with a cranberry mousse - Thanksgiving flavors I suppose, but the white chocolate in the mousse was just not working for me. I still finished most of it, of course but it wasn't my favorite dessert. I did really enjoy the little french press of decaf coffee I got to go with my dessert! I love how they instruct you to wait one minute to press - reminds me of every weekend morning where Ben sets a timer for 3 minutes before we are allowed to plunge our french press at home.

Having gone to Heartland twice now (check out the instagram photos from my first visit here), I would definitely recommend it for a delicious dinner. I was truly wowed the first time I went, and while this visit didn't live up to that experience, it was still an excellent meal. The setting is beautiful, and being in downtown St. Paul it's a pretty relaxed and low key atmosphere.

Ben also talked about the Uber car service we used that night - I LOVED it, and it was definitely worth the few more dollars versus taking a cab! Such a nice experience to be able to order the car and see it coming on the map while we were sitting at our table, versus calling a cab and just hoping they show up. I also loved not having to exchange money. And, you for sure feel like a high roller with a town car pulling right up to the curb, and a driver getting out and asking for you by name! Definitely a great service, and one I can see us using again in the future.

Deets
Heartland Restaurant
289 East 5th Street
St. Paul

Colossal Cafe

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:42:00 +0000

Visited on Friday, September 28th

Erin's Review

Our 7th wedding anniversary was September 24th, and because we had a few weddings in the weekends surrounding it that required babysitters for the kids, we chose to celebrate it by both taking a day off work and going to breakfast and then to the Ivy Spa Club to spend the day there (you can use their facilities all day by booking a service, it's awesome!).

When I sent Ben the list of breakfast options available, I realized just how slim the pickings are getting on our list. We have plenty of options should we ever want to have a nice dinner out, but very few for breakfast or a casual dinner. I guess it just goes to show just how many new places we've been to since we started this blog!

We settled on the new-ish outpost of Colossal Cafe that opened in St. Anthony Park, which is one of my favorite neighborhoods in St. Paul, and happened to be somewhat on the way to downtown from our house anyway. It was a beautiful fall Friday, and we were both in good moods with the anticipation of our spa day.

I was somewhat surprised to see that this was the type of place where you order at a counter versus table service. I'm not sure if that is always the case, but it was for the weekday breakfast. This to me makes it a good option for kids, since the food tends to come a lot faster. I made a quick decision to order an omelet with bacon, green onions and cream cheese as well as a mammoth cinnamon roll which they heated up for me. They are "famous" for their pancakes, but I was told by 2 people to avoid them, so I did just that :)

We sat down, got ourselves some coffee from the self-serve coffee station, and I enjoyed a few bites of my cinnamon roll before I started to lose my appetite and feel a little ill. I had a slight cold and headache going into the day, and unfortunately it was only getting worse. Ben and I seem to be plagued with these random bouts of flu-like feelings that only last a day, and always seem to happen at the exact same time.

By the time our food came, I had zero appetite and started to even feel queasy so I just nibbled at my toast while I downed some coffee to see if caffeine would perk me up. I did end up feeling okay for awhile, but not well enough to eat my food. Luckily, it kept well (the toast was amazing actually), and when I finally regained my appetite later in the day, the omelet really hit the spot. The combination of green onions, cream cheese and bacon vaguely reminded me of one of my favorite absolutely not authentic sushi rolls, the Philly. Delicious! Far too rich to enjoy while feeling icky though.

Colossal Cafe in St. Paul is a cute little cafe - it looks like they probably have remodeled the whole place, and I really liked the completely open kitchen. We'll definitely be back, especially since I love the neighborhood and it's so close to our house!

Ben's Review

For our anniversary we had planned to go to the spa at Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis, with a stop for breakfast beforehand. My getting LASIK delayed our spa day by a few days, but the day finally arrived a few weeks ago. We dropped the kids off at daycare and headed to Colossal Cafe in Saint Paul for breakfast.

I wasn’t feeling too great that morning, it felt like a cold was coming on, but since we had the day off with breakfast and a day at the spa planned, I figured it would still be a good time.

We arrived at Colossal Cafe around 8 and headed in. You order at the counter, about halfway into the restaurant, and they give you a placard for your table to identify you with your order. There was no line, though plenty of other diners, so we quickly made our decisions from the blackboard menu. I opted for a sausage breakfast sandwich on a biscuit with a cup of coffee.

I like the model of ordering at the counter and having self serve coffee. I’m not much of a breakfast guy in the first place, and I would just as soon be in control of my own coffee refills rather than wait for the server to come back around.

We got some coffee and just enjoyed being out to eat without two little kids :) Colossal Cafe is a cutesy place in a cutesy neighborhood, so hanging out waiting for food among the laid back crowd isn’t a bad place to be on a Friday morning.

Our food came out rather quickly and my sandwich looked delicious. However, what I had noticed in the minutes between ordering and the food arriving is that my headache and ill feelings had gotten a bit worse and my appetite was literally non existent.

It’s rare when I can’t even bring myself to have a bite of food, but that’s how I felt at this moment, and I was really sad about it :( The sandwich looked so good and I WANTED to enjoy it, but at that moment the thought of eating it made me feel even worse. Erin hadn’t felt great either and HER appetite was minimal at best as well.

Having never ‘failed’ at breakfast before, we were pretty bummed. Luckily we thought that our food would keep ok, so we drove it home before going to the spa to enjoy later.

Eating my sandwich later in the day, while still not feeling well, was certainly better than having it in the morning when I felt awful. I’m happy to report that their breakfast sandwiches stand up well to being refrigerated for a couple hours and reheated in the microwave :)

We’ll be back to Colossal Cafe so we can give it a real try in the near future, if for no other reason than to erase the bad memories of the day when I couldn’t stomach breakfast.

Service: The service was good and everyone was friendly.
Food: We need to go back, but what I had was pretty good.
Drinks: Small list of beer, but it’s got several local options and a couple on tap.
Ambiance: This is a low key breakfast spot in a low key neighborhood.
Convenience: Plenty of street parking and bus routes. Didn’t see any bike racks, but they can’t be too far away.

Deets
Colossal Cafe
2315 Como Ave
St. Paul

Manny's

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 02:01:00 +0000

Visited on Saturday, August 18th

Ben's Review
Finally. After three years of sitting a Parasole gift card that became two gift cards, and then three gift cards, we finally made it to Manny’s. We planned to go a few times before now, but our plans were always thwarted by something. I made reservations three weeks ago, and they were still booked from 5:30 to 8:15, so I got us a table in the bar at 8:15 last Saturday night.

I had wanted to sit in the bar anyways, as long as we could get a booth, as it had seemed a little more happening than the dining room. I had heard people complain about the bar being loud, and it was, but for some reason it didn’t bother me like it normally would. I think we were just excited to finally be there :)

We were sat and IMMEDIATELY served water, which I’m sure Erin appreciated. The service throughout the night was excellent, as I would expect. We were seated in a large, high backed booth that would comfortably fit four people, so we had room to spare.

In spite of the $2 upcharge to get your cocktail served “up or on the rocks”(???) I ordered a Manhatten up, while Erin went straight to the wine we had planned to order. I told our server, Tony, that we were in no rush and wanted to hang out and enjoy ourselves and that seemed to suit him just fine, which I appreciated. It’s rare that I actually wanted to sit and chill at a restaurant for very long, so I was glad he wasn’t going to rush us.

We ordered the lobster cakes as an appetizer that Tony had recommended and they didn’t disappoint. They were just barely done, soft and crumbly and delicious, just enough to whet your appetite for more food, and from this point on, the portions were ridiculously sized.

Even though I was fairly certain I was going to get a filet, it was fun to have Tony wheel over a cart that contained each different steak they offer, so you could see exactly what it was you were getting. They have a cut called the “bludgeon of beef’ that comes with a long bone protruding out of it like a handle. It was disgustingly large and $85. I passed. The filets looked tiny in comparison, but I was pretty sure a 12 oz steak was going to be plenty, so I stuck with my gut.

I ordered my steak medium rare and we added some loaded mashed potatoes as a side. No vegetable, and I’m glad we skipped it because they probably used five potatoes in our side dish, which was obviously more than enough food.

Our food came out incredibly quickly, they must get on those steaks as soon as they are ordered. I have to imagine the mashed potatoes are mostly made, and then mashed to order.

The steak, as expected, was fantastic. I ordered medium rare, Erin medium, and there was a clear difference between the two. Erin kind of wished she had ordered medium rare, and I was kind of wishing I had ordered rare :) They were served with a bearnaise sauce on the side (the horror!) which was very good, but I didn’t use it on the whole steak - it was delicious on its own.

Erin was ordering dessert, and I was ordering scotch. I asked for a small glass of Glen Livet and Tony informed me that they don’t pour them small. Fine. I just want some scotch. Erin ordered banana cream pie and I figured I could have a bite or two. The scotch and pie came out and both were out-of-this-world large. Seriously. We both had pie at the restaurant, both of us had some the next day, and then Erin had more the NEXT day and it was finally gone. The scotch pour was nearly four fingers in a good sized low ball glass. Tony set the scotch down on the table and said “Good night!”. He was right. By the time I finished the scotch and a couple bites of pie, I was painfully full, even after having unbuttoned my pants before dessert even arrived.

We took a quick glance around the dining room to see what it looked like before we left, and I felt justified in choosing the bar, seemed like a much more fun vibe. If we ever go back I’ll make sure to get a booth in the bar again. You can even request a server by name if you want. I recommend Tony if you ever go, he’s great :)

Service: Excellent service, we wanted for nothing.
Food: Awesome. Steaks were great, as you would expect. Lobster cakes were a good suggestion. The mashed potatoes could use a ton of garlic.
Drinks: Full, and beautiful, bar. No tap beer, which I think is kind of lame. Huge wine list.
Ambiance: Loud, but fun in the bar, the dining room seemed to have a life of its own, even though there is just a doorway separating the two.
Convenience: We took a cab both ways, which was convenient, but expensive. Downtown can be a pain in the ass. There, I said it.

Erin's Review
This dinner out reminded me just how much I LOVE going to nice restaurants and having a long leisurely meal. As Ben mentioned, we have had gift cards to Parasole for YEARS - we always intended to use them at Manny's, so we knew we'd need a lot to actually have a decent meal since the prices here are absurd. Completely and utterly ridiculous, along with the portion sizes - but, we knew that going in and just let go and enjoyed it. We got the original gift card years ago, but I was pregnant for much of the last 3 years and wanted to at least enjoy a bottle of wine and not well-done steak here, so those times were out. We tried a few months ago, but the night before both came down with some random illness - so finally it all worked it. We decided that this meal was to celebrate Ben's birthday and Father's Day, and then I got a promotion at work last week too, so that was well timed for this "celebration" dinner as well! For us, we'd need a special occasion to go to a place like this - however, it seemed like there were a lot of people in the bar area just enjoying a normal night out there - who are these people!? We got a bit dressed up and even decided to take cabs to and from the restaurant - going all out, because who knows when we'll be able to get a babysitter again!!

As we've done at several places now, we chose to sit in the bar and I'm glad we did. The dining room looked very stuffy, and the tables were super close together. Since we were in a large booth, it felt a bit more intimate, despite the volume of the bar area. We immediately got bread and water which was good since I was starving (it was 8pm after all). The bread was pretty good, but not the best I've had, and was a little too salty for my taste.

The wine list was completely overwhelming to me. Back in June when we had originally planned to go, I sent it to Kate and told her to just pick a reasonably priced red that was delicious. She told us to go with the Benzinger Estate, so that was easy enough. Ben briefly considered paying the $25 corkage fee and just buying a nice-ish bottle (which to us, is like $15 at the liquor store) but it was worth the extra $10 to not seem like a bunch of cheap a-holes. This wine was absolutely divine. I enjoyed more than my fair share of the bottle, but as you saw above, Ben was pretty well served himself.

Our server was quite chummy without being super annoying. So chummy, that apparently Ben even remembered his name even days later?? He recommended the lobster cakes when we mentioned that we were considering an appetizer, so we went with those and it was a great choice. They had HUGE chunks of lobster in them, and lots of cheese and herbs. So good. This was the only thing we ordered where the portions actually seemed appropriate, so that was good because I did NOT want to ruin my appetite and I had far more food to eat that night.

I knew before even getting there that I'd get the filet. I was kind of surprised that Ben chose that as well, even after observing all the other completely absurd cuts of meat that were available. I ordered it medium, which was described as pink and warm in the center. Medium rare was described as pink and cool, which sounded gross to me, but after tasting a bite of Ben's steak, I think would have been a bit better. We could clearly taste the difference between medium and medium rare and they matched the descriptions perfectly. I really did enjoy my steak, and the Bearnaise sauce was a nice addition, and somewhat shocking that there wasn't an additional charge for that. That being said, this was not the best steak I've ever had. That title is still held by Murray's, and the steak I had at erte might even eclipse this, which surprised me greatly. I think this steak just seemed a little less juicy and tender than the others - even Ben's medium rare as well, so it wasn't like mine was just overcooked. It's possible that I'm pickier now, or that my tastes have changed. I will likely never know, because I don't plan on going back - there are way too many steakhouses and other nice restaurants in this city for me to go to the same place twice.

We also got the loaded mashed potatoes, and they were indeed loaded. Ben was borderline offended that there did not seem to be any garlic in them. I suspect there was, just not the massive amounts he tends to put in everything. I thought they were great, but far, far farrrrrr too much for 2 people.

By this point, I was drunk and full - definitely the sign of a good night out. I still wanted dessert - the key lime pie and banana cream pie were both recommended - I probably would have chosen key lime, but Ben wanted a few bites and he swayed me toward the banana. This was also just so absurdly huge it was laughable, especially after everything else. It was basically a whole pie, just for us. Topped with homemade caramel, it was absolutely delicious and still was the 2 additional times I ate it at home! I only had a few bites at the restaurant because I went to the bathroom and when I came back, Ben had it boxed up already because he thought I was done. Very sad. I also got a decaf coffee and was kind of upset because the first cup was not very hot, and they just had packets of sugar which seems too diner like for a nice place like this. I prefer when they have sugar cubes, but that's a little nitpicky I guess.

We had such an amazing dinner at Manny's - it was definitely worth the wait. I loved the atmosphere in the bar area - it was fun and loud, but since we were in a booth we could still feel like we were on an intimate date and could hear our own conversation well. I would definitely recommend it for a special occasion.

Deets
Manny's Steakhouse
825 Marquette Ave
Minneapolis

Twisted Fork Grille

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 20:09:00 +0000

Visited on Sunday, June 3rd

Forgot to take any photos of the outside of the restaurant, so this will have to do

Erin's Review
So, I guess it turns out that having a toddler and an infant really does put a damper on dining out! It also makes finding a babysitter that much harder - I don't even like watching both kids alone, so I can't exactly ask anyone else to do it too often :) I also am not inclined to bring out my DSLR when out with both kids, so these are all iPhone 4s photos. Good enough!

We purchased a 50% off Living Social deal to Twisted Fork Grille before Luke was born, and I was sure we'd have NO problem using it - low and behold, the expiration date quickly approached and we had to squeeze in a visit. A friend had told me that breakfast is the best bet there, so we headed over a week before it expired, despite it being Grand Old Day and thus difficult to find parking. We did have to walk 2 blocks with a 1 million pound carseat and very slow toddler, but I still think it was worth it :)

The restaurant was pretty empty and the ambiance is definitely nothing special. I have driven past this particular establishment probably hundreds of times, and it took a LivingSocial deal to entice me to try it - it just blended in with the Green Mill and didn't seem like anything that would be too great, especially in comparison with far more interesting eateries in the general vicinity. The inside looks pretty much like any generic bar/restaurant. We were told we could sit wherever, and it definitely took far longer than I prefer for anyone to greet us and bring us beverages, especially since we were laden down with children.

The kid options are pretty good - they have a separate kids menu and a coloring sheet along with a package of crayons. The menu options were the usual - kids pancakes, eggs, maybe oatmeal or something like that. I went with pancakes with strawberries for Annie since I knew she'd eat that. The girl definitely has inherited her mom's sweet tooth!

Ben and I commenced our discussion of what to order. The last few times we've been out to breakfast, we've split a sweet and savory dish which worked well. I knew I wanted some form of eggs benedict (we chose the smoked salmon) and had to work to convince Ben to get the cinnamon roll french toast. (my first choice would have been the lemon blueberry pancakes, but Ben does not like "warm fruit" in his breakfast items so I knew that would be a no go) We both love french toast lately, but the toppings (caramel, whipped cream, candied nuts) sounded like a BIT much to both of us. As soon as the waitress said that all the toppings could be brought out on the side, that sealed the deal.

The food took awhile, especially considering Luke was being cranky and Annie kept testing us to see if we REALLY meant "No, you can't sit on the table". Finally, I was able to get Luke to fall asleep on my lap pretty much right as the food arrived - I LOVED that they split our dishes for us, and it was a nice touch that they even went so far as to split the toppings on the side as well - completely unnecessary and resulted in a comical display of dishware. Thankfully Luke was sleeping and isn't in the grabby phase just yet, and Annie was focused on her own meal, since that amount of breakables within reach could have been a disaster!

I enjoyed both dishes more than Ben did, it seems. The only thing that really bugged me was that the poached egg on the salmon benedict wasn't runny at all, which I hate. Especially after the perfectly poached egg at Bon Vie, it was disappointing. However, the hollandaise was delicious! I loved the french toast, and did end up piling on all the ridiculous sweet toppings. The whipped cream especially was amazing - it appeared to be freshly whipped with some kind of flavoring. SO good.

Sad

This isn't a place I would normally go, but I did like the food and the kids options were pretty good. I'm glad we tried it, but can't say I'm itching to return anytime soon.

Ben's Review
I just looked back and realized that we haven’t posted in over three months! We have gone out to eat in that time, just not new places. We had a LivingSocial deal to Twisted Fork that was going to expire soon, so we made plans to head over for breakfast, thinking that would be the safest time to go out with Annie and Luke.

It turned out to also be Grand Old Day in Saint Paul on that day, so we had to park a couple blocks away on Summit. Luckily we arrived before the parade got underway and things got really crazy.

Twisted Fork wasn’t busy this morning and we had our choice of seats. I opted for a large booth so we could lay Luke down on the bench. We got our menus quickly and I started perusing my options. We had $30 to spend on the groupon and the menu items were hovering in the $10 range, so I wasn’t sure we’d even hit $30.

I was having a really tough time selecting what to get as they have several menu items that sounded excellent: mexican hash, pork shoulder hash, huevos rancheros, smoked salmon eggs benedict, walleye cake benedict, pancakes, and cinnamon roll french toast.

We eventually agreed that I would get the smoked salmon eggs benedict and Erin would get the cinnamon roll french toast and we could share them.

We occupied Annie and Luke while we waited for our food; Grand Old Day was getting going outside and Annie enjoyed watching the goings-on. Luke was causing a bit of a stir so between the two of them the food seemed to come out quickly.

I’m not sure I’ve ever had this many dishes on a table for two breakfast orders. Between the split orders they did for us, and all the toppings for the french toast, there was hardly any room for our plates to eat off!

While the menu sounded awesome as I read it, I was a little disappointed in the salmon eggs benedict. I was expecting a single, large piece of salmon, but instead it was more like shredded salmon pieces. The eggs were also overdone and not runny, which was sad.

The french toast was good, but we make better stuff at home. The toppings were certainly good, if you like dessert for breakfast :)

I realized towards the end of the meal that we probably were a little under the $30 we had to spend, so I looked around for something to order. I had overheard someone else order a bloody mary and thought that would be a good way to put us over the top. I hadn’t noticed that there were no bottles of alcohol at the bar, just beer and wine, so the bloody marys were actually made with sake instead of vodka. Not something I would normally try, but what the hell, right? The bloody mary was ok, but I prefer vodka (or gin for that matter), I couldn’t even finish it before we had to head out as we were overstaying our welcome with the kids :)

Service: Service was OK.
Food: The menu has some items that I’d like to try, but the salmon eggs benedict was a little disappointing.
Drinks: Beer and wine, and sake bloody marys :)
Ambiance: Not much ambiance on a Saturday morning, might be a little more hopping in the evening.
Convenience: Off street parking and bus routes.

Bon Vie

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:33:00 +0000

Visited on Tuesday, March 13th

Ben's Review
As our first outing with Luke, we obviously went out for Erin to get eggs Benedict, something she was sad to give up during her pregnancy. Erin had heard good things about Bon Vie and since it was in Saint Paul, I agreed to head over while I was off work on paternity leave.

We went to breakfast during the week of oddly warm and sunny March weather in the twin cities and it was awesome. We arrived at Bon Vie around 9am with only a couple tables occupied and a friendly server quickly got us coffee. He was very interested in us having Luke with us, being that he was only a few days old at that point. Luke did well the entire time, just relaxing in his carseat.

The prices at Bon Vie are a little steep. $10 for eggs Benedict is fairly standard, but $9.25 for french toast seems high to me, but I was hankering for some french toast so I went for it.

I’m always surprised by how fast breakfast food comes out, but it makes sense when you figure they have everything prepped back there. Our server returned in what seemed like 4-5 minutes with our food and it looked great. Erin’s eggs did not come with a side ($4.50 for hash browns), and my french toast came with freshly cooked sausage links. My french toast also came with whipped cream (yum), and blueberries, which I quickly pushed aside.

The french toast was indeed excellent, making it nearly worth the $9.25 :) You get three pieces of bread and I could have easily eaten 3-4 more pieces, and I’m not even a breakfast guy. It made me want to go home and look up french toast recipes for home. We both love it though we have never made it at home.

Even though it was a touch pricey, I still think I would go back as the service was top notch and the food was excellent. I also love finding places in Saint Paul to avoid a trip ALL THE WAY to Minneapolis to have breakfast.

Service: Excellent service, our server was genuinely friendly
Food: Our food was great, breakfast is so much better fresh
Drinks: Full selection of coffee drinks, no booze as far as I could tell.
Ambiance: A quiet little cafe, not too many tables, but I bet it can get loud if it’s full.
Convenience: Street parking on Selby usually isn’t an issue, and free, busses available too.

Erin's Review
Back when we started this old blog (over 4 years old now!), I had heard that Bon Vie was regarded by some as the best eggs benedict in the cities. It's kind of shocking that it took me this long to go there, but considering that in the last 3 years, I was pregnant for 1.5 of them and not able to eat eggs benedict due to the undercooked eggs and raw eggs in the hollandaise, I guess it makes sense!

A few times over the course of my pregnancy, we drove by Bon Vie, and I knew I wanted that to be one of the first outings after having Luke. I only managed to wait 1.5 weeks before we took him out - luckily he was a great dining companion and stayed asleep or content the whole time!

I was a bit sad to see that the prices at Bon Vie are on the high side - I just couldn't justify $3 more for a half order of hash browns, although I do love them with eggs benedict to soak up the yolk and hollandaise. This is similar to a few other places where you just get the eggs and nothing else, unless you order it on the side. Obviously eggs benedict is PLENTY filling on it's own, and is probably approximately 1000+ calories the way it is, but a few bites of hash browns are always a welcome addition for me.

I ordered a vanilla latte immediately, and it came out quickly - it wasn't as fancy as the one at Victory 44, but was definitely good, if a bit on the sweet side (and if I'm saying that, that really means it's sweet).

Our food came out quickly, and my eggs benedict were all I had dreamed of - the eggs were beautifully poached, and almost tasted creamy. The hollandaise here is a bit thicker, and very lemony. It reminded me of one of our first We Got Served restaurant visits to Al's Breakfast, but definitely a bit fancier with the presentation. I also had a bite of Ben's french toast which was delicious.

I'm glad we finally made it to Bon Vie - it's a cute cafe with a friendly vibe - I'd definitely recommend it for breakfast!

Deets
Bon Vie
518 Selby Ave
St. Paul

Grecco's on the St. Croix

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:51:00 +0000

Visited on Saturday, January 7th

Notes from Erin:
When I decided on St. Croix River Inn as the location of our B&B weekend away, I started to be on the lookout for good restaurant options in that area. Only a few days later, a serendipitous LivingSocial deal to Grecco's on the St. Croix popped up in my inbox, so I felt it was fate. Kate assured me that it was a good pick, so I went ahead and bought it and am so glad I did because it was exactly the same as the normal tasting menu, just 50% off - really, can't beat that.

I'm going to format this review in the same way I did for our tasting menu at La Belle Vie - unfortunately I have no details of this tasting menu since I forgot to ask them to write everything down. It seemed that the items we got were not nearly as inventive or unique as La Belle Vie, but the idea is the same as in any tasting menu.

The one overall note I'll make is that the service was odd to me - Ben says he thinks it was great, but I disagree - it seems when you have so many people waiting on you, no one takes any ownership. The courses were also really oddly spaced - there were several times we were sitting there for nearly 20-30 minutes in between courses. It was wonderful to be able to enjoy a leisurely 3 hour meal, of course, but some consistency would have been nice because other courses came out on top of each other. There were also a few times where it was hard to find a server, or water took awhile to come out - I just prefer to have one go-to person at a restaurant versus being waited on by seemingly everyone working.

Notes from Ben:
As part of our weekend at the bed and breakfast in Osceola, Erin had bought a Living Social deal to Grecco’s in St. Croix Falls, about 10 miles away. The deal was a buy-one-get-one deal on their six course chef’s menu, a value of $70, not bad!

We had reservations at 7pm and arrived right on time and were seated immediately. Grecco’s is deceptively large, with several different rooms as you go further back. It looked like there was bar seating in the very back room, but I never went back further to inspect. I liked the separate rooms, each had their own decor and their own vibe. We were seated at the second room in, adjacent to the wine bar in front. It took a little while for our server to stop by, but after that the service was excellent.

We did get some bread quickly, thankfully, because I was starving by that point. I noticed that they had a wine pairing that you could add to the meal for an extra $25. Since we had already paid for our dinners several months ago, I had no problem adding that in, and told Erin “you’re driving home” :).

The server seemed to time the wine a little off from the food. Sometimes I would get the next wine several minutes before the food arrived, and once or twice the food would come out and the wine a few minutes later. It kept me on my toes a bit as I would sometimes get another glass of wine before I had finished the last course. These were full glasses of wine too, so it was definitely worth the $25 in my mind.

Ben: We started off with a spinach salad that was paired with a white zinfandel. I prefer red wines over white and blush wines, but this wine was still good and very cold. The salad was good as well, it came with onions and a red (raspberry?) vinaigrette dressing.

Erin: I thought this salad was nothing special. There was way too much dressing. It seems I'm getting far pickier about the quality of my salads lately. Anyway, I ate it all and it was FINE, I guess, but seemed like an odd choice for a tasting menu.

Ben: The next course was pasta with truffles, mushrooms, and feta cheese paired with a pinot grigio. The pasta was excellent, I could have eaten an entire meal of it. Again, the wine was good and seemed to work well with the pasta, but me not being a wine buff, I just have to go with what they tell me.

Erin: LOVED this pasta - since everything was taking forever, and all I'd had was a little piece of bread and the salad, I devoured this very quickly. Perfectly creamy and flavorful.

Ben: The third course was whitefish over rice paired with a sauvignon blanc. The fish was generously seasoned and delicious. The rice was plain, but with all the flavor from the fish they worked well together.

Erin: The fish was fairly good - I didn't finish it because the dish overall was kind of bland and I wanted to save myself for future courses that might be better. Turned out to be a good decision!

Ben: On the fourth course I finally got a red wine, though I do not recall what kind it was. It was served with seared duck and wild rice. Again, both the food and the wine were fantastic. The serving sizes thus far were also small so while we were having a variety of food and several courses, at no point did I feel painfully full, which was nice.

Erin: The duck was delicious - it was cooked perfectly and was well seasoned. The wild rice I was a little less jazzed about, it was a little too al dente for my tastes. It was fine though, and I think I finished most of it.

(Forgot to take a photo of the wine - imagine a glass of red wine here)

Ben: Next up was beef tenderloin with mashed potatoes and another red wine. I love that there were three meat courses all in a row, yum! The steak was excellent as were the mashed potatoes, it’s pretty hard to go wrong with this, in my book.

Erin: This was probably my favorite course - surprising since I'm not normally a beef person, but I AM a mashed potato person. These mashed potatoes were so good - very rich and creamy.

Ben: I had seen a tres leches cake on the dessert menu, but since we were having a chef’s tasting menu, I was worried that I wouldn’t have any dessert options. I asked our server before the dessert was served if the tres leches cake was available, and she said “yes, I think that’s what they’ve been serving”, so I got very excited.

Then, without another word to us, she brought out the coconut pound cake with a blackberry sauce. Now, this cake was fine, though I’m not much of a dessert person in the first place, but you’d think after I specifically asked for a different dessert, she would have at least mentioned that it wasn’t available. Seriously, I LOVE tres leches cake. Love it. I was sad. And my emotions were running high after six full size glasses of wine.

There were no tears shed and we enjoyed our dessert and the rest of our time at Grecco’s. Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable dinner that lasted around three hours. Even if we didn’t have a Living Social deal, I would consider doing this again just because it’s rare that you get a dinner experience that lasts that long, it was a lot of fun. If you’re ever looking for a day trip with a long dinner, I definitely recommend the tasting menu at Grecco’s.

Erin: The dessert course was the most... eventful, shall we say. I decided I wanted a decaf coffee with the cake - mostly because I too had been hoping for the chocolate tres leches cake I kept hearing about, so I figured the coffee would make the pound cake a bit more interesting. It took me awhile to find someone to actually order from - and when I did, the bartender brought it out and made some completely strange comment to me after pouring cream into my coffee, saying "Soon you'll be seeing someone else doing this!" and then awkwardly coming back a few seconds later and saying "I meant your child!" Ohh, pregnancy comments. They really are something else. Oh, and the cake was just fine. Nothing great, but it satisfied my need for something sweet. Pretty sure I also had a few cookies when we got back to the B&B as well...

I'm not sure I would have wanted to pay full price for the tasting menu, but for 50% off, it was certainly worth it. The food was all on the range of pretty good to delicious, and it was a really fun experience - it had been probably since our meal at La Belle Vie that we were able to spend that long just enjoying our food and each other's company - overall a great evening!

Ben's ratings:
Service: The service was great and we were waited on by three or four different servers.
Food: Excellent food. Fresh and hot.
Drinks: Since I got the wine pairing I didn’t look into the drink situation much. I believe they have a full bar in the back, not sure what the beer list looks like.
Ambiance: A little subdued when we were there on a Saturday night. Mostly older adults.
Convenience: Again, a little far from the cities.

Deets
Grecco's on the St. Croix (website not functioning - here is the yelp page)
115 N Washington Ave
St. Croix Falls, WI

Tangled Up In Blue

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:30:00 +0000

Visited on Friday, January 6th

Ben's Review
Erin and I planned a weekend away before baby #2 arrives, so last weekend we were off to a bed and breakfast in Osceola.

We already had plans for dinner on Saturday night (in the next post), so for Friday night we did some searching around and eventually settled on Tangled Up in Blue Restaurant in Taylors Falls.

A few people had mentioned to us that the decor was............eccentric. As we pulled into the parking lot we were prepared for the worst. Maybe we had oversold the decor in our minds, because while it was a little much, it certainly wasn’t the most awful thing in the world. (Just for an example of the decor, we were seated “at the table under the two sconces”).

The restaurant is rather small and is handled, seemingly, by one server with help from the cooks, so it took a few minutes for us to get water and drink orders. The bottled beer list is rather small and I started with a Samuel Adams.

We were both starving when we had arrived so we quickly ordered the crab cake appetizer while we decided on our entrees. Several of the entrees choices sounded good, but I was sold on the beef Wellington as I had just seen a friend of mine having some leftovers at lunch, and was intrigued.

Our crab cakes came our after we had ordered and they were piping hot and delicious, served with some greens and tartar sauce. We devoured them quickly due to our hunger. I don’t know if I was influenced by how hungry I was, but they were some of the best crab cakes I’ve ever had.

My beef Wellington came out awhile later, reinforcing that it was probably freshly made. I ordered a Fat Tire to go along with the steak. The steak came with sides of asparagus and au gratin style potatoes. As an aside, for some reason asparagus is the vegetable that I always notice being served ridiculously out of season. It’s winter and there’s no way that asparagus was grown anywhere near Taylors Falls. It’s ok to use seasonal vegetables, people shouldn’t expect asparagus in the winter.

The beef Wellington was excellent, as I had imagined it would be. It seemed a little different than the example I had seen a few weeks ago, but it was awesome nonetheless. The mix of the flaky pastry with the steak was delicious and everything was hot and fresh.

Erin was scanning the dessert menu as we finished, but decided instead to grab some ice cream on the way back to our bed and breakfast (and some whiskey for me, thanks Wisconsin gas stations!) and enjoy our lovely suite.

Service: The service was very casual and friendly, almost like you were a guest in their home.
Food: The food was fantastic.
Drinks: Decent wine list, but very small (four, I think) beer list. No cocktails.
Ambiance: Small, cozy restaurant, but it wasn’t close to full when we were there.
Convenience: A bit of a drive from the city. I don’t think Metro Transit makes it out there.

Erin's Review
After telling a few friends that we were headed to the St. Croix Falls to stay at a B&B for the weekend, we got a few recommendations for Tangled Up In Blue... but were warned about the decor (I also was particularly fond of the URL). I'm really not sure what I expected, but I think it was along the lines of scarves hanging from the ceilings, lots of mirrors, maybe some bells hanging from the chairs. Something completely over the top, that's for sure. What we happened upon was tame by comparison, but I guess could still seem to be a bit much, especially considering the glitter on the table. To those friends who recommended the place - was the decor "worse" when you went?

We actually were originally going to try out a pizza place in Dresser, but as we approached, it was super bright with about 100 small children running about inside. Not something we wanted to see after leaving our still a little sick (first ear infection - great timing!) Annie with the grandparents. I'm definitely glad we went the extra few miles to go to Tangled Up In Blue - the atmosphere was much better suited to what we wanted our weekend to be - quiet and calm.

Because, as Ben mentioned, we were absolutely starving by this point, we quickly ordered an appetizer. I ate a bit less than half because I wanted to save some room in my limited stomach area for my main dish - I decided to get just soup and salad and to try some of Ben's beef wellington, mostly because he was concerned about the cost of the meal. I was battling a cold and couldn't taste much anyway so didn't want to waste a ton of money on a huge entree I wouldn't be able to taste or eat all of anyway.

I had the house salad and a tomato soup. I liked the soup, but I swear there was some mention of pasta being in the soup on the menu (which isn't updated on the website) - tortellini or something, but that was nowhere to be found in the soup. It had chunks of green pepper and tomato in it, and was very creamy... but no pasta. Oh well, it was good, and soup is easy to eat when you're stuffed up so it hit the spot.

The salad was pretty meh - there wasn't quite enough dressing and the chunks of blue cheese were not flavorful at all, and I felt there should have been more cheese overall.

I did look at the dessert options, but was glad I passed on them to just enjoy some ice cream by the fireplace at our B&B - it gave me some time to actually want to eat again too. Tangled Up In Blue is definitely a good option in this area - although I liked our next meal more (Grecco's) - but if you are looking for 2 nicer dinners for a weekend trip, these 2 seem like the best choices in the area. I noticed they won some award "restaurant worth the drive" several years ago, and that might be a BIT of a stretch since there are far better restaurants in the Twin Cities, but if you are already in or near Taylor's Falls - it's a great option.

Deets
Tangled Up In Blue
425 Bench Street
Taylor's Falls, MN

La Chaya Bistro

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:11:00 +0000

Visited on Saturday, December 31st with Nate & Molly

Erin's Review
Because Ben's parents had asked to take all the grandkids each New Year's Eve, we figured we were pretty much obligated to find SOMETHING to do. 98% of our friends are either pregnant and/or have small children, so the pickings were slim. We have both been burned by special "holiday" menus at restaurants before that are mostly a waste of money and not very good, so I set out to find a place on our list that was just serving their normal menu and either did not take reservations at all, or still had openings. Ben apparently did not know this, after reading his review, but I purposely picked places further away in Minneapolis since I knew we'd have freedom from rush hour and the toddler.

After driving through what was a rainstorm at the time, we got there right on time - all the spots in the parking lot were filled, but we found one on the street very close. The restaurant was completely full when we got there, so I guess it was a good thing we made reservations. I didn't think it would be that full since there were still several openings when I'd checked about a week previously.

After the men ordered their beers, we decided on a few appetizers. Molly picked something with mushrooms, and we also got calamari. I normally am not a fan of mushrooms, but I actually really liked the appetizer. I guess they are "oyster mushrooms, sauteed in garlic and chili served with grilled bread", according to the menu - I liked that they weren't HUGE chunks of mushrooms, and they were grilled such that the mushrooms had a nice texture to them. I also liked the calamari - the tomato sauce they came with was a nice change, and they weren't overly breaded or too chewy at all.

For my entree, I chose to get the pasta special, which was their standard seafood pasta with lobster. It was served in a white wine sauce with spinach and tomatoes. I liked how light this dish was - I didn't feel disgustingly full when done with it, and the sauce was very flavorful but didn't overwhelm the lobster. I did have enough leftover for a small lunch, and it reheated well.

I purposely saved room for dessert, but wasn't too thrilled with the options. I went with a key lime pie, but it was a bit TOO tart for my liking. I honestly don't even think I finished the whole thing. Molly got the apple crisp and that seemed like a much better option. I also got a decaf Mexican mocha which was quite good, but not sweet enough for me - adding a few sugars made it perfect. I guess my sweet tooth has gotten a bit out of control lately :)

La Chaya Bistro was a great pick for this evening - I'm glad we finally tried it, as the food was delicious. The ambiance is a bit generic, but the food makes up for it. It was a fun night out actually enjoying some leisurely kid free conversation with Nate & Molly for once!

Ben's Review
My parents want to start a tradition of taking all the grandkids on New Years Eve, a total of three kids this year. We took advantage of the night off and went to La Chaya Bistro in south Minneapolis with our neighbors.

Randomly, we ended up just a few blocks from our last review spot, Sunstreet Breads, which is odd for us since I feel like we don’t make it over to south Minneapolis that often. We had reservations for 7pm and arrived right on time. Nate and Molly had gotten there a few minutes earlier and already were at the table. La Chaya Bistro is a very small restaurant with the tables close together and “cozy”, so we were elbow to elbow with our neighboring tables. Luckily being the table of four, we got to be the “loud” ones and all the couples just had to deal with us :) The place was completely full of NYE diners and everyone seemed to be a in good mood having a great time.

The beer list at La Chaya Bistro is not huge, but they did have Fulton’s IPA in bottles, which I had been wanting to try. Nate got some sort of peppery concoction with Corona and a salted rim that he seemed to like. The wine list looks more promising if wine is your thing.

We ordered calamari for an appetizer while we enjoyed the company of adults without any children around. Erin remarked afterwards that she had no idea the last time we ate dinner with Nate and Molly without both of our kids around. I bet it’s been well over a year. The calamari was good, being that it’s pretty tough to screw that up. There was also plenty for the four of us.

I was tempted to get the special that night, an eight ounce pork tenderloin with brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes. Nate ended up getting it and let me try a bite and it was fantastic. I ended up ordering the chipotle sea bass with mashed potatoes and spinach.

Our food took awhile to arrive, but we were fine with the wait as nobody was in a rush. When our food came out it was immediately clear that it was all freshly prepared. The food was still steaming and the plates weren’t hot. I feel like a hot plate is a sure sign that it has been sitting under heat lamps for awhile :) My sea bass was one of the best meals I ate all year. It was absolutely delicious. The sea bass came with a sort of oily pesto on top that gave it a fresh flavor in addition to the chipotle, it was amazing.

Not being a dessert fan I deferred to Erin and she got the key lime coconut torte and let me try a bite. It was good, but I was already too full from my sea bass to really care. I say give me a good piece of meat over sweets any day of the week.

If you’re looking for a nice meal out, I highly recommend La Chaya Bistro, it is fantastic and well worth the money.

Service: Excellent service. Our server was knowledgeable about everything and friendly.
Food: Delicious and fresh, you won’t be disappointed.
Drinks: Good wine list, smallish beer list, but they did have Fulton and Summit.
Ambiance: It’s a tight fit, but everyone we encountered was in a good mood, so it was fun.
Convenience: They have a small parking lot and there is ample on-street parking.

Sun Street Breads

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:33:00 +0000

Visited on Friday, December 23rd

Ben's Review
For Erin’s birthday she wanted to go out for breakfast, unsurprisingly, and decided on Sun Street Breads in south Minneapolis. Since I still had to work that day we headed over there relatively early and found an already busy bakery.

The entrance to Sun Street Breads is a little confusing if you haven’t been there before. First, there is a curtain that blocks a view of the restaurant from you so you don’t know if you need to queue up, wait to be seated, or grab a table. Secondly, since you can either order food to eat there or simply stop by for a loaf of bread to go, it’s unclear if you wait in the same line depending on what service you need.

It turns out that the line is for everyone, though I certainly could see a second line being useful for those people that are not eating in. Erin probably made a faux pas by going in and grabbing a table with Annie while I got in line to order for us, but with limited seating we didn’t really care :)

Actually, another family came in after us with three kids and the dad took the kids to grab a table. Someone who was in line commented to him “Uh, I think you’re supposed to order before taking a table”, to which the dad replied, “Well, we’ve got three kids, so......I’m sorry if this inconveniences you.” I can see both sides of it, but still funny to overhear :)

Anyways, on to the food. We knew we’d be getting their breakfast biscuits, it was just a matter of what combination of meat, cheese, and eggs we’d be getting. In order to differ from Erin’s order I got ham with pepper jack cheese and a basted egg. I also got an americano to drink.

After ordering at the counter and getting a number for our table, we had a short wait and our drinks were brought out. The americano was better than I had expected for a place that focuses more on their bread than coffee. Our food also came out quickly while at the same time appeared to be freshly prepared. I happened to notice a bottle of sriracha sauce at the coffee station so I made sure to doctor up my sandwich a bit. The sandwich was fantastic, with the homemade biscuit being the highlight. Being that they have several combinations, and the prices are reasonable, I would for sure come back just to try several styles.

In addition to having great food, the ambiance at Sun Street Breads is cool because the kitchen is in plain view so you can see their large scale baking operation at work. It’s interesting to compare the tools and methods they get to use compared to what I see Erin doing at home when she bakes. We picked up a loaf of sourdough for a family get together that was also delicious.

I had a great time at Sun Street Breads and will be back this spring, probably on Erin’s maternity leave for a sandwich and perhaps a walk around the lake :)

Service: The line was long, but it moves quickly. All the people I encountered were friendly and attentive.
Food: Excellent breakfast and fresh bread.
Drinks: They have beer and wine and the beer selection is small but diverse.
Ambiance: I liked the ambiance a lot on the weekday morning we were there. I was shocked how busy it was, but it was the start of a holiday weekend.
Convenience: They do have a shared parking lot with the strip mall they’re in, but I couldn’t find a spot there. Plenty of bus options on Nicollet as well.

Erin's Review
After asking a few people for recommendations for a good new breakfast spot, I decided on Sun Street Breads for my birthday breakfast. Since my birthday was on a Friday, and some places only serve brunch on weekends, my options were a bit limited. After getting this recommendation, I saw Sun Street in many "best new restaurants" lists, so I figured it must be a good choice!

Ben and I drove separately, so when I got there I immediately got one of the only tables left, bypassing the long line. I'm sure I angered a lot of people by doing this, but it turned out that tables turned over fairly quickly, so everyone got a spot without incident. Ben got inside shortly after me, I took Annie and we got settled at the table. It took probably 10-15 minutes or so for Ben to get to the front of the line and order - it was WAY more packed than I had anticipated for a Friday morning.

Once Ben finally joined us, he brought a scone for our "starter" - it was quite good, and was in a different style than most scones I've had. We all enjoyed it. Since Annie is not so skilled in eating biscuit sandwiches just yet, we got her granola with yogurt. When it came out, the pieces of granola were huge and pretty hard, so I took most of them out and gave her just the yogurt with some of the littler pieces of granola. I did try a few bites and it was very good - just not so easy for a nearly 2 year old to eat with the large very crunchy pieces.

I got a pretty standard biscuit sandwich with fried egg, cheddar cheese, and sauce. It was absolutely delicious! I loved the sausage, and especially the biscuit. It filled me up for quite awhile too. There is nothing fancy at all about the food here, but it is very well prepared, and comes out with everything hot, including the biscuit, which is crucial. They have lunch and dinner too, and I'd really like to come back to try those meals as well.

As with all places in south Minneapolis, this is not convenient to us at all, however, if we have an open morning it's a fun outing, especially in the summer. Annie and I made the most of the trip by hitting up Heartfelt and Wild Rumpus in Linden Hills after breakfast when Ben went to work. Sun Street Breads is delicious and I'm glad we made it over there!

Deets
Sun Street Breads
4600 Nicollet Ave
Minneapolis

Caribe Caribbean Bistro

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:19:00 +0000

Update on May 16th - Caribe closed due to Light Rail construction and is trying to re-open in Northeast Minneapolis - you can learn more and donate to help them rebuild here!

Visited on Tuesday, December 20th with Erin's family

Erin's Review
It felt like an ordeal to pick a restaurant for my family birthday dinner this year. Since we were going on a weeknight, it needed to be somewhere relatively close to our house to avoid traffic because we'd be going at the height of rush hour. I really wanted to go somewhere new, but felt we'd exhausted the family friendly options in St. Paul and eastern Minneapolis on our list. Thankfully, after close examination of our list (which caused me to finally update it to delete all the places that closed and add a bunch of new places - it had been awhile for sure!) I remembered Caribe, one of those places that is so close to our house that I just apparently forget about it completely.

After conversing on twitter with one of Caribe's biggest fans (@AlecGraham), I decided to risk it with Annie even though it seemed not the most kid friendly place (small menu with no real kid options, small space, dark, etc) and figured she could eat off our plates and that if I brought enough entertainment she'd be okay. It turned out to be mildly stressful, but when is eating out with a toddler ever not?

We got there right at 5:30 and my parents were already seated at our table that we'd reserved a few days prior (they ask for reservations for parties over 6) - we did specify that we were a party of 6 plus a toddler, but were seated at a normal 6 top - luckily it was easy enough to squeeze in a high chair. We waited about 10 more minutes for my sister and brother-in-law to get there, after hearing the specials.

I'd already pretty much decided on the lobster mofongo if they had that, and was DYING to have some of the mango and cheese empanadillas. Perhaps it's pregnancy hormones, but when the server told us they were out of those after I attempted to order them, I was near tears. Yes, irrational. But I REALLY WANTED THEM. Plus I'd had about 10 minutes to get extra sold on the idea since we'd gotten there too. They were also out of 2 of the entrees as well (or just not serving them, not sure which) - note to servers and restaurant owners everywhere - if you KNOW you're out of something, tell the tables immediately so they don't get their heart set on something. It seems like an obvious thing to do when listing the specials. Anyway, through my sorrow, I managed to squeak out an order for the conch fritters instead.

The fritters came out fairly quickly, along with our beverages (I just had water and did try a sip of my sister's sangria - I liked it but she thought it tasted too much like black licorice, which I think was really the black cherries - whatever). I did really enjoy these, they weren't overly fried and the dipping sauces were very tasty. Annie also loved them, especially dipping. We probably could have eaten another order of them even, but wanted to save room for our main dishes.

We had eaten the fritters in record time, so the wait for our main dishes seemed pretty long. I'm not sure if it REALLY was, but I was getting mighty impatient by the time they finally came out, mostly because Annie had decided she'd had enough of sitting in her high chair (no food = no thanks for her) - she was fine one I got out the secret weapon - grapes - but that basically meant she wasn't going to eat anything substantial that evening. It did give me confidence that the food was prepared to order (mostly at least), which is a BIG deal to my Dad - I always like to try to find a place that he will enjoy for our family dinners and he did seem happy with his meal - success! Everyone seemed very happy with their choices.

Brother-in-law's Piñon

My dad's pork tenderloin special

As soon as I got my lobster mofongo, I dug in, and gave Annie a few beans and pieces of it - she ate it up until getting a huge piece of lobster that apparently frightened her and she decided she was done with eating for the night (except for a mountain of grapes). The mofongo was excellent - it is described as a classic Puerto Rican dish made with plantains that are first fried,then mashed with garlic, salt pork, olive oil, salt, and pepper,using a mortar and pestle; then stuffed. It reminded me of a cornmeal type casserole dish in texture. It was stuffed with the lobster meat, and as pictured was on a bed of black beans with other veggies. I ate way more than I should have and felt seriously uncomfortable the rest of the night, but it was worth it! I need to remember that no matter how good something tastes, I AM 7 months pregnant and my stomach space is limited.

After we finished our meals, I was waiting and waiting to hear what the dessert special was... finally, my mom and sister finished and our server told us it was coconut tres leches cake, which excited me greatly. Since going to 112 Eatery, I love tres leches cake - and it's one of Ben's favorite desserts (I even made it for his last birthday). We originally were going to get 2 for the table, but decided on 3 and that was definitely a good choice as we devoured all 3 pieces extremely quickly - Annie would have for sure eaten all 3 pieces herself if we let her. This was delicious - almost like pudding and perfectly coconut flavored. A great way to end the meal! They usually have just one dessert option so it's luck of the draw - most that I heard of sounded great to me though.

I'm so glad we finally went to Caribe - we can get there without taking any major roads at all (aka University) but thankfully, light rail construction in our area is done so traffic isn't even a major issue like it was all spring/summer. I have heard awesome things about the brunch - they have several delicious sounding benedict options, so it'll probably be another one we hit up after I have this child - although Ben is already planning a return visit for lunch just to have the Cuban sandwich. It's debatable how kid friendly it is during dinner, but it would be fine during the day. It is a really cute place that's different from the usual spots - I highly recommend giving it a try!

Ben's Review
Erin struggled to find a place to go out to eat for her birthday this year, as we find ourselves going to the same places over and over again when we go with Annie. It’s just easier to go someplace that we know is kid friendly, rather than tempting fate with an unknown location.

She got several good recommendations about Caribe on Raymond Ave. in Saint Paul, in the old Jay’s Cafe location. (We never made it to Jay’s before it closed, though we live about a mile away). We got reservations for six adults and a toddler and headed over on Tuesday night.

To say that Caribe is small is an understatement. I think there’s room for about twenty people total to eat at once. In spite of the small size it didn’t feel cramped, nor did I feel like I was intruding on the other tables’ conversations. The lighting was dim but, again, not in an annoying way.

The dinner menu is small and fit on one page and while I was salivating the prospect of their Cuban sandwich, that was only on their lunch menu :( That just ensures that we’ll be going back at least one more time. Erin had been eagerly anticipating the mango and cheese empanadillas and was devastated when he told us they were actually out of them. He also mentioned that they were out of two of their entrees as well, the mahi mahi (which I was considering ordering) and the shrimp (which Erin’s mom was considering ordering). It’s a little frustrating when they have a small menu to begin with and then they have several items that are unavailable.

Luckily there were still plenty of items to choose from, so we made it through unscathed. I was tempted to get one of the specials, but Erin was already going to order it, so she convinced me to get the Jamaican Rundown, a coconut stew with some vegetables and crab served over rice. We all ordered and then played the game of trying to keep Annie entertained until our food arrived. Erin had some gifts to open and with six adults it’s a little easier keep her occupied than when it’s just Erin and me.

Our food came out two people at a time, with a few minutes in between each serving. This was good and bad, because it gave a little confidence that the food was prepared fresh, but it also meant that the first people to get served were over half done with their dish by the time the last people got served, oh well. My stew was a good, hearty winter dish. It actually reminded me of a non-spicy Thai curry, but with crab meat. The serving size was not huge, but certainly enough to fill you up. I thought Erin’s dish was better than mine and since she couldn’t finish hers I had ample opportunity to compare the two. In addition to hers tasting better, it was also the more interesting dish of the two, as mine was soup, more or less :)

I enjoyed our dinner at Caribe and will be going back for sure to try their Cuban sandwich. I would also be tempted to go back on a Wednesday night as it’s half price bottles of wine. I think this would definitely be a fun place to go without a kid next time.

Service: Our server was friendly and knowledgeable, just wish he would have told us what wasn’t available right away.
Food: Delicious food that is freshly prepared.
Drinks: Decent beer and wine list and half price bottles on Wednesday.
Ambiance: Despite the small size that I normally don’t care for, I really liked the ambiance, it was nice.
Convenience: Just north of University on Raymond, it’s probably much better now that the light rail construction has subsided.

Deets
Caribe Caribbean Bistro
791 Raymond Ave.
St. Paul

Victory 44

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:05:00 +0000

Visited on Sunday, December 11th with Kate & Kyle

Ben's Review
Erin made plans with Kate to meet for brunch this past Sunday so we headed over to north Minneapolis to try out Victory 44 at Kate’s suggestion.

I had heard of Victory 44 but didn’t know much about it. Erin described it as having two rooms, one a coffee shop and the other side more of a dining room. We arrived and found Kate and Kyle already seated on the empty dining room side as the tables there were better suited for four adults and a toddler. Oddly, at 10 am on a Sunday they had the Black Keys CRANKED up in the dining room, but they thankfully lowered the volume at our request.

Having not had coffee yet we quickly ordered some while we checked out the menu. The prices at Victory 44 are surprisingly reasonable. Eggs Benedict, which I have a hard time finding under $10 elsewhere, was $8.95 and after confirming that it was indeed two eggs and on Kyle’s recommendation I ordered it. Our server came out a little later and apologetically let us know that since they were out of ham, we’d have to have real bacon on ours instead. This marks the first time I’ve ever heard anyone apologize for having to serve bacon.

Checking the place out while we waited for our food, they seem to have a nice selection of beer and wine on hand and a good looking dinner menu. The dining room started to fill up while we were there and there was a healthy din to the place.

Our food came out and the first thing I noticed was that the portions were not the typical restaurant size, they were actually the size that human being SHOULD eat. Two smallish pieces of crusty bread were used for the eggs Benedict, with a poached egg and bacon. Rather than hash browns it came with a side of cheddar tots, which were hot and delicious. The hollandaise sauce was awesome, with a hint of mustard flavor that was perfect with the runny eggs.

I enjoyed Victory 44 and would love to try it for dinner sometime. If the quality of food matches what we had for brunch I won’t be disappointed.

Service: Service was good, I had a weird vibe at first, but our server was friendly.
Food: Excellent food and normal sized portions.
Drinks: Good looking beer list and good coffee.
Ambiance: Loud music at first, but they turned it down for us. Seemed friendly enough while we were there.
Convenience: For us, not very. It was a 20 minute drive from Saint Paul, but well worth it.

Erin's Review
Kate knows of my intense love for eggs benedict, and being also pregnant, knows that it's one of the saddest things to abstain from (for me at least) - she had been to Victory 44 several times, and thought the brunch was delicious, and had several amazing non-benedict options so invited us to join her there. I was very annoyed to find that my camera battery was just about dead when we got there, but I squeezed out enough photos and supplemented with iPhone pics for this review.

Kate's biscuits & gravy - the dish that caused her to recommend the place to me.

I was a bit confused about where the brunch was - if it was in the main dining room that opens at 11am (which seemed much fancier on the website than it was in reality) or in the cafe - it turned out it was served from the cafe, but since that area was full when we went, they seated us in the dining room, where Black Keys was blasting. Kate said they had just turned it up, and sadly for them, we asked them to turn it down. We're turning into "those people" (who am I kidding, we've always been "those people").

When perusing the menu for that day, I got a bit flustered dealing with Annie and just quickly chose the "malted waffle" - when I asked, she said it was a sweet waffle with a bit of malt powder in the batter, basically just a regular waffle - good to know :) I ordered Annie the yogurt parfait as there weren't any sort of muffins or anything available, which would have been a bit cheaper of an option for her since there was no sort of kids menu or pricing. I also ordered a vanilla latte, after seeing Kate's twit a few weeks prior that showed the beautiful design on the top of hers.

Regular coffee came out really quickly, but Kate and I had ordered lattes which were taking a lot longer. It was after 10am and I hadn't had any caffeine yet so I was pretty close to tweaking out about that. Luckily, it was worth the wait - they pour the milk tableside and somehow create the design on the top. Probably because of this, the lattes weren't super hot, but I think I've been a bit spoiled by ordering them "extra hot" everywhere else I go.

You can see the design even better in my iPhone pic

Our food came out pretty quickly - Kyle and Ben had both ordered the benedict, as if to taunt Kate and I - and it looked amazing. DEFINITELY a spot I'll be returning to when I am not with child just to have that. My waffle was very pretty as well - you can tell presentation is important to them, even for what felt like a casual weekend brunch. The server did comment that they made the parfait "child friendly" for Annie by putting it in a plastic cup instead of a wine glass - definitely a good choice :)

I was starving, so basically inhaled my waffle but from what I can remember it was light, crispy and fluffy - perfect. I was still hungry after eating that, so also had some of Annie's parfait, since there was no way she'd finish that. The side of cheesy tot things from the benedicts were enticing, so Kate and I ordered another side of those to split. They came out quickly as well and were piping hot. Definitely a good choice - after those I was pleasantly full. Annie really enjoyed them as well, as she does with most things involving cheese.

If I lived closer, Victory 44 would be an excellent option for a fairly affordable brunch (unless you order a bunch of extras like I did - like a more expensive drink, a side order, etc). I've also heard excellent things about their dinner as well. As mentioned, I'll be making the trek at least once more to try the benedicts!

Deets
Victory 44
2203 44th Avenue North
Minneapolis

To learn a lot more about this neighborhood, check out the post on Minneapolis 81.

Wilde Roast Cafe - New Location

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 01:38:00 +0000

Erin visited on Tuesday, December 6th with Rebekah

Our original review of Wilde Roast Cafe was written over 3 years ago now, and since that time I have been there quite a few times - for breakfast, just for coffee, and for dinner. It is one of my favorite spots in northeast for sure.

This past summer, Wilde Roast announced that they were moving to Main Street, along the river. This certainly appears to be a good move for them - lots of foot traffic in the summer, larger space and along with that a larger kitchen. However, convenience for many was definitely sacrificed. Parking is now a complete pain in the butt - unless you are lucky enough to get one of the metered spots out front. There are a few nearby ramps, but it does seem like this move will put an end to people doing several hours of work there while sipping coffee for the most part.

On Tuesday, Rebekah and I did make the trek over to Wilde Roast to check it out, do some work, and also grab lunch. We parked in a ramp a few blocks away that is attached to the Riverplace that is $2.50 during the day on weekdays at least, so not too bad. The space is much larger, but is a bit awkwardly laid out. There is a lot of dead space in the entryway, and then it seems to be divided into 2 areas - more of a cafe, with smaller tables and the couches and armchairs, and then a few steps up is the dining room. We sampled both areas during our time there. It is a beautiful space, with a lot of brick, dark wood, and tons of Christmas decor right now. It was still pleasantly busy, so the parking situation must really not be a drawback for most.

Despite the more upscale feel, it's still counter service - we ordered our lunches at the counter and moved to the dining area. My Reuben was one of the best I've had, and the fries were amazing. It all came out piping hot. The food at Wilde Roast has always been a hit for me - breakfast, lunch or dinner and this was no exception.

While it is a bit more of a hassle to get to Wilde Roast in their new location, I would definitely suggest making the effort. I'm interested to see how they change in the summer months with their new patio space - to me, this has always felt more like a cozy winter spot, but I'll be sure to come try it out in the summer months as well!

Deets

Wilde Roast Cafe

65 Main Street East

Minneapolis

Republic

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 02:09:00 +0000

Visited on Saturday, November 19th with Lori and Jeff

Ben's Review

On the same day that we went out for lunch at Cheeky Monkey Deli, we had also made plans to continue our child-free day and have dinner with our friends Jeff and Lori at Republic in the old Sgt. Preston’s location.

The snow had continued all afternoon and made for a gross five mile drive to 7 corners, but it wasn’t as bad as I had feared with the first snowfall of the season and we made it over there in fifteen minutes or so. It was strange to notice how different this area of town was in the years since we went to school here, Grandmas and Sgt. Preston’s are gone, as is................whatever was there before Corner Bar, and we noticed that Bullwinkle’s was now closed too.

They had just gone on a wait at Republic when we got in, but the host was just clearing off a table and told us we could have it, so we settled in while waiting for Jeff and Lori to arrive. Erin was starving and so ordered the spinach artichoke dip to nosh on while I pondered what I would have for my three beer flight. The flight is $10 for three eight ounce samples of beer. This can save you a buck or two if you choose the pricier beers on the menu. I went with Surly Wet (my only time this year having it), Stone Brewing Arrogant Bastard, and Odell Mercenary Double IPA as my options. The tap beer list is fantastic at Republic and getting to try three beers is awesome. When Jeff and Lori arrived he saw what I had and followed up with the exact same order.

I made an effort to not look at the food menu before we came so that I wouldn’t have my meal decided before I even stepped in the door. While Republic doesn’t have the largest menu, they do seem to have a reasonably diverse food offering, especially some of the appetizers like Serrano ham and ricotta fritters. Since I had a Cuban sandwich at lunch I wasn’t feeling like having a sandwich or a burger and decided on the beer battered fish and chips.

The spinach artichoke dip had been very good and only served to get me even hungrier. We were eating later than we normally do when Annie is around, and that coupled with my beers was making my stomach growl. Luckily our food came out not too long after we ordered and I was not disappointed.

My fish and chips came with homemade ketchup, tartar sauce, and some other white looking sauce that I couldn’t distinguish, but can only assume was mayonnaise. It was only after I was nearly done that I realized I hadn’t even tried the homemade ketchup as I had used the tartar sauce for my fish and fries. The fish was what you’d expect from battered and fried fish, and was very good, no big bites of just breading and no mushy fish anywhere. The fries were also good, hot, and well seasoned.

Predictably, Erin and Lori wanted to order dessert and since the prices were low we ordered three desserts to share between the four of us. We got the Caramel Pot de Creme, the Black & Tan pudding, and the Caramel Apple Cake. The reason for the low-ish prices was apparent when the desserts came out, as they are rather small, but I prefer it that way anyways. We all tried all three desserts and they were delicious and the perfect size to finish off an already large meal.

We really enjoyed Republic and the atmosphere there, as it’s a far cry from the drunk frat boy crowd that used to exist on weekends. Between that and the excellent beer list I can see us coming back here in the future.

Service: Service was good, they took care of us without bothering us.
Food: Good spinach artichoke dip and fish and chips, nothing crazy, just a good, clean fill.
Drinks: Awesome list of beers, the wine list doesn’t look as extensive, but I wouldn’t know.
Ambiance: It was busy at Republic without being so loud that you can’t hear anyone, I also like the remodeling they’ve done inside, much nicer than Sgt. Preston’s.
Convenience: We parked in the Holiday Inn ramp without bothering to look for street parking as it’s a pain in the ass as far as I’m concerned. Certainly buses are available as it’s right near campus.

Erin's Review

I'd heard about Republic a lot from my coworker Janelle, who is a big fan of craft brews in addition to dining out. (Definitely check out her website if you are a Minneapolis lover - a great way to find out about hidden gems in a number of the neighborhoods she's toured!). When reviewing our list lately, often Ben and I have a hard time getting really excited about going to a place. There are a few really nice places left on there that I definitely want to try, but for a normal Saturday out, our reasonably priced options are running thin. That makes us even more excited when a place like Republic opens up, because it's so obviously one that we would enjoy AND it's not too expensive at all. It's a good thing I don't really care about beer, so I didn't make Ben wait until March to go so I could drink too.

I was still battling a cold, but managed to spruce myself up that night a bit for our double date. We got there at 6:30, and it was definitely pleasantly full. It's a fairly dark restaurant - made taking photos a bit more difficult, but the ambiance was nice. I was surprised at just how much remodeling had taken place since Sgt. Preston's - the only thing that remained the same was the one stall bathroom, but thankfully it didn't retain the same odor from it's previous owner.

As Ben mentioned, I was starving when we got there, so I quickly ordered the first appetizer I saw that looked appealing - spinach and artichoke dip. It's been awhile since I had that at a restaurant, since it's frequently made at gatherings at my own house and others, but this definitely hit the spot. Once Jeff and Lori arrived, we all got to chatting, and waited awhile before ordering.

While Republic has a pretty good menu, nothing interesting was standing out to me, so I just went with an old standby of a bacon cheeseburger. The burger didn't come with fries, but since Ben had gotten some, I knew I'd be able to at least have a few. Our food seemed to come out relatively quickly, and everyone's dishes were well presented. I enjoyed my burger, but didn't feel it was anything particularly special. However, I could barely taste anything due to my cold anyway, so my judgement is probably off.

I hadn't noticed the dessert menu on our table tent, so when the waitress responded to my inquiry about dessert with a "yes", I was ecstatic. Lori and I couldn't narrow it down, so we got 3 - which turned out to be a great choice because they were quite small. My 2 favorites were the black and tan (chocolate and butterscotch pudding and whipped cream) and the caramel pots de creme. Yum!! They were the perfect size for one person, but since we were sharing, 3 was great.

Republic is definitely a welcome addition to the 7 corners area. I wonder if it is still a hangout for the traditional age college students anymore, because Town Hall and Republic definitely seem to cater to a slightly older crowd. Perfect for this almost 30 year old! I'm sure we'll be back, especially in summer to try out their excellent patio. If we actually went out more often than once a month, I could see this overtaking Maxwell's as our go-to spot (that we haven't been to for nearly a year)... I'll always have a special place in my heart for The Max, but Republic does have better food and beer and a good vibe.

Deets

Republic

221 Cedar Ave S

Minneapolis

Cheeky Monkey Deli

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:04:00 +0000

Visited on Saturday, November 19th

Erin's Review
Cheeky Monkey Deli is definitely one of those places that I'm surprised we haven't been to earlier. I think now that I realize it is so close and tasty, we'll be back more often! We took advantage of Ben's parents offer to watch Annie for the weekend, and despite me having a pretty nasty cold, braved the elements not once but TWICE on Saturday to go out to eat. While Annie does enjoy eating out, our options are a bit limited with her in tow. Lately we've been loving places like Chipotle, smashburger, Longfellow and Highland Grill simply because Annie likes the meals on their kids menus and they are often loud (side note - I actually had NO idea Chipotle even had kids meals, but they do and they are reasonably healthy and cheap!).

Despite the fact that WE were without a toddler, everyone else at Cheeky Monkey had theirs with them! It was still nice to be able to know that we didn't have to deal with one, even if it did get a bit loud in there. So now we know - this place is definitely kid friendly, at least for lunch and brunch! On weekends from 10-2, they have a brunch menu in addition to their typical lunch menu. At night, it turns into more of a bistro. I'd definitely like to try this place for dinner as well.

It was a little before noon when we got there, so I was debating between brunch and lunch. In the end, my sweet tooth won out, so I went with the brioche french toast topped with berry compote and mascapone butter. This was divine - I got the smaller order and honestly think I could have polished off the large order myself! It didn't come with anything, and I had a hankering for some meat so I got bacon on the side. Sausage would have been my first choice, but that wasn't an option. I actually am not usually a fan of plain bacon, but theirs was a perfect mix of chewy and crispy, and not too greasy.

I also got a cup of decaf to sip on before and after I ate my french toast (I'm not a fan of hot drinks while eating a hot meal) since I'd already had my caffeine allotment for the day at home. The coffee was good, but they didn't bring out nearly enough sugar for me, as usual :)

I decided to leave the big camera at home and try out Ben's new iPhone 4s for photos for this review - all of these are without any editing. While obviously my DSLR does a better job, the iPhone camera has left my point-and-shoot camera in the dust, as long as there is sufficient light available!

All in all, I really liked Cheeky Monkey - the ambiance was pleasant and the staff was friendly. My food was delicious and I definitely would like to come back to try more!

Ben's Review
My parents offered to take Annie for the weekend, so Erin and I made use of our time without Annie by going out to lunch on Saturday, right as the snow was starting to move in.

Erin had picked Cheeky Monkey Deli and after I checked out the menu and location, I was on-board. I’m always more inclined to go somewhere close, especially because you knew the roads would be ridiculous with the first messy snow of the season (and that turned out to be true).

We rolled into the parking lot just a few minutes before noon and grabbed one of the many tables that were available. It wasn’t very full there yet, but it was heavily slanted towards families for some reason. Moms and dads with two or more kids mostly, so it was surprisingly hectic. I had not realized they had beer and wine and being that we had a day of absolutely nothing going on, I ordered a beer (Sweet child of vine) at 11:50.

In spite of all the kids there, I enjoyed the ambiance. By this time there was a nice looking snowfall through the large windows out front and the decor inside is clean and cozy. I especially liked their blackboards as they had some art on them in addition to the menu.

Having looked at the menu before we went, I knew they had a Cuban sandwich and I KNEW that’s what I was going to order. I’m totally addicted to these sandwiches, they’re so f-ing good. The sandwiches don’t come with a side, so I reluctantly decided to add on some homemade potato chips, even though I knew I wouldn’t be that hungry for them.

Our food came out soon enough and I was pleasantly surprised at how hot my sandwich was, it nearly hurt to hold onto. It didn’t feel like a “heat lamp” heat either, it seemed genuinely hot off the press, and it was just as delicious with a great mix of pork, ham, cheese, mustard, and pickles. The homemade potato chips were just OK, they had a bit too much oil on them so some of them weren’t crispy at all. While they were called “salt and pepper chips”, I didn’t taste any pepper and hardly any salt. I prefer fries anyways and the sandwich certainly filled me up, so it was no big deal.

Being that it was just lunch, Erin managed to hold off on dessert for now :) We hung around for a bit and reveled in the fact that we had no schedule today. On the way out we snapped some photos with my phone (the whole review is from my phone, in fact) and then braved the 1” of snow to get home.

Service: Service was just fine, it looks like sometimes it might be counter service as they had a place for a line to queue up, but we received full service.
Food: Excellent Cuban sandwich and so-so potato chips.
Drinks: Beer and wine, with a decent list of each.
Ambiance: It was a mix of families and older couples today and not much in between. Other than some loud kids it was pleasant.
Convenience: They have a parking lot with a few spaces, which is great, otherwise you’ll be parking on Selby. Probably plenty of bus service too.

Deets
Cheeky Monkey Deli
525 Selby Ave
St. Paul

The Lexington

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:09:00 +0000

Visited on Sunday, October 2nd

Ben's Review

I was out of town on the day of our actual anniversary, so we went out last Sunday for a belated anniversary dinner. I gave Erin a few options of places to go and she waited until Sunday to decide on The Lexington so she could determine what kind of food she was in the mood for.

My sister Becca came over around 5:30 to hang out with Annie for the night and we headed out. Sunday was the start of a gorgeous week in the twin cities and it was a great night to be outside. The Lexington is a short drive from our house and we got a parking spot on Grand Ave, right in front. Grand was surprisingly dead for a nice weekend evening, as was The Lexington. Erin had made reservations earlier in the day, but they were not needed at all. We opted to sit in the bar area, as I liked the decor and the lighting better, but there were plenty of tables in the dining room as well.

I perused the drink menu after we had been seated and was immediately drawn to the sazerac cocktail, made with bourbon, bitters, and a bit of absinthe. I had thought that this would be served up by default, but mine came in a small glass on the rocks. Not sure what the “right” way is here, but it was still a good cocktail. We were also served a basket of bread with butter, which is always a hit with us, and this was no exception.

I briefly considered steak or seafood, but the prices turned me off - they seemed higher than some steakhouses in town and I doubted it would be as good. The chicken breast stuff with crab and asparagus sounded delicious and it came with Bearnaise sauce and a side of herbed risotto.

Our food came out and it looked great. I started with the chicken and it did indeed have asparagus inside, but I couldn’t really discern any crab meat and the Bearnaise sauce was just OK, it was overly salty and richer than I thought it ought to be. The risotto was good, but I prefer Erin’s home cooked risotto better (I don’t have the patience to make it well :). Overall I was a little disappointed in my meal. I was expecting a great meal from a restaurant that has been around for as long, and with as great a reputation, as The Lexington.

Being that it was a nice night out we had planned to walk down to Cafe Latte for dessert (for Erin), but our server surprised us with a free dessert for our anniversary. The dessert was some sort of pastry with a chocolately, marshmallowy mess inside, but it was pretty damn good. We picked at it a bit, but kind of had our heart set on going to Cafe Latte, so we still went over there and Erin enjoyed an amazing lemon cream torte that I snagged a few bites of.

Overall I had a great evening out, but I chalk that up to my company and the weather. Sadly, I can’t recommend going to The Lexington, with plenty of other places to spend a special night out.

Service: The service was the bright spot at The Lexington. The hosts were incredibly friendly, as was the server. The free dessert helped :)

Food: The food was fine, but I was expecting more.

Drinks: Full bar with a good menu of specialty cocktails. The drink menu on the web site must be out of date because I don’t see the sazerac that I ordered.

Ambiance: I was glad we sat in the bar instead of the dining room, it looked a little stuffy in there and the bar area was plenty nice for me, plus they have a very nice bar to look at, which is better to me than any sort of wall decorations any day.

Convenience: Lexington and Grand can be an annoying intersection, but it was no problem for us on a Sunday night.

Erin's Review

Ben gave me a few options from the list to choose from for our anniversary. After looking at the menus, The Lexington stood out purely for their "signature" mac and cheese. Yes, kind of lame, but that's what I wanted that night. After announcing that we were going on twitter, someone recommended sitting in the bar. When we got there for our 6pm reservation, which was in the dining room, I did elect to have us sit in the bar since the vibe just seemed a little less formal in there.

We sat for awhile before ordering, Ben got his drink and I ordered a kiddie cocktail. Places that have actual good non-alcoholic cocktails are becoming amazing to me lately. It seems pretty rare. We then order and get our bread. We both changed from "The Lex" salad to a house salad because of neither of us likes olives.

Salads come out shortly after, and they are pretty bad - overdressed, and the tomatoes taste like they were refrigerated and from the middle of January. Pretty sad, considering they could have just, you know, gone outside and plucked some fresh ones, but oh well.

My macaroni and cheese with lobster was realllllllly good, by far the best part about the experience. I could only eat about 7 bites before I was completely full, but it was good for lunch the next day too. This was a great meal - you can choose 2 different things to go in your mac and cheese (a few meats and some veggies) but I just wanted the lobster. It's definitely rich!

We were then informed that we were getting a free dessert, which I figured we'd take even though we also planned to walk to Cafe Latte for dessert. It was chocolate and marshmallow in a pastry, and I also got decaf coffee. The dessert was also very rich, and I wanted to save SOME of my appetite for my 2nd dessert as well so we didn't eat it all.

I did like the ambiance of The Lexington, and some of the food was good. I can't say I'd go back since there are about a zillion other fancy places in the cities that are far better, but I'm glad we finally tried it after driving by for years.

Deets

The Lexington

1096 Grand Ave

St. Paul

Shanghai Bistro - Stillwater

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:37:00 +0000

Visited on Sunday, September 11th

Erin's Review

So, as some of you may have guessed by the lack of posts here for a long time, or knew if you read my other blog or follow me on twitter, I am pregnant! And haven't really wanted to go out to eat to any new or exciting restaurants for awhile. At nearly 4 months pregnant, I'm just now starting to get my appetite back, so hopefully we can resume more regular posting... I'd been bugging Ben for a date since we went to the U2 concert, and finally we got it arranged - decided on an weekend afternoon so hopefully I wouldn't be as tired.

I got a few recommendations of restaurants from people on twitter - one was Shanghai Bistro. I'd been craving sushi for awhile, so that was my choice. I had pretty good luck when we went to Ronin during my first pregnancy with cooked sushi and them being accommodating about altering rolls, so I was hoping this would be the same.

When we got there, we discovered that this was the same location as the former Stones, which we'd been to a couple times. It appeared that they'd changed absolutely nothing about the patio - I even recognized the same furniture. It's a nice patio, so it's not like they needed to change much. There were tons of open spots on the patio - kind of odd for a nice weekend night. I think most people maybe want a view of the river? The inside was totally empty and dark.

We were seated immediately, and our server came out and took our drink order. I said I wanted something fruity and non-alcoholic and explained I am pregnant, and she recommended a fruity blended drink that was pretty tasty. I'm not sure what it was as it isn't on the menu online, but it involved coconut and strawberry. We also immediately ordered crab rangoons, which I loved but may have ruined my appetite for my meal. The bees DEFINITELY loved my drink - thankfully the garnish served as a way to keep them away.

I explained to the server that I could only have cooked sushi rolls and asked if they could make any substitutions for me. She seemed wary - and helpfully let me know that she has been told that pregnant women can have 6oz of raw fish a week. Whatever, lady. I'm certainly not about to take that risk at some random sushi restaurant in Stillwater, and I'm NOT taking pregnancy advice on what I can eat from a 20 year old. Whatever. So I said that I wasn't comfortable with that and would only be eating cooked fish. Then I asked if the California Roll was cooked - she said no. I said... are you sure? (because I know it is at every place I've ever been) and she said she would check. She came back, informed me they could bake any roll for me, and had forgotten to ask about the California Roll. I made her go back, and she found out that yes, indeed, it is cooked. So I got that, along with one roll with eel and shrimp tempura where they were willing to remove the one additional raw fish from the roll. So a lot of fiasco for not anything THAT exciting.

Once I actually got the sushi, it was pretty good, although the California Roll seemed a bit lacking - just the crab and avocado. It seemed most other places have a bit more going on. The other roll (Red Dragon) was quite good, but fell apart really easily. This was where I really could tell how much my appetite has gone down - normally I could down these 2 rolls no problem, but I could barely finish half and nearly had to run for the nearest trash can when I had one too many rolls after I was full. Not my finest moment, but thanks to a jolly rancher, I was once again good to go.

After that, I was pretty much done and completely full. We had intended to check out Nelson's Ice Cream after dinner but I couldn't even fathom having room in my stomach for that! Next time for sure. I've yet to go to a restaurant in Stillwater that really wowed me... this one was fine, but nothing special. Next time I plan to try dock cafe, which was also recommended.

Ben's Review

Since we hadn’t really been out without Annie since the U2 concert in July, we arranged to have Erin’s sister Liz watch Annie on Sunday evening while we went to spend a couple hours in Stillwater.

Erin got a couple recommendations of restaurants in Stillwater and decided on Shanghai Bistro as she was wanting some sushi (of the non-raw fish variety). We arrived in Stillwater a little after 4, with plans to walk around Main St. until dinnertime. We happened to park right in front of the restaurant, and it turns out we had been there a couple years earlier when it was called Stones.

We made our way back to the restaurant around 6 and easily got a table on the patio. I had seen earlier that there was a band that would be playing so I made sure we sat on the other side of the patio so it wouldn’t annoy me. Little did I know that it was just two dudes playing acoustic covers of some awesome songs. I heard some CSNY, Oasis, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, amongst the sweet cover songs they played. For ONCE I was actually enjoying the live music at a restaurant!

I saw the cucumber martini that sounded good and ordered that while Erin quickly ordered the crab rangoons with no hesitation. Shanghai Bistro has some standard Asian food and I was tempted to get my all time fave (but very boring) sesame chicken. At the last minute, I decided to go with the moo shu pork, but was then stymied by the fact that they were out of the batter for the stupid pancakes! With nothing to fall back on I got the sesame chicken :(

The martini and crab rangoons were both good. The martini definitely had something extra like simple syrup or something, because it was incredibly sweet; nothing like the pleasant face slap of cold vodka that I was expecting. For $10 I expect nothing to be watered down, especially with sugar. I don’t mind a little liver damage, but I will not tolerate extra sugar in my diet.

After Erin’s deliberations with our server about her sushi, our food came out after a few minutes. I got a hearty sized bowl of breaded and fried chicken along with a separate bowl of rice. Our server even brought out some chili oil and sriracha for me to jazz it up a bit, which I appreciated.

The sesame chicken was everything you expect and demand - all white meat chicken, breaded and fried with a little sesame sauce. It was certainly better than typical delivery places in the cities, but nothing spectacular. For $10 it fit the bill. I ate nearly all of it, as that stuff doesn’t do well for lunches the next day. I also finished off my meal with a dessert cocktail of an old fashioned, which oddly enough tasted to have less simple syrup than my martini, go figure.

Service: Eh, this was just ok. Erin had to have some back and forth about the sushi and then she was even telling Erin how much fish a pregnant woman could have. As if she was going to take any pregnancy advice from our server.
Food: The food was good, but nothing special.
Drinks: Decent beer and wine list, with a full bar. Avoid the specialty martinis.
Ambiance: Awesome cover band and a chill patio crowd on a Sunday night. There were actually a lot of children and families.
Convenience: Shanghai Bistro is right on Main St in Stillwater. We even got a parking spot right out front.

Deets

Shanghai Bistro

324 Main Street

Stillwater

World Street Kitchen - Minneapolis Street Food

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:20:00 +0000

Visited on Thursday, August 4th with Scott

Ben's Review

Erin has been wanting me to go downtown and meet her for lunch at one of the food trucks that now exist in Minneapolis. A couple weeks ago I biked downtown from home and met her and Scott for a trip to the World Street Kitchen food truck located near 5th St and Nicollet.

I started noticing the buzz around food trucks last year when an ordinance was passed that relaxed many of the restrictions on them and they seem to have exploded this year in downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Nearly every day on twitter I see several people hitting up different food trucks and the food has looked amazing.

Since Erin works downtown she has had a chance to try several of them out and wanted me to try World Street Kitchen. I met Erin and Scott outside Erin’s building and we walked over to the truck’s location. Erin had seen that they had ran out of gas (??) and had to run to get more, so we weren’t even sure if they were operation yet, luckily they had solved their issues and were indeed serving food.

WSK helpfully twits a picture of their menu everyday, so we knew what was available before we got there. I was absolutely starving after biking in so I wanted whatever was the largest portion. Erin said the spicy beef torta was good and large, so my mind was made up. I also got a Mexican coke, as those are too good to turn down.

The order taker at WSK also uses Square on an iPhone to accept credit card payments, which was cool to use, this was the first time I’d seen Square out in the wild. After you order you get a ticket stub and then you hang back and wait for the people in the truck to call out your number. The numbers do not appear to be sequential as they were calling out numbers all over the place.

After what felt like a half hour we FINALLY got our numbers called and raced to get our food. I was going crazy by this point and we still had to walk to a nearby courtyard to enjoy our food.

My torta was indeed very large and incredibly tasty. The beef was tender and juicy and it also had cheese in the pressed sandwich. The bread was kind of tough, which made it kind of battle to rip a bite out of it, but it was well worth the effort. After wolfing down my sandwich I tried some of Erin’s rice bowl which was delicious and deceptively large. Even though I was hungry as hell, the rice bowl would have done the trick just as well as the beef torta.

I really enjoyed my first food truck experience and the fact that there are several more means that I’ll probably be making my way downtown for a couple more lunches this summer, especially given that I work fairly close by these days.

Service: There isn’t much service at a food truck by definition. The order taker was a friendly guy, but our food did take awhile to get, probably an isolated experience though.
Food: Excellent food and freshly made.
Drinks: WSK has some soda, water, and juices, no alcohol or hot drinks
Ambiance: You’d think this wouldn’t even apply, but there is a crowd of people milling about waiting for their food, so this actually does give some ambiance. Mostly people making small talk while straining to hear their number called.
Convenience: If you work in one of the downtowns, these are really convenient and a great way to get some lunch on a nice summer day.

Erin's Review
I've been loving the food trucks all around downtown Minneapolis this summer. I've eaten at them way too many times, but I'm trying to sample a lot of them before the cold creeps in and I don't want to leave the skyways! So far my favorite, partly due to proximity to my work, is World Street Kitchen, which is owned by the same people as Saffron. Like most food trucks, the menu changes daily depending on what they've got cooking up, but there are some staples. I've had the opportunity to visit WSK a few times, so I will report on those visits in addition to this one with Ben and Scott.

Almost every time I've gone, unless it's before noon or after 12:45, there is a fairly significant line, but it moves quickly. This particular time it took the longest to get our food, but that could be because I think they prep a lot of similar items together and Ben and I ordered different things. Who knows. It really wasn't THAT long, we were just starving and hot so it felt like forever! At this visit, I finally decided to try the chicken yum yum rice bowl, after hearing Scott rave about the veggie bowl many times. I LOVED it - it probably was my favorite thing I've gotten there, depending on what you're in the mood for. It certainly offers the most food. It comes with a ton of basil, cilantro, rice, something crunchy (not quite sure exactly what it is but it was my favorite part), delicious and flavorful chicken, more veggies and, the proverbial cherry on top is definitely the slightly runny egg that you can mix in with everything. Seriously so good. It's been off the menu for a few days, and there has definitely been some push back from loyal fans about it on twitter!

Chicken

Veggie

After this particular visit, I forced Ben to walk with me ALL the way down to 10th and Nicollet (he was a bit peeved) to get a cupcake from the Cupcake food truck. In order to make this an experience worthy of a blog post, I needed to visit 2 trucks in one day :) Worth the walk, but I was still so stuffed from my rice bowl that I had to wait to eat the cupcake until later in the day. I got Lemon Raspberry, and I actually liked it a lot better than the cupcakes I've had from their main store on University, oddly enough.

Other items I have sampled on my visits to WSK are pictured below, with my brief review. Summary: I've loved everything I've had, with my tops definitely being the bahn mi and the yum yum rice bowl.

Smokey Beef Torta - my first visit to WSK back in early June. This was very good - I was glad it was pulled beef versus a big slab since that's easier to eat. Also had cheese, and mine had some avocado pieces. Ben's had peppers. Ben mentioned the bread was tough - I do not remember this, and I would because I hate that, so perhaps Ben is just a pansy.

Curry chicken banh mi - my other favorite! Everything about this is awesome. The flavorful pulled chicken, simmered in a curry sauce, the variety of crisp fresh veggies, and the soft bread that is crunchy on the exterior yet easy to bite through (my main complaint of many baguettes). This was the perfect amount of food for me. My 2nd WSK visit, only 2 days after my first :)

Finally, the chicken pita sandwich, which I just had a few days ago. This is a new menu item, and the day after I went, they posted this explanation of it on twitter: Shawirma aka middle eastern gyros: marinated chicken, Turkish pickles, french fries and garlic sauce wrapped in pita bread.

I basically had no idea what I was getting here, so I was a bit thrown by the combination, but it was definitely good and SUPER filling.

If it's not obvious, I love this place. The street food movement has been awesome for expanding my lunch time variety - I've managed to visit quite a few so far this summer and hope to try out more before they go into hiding for the winter! A great directory of all the known food trucks can be found at MSP Street Food.

Deets

World Street Kitchen

Location varies - check twitter feed for details. Typically on 5th between Nicollet and Marquette during the lunch hour

Minneapolis

Masu Sushi & Robata

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:59:00 +0000

Visited on Thursday, June 2nd

Erin's Review

I originally heard about Masu from Kate, and Heavy Table. Once I saw the post on Shooting the Kitchen, that sealed the deal for me - we needed to go, and fast! We aren't usually this quick with visiting new restaurants, but hearing about it from so many places and a huge craving for sushi did it for me. I had heard the service totally sucked, but the food was awesome so I was mentally prepared for that experience.

We got there around 7:30, and I jumped on the few open seats I saw at the sushi bar. I've always wanted to sit at the sushi bar, but never end up doing it because we're usually out with a bigger group. We took advantage of being a party of 2 that night, and I'd highly recommend doing this if you go to Masu, because I think that is a big part of what made the experience so fun for us. We started off ordering drinks, and not being a big drinker anymore, I really loved that Masu had a good selection of non-alcoholic beverages that were actually something other than soda and lemonade. I did end up getting a sparkling berry lemonade, but it tasted nothing like the sickeningly sweet stuff you'd get most other places.

A few servers helped us throughout the night, and I'm pleased to report that we never experienced poor service at any point in the evening. My water glass was kept full, and everyone answered our questions patiently. Since we are used to eating at 5:30 with Annie, we were pretty starving by that point, so quickly ordered the crispy pork kara-age appetizer. It came out quickly, and was enticing enough to get the people next to us to ask what we were eating. These were tasty and addicting - not too chewy, but had good structure and weren't overly greasy despite being fried.

To sample some robata, we chose the bacon wrapped asparagus and beef and burdock rolls. The asparagus was crisp and had a bright flavor, while the bacon was pretty chewy which made for a good combination. Surprisingly, I LOVED the beef and burdock rolls, which were a recommendation of one of our servers. These were very tender and not tough at all,which is my typical complaint of beef.

It is always difficult for me to make a decision on what rolls to order at sushi places, as if I had my way, I'd order about 10 and try one piece of each. We again went with the recommendation of the server and got the rainbow roll, basically because of the wide variety of fish it sampled. I knew I wanted spicy tuna, and eel nigiri as well. I love caterpillar rolls, but didn't see any rolls with eel on the menu. Since it was offered as nigiri, I'm not sure why that is, but the eel nigiri was very good. I loved seeing the sushi chef preparing our order. This fish all tasted very fresh and there was a good balance in the rolls between veggies, rice and fish. This is definitely some of the best sushi I've had in the cities!

The atmosphere at Masu was really low key but fun. It wasn't that loud, and I could best describe the crowd as yuppie hipster. The place was full when we went there, and from all accounts I've heard, is typically pretty busy. The decor is very colorful and vibrant - I love the wall art, and the sushi bar is beautiful. The row of games in the bar also provides something interesting that you aren't likely to see at other places.

Masu has a great combination of a great vibe, excellent food and (at least when we were there) good service. I'll definitely be back!

Ben's Review

Erin had been craving sushi for a bit so we arranged for the neighbors to watch Annie a couple weeks ago while we tried out Masu Sushi & Robata in NE Mpls, a newish place that has been getting some high praise lately.

Masu is located across the street from Whitey’s on E. Hennepin; I dropped Erin off at the door and found a meter about a block away to park. I found Erin at the beautiful sushi bar which, it turns out, is made from reclaimed lumber dating back to the 1850’s. The bar is shaped like a “J” with the curved end cap blocking off the bar as well as the three sushi chefs, which is where we sat. These seats are great as the sushi chefs give you quite a show as they prepare the sushi for the entire restaurant. For one of the rolls they even break out a propane torch to roast the top a bit, very cool.

Masu has several specialty cocktails that I felt obligated to try instead of a plain old martini. I went with the “Double Precious” (that’s my nickname, actually) which is described as a “Sparkling Jasmine Gin Elderflower Martini”. At this point in my life I have relegated myself to the fact that these drinks will never be strong enough for my liking, which really makes them a waste of money, but it sounded good, so what the hell. It was very tasty, but I probably could have pounded the whole thing, it was fairly sweet.

Having never heard of “robata” we had the server explain it to us; it’s a way of cooking the food on a charcoal grill. All of the robata options were in the $3-$6 range and are intended to give each person a bite or two. Our server recommended a couple orders of robata items and a couple sushi items. We got two robata and one regular appetizer: asparagus wrapped in bacon, beef and burdock rolls, and crispy pork kara-age. All of these were delicious and served beautifully as you can see from the pictures.

For sushi we ordered two rolls, the rainbow and spicy tuna, and one order of eel nigiri. Again, sitting at the bar we were watching them make all of the sushi, guessing which order would be ours. It was cool to see it all come together into the final presentation that you see in the photos. I enjoy sushi, and while I’m certainly not a connoisseur, this tasted great.

After putting back my precious martini in quick order, I got an old fashioned. This was much better suited to my tastes and was, as with everything else, delicious.

I had a lot of fun at Masu and definitely plan to be back in the future.

Service: The service was good at the bar, it seemed like all the servers wait on everyone because we were helped by a couple different servers during our stay.
Food: Awesome food, absolutely delicious
Drinks: They have several “fun” cocktails and sake, as well as a full bar.
Ambiance: Loud, but not overwhelming. We don’t sit at the bar often, but I was surprised to find that I liked it better than sitting at a table. In a loud environment it’s obviously easier to talk to someone when they are right next to you.
Convenience: This area is hit or miss (I feel like I say that for every place we go), but we always manage to park without much trouble.

Deets

Masu Sushi & Robata

330 East Hennepin

Minneapolis

Black Forest Inn

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 02:02:00 +0000

Visited on Friday, May 27 with Jake and Allison

Ben's Review

Erin heard about spargelfest at Black Forest Inn and wanted to check it out. Her parents took Annie up to the cabin one day early on Memorial Day weekend, so we took the opportunity to meet our friends Jake and Allison for dinner before heading up ourselves on Friday night.

I had heard that Black Forest Inn had a great patio, but I wasn’t really excited to try this place out. After having what I considered to be bland, uninteresting food in Germany during our honeymoon, I had written off their food entirely. Spargelfest sounded cool, and I do like asparagus, so we headed over after work.

It was cold out the day we went, so the patio wasn’t going to happen, which was unfortunate. The inside of Black Forest Inn reminded me of the beer halls in Germany with the high, painted ceilings, the woodwork, and the customers and staff.

We had arrived early which gave us plenty of time to look over the menu and consider our options. I started with a beer (Erin insisted that I get a German beer, which I was going to anyway) and got the Paulaner Salvator.

I was surprised at how much of the food actually seemed good, not what my prejudiced mind was expecting, which was nice. I actually didn’t end up getting any spargelfest specialty, but I made sure to try Erin’s asparagus soup. I went traditional and got the bratwurst dinner which consisted of two bratwurst links, hot German potato salad, sauerkraut, and rye bread. I also noticed that they had a maibock mentioned on the spargelfest menu that was not on the beer list, so I got a maibock with my meal as well (can’t recall the brand now).

I was amazed at how good this food was. I don’t know if I just happened to get bad food in Germany, or if my tastes have changed in the past five years. The bratwurst was excellent, and I even slightly enjoyed my sauerkraut. The best part though, was the hot potato salad. I had breezed over the word ‘hot’ in the menu and was expecting the cold variety that we know and love. This potato salad was phenomenal and I fully intend to try making this at home because it cannot be that difficult.

Jake and I also got to have the lion’s share of Erin’s pork because she had ordered a ridiculously sized portion for herself and found herself not really needing her third slab of meat. Needless to say we left incredibly full and with leftovers for the cabin.

Service: The service was just OK, it took awhile to get our drinks and orders taken. Our server changed halfway through, so there must have been a shift change or something going on.
Food: The food was excellent and the portions were huge.
Drinks: Small beer list, but they have light and dark German beers and a couple macro brews.
Ambiance: Kind of loud and boisterous, while also friendly, which also reminded me of Germany.
Convenience: Black Forest Inn actually has a parking lot, which I did not realize. We parked on the street, and we’ve always managed to find a close street spot when we come to this area.

Erin's Review

Like many places on our list, I'd been wanting to go to Black Forest Inn for many many years. German food just isn't high on my wish list, however. The patio was the biggest selling point for me, so I was pretty disappointed that it was cold and raining on the day we planned to go. I do definitely think we'll have to go back sometime to sit on the patio, because it looks beautiful!

Ben and I took our honeymoon, now 5.5 years ago, to Germany, and Jake and Allison just went on a trip to Germany last year, so it was fun for all of us to reminisce about our time in the FATHERLAND (not Motherland as I sometimes have been known to mistakenly say).

I was having a REALLY hard time figuring out what to order. I started off with a refreshing root beer, and then stared at the menu for a good 20 minutes while we waited for Jake and Allison to show up. I knew I wanted SOMETHING with asparagus, and wanted a pretzel. Those were my basic requirements.

Finally I decided to order the asparagus soup as a starter - it was creamy and delicious, with mostly pureed asparagus but with enough chunks to make it interesting. It brought back pleasant memories of the asparagus soup I had in Amsterdam on the last night of our vacation in Europe 2 years ago.

After MUCH deliberation, I decided to go with the hausplatte - it was described on the menu as "A generous sampling of rippchen, bratwurst, polish sausage, red cabbage, sauerkraut, and potato salad. Served with a fresh-baked pretzel and homemade mustard". I mistakenly thought that this would be a "sample" plate - which is what it said on the menu. But no. This was FULL portions of EACH of those meats, PLUS a pretzel and full orders of each of those sides. Um. A bit much for me, you could say. I did think this was DELICIOUS - especially the pretzel. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the "rippchen" which was some kind of huge slab of pork. No thanks. Anyway - my advice is that this plate is PLENTY for two people. I made good headway with the brat and potato salad, and some saurkraut but that was about it. Far too much for one or even probably two people. Despite the solo pretzels not being anywhere that I could see on the menu, you can just order one on the side. Probably a better idea than ordering an enormous meal just because it came with a pretzel. Oh well, live and learn.

Black Forest Inn was friendly and inviting - everyone seemed to be having a great time. Upon looking at their website, they have a kids menu and I saw plenty of high chairs too. We might have to go back with Annie in tow for a patio visit later this summer.

Deets

Black Forest Inn

1 East 26th Street

Minneapolis

Grand Cafe

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 20 May 2011 01:04:00 +0000

Visited on Sunday, May 8th

Erin's Review

Whenever I hear Grand Cafe, I get confused and think that it's in St. Paul. When Ben initially suggested it for Mother's Day brunch, I wasn't too excited, but once I looked at their website and menu I definitely realized the error of my ways on both counts.

We got there a little late for our reservation, since Ben had spent the night at a friend's house the previous night and we were a little slow to get ready that morning. It was definitely packed when we got there, so a reservation was key. I think that Grand Cafe actually looks much more casual than it would appear on their website. It's certainly a cute little place, but for brunch and lunch at least is quite casual. Most people were a little dressed up since it was a special occasion, but nothing crazy. (Ha - clearly not everyone since the dude in the middle of the photo is just in a white undershirt)

Annie and this little girl stared at each other for the majority of the meal

They had eggs benedict, so I knew what I was getting right off the bat. There was actually a special menu, but I saw people with items that weren't on the menu, like blueberry pancakes, so it seems they were offering the normal menu as well. There is no kids menu, so when Ben chose the Huevos Rancheros, I figured Annie could just have some of that. I also wanted something sweet, so asked about the pastries of the day. They had a lemon poppyseed scone that was good enough for me - not what I would have chosen if I had all the options in the world, but did the trick. We ordered coffee right away, I loved the cute presentation of the cream and sugar.

My scone wasn't that great - I've made much much better at home. The best scone I've ever had outside of my kitchen is still the cinnamon scone at Cafe Patteen in downtown Minneapolis. I need to make the trek back over there soon. I'm sure, like most things, it would have been delicious right out of the oven, but it was a bit dry and dense for my tastes. I still ate it up, offering a few bites to Annie who enjoyed it as well.

I ended up being swayed from the ham to the housemade gravlax (salmon) for my benedict. I was so glad I got that - DELICIOUS. I loved the combination of the salty fish, rich hollandaise, and asparagus. The egg was the most perfectly poached egg I've had since the eggs benedict at Barbette, and might tie for my favorite eggs benedict I've ever had. Seeing as I have it as often as possible, that is very high praise! I didn't even eat many of the potatoes since I wanted to save my appetite for the eggs, but Annie seemed to like them.

Grand Cafe does have high chairs, but isn't a place I would label as kid friendly due to their lack of kids menu - they might be willing to make something, but since they don't offer it, I'm guessing they don't really want the little ones around too much. Oh yeah, and the bathroom was so huge I just had to take a photo there too, since I conveniently had my camera around my neck.

I'd definitely like to return to see what this place is like for dinner.

Ben's Review

Erin helpfully gave me a list of places that I, should maybe, consider for Mother’s Day brunch. Looking over the list I tried Grand Cafe first, hoping that they would still have reservations available ten days prior. I never know how early these things fill up, but apparently ten days is plenty of time at Grand Cafe because we got it right at the time I wanted, 10am, for two adults and a toddler.

I was at a friend’s going away party the night before, so I had to hustle home around 8am after crashing on Jake and Allison’s front porch. Not much Sunday morning traffic so I got home with time to clean up and get ready to go. We got a bit of a late start on the drive, so I called and said we’d be a few minutes late, and they seemed very appreciative.

We rolled up right at 10:05 and I dropped Erin off at the door so she could claim our table while I parked. The on-street parking was full in this area of south Minneapolis, but I managed to find a spot about a block away. I walked in and found Erin already at our table, a booth on the north side of the restaurant.

I think the booths are slightly raised, or the seats are just close to the table, because I felt very tall sitting there, as if I could see over everyone else. There was a large table in the middle of the room that looked like it would fit in a residential dining room. They had sat two separate parties of two at each end of the table. You would think that it would be awkward to share a large table with another couple, but they managed to pull this off very nicely, and I normally hate restaurants that squeeze the tables in, but this seemed to protect both couples’ privacy better for some reason.

The breakfast menu at Grand Cafe is not huge but they seem to have all of the bases covered. After a bit of indecision I was convinced by the pork confit to try the huevoes rancheros, which always brings to mind a big, sloppy mess on the plate. Surprisingly, Grand Cafe makes them not so messy, and absolutely delicious. The tortilla on the bottom of the plate soaked up the mess from the beans, pork, eggs, and the homemade mole to perfection. This was easily the best huevoes rancheros I’ve ever had, and rivals the breakfast burrito at Longfellow Grill for my favorite breakfast.

I wasn’t getting much of a warm fuzzy from the service; there wasn’t anything bad about it, just didn’t feel too welcomed. I was also surprised at how it wasn’t crazy busy for Mother’s Day as I had assumed it would be, it was a nice surprise though.

We got out of there and had time for a windy walk around Lake Harriet, reminiscing about our walk last year when Annie was a little smaller (same hooded sweatshirt for me though!)

Service: Eh, we were taken care of, but I didn’t feel terribly welcome..
Food: Awesome huevoes rancheros
Drinks: The coffee was good and they were nearly militant about making sure your cup was full.
Ambiance: It was a good level of noise from the friendly breakfast crowd.
Convenience: I find this area of Minneapolis to be annoying to get to, as it’s not convenient from any freeway. Once you’re there it’s not bad.

Deets

Grand Cafe

3804 Grand Ave S

Minneapolis

Thom Pham's Wondrous Azian Kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 16 May 2011 00:29:00 +0000

Visited on Friday, May 6th

Ben's Review
I “surprised” Erin last Friday by meeting her at her office and taking her out to lunch. (She found out about it that morning, which wasn’t a huge deal). I knew she had been wanting to get sushi, so I planned on trying the new-ish Wondrous Azian Kitchen on Hennepin.

Not knowing anything about the place, I made reservations. Not necessary at all for lunch. The restaurant is large and nearly empty at noon. We were seated in the bar area that has full length windows facing Hennepin. They also have a separate dining room so they can hold a significant number of people if need be.

It was nice out that day (a rarity this spring) so the windows by our table were partially open, which I liked. We were quickly asked for drink orders and if we had any questions about the menu. I assumed we’d be getting some sushi to split but Erin decided to get a bento box for herself, leaving me with a wide array of options from the menu.

I like sushi just fine, but I love me some Pad Thai, which they of course had on the menu. I asked about heat levels and was told that the Pad Thai comes with a three out of five spice by default, which was fine with me.

The wait for our food seemed long, but maybe sushi takes longer? Anyways, our food looked great and the lunch portion of my Pad Thai was easily enough for a second meal, which makes the $10 price tag even that much better. I recall the heat level not really being what I would call a three. To me, I should be able to taste the heat at three, but this was pretty weak. Not sure what they would do for a two or one. They do have sriracha at all the tables, which is nice. (I nearly stole ours because it was the big bottle and unopened.)

(Editor's note: It seems Ben forgot he had soup)

Aside from the spice not being where I anticipated the Pad Thai was very good. I always marvel at how Asian restaurants can get the noodles done so well, I can never replicate that at home. The chicken, sauce, and noodles were great, but as I look at the picture now, it appears that it didn’t have basil, which I thought was a Pad Thai standard ingredient.

Wondrous Azian Kitchen was great for a lunch date, and not too expensive when you factor in the leftovers. The bar is huge and well stocked, it would be a fun place to bring a larger group of people downtown (if we ever did that anymore, haha............sigh).

Service: Good service, exactly what was expected.
Food: Great Pad Thai, though not as spicy as I was expecting
Drinks: Being lunch on a workday I didn’t have a cocktail, but they do have a huge bar that has everything you could want.
Ambiance: Hard to tell because it was so empty, but I can see this place cranking the music at night and opening the windows to the Hennepin Ave crowd.
Convenience: Not terribly convenient for parking, but plenty of bus and bike options.

Erin's Review
The Friday before Mother's Day, one of my co-worker's was sick. She had a presentation at noon that I offered to take for her, but my other coworker Jen told me I couldn't. I also wasn't allowed to ask why, and couldn't make any other plans after 11:30am. Reallll stealth, Jen! Ben has surprised me at work before, so as soon as this turn of events happened, I pretty much knew what was up, just wasn't sure of the details. He showed up at 11:30, and told me we were heading out for lunch - pretty sweet guy! After I got over my initial disappointment of him not having Annie with him, as he had the last time he surprised me, I enjoyed our surprise lunchtime date.

It was a beautiful day outside, so Ben offered me the opportunity to switch up the location to a place that had a patio. I'm glad I chose to stick with Wondrous Kitchen as they had their large windows open to Hennepin Avenue, which made it feel almost patio like. We both really enjoyed Azia when we went to a blogger event there, so I figured Wondrous Kitchen would be pretty similar.

After perusing the menu, I decided not to get sushi for Ben and I to split because of the pretty high cost of the rolls I wanted to order. I was glad to see a Maki Bento option on the lunch menu because I really wanted rolls, and most sushi lunch specials feature nigiri (plain fish and rice). I ordered that, as well as my new favorite beverage of cranberry juice and sprite.

Our soups came out pretty quickly - I had gotten the miso soup, and it was FULL of seaweed and tofu, unlike most places which have a few lone tofu cubes and not much seaweed at all. It was a bit much for my tastes, I almost prefer the more sparse miso soups that I've had elsewhere, but was still certainly tasty.

When our main dishes arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by how much sushi there was. It was almost too much for me, which rarely happens with sushi! I was a little disappointed with the presentation - when I see the word "bento" in the description, I do expect something a bit more elaborate. Oh well, I got over it. I love sushi, quite a bit, and typically order rolls like caterpillar, dynamite and other specialty rolls. I think one common characteristic of those rolls is some type of delicious sauce, cream cheese or spicy mayo - these rolls were pretty bland in comparison. I did really like the spicy tuna but the other two were a little blah. I was able to jazz them up with some wasabi, but it was a poor substitute for the type of sushi I typically enjoy. This was my own fault - I knew what I was getting, and just didn't want to pay that much for the more involved rolls. Again - oh well.

The ambiance at Wondrous Kitchen was a little blah over lunch, just because it was practically empty (as are most places outside the "skyway belt") but I can see it being hopping and really fun late at night. Anyone been here at night that can comment? The decor was minimalist but had some nice touches. I really liked the bar with the huge windows facing Hennepin - it would definitely make for some good people watching.

I hope Wondrous Kitchen can make it in this location that does seem to be a bit cursed. The choice of a long and kind of confusing name probably wasn't a good one, but hopefully it won't hurt them. "Thom Pham's Wondrous Azian Kitchen" just doesn't roll off the tongue very easily, and I'm pretty sure if you were going to pick a place randomly to text a friend to meet you at, you'd pick one with a lot fewer letters. Maybe that's just me speaking as a lazy texter, who knows. Anyway, we both liked it and I'd be interested to come back and see what it's like when downtown is hopping.

Deets
Thom Pham's Wondrous Azian Kitchen
533 Hennepin Ave S
Minneapolis