We have done our best to get to new restaurants this year - though we're not nearly on track to last year's numbers. I've struggled a bit with motivation to keep up on this blog. After awhile it gets hard to post because there has been too much time in between posts and too many new restaurants....where do I start? Today we tried a new restaurant for lunch/brunch so I will just start here.
We tried a new restaurant in the Linden Hills neighborhood. The Harriet Brasserie has been open for several weeks and so we added it to our list. We arrived right around noon and while it was a gorgeous day we opted to not sit on the patio and took a seat indoors. It's a small dining room but very well done - simple, nice wood decor.
The brunch menu included a few sandwiches, but we both decided to order off of the breakfast side of the menu. The hubby went with the Ropa Vieja which included shredded beef, egg, queso fresco, fried yucca, rice & soffrito. It was a large portion of beef topped with a sunny side up egg over rice. He really enjoyed it and let me even have some of the yucca.
My dish was much simpler. Belgian waffle with crème fraîche and "seasonal accompaniment". The waffle was served with a rhubarb compote...the waitress had me at rhubarb. The waffle was great though it really seemed more like dessert than a meal. As my hubby's grandmother says "Life's uncertain, eat dessert first." Very tasty meal, though I probably could have used a side of bacon to get a little protein in with the meal.
A great addition to the Linden Hills restaurant scene.
Happy Eating!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Highlights of 2012 So Far
Glad keeping my blog up to date wasn't a New Year's resolution or I would have an epic fail going. We have tried a few new restaurants over the last couple of months - though we have slowed down a bit. A couple of highlights so far this year....
The Bachelor Farmer - we enjoyed a great dinner with Reservations for One a few weeks ago. The Bachelor Farmer has a Scandinavian themed menu. We really enjoyed the toasts, which is exactly as it sounds. You are brought out toast that you then pile on with various toppings - we did the salmon and the Baked Camembert cheese, winter vegetables. The cheese and vegetable one was my favorite. I went with the Meatballs, lingonberries, mashed potatoes, pickled cucumber entree and it was delicious. For those that need the meat and potatoes type of meal this would definitely fit the bill - with a foodie, Scandinavian twist. RFO and the hubby went with the Poached eggs, caramelized Brussels sprouts, sunchokes, leeks, Sauce Choron. This entree was also quite tasty and definitely worth getting. RFO and I decided to split dessert and went with the Flourless chocolate cake, salted semifreddo, lingonberry pâte de fruit. We both are normally not a fan of flourless cakes, but this was a nice surprise. It wasn't dense like many flourless cakes are and it had a nice crispness to the cake which added to the overall appeal for me. The hubby had the Café miel ice cream, warm chocolate sauce, lemon shortbread - would like to be able to tell you how that was, but if you read this very often you know he doesn't like to share his dessert if it's really good.
We had some other good meals over the last two months but the last one to highlight today is Element Pizza. We happened across this restaurant today for lunch as we were looking for somewhere new to try. It's a small building that is nondescript on the outside. Upon walking in you realize it's just as small inside as it appears to be from the outside. It's warm, cozy and inviting. The pizza is wood-fired and you can see the oven from the counter - again adds to the warm, cozy vibe. It was pretty empty when we went so we took our time in deciding what we wanted to try. It's an order at the counter and then they bring it to your table type of restaurant. We decided on a build your own pizza topped with pepperoni, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan. I also got a house salad that was served with bread (aka pizza crust). The salad was a purely vegetable salad - lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and then there was a vinaigrette on the side. Everything was fresh and crunchy and a great way to get some veggies in for the day. The bread was very good as well but was mainly consumed by the hubby. The pizza arrived and it was fabulous! Thin pizza with a crispy crust and just the right amount of toppings. We both agreed that it was the best pizza we have had in quite some time. Now the trick is to figure out how we can get back to that area a little more frequently.
Happy Eating!
The Bachelor Farmer - we enjoyed a great dinner with Reservations for One a few weeks ago. The Bachelor Farmer has a Scandinavian themed menu. We really enjoyed the toasts, which is exactly as it sounds. You are brought out toast that you then pile on with various toppings - we did the salmon and the Baked Camembert cheese, winter vegetables. The cheese and vegetable one was my favorite. I went with the Meatballs, lingonberries, mashed potatoes, pickled cucumber entree and it was delicious. For those that need the meat and potatoes type of meal this would definitely fit the bill - with a foodie, Scandinavian twist. RFO and the hubby went with the Poached eggs, caramelized Brussels sprouts, sunchokes, leeks, Sauce Choron. This entree was also quite tasty and definitely worth getting. RFO and I decided to split dessert and went with the Flourless chocolate cake, salted semifreddo, lingonberry pâte de fruit. We both are normally not a fan of flourless cakes, but this was a nice surprise. It wasn't dense like many flourless cakes are and it had a nice crispness to the cake which added to the overall appeal for me. The hubby had the Café miel ice cream, warm chocolate sauce, lemon shortbread - would like to be able to tell you how that was, but if you read this very often you know he doesn't like to share his dessert if it's really good.
We had some other good meals over the last two months but the last one to highlight today is Element Pizza. We happened across this restaurant today for lunch as we were looking for somewhere new to try. It's a small building that is nondescript on the outside. Upon walking in you realize it's just as small inside as it appears to be from the outside. It's warm, cozy and inviting. The pizza is wood-fired and you can see the oven from the counter - again adds to the warm, cozy vibe. It was pretty empty when we went so we took our time in deciding what we wanted to try. It's an order at the counter and then they bring it to your table type of restaurant. We decided on a build your own pizza topped with pepperoni, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan. I also got a house salad that was served with bread (aka pizza crust). The salad was a purely vegetable salad - lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and then there was a vinaigrette on the side. Everything was fresh and crunchy and a great way to get some veggies in for the day. The bread was very good as well but was mainly consumed by the hubby. The pizza arrived and it was fabulous! Thin pizza with a crispy crust and just the right amount of toppings. We both agreed that it was the best pizza we have had in quite some time. Now the trick is to figure out how we can get back to that area a little more frequently.
Happy Eating!
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