I've been interested in trying Haute Dish since I first heard about it opening and saw that one of their signature items was Tater Tot Hotdish (casserole for those of you south of here!). The hubby, Reservations for One, and I hit it up this weekend for a little pre-Christmas dinner.
The restaurant is in a narrow but very long space. We were escorted by the bar and the front dining room to the back area right by the kitchen. We felt like we might as well have been sitting by the stove with how hot it was in the back room. I was ok, but the hubby and RFO complained about it a bit.
I started out with a glass of La Core Salice - a red wine of some varietal. It was the cheapest on the menu and unfortunately tasted like it as well. I'm sure the second glass would have been fine...the second glass always tastes better! I passed and stuck with water. The hubby ordered a Crispen Hard Cider which is a fermented apple cider beverage served over ice. He has enjoyed it before and it didn't disappoint this time as well.
The three of us shared the Mac & Cheese which was made with large pasta noodles, king crab meat, tallegio cheese, and of course...truffle. It had a bit of a kick with perhaps cayenne or something along those lines. It was very good. I also tried their "Soup of the Moment" which was some sort of pumpkin or squash soup with a super tasty homemade tater tot stuffed with duck confit. I could have had another tot or two with the soup.
The hubby was considering between the Brussel Sprouts Casserole or the Flavor Country Burger. The server said the burger was the best she's had so he went with her recommendation. I'm not sure what all was on his burger, but I believe it included cheese and bacon. He wouldn't let me get close enough to it to really see. It was very good according to him. The burger was served with salt and vinegar fries. He did share his fries with RFO and me - thankfully!
RFO and I both went with the Tater Tot Haute Dish. This dish is a deconstructed hot dish with each ingredient separated but served together. The dish included short ribs, baby green beans, porcini bechamel and tater tots. The short ribs were like a good pot roast - so tender and tasty. RFO said this was one reason she could never be a vegetarian. It was that good! The green beans were crisp and fresh. The tater tots. Well, they had a center of bechamel that just made every bite a delicious, creamy experience. Our only complaint was there were simply not enough tots. So good! While there were other items on the menu that looked appealing too, I would have a hard time going back and not getting the Tater Tot Haute Dish again. So. Good!
We ended our dinner with dessert. RFO and I both had carrot cake and the hubby had the Tapioca dessert. Our carrot cake included kumquats, coriander, and parsnip. It was served with some sort of ice cream that was very tasty. The tapioca was presented with chocolate, sesame, and coconut. It is hard to describe, but it had a piece of chocolate cake, spoonfuls of tapioca on the side and some coconut crisps. He thought it was very good but...RFO and I determined that fork marks on our hands were not a good idea so we did not try to take a bite of his dessert. RFO also enjoyed a French Press decaf coffee with her dessert.
We had a good evening and would definitely go back and try it again!
With all of the snow on the ground, valet parking was the way to go. A little pricey, but worth not having to drive around looking for a spot and trying to walk over snow piles.
Happy Eating!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Pizzeria Lola
The area has seen a surge in new pizza places to try - not a bad trend for those of us who like to try new restaurants and could eat pizza every day of the week! First up...Pizzeria Lola!
Pizzeria Lola has only been open a couple of weeks and we heard the lines to get in can be long. We were the early birds and managed to walk right in and grab a two top. Good thing...within 30 minutes of our arrival the wait was 30-45 minutes.
It's a small restaurant minimally decorated around a huge wood fired oven. There is a bar area toward the back of the restaurant which was packed with people waiting for a table. Not a ton of room, but at least they will always be full. It's in a great neighborhood with lots of families nearby so I think there will always be a lot of children around. Definitely kid friendly.
I was impressed with their list of local tap beers. I went with Fulton's Lonely Blonde Ale - super good! Can't wait until Fulton is in bottles! Just a nice refreshing end to the week.
The pizzas are about a plate size 10-12 inches and we were told 2 pizzas would be good to share if we weren't getting anything else. We went with that advice since we couldn't agree on what we wanted. I got the special which included fig, Gorgonzola cheese, and guanciale. Guanciale was described as something similar to prosciutto. It was thinner, crispier and more translucent than prosciutto. It was very good and the pizza was a hit with both of us!
The hubby went with The Boise which included potato, fontina, caramelized onion and rosemary. It was also very good, but I think I won with the special. I'll be glad to go back and try other options soon!
We finished with dessert. I had the ice cream sandwich which was homemade ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies. So. Good. The hubby just had a dish of vanilla ice cream with cocoa nibs. It was good, but a little pricey for a dish of ice cream.
All in all we were very pleased with the restaurant. They have a few kinks to work out in their service - the hubby had to wait a long time for a refill of his soda, even though the waiter had asked him twice if he wanted one. They also had some booths that weren't turned very quickly. They could have seated parties and then brought out the plates and silverware. Instead, the bar area was packed when some of those people could have at least been sitting in a booth getting closer to the yummy goodness of the pizza. These kinks can get worked out and I think Pizzeria Lola will do a killer business.
Pizzeria Lola has only been open a couple of weeks and we heard the lines to get in can be long. We were the early birds and managed to walk right in and grab a two top. Good thing...within 30 minutes of our arrival the wait was 30-45 minutes.
It's a small restaurant minimally decorated around a huge wood fired oven. There is a bar area toward the back of the restaurant which was packed with people waiting for a table. Not a ton of room, but at least they will always be full. It's in a great neighborhood with lots of families nearby so I think there will always be a lot of children around. Definitely kid friendly.
I was impressed with their list of local tap beers. I went with Fulton's Lonely Blonde Ale - super good! Can't wait until Fulton is in bottles! Just a nice refreshing end to the week.
The pizzas are about a plate size 10-12 inches and we were told 2 pizzas would be good to share if we weren't getting anything else. We went with that advice since we couldn't agree on what we wanted. I got the special which included fig, Gorgonzola cheese, and guanciale. Guanciale was described as something similar to prosciutto. It was thinner, crispier and more translucent than prosciutto. It was very good and the pizza was a hit with both of us!
The hubby went with The Boise which included potato, fontina, caramelized onion and rosemary. It was also very good, but I think I won with the special. I'll be glad to go back and try other options soon!
We finished with dessert. I had the ice cream sandwich which was homemade ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies. So. Good. The hubby just had a dish of vanilla ice cream with cocoa nibs. It was good, but a little pricey for a dish of ice cream.
All in all we were very pleased with the restaurant. They have a few kinks to work out in their service - the hubby had to wait a long time for a refill of his soda, even though the waiter had asked him twice if he wanted one. They also had some booths that weren't turned very quickly. They could have seated parties and then brought out the plates and silverware. Instead, the bar area was packed when some of those people could have at least been sitting in a booth getting closer to the yummy goodness of the pizza. These kinks can get worked out and I think Pizzeria Lola will do a killer business.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Snow Weekend = Debbie Cooks!
A little bit of a different post today. Not reviewing a restaurant this time...I actually cooked this weekend! It all started with a snowstorm that delivered the biggest snow in November in 19 years! We managed to get out at the start of the snowstorm and made it to the grocery store. The roads were terrible, so we were glad to get back in the safe confines of our home.
Who doesn't remember school days when you were stuck at home on a snow day and mom would bake or make a more "extensive" meal? While my mom used to make home-made cinnamon rolls or beef and noodles, I picked a few recipes from the latest Cooks Illustrated magazine to keep me busy at home. I'll wait for her to make the cinnamon rolls and noodes sometime.
We started yesterday by baking chewy sugar cookies. They were ok, but I wouldn't make them over our family recipes going forward. They had a very metallic taste to them. Our baking powder is getting to its expiration date, maybe that was the issue? We also made roasted carrots. Those were simple but tasty. Just carrots, butter, and an oven. We paired that with a fancy Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Bake. :)
Today was the major cooking attempt. While waiting for football to start, I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen making a tasty Chicken Fricassee & Roasted Baby Red Potatoes lunch. Both recipes were pretty easy for even the experienced dining out person to navigate. The potatoes took the longest but were the easiest - just needed a 500 degree oven, baby red potatoes and olive oil - with a little salt, pepper, and thyme.
The chicken was more extensive in terms of ingredients and preparation but again...extremely doable. Chicken breasts, crimini mushrooms, onions, olive oil, butter, sour cream, egg yolk, chicken broth, garlic, white wine, nutmeg, tarragon, lemon juice. The end result was a browned chicken breast covered with a warm pan sauce with mushrooms. That paired with the roasted potatoes made for a nice comfort food meal on a snowy winter/fall day.
Now...let's hope we can get out after the football game and make it to the gym!!
Happy eating (and/or cooking)!
Who doesn't remember school days when you were stuck at home on a snow day and mom would bake or make a more "extensive" meal? While my mom used to make home-made cinnamon rolls or beef and noodles, I picked a few recipes from the latest Cooks Illustrated magazine to keep me busy at home. I'll wait for her to make the cinnamon rolls and noodes sometime.
We started yesterday by baking chewy sugar cookies. They were ok, but I wouldn't make them over our family recipes going forward. They had a very metallic taste to them. Our baking powder is getting to its expiration date, maybe that was the issue? We also made roasted carrots. Those were simple but tasty. Just carrots, butter, and an oven. We paired that with a fancy Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Bake. :)
Today was the major cooking attempt. While waiting for football to start, I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen making a tasty Chicken Fricassee & Roasted Baby Red Potatoes lunch. Both recipes were pretty easy for even the experienced dining out person to navigate. The potatoes took the longest but were the easiest - just needed a 500 degree oven, baby red potatoes and olive oil - with a little salt, pepper, and thyme.
The chicken was more extensive in terms of ingredients and preparation but again...extremely doable. Chicken breasts, crimini mushrooms, onions, olive oil, butter, sour cream, egg yolk, chicken broth, garlic, white wine, nutmeg, tarragon, lemon juice. The end result was a browned chicken breast covered with a warm pan sauce with mushrooms. That paired with the roasted potatoes made for a nice comfort food meal on a snowy winter/fall day.
Now...let's hope we can get out after the football game and make it to the gym!!
Happy eating (and/or cooking)!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Piccolo Restaurant
The hubby, me and a friend of mine recently tried out Piccolo Restaurant in South Minneapolis. It had "been on the list" for all of us for awhile. We had an early reservation because that was the only option unless we wanted to eat super late. Upon walking into the restaurant I could see why reservations are hard to get - my family room is bigger than the dining room. The space is simply appointed with soft colors, small candles, and nothing cluttering the tables.
The restaurant lives up to its name in that it offers various small plates to share. We were advised to order 9 plates for the 3 of us. After looking at the menu we determined that we really only had to pick 4 plates that we did NOT want and then order the rest. Those we avoided included squid, clams, and veal neck.
Our first round of plates included the Duck "chorizo" with bread, olives and truffle vinaigrette, Compressed apple with pumpkin, fennel purée, sorrel and pimenton, and Tempura fried fresh fig with sheep’s milk cheese and Spanish olive oil tortas. All three were beautifully presented. The compressed apple was an interesting presentation of layered apple slices in the form of a rectangular block. It was topped with a pumpkin shaped dollop of the pumpkin. The fig plate was quite tasty...the combination of the sweetness of the fig paired with cheese is something I will always order from a menu.
The second course included Mortadella agnolotti with pistachios, lardo and Dijon mustard, Scrambled brown eggs with pickled pigs feet, truffle butter and parmigiano, and Butter poached Alaskan cod with celeryroot, king crab and white kimchee. So, where to start...the pasta purse agnolotti was soft and creamy with the pistachios giving it a bit of a crunch; though the pistachios were not as crunchy as is typical. Definitely worth ordering. The scrambled eggs with pigs feet was the one plate I was going to definitely avoid. But, the presentation was appealing...no hooves to be seen. I reluctantly took a bite and was surprised at how much of a non-event eating the pigs feet was. I still won't be the one at the butcher asking for pigs feet for a recipe, but the eggs and feet was actually quite good. I can't really describe the taste of the feet. The overall taste I got was of the truffle butter. The final plate was the Alaskan cod with kimchee. I didn't know what kimchee was and now I know I don't care for it. To me it seemed like sauerkraut which I'm not a fan of. The cod was the least favorite dish from the second course.
Our third course was the "meat" course or "entree" portion of the meal. We enjoyed the Berkshire pork belly with mortadella, chestnuts, Brussels sprouts and truffle honey, Magret duck with artichoke and celery ragout, Iberican lomo and pickled cherries, and the Callister Farms chicken with "French" onions, smoked ham hocks, timanoix cheese and walnuts. All three of us agreed that this was the best course of the night. I'm not much into game, but the duck was surprisingly quite tasty and is one I would get again. The pork belly and chicken were also very good. The chicken had a nice brown crunchy crust and the timanoix cheese provided a creaminess with each bite.
My friend and I each ordered the chocolate and apple cider cake with coffee syrup and figs. The hubby ordered the cheese plate for dessert. We all were very happy with our selection. Great way to end the meal.
The only downside to this restaurant is the namesake plates. While so many restaurants offer ginormous portions, Piccolo's are almost too small. We did not do the fast food drive-thru on the way home, but we were hungry again later in the evening.
All in all, a great evening...good food, good conversation, and another restaurant "in the books."
Happy Eating!
The restaurant lives up to its name in that it offers various small plates to share. We were advised to order 9 plates for the 3 of us. After looking at the menu we determined that we really only had to pick 4 plates that we did NOT want and then order the rest. Those we avoided included squid, clams, and veal neck.
Our first round of plates included the Duck "chorizo" with bread, olives and truffle vinaigrette, Compressed apple with pumpkin, fennel purée, sorrel and pimenton, and Tempura fried fresh fig with sheep’s milk cheese and Spanish olive oil tortas. All three were beautifully presented. The compressed apple was an interesting presentation of layered apple slices in the form of a rectangular block. It was topped with a pumpkin shaped dollop of the pumpkin. The fig plate was quite tasty...the combination of the sweetness of the fig paired with cheese is something I will always order from a menu.
The second course included Mortadella agnolotti with pistachios, lardo and Dijon mustard, Scrambled brown eggs with pickled pigs feet, truffle butter and parmigiano, and Butter poached Alaskan cod with celeryroot, king crab and white kimchee. So, where to start...the pasta purse agnolotti was soft and creamy with the pistachios giving it a bit of a crunch; though the pistachios were not as crunchy as is typical. Definitely worth ordering. The scrambled eggs with pigs feet was the one plate I was going to definitely avoid. But, the presentation was appealing...no hooves to be seen. I reluctantly took a bite and was surprised at how much of a non-event eating the pigs feet was. I still won't be the one at the butcher asking for pigs feet for a recipe, but the eggs and feet was actually quite good. I can't really describe the taste of the feet. The overall taste I got was of the truffle butter. The final plate was the Alaskan cod with kimchee. I didn't know what kimchee was and now I know I don't care for it. To me it seemed like sauerkraut which I'm not a fan of. The cod was the least favorite dish from the second course.
Our third course was the "meat" course or "entree" portion of the meal. We enjoyed the Berkshire pork belly with mortadella, chestnuts, Brussels sprouts and truffle honey, Magret duck with artichoke and celery ragout, Iberican lomo and pickled cherries, and the Callister Farms chicken with "French" onions, smoked ham hocks, timanoix cheese and walnuts. All three of us agreed that this was the best course of the night. I'm not much into game, but the duck was surprisingly quite tasty and is one I would get again. The pork belly and chicken were also very good. The chicken had a nice brown crunchy crust and the timanoix cheese provided a creaminess with each bite.
My friend and I each ordered the chocolate and apple cider cake with coffee syrup and figs. The hubby ordered the cheese plate for dessert. We all were very happy with our selection. Great way to end the meal.
The only downside to this restaurant is the namesake plates. While so many restaurants offer ginormous portions, Piccolo's are almost too small. We did not do the fast food drive-thru on the way home, but we were hungry again later in the evening.
All in all, a great evening...good food, good conversation, and another restaurant "in the books."
Happy Eating!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Purple Sandpiper
You may be wondering...did Debbie take a cooking class, did she actually start eating at home, has she really not tried a new restaurant since June??? Never fear, although I do know how to cook, the hubby and I still choose to dine out frequently. Not sure why the blogging of such meals hasn't been happening. Maybe blogging is a cold weather sort of activity?
I have had the good fortune to dine at many good restaurants this summer both locally as well as a recent trip out to New England. (Sidebar...I have now visited all 50 states with my last one being Vermont. Gorgeous!) I will not try and go back to capture the details of those visits, but will simply start anew.
The hubby and I were out running errands on a gorgeous fall day and found ourselves at a newly opened restaurant called Purple Sandpiper. We were there in time for a late lunch and found ourselves one of three tables in the restaurant. The location has been a couple of other restaurants before, so the interior is still reminiscent of the previous restaurants. I'm sure as the restaurant is open longer there will be additional changes to really make it their own.
They serve their breakfast menu until 3:00 as well as their lunch menu. The hubby went with one of their signature dishes and got the Lemon Ricotta hotcakes topped with fresh raspberries and blueberries. The one small bite that I was allowed was so incredibly delicious (any further and I would be sporting fork marks on my hands). He claims it was the best dish of 2010 thus far. Given our propensity for eating out, that says a great deal!
I went with a lunch option and had the Spicy Thai Chicken Wrap. It was very good as well. It was stuffed with fresh, crunchy vegetables and tender chicken. The peanut sauce was not overpowering and was nicely spiced. Key to the dish was the side of sweet potato fries! These wonderfully delicious fries were seasoned with smoked paprika and sea salt and served with a dipping sauce consisting of a cinnamon orange concoction. I would go back just for those!
We finished off the meal with dessert. The hubby went with the Peanut Butter Rice Crispie Square, Raspberry Puree, and Chocolate Dipped Chili Pepper. He seemed to enjoy it and the Chocolate Dipped Chili Pepper had a bit of a kick. I went with the Dark Chocolate, Hibiscus Caramel, Drunken Cherry Ice Cream. It was a flourless chocolate cake drizzled with caramel with a scoop of ice cream. The ice cream and caramel were great! I was less impressed with the chocolate cake as I really am not a fan of the flourless variety.
All in all, the meal was great and I'm looking forward to trying their dinner some evening. They have a 5 course tasting menu that changes frequently so that could be a future visit as well. The prices are very reasonable - always nice! I hope this restaurant takes traction in the city and people give it a try. Definitely worth it!
Oh...and I forgot to mention. They source their food locally so for the local food movement, a definite plus!
I have had the good fortune to dine at many good restaurants this summer both locally as well as a recent trip out to New England. (Sidebar...I have now visited all 50 states with my last one being Vermont. Gorgeous!) I will not try and go back to capture the details of those visits, but will simply start anew.
The hubby and I were out running errands on a gorgeous fall day and found ourselves at a newly opened restaurant called Purple Sandpiper. We were there in time for a late lunch and found ourselves one of three tables in the restaurant. The location has been a couple of other restaurants before, so the interior is still reminiscent of the previous restaurants. I'm sure as the restaurant is open longer there will be additional changes to really make it their own.
They serve their breakfast menu until 3:00 as well as their lunch menu. The hubby went with one of their signature dishes and got the Lemon Ricotta hotcakes topped with fresh raspberries and blueberries. The one small bite that I was allowed was so incredibly delicious (any further and I would be sporting fork marks on my hands). He claims it was the best dish of 2010 thus far. Given our propensity for eating out, that says a great deal!
I went with a lunch option and had the Spicy Thai Chicken Wrap. It was very good as well. It was stuffed with fresh, crunchy vegetables and tender chicken. The peanut sauce was not overpowering and was nicely spiced. Key to the dish was the side of sweet potato fries! These wonderfully delicious fries were seasoned with smoked paprika and sea salt and served with a dipping sauce consisting of a cinnamon orange concoction. I would go back just for those!
We finished off the meal with dessert. The hubby went with the Peanut Butter Rice Crispie Square, Raspberry Puree, and Chocolate Dipped Chili Pepper. He seemed to enjoy it and the Chocolate Dipped Chili Pepper had a bit of a kick. I went with the Dark Chocolate, Hibiscus Caramel, Drunken Cherry Ice Cream. It was a flourless chocolate cake drizzled with caramel with a scoop of ice cream. The ice cream and caramel were great! I was less impressed with the chocolate cake as I really am not a fan of the flourless variety.
All in all, the meal was great and I'm looking forward to trying their dinner some evening. They have a 5 course tasting menu that changes frequently so that could be a future visit as well. The prices are very reasonable - always nice! I hope this restaurant takes traction in the city and people give it a try. Definitely worth it!
Oh...and I forgot to mention. They source their food locally so for the local food movement, a definite plus!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Minnesota Room - Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts
In our quest to find something different for a weekend dinner, we stumbled across the Minnesota Room. This restaurant is part of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and is a restaurant that showcases the student's culinary (and restaurant) skills. We were excited to give it a try and it did not disappoint!
We arrived a few minutes prior to our reservation. Signs along the street and through the parking lot point the way to the back of the school. We made our way through the hallway to the restaurant and were promptly greeted by the hostess. There were probably a total of 6-7 tables occupied while we were there. We were one of the last to be seated for the evening.
Our server brought the menus and the wine list. While we looked over the drink menu, the server brought out a basket of bread and butter that was mixed with some type of herb. Both were very good. The server highlighted the wines that the chef would suggest with the evening's menu. I think this would have pleased Reservations for One had she been with me! I settled with a Chardonnay - the hubby stuck with water. The menu was a set 4 course dinner with 2 options for the main entree. We both chose the chicken entree versus the shrimp.
We started with an Amuse Bouche of crostini with pickled vegetables and goat cheese topped with a piece of pepperoni. At least that's what it seemed like to me. It was very tasty and did the job of the amuse - get our palate wanting more!
Next up was the soup course. A nice cream of asparagus and spinach soup with basil oil on top. The hubby enjoyed it a bit more than I did. I thought it was fine, though I thought it was missing something. I think it could have used a little salt. We also thought maybe something crunchy on top - like pine nuts? It was still very good, just seemed to be missing something.
The salad course was a nice mix of greens with both yellow and red beets, fennel and Gorgonzola crumbles on top. Again it might have been nice with some candied walnuts or something with a little crunch. I enjoyed the salad quite a bit - though I could have used a bit more Gorgonzola on the salad.
While we were eating, there was a table behind us that had a Bunsen burner set up and a bottle of Grand Marnier on the side. The chef master (instructor) was showing the students how to make Cafe Brulot. It was a coffee that had sugar, cinnamon, grand marnier, and possibly oranges. It was briefly set on fire and while adding the cinnamon the fire would spark - fun to watch. The chef brought around cups for all of us to try and it was sure tasty! I ended up finishing off the hubby's as well.
The main course was Chicken Breast served with a carrot and orange coulis, roasted red peppers and mushrooms served with a Madeira sauce. The mushroom/red pepper was uniquely presented as a roll of vegetables with a thin slice of mushroom being the "wrap" and the red pepper and possibly other vegetable being the filling. The chicken was nice and moist and the coulis sauce had the right amount of sweet to it to provide a nice balance with the chicken and the mushroom wrap. I can't comment on the Madeira sauce as I didn't really notice it. However, the menu said it was going to be on the dish. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't? All in all the main course was nicely done.
Dessert was a definite highlight of the meal. Flourless chocolate cake served with a berry coulis and honey whipped cream. I typically need flour in my cake, but this flourless cake was very good. The crust of the cake was just that...crusty. A nice crispness to the outside of the cake which paired well with the soft gooey middle. The honey whipped cream was a great addition to the dessert. It lightened up the heaviness of the cake.
Our experience at the Minnesota Room was great! We will definitely go back. It's quite the deal - a 4 course dinner for $21.50. All tips are given to a charity, so that was an added bonus. While we settled the bill, we were also asked to complete a survey card. High marks all around from me.
While the kitchen was staffed with a number of students, the chef who developed the menu was Chef Toufik Halimi. Nice job Chef Halimi!
Happy Eating!
We arrived a few minutes prior to our reservation. Signs along the street and through the parking lot point the way to the back of the school. We made our way through the hallway to the restaurant and were promptly greeted by the hostess. There were probably a total of 6-7 tables occupied while we were there. We were one of the last to be seated for the evening.
Our server brought the menus and the wine list. While we looked over the drink menu, the server brought out a basket of bread and butter that was mixed with some type of herb. Both were very good. The server highlighted the wines that the chef would suggest with the evening's menu. I think this would have pleased Reservations for One had she been with me! I settled with a Chardonnay - the hubby stuck with water. The menu was a set 4 course dinner with 2 options for the main entree. We both chose the chicken entree versus the shrimp.
We started with an Amuse Bouche of crostini with pickled vegetables and goat cheese topped with a piece of pepperoni. At least that's what it seemed like to me. It was very tasty and did the job of the amuse - get our palate wanting more!
Next up was the soup course. A nice cream of asparagus and spinach soup with basil oil on top. The hubby enjoyed it a bit more than I did. I thought it was fine, though I thought it was missing something. I think it could have used a little salt. We also thought maybe something crunchy on top - like pine nuts? It was still very good, just seemed to be missing something.
The salad course was a nice mix of greens with both yellow and red beets, fennel and Gorgonzola crumbles on top. Again it might have been nice with some candied walnuts or something with a little crunch. I enjoyed the salad quite a bit - though I could have used a bit more Gorgonzola on the salad.
While we were eating, there was a table behind us that had a Bunsen burner set up and a bottle of Grand Marnier on the side. The chef master (instructor) was showing the students how to make Cafe Brulot. It was a coffee that had sugar, cinnamon, grand marnier, and possibly oranges. It was briefly set on fire and while adding the cinnamon the fire would spark - fun to watch. The chef brought around cups for all of us to try and it was sure tasty! I ended up finishing off the hubby's as well.
The main course was Chicken Breast served with a carrot and orange coulis, roasted red peppers and mushrooms served with a Madeira sauce. The mushroom/red pepper was uniquely presented as a roll of vegetables with a thin slice of mushroom being the "wrap" and the red pepper and possibly other vegetable being the filling. The chicken was nice and moist and the coulis sauce had the right amount of sweet to it to provide a nice balance with the chicken and the mushroom wrap. I can't comment on the Madeira sauce as I didn't really notice it. However, the menu said it was going to be on the dish. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't? All in all the main course was nicely done.
Dessert was a definite highlight of the meal. Flourless chocolate cake served with a berry coulis and honey whipped cream. I typically need flour in my cake, but this flourless cake was very good. The crust of the cake was just that...crusty. A nice crispness to the outside of the cake which paired well with the soft gooey middle. The honey whipped cream was a great addition to the dessert. It lightened up the heaviness of the cake.
Our experience at the Minnesota Room was great! We will definitely go back. It's quite the deal - a 4 course dinner for $21.50. All tips are given to a charity, so that was an added bonus. While we settled the bill, we were also asked to complete a survey card. High marks all around from me.
While the kitchen was staffed with a number of students, the chef who developed the menu was Chef Toufik Halimi. Nice job Chef Halimi!
Happy Eating!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sidetrip: The Ribeye
I was in Champaign, Illinois recently and visited The Ribeye Steakhouse with my parents. What a great Sunday evening deal they have! For $32 you can get a steak dinner for two with a 1/2 carafe of house wine. The deal includes a 16 ounce Ribeye that you can split however you want it. My dad had 10 ounces and I had 6 ounces. With our steaks we had a baked potato and of course the salad bar. My mom went with the salad bar only. The waitress was thoughtful and brought 3 glasses for the wine and so we all had red wine with dinner.
The salad bar was good and seemed fresh even though we were towards the end of the night. They also had a number of cold salads along with the regular lettuce salad fixings. You definitely can make a meal of the salad bar, but when you come to a steakhouse...why wouldn't you get steak? (No offense to my mom!)
My steak was good - although there was quite a bit of fat that I had to eat around. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but I went with a smaller cut and so would have liked just a bit more meat and less fat. The flavor was great though and it was served on a sizzling platter along with my potato. The potato was good, although I had to keep adding salt to it. I don't think that is a preparation issue at all, just my own taste buds craving salt I guess.
The house wine was fine. I was driving though, so I only had one glass early in the meal.
We decided to skip dessert at the restaurant. We were pretty full and knew there were ice cream/frozen custard options on the way home if we decided to go for dessert.
Definitely worth a visit if you are in Champaign - especially on a Sunday evening!
Happy Eating!
The salad bar was good and seemed fresh even though we were towards the end of the night. They also had a number of cold salads along with the regular lettuce salad fixings. You definitely can make a meal of the salad bar, but when you come to a steakhouse...why wouldn't you get steak? (No offense to my mom!)
My steak was good - although there was quite a bit of fat that I had to eat around. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but I went with a smaller cut and so would have liked just a bit more meat and less fat. The flavor was great though and it was served on a sizzling platter along with my potato. The potato was good, although I had to keep adding salt to it. I don't think that is a preparation issue at all, just my own taste buds craving salt I guess.
The house wine was fine. I was driving though, so I only had one glass early in the meal.
We decided to skip dessert at the restaurant. We were pretty full and knew there were ice cream/frozen custard options on the way home if we decided to go for dessert.
Definitely worth a visit if you are in Champaign - especially on a Sunday evening!
Happy Eating!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Tosca
The hubby and I found ourselves recently in the area of Tosca. We had not visited the restaurant since our chef Adam Vickerman left. We thought since we were near there, we would give it a try.
We had the same table as we always get - must be their "first seating" table. The dining room is rather narrow, so one person is on a bench and the other in a chair. The dining room has hard wood floors and are kind of noisy - especially when wait staff walk quickly through the dining room. It's not really that annoying, just noticeable.
We both ordered a local beer - Liftbridge's Farm Girl. Such a nice, refreshing beer! And we were given a bread basket. The bread was good, but the crust was too crusty for me!
I then ordered the starter of scallops on a bed of polenta and ramps. The dish was presented and while it was very plate appealing, there was a definite fishy smell that was pretty powerful. I was leary about trying the scallops because of the smell, but I'm glad I did! They were nice and crisp on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. Very good! The polenta was fine to me, but the hubby who is a polenta expert - or so he thinks - didn't care for the polenta dish. The ramps were fine - although their kitchen knives need a bit of a sharpening. I was complaining throughout the meal of not being able to cut my ramps.
Our entrees arrived - the hubby had the green orchetti with spicy tomato confit, basil and black pepper mascarpone. He also had a side of the swiss chard with shallot, garlic, and balsamic. Orchetti is an ear shaped pasta - just in case you were wondering.
I had the ravioli with spinach and cheese. It seemed to have the spinach pieces incorporated into the pasta - although it could have been a sauce. Whatever it was, it was very good!
We skipped dessert at the restaurant and instead went for the best ice cream in the cities! Sebastian Joe's. We both had raspberry chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone. Yum!!
The dinner was good, but I missed Adam Vickerman in the kitchen.
Happy Eating!
We had the same table as we always get - must be their "first seating" table. The dining room is rather narrow, so one person is on a bench and the other in a chair. The dining room has hard wood floors and are kind of noisy - especially when wait staff walk quickly through the dining room. It's not really that annoying, just noticeable.
We both ordered a local beer - Liftbridge's Farm Girl. Such a nice, refreshing beer! And we were given a bread basket. The bread was good, but the crust was too crusty for me!
I then ordered the starter of scallops on a bed of polenta and ramps. The dish was presented and while it was very plate appealing, there was a definite fishy smell that was pretty powerful. I was leary about trying the scallops because of the smell, but I'm glad I did! They were nice and crisp on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. Very good! The polenta was fine to me, but the hubby who is a polenta expert - or so he thinks - didn't care for the polenta dish. The ramps were fine - although their kitchen knives need a bit of a sharpening. I was complaining throughout the meal of not being able to cut my ramps.
Our entrees arrived - the hubby had the green orchetti with spicy tomato confit, basil and black pepper mascarpone. He also had a side of the swiss chard with shallot, garlic, and balsamic. Orchetti is an ear shaped pasta - just in case you were wondering.
I had the ravioli with spinach and cheese. It seemed to have the spinach pieces incorporated into the pasta - although it could have been a sauce. Whatever it was, it was very good!
We skipped dessert at the restaurant and instead went for the best ice cream in the cities! Sebastian Joe's. We both had raspberry chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone. Yum!!
The dinner was good, but I missed Adam Vickerman in the kitchen.
Happy Eating!
Craftsman
Reservations for One and I recently visited Craftsman. I had been there a few times before, but it was RFO's first visit. We were the second reservation to arrive and so we had an opportunity to look around the restaurant without "staring" at people. The restaurant is nicely appointed with light wood flooring, arts and crafts style chairs and tables, and soft lighting. A great atmosphere for any occasion. They have an outdoor patio, but that evening was slightly chilly so we stayed inside. We may go back this summer as the patio looks very cozy - trellis overhangs, stone pavers, lots of greenery.
We started out by ordering a glass of red wine (pretty typical of a dining occasion for RFO and myself). We then ordered an appetizer of beet and chevre terrine with micro arugula and corn meal crackers. This was a nice way to start the meal - we used it as a spread with the crisp crackers.
For a main entree I went with the potato gnocchi with ramps and creme fraiche. Anything with ramps tends to draw my attention to them. The gnocchi was very good and the creme fraiche added a lightness to the entree to balance out the potatoey gnocchi. I of course am not saying the dish was "light" - anything with the word creme cannot be by definition "light." I was happy with my choice.
RFO asked our server questions regarding a few of the items on the menu. After almost selling her on the trout, another server mentioned it was 86'd. In the restaurant business this means they no longer have it that night. We were amused at that since we were the second table to order. Did the first table order the trout and they really only had one? Maybe they just didn't have it at all that day and our server didn't know until the other server overheard him. Anyway, kind of funny! RFO ended up going with the grilled lamb leg with chickpea stew. She seemed to enjoy the dish for the most part.
The best part of the meal in my opinion were the desserts. RFO had some sort of fruit crisp with a scoop of Izzy's Ice Cream. I had 3 scoops of Izzy's Ice Cream as my dessert. Unfortunately I can't find descriptions of the ice cream on their website and can't remember exactly what I had. I know one of them was the salted caramel - this came with RFO's dessert as well. It was very good! I also had one that had oreos and mocha flavoring.
I think Craftsman is always worth a try. I think after this experience I might save the money and go with their sandwiches instead of entrees. I've had their burgers before and they are extremely good. I almost got one that evening, but decided to do the entree instead.
Happy Eating!
We started out by ordering a glass of red wine (pretty typical of a dining occasion for RFO and myself). We then ordered an appetizer of beet and chevre terrine with micro arugula and corn meal crackers. This was a nice way to start the meal - we used it as a spread with the crisp crackers.
For a main entree I went with the potato gnocchi with ramps and creme fraiche. Anything with ramps tends to draw my attention to them. The gnocchi was very good and the creme fraiche added a lightness to the entree to balance out the potatoey gnocchi. I of course am not saying the dish was "light" - anything with the word creme cannot be by definition "light." I was happy with my choice.
RFO asked our server questions regarding a few of the items on the menu. After almost selling her on the trout, another server mentioned it was 86'd. In the restaurant business this means they no longer have it that night. We were amused at that since we were the second table to order. Did the first table order the trout and they really only had one? Maybe they just didn't have it at all that day and our server didn't know until the other server overheard him. Anyway, kind of funny! RFO ended up going with the grilled lamb leg with chickpea stew. She seemed to enjoy the dish for the most part.
The best part of the meal in my opinion were the desserts. RFO had some sort of fruit crisp with a scoop of Izzy's Ice Cream. I had 3 scoops of Izzy's Ice Cream as my dessert. Unfortunately I can't find descriptions of the ice cream on their website and can't remember exactly what I had. I know one of them was the salted caramel - this came with RFO's dessert as well. It was very good! I also had one that had oreos and mocha flavoring.
I think Craftsman is always worth a try. I think after this experience I might save the money and go with their sandwiches instead of entrees. I've had their burgers before and they are extremely good. I almost got one that evening, but decided to do the entree instead.
Happy Eating!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Homemade Pizza Company
A year or so ago we stopped by a "take and bake" pizza shop called Homemade Pizza Company. We were not impressed and had not been back since. Today my boss mentioned she was picking up a pizza from here for her family. She's also a foodie and said they really like the pizza for the gourmet toppings.
Well...why not. I suggested it to the hubby and he agreed to give it a try. His pick was The Georgia which the menu describes as "cumin-scented Santa Fe chicken sausage tempered by the mellow crunch of poblano peppers and finished with smooth Ricotta cheese. Where fierce passion and cool objectivity coincide—like a ride through the New Mexico landscape." I picked up the pizza and headed home.
I was surprised by how much I really liked this pizza. The chicken sausage was very tasty, the pepper gave a nice crunch to the pizza, and the ricotta cheese was a pleasant surprise. The crust was crispy and the toppings tasty.
I will have no qualms about going back and trying it again. The only downside was it was a little expensive. $15 for a medium pizza. I suppose they have more than your ordinary pizza toppings, so maybe you pay for a little bit more.
If you are looking for a good take and bake pizza, give Homemade Pizza Company a try!
Happy Eating!
Well...why not. I suggested it to the hubby and he agreed to give it a try. His pick was The Georgia which the menu describes as "cumin-scented Santa Fe chicken sausage tempered by the mellow crunch of poblano peppers and finished with smooth Ricotta cheese. Where fierce passion and cool objectivity coincide—like a ride through the New Mexico landscape." I picked up the pizza and headed home.
I was surprised by how much I really liked this pizza. The chicken sausage was very tasty, the pepper gave a nice crunch to the pizza, and the ricotta cheese was a pleasant surprise. The crust was crispy and the toppings tasty.
I will have no qualms about going back and trying it again. The only downside was it was a little expensive. $15 for a medium pizza. I suppose they have more than your ordinary pizza toppings, so maybe you pay for a little bit more.
If you are looking for a good take and bake pizza, give Homemade Pizza Company a try!
Happy Eating!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Jon Randle - Chef at Grand Cafe
I was saddened to hear of the passing of chef Jonathan Randle of the Grand Cafe Restaurant. I visited the restaurant and learned of Jon Randle a little over 2 months ago - see my previous post - Grand Cafe Simple Good and Tasty Event.
I was looking forward to seeing what Jon would do with his career. He was a fabulous chef at the young age of 30. Still plenty of time for sauteing, braising, brining, and creating dishes for all of us to enjoy. He will be missed.
Here is a post from Shefzilla that has a nice write-up of Jon.
I was looking forward to seeing what Jon would do with his career. He was a fabulous chef at the young age of 30. Still plenty of time for sauteing, braising, brining, and creating dishes for all of us to enjoy. He will be missed.
Here is a post from Shefzilla that has a nice write-up of Jon.
Red's Savoy Pizza
Always on the lookout for good pizza, we stumbled across Red's Savoy Pizza on the east side of St. Paul this weekend. I've seen other outlets for this pizza, but this looked like the original location. They had plenty of parking behind the restaurant, so we parked and stepped inside.
It took several minutes for my eyes to adjust to the dimly lit restaurant. It has dark walls, dark tables, dark seats, and minimal lighting. You enter in on the bar side, but there is a restaurant side of the establishment. If you are eating with kids you have to sit on the restaurant side unless it is full, then you can sit in the bar. That wasn't an issue for us, but it was an interesting sign nonetheless.
We ordered 2 diet cokes to which the waitress suggested we might want a pitcher. Done and done...ordered the pitcher which was a smart move. The pizza comes in two sizes - regular and large. We asked the size of the regular and was given the hand gesture of about an 8 inch pizza. We went ahead and decided to split it - we didn't know if it would be good or not.
We waited quite awhile and then our pepperoni pizza was delivered to the table on an old school plastic tray with a piece of wax paper holding the awesome looking, cut in squares za! The hand gesture was incorrect....this pizza was going to be plenty for the two of us.
The pepperoni was hidden under the cheese instead of on top of the cheese like many pizza chains make them. They had plenty of toppings on the pizza. One piece I ate had probably 4 slices of pepperoni stacked high on one slice. The pepperoni had a little spiciness to it. I think next time I would get sausage for something different. Pepperoni tends to add a lot of extra grease to pizzas in general and this pizza was no different.
We drank our entire pitcher of Diet Coke and ate the whole pizza. We were pleasantly surprised by this find and happy to know there are other Red's Savoy locations around the cities! I'm assuming they will have as good of pizza as the original.
The only downside of the visit was the service. It seemed they were understaffed and hustle didn't seem to be in their vocabulary. They stayed busy and were continuously moving around. Just felt like we had to wait a bit longer for beverages than we should have.
All in all, a great find and I'm looking forward to trying the pizza again!
Happy Eating!
(Note: I could not find a website for this particular location, but here is one for the Uptown location.)
It took several minutes for my eyes to adjust to the dimly lit restaurant. It has dark walls, dark tables, dark seats, and minimal lighting. You enter in on the bar side, but there is a restaurant side of the establishment. If you are eating with kids you have to sit on the restaurant side unless it is full, then you can sit in the bar. That wasn't an issue for us, but it was an interesting sign nonetheless.
We ordered 2 diet cokes to which the waitress suggested we might want a pitcher. Done and done...ordered the pitcher which was a smart move. The pizza comes in two sizes - regular and large. We asked the size of the regular and was given the hand gesture of about an 8 inch pizza. We went ahead and decided to split it - we didn't know if it would be good or not.
We waited quite awhile and then our pepperoni pizza was delivered to the table on an old school plastic tray with a piece of wax paper holding the awesome looking, cut in squares za! The hand gesture was incorrect....this pizza was going to be plenty for the two of us.
The pepperoni was hidden under the cheese instead of on top of the cheese like many pizza chains make them. They had plenty of toppings on the pizza. One piece I ate had probably 4 slices of pepperoni stacked high on one slice. The pepperoni had a little spiciness to it. I think next time I would get sausage for something different. Pepperoni tends to add a lot of extra grease to pizzas in general and this pizza was no different.
We drank our entire pitcher of Diet Coke and ate the whole pizza. We were pleasantly surprised by this find and happy to know there are other Red's Savoy locations around the cities! I'm assuming they will have as good of pizza as the original.
The only downside of the visit was the service. It seemed they were understaffed and hustle didn't seem to be in their vocabulary. They stayed busy and were continuously moving around. Just felt like we had to wait a bit longer for beverages than we should have.
All in all, a great find and I'm looking forward to trying the pizza again!
Happy Eating!
(Note: I could not find a website for this particular location, but here is one for the Uptown location.)
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Common Roots
This week the hubby and I went to the Simple, Good, and Tasty dinner at Common Roots Cafe. This is our third SGT dinner and it did not disappoint!
At these events you end up sitting with strangers and get to know each other over a great meal. We arrived fairly early and had our pick of where to sit for the evening. We chose a table that was a bit in back and out of the way. (This would guarantee that we would not end up on the SGT blog as we have in the past!) We were joined by two women who made the evening much more interesting than if it were just the hubby and me.
So, onto the dinner. The event was held toward the back of the restaurant which left the front section for walk-in customers. While we gathered, the waitstaff took drink orders and passed around appetizers. I decided to go with a beer instead of wine with this meal and had a glass of Fulton Beer's Worthy Adversary. I know one of the four guys behind Fulton Beer so was interested in trying it because of him. Worthy Adversary was a very dark, "thick" beer and one that I normally wouldn't have tried. However, it was very good and went well with my meal. Good choice on a warm April evening!
After welcoming the attendees and a few introductions, we were on to our first course. We were served egg drop soup with foraged ramps. What surprised me most about this soup were the tomatoes. It reminded me more of a vegetable soup than what I think of as egg drop soup. I was disappointed with only one ramp in my bowl, but I believe the hubby had more. It was very good and was a great way to start the meal.
We then were brought out a basket of bread which had two different types. One was foccacia and the other was a sourdough type bread. I only tried the foccacia and it was very tasty and didn't have the oily texture that I typically associate with foccacia.
There was quite a bit of time in between courses and so we continued to have fun discussions with our table mates while we waited. The main entree came and was a roasted duck breast with door county cherry chutney, nettle and ricotta agnolotti, and picked green garlic. I will admit that if I would have seen the menu ahead of time I would have likely pre-ordered the vegetarian option. I have tried duck before and it just is not something that I typically order. I suppose it was good to get me out of my comfort zone. It was good from what I could tell - not having much experience with duck! The hubby avoided eating the skin because he said it was rather fatty. He is much more likely to order duck than I am, so he seems to know what it should and shouldn't taste like. The agnolotti was ok. We were served a rather small portion of it and to me it was gritty. The hubby loved it and would gladly have eaten mine. So, the main entree was ok. It probably was more appealing to duck eaters. Me....I think I'll go back to my comfort zone and forego duck for awhile.
After the entree and before dessert there were more speakers talking about eating local and getting kids to eat local and healthier. Then the best part of the meal arrived...3 small desserts that we didn't have to share with anyone! One was a pavlova (similar to a meringue) with mascrated berries - it was good. Then a chocolate friand with chocolate ganache (mini cake) and lemon curd - very good - what's not to like about chocolate! Finally, a lavender and almond ice cream - which was great!! The ice cream was fresh and cool and had the crunchy surprise of almonds sprinkled throughout. My only complaint was that I could have used a lot more of that ice cream! However, I enjoyed the three mini desserts and felt it was a good ending to a nice evening.
I have a Common Roots gift card and will definitely go back! It's a great restaurant and if you are all about the "local foods" movement, this restaurant delivers.
Happy Eating!
At these events you end up sitting with strangers and get to know each other over a great meal. We arrived fairly early and had our pick of where to sit for the evening. We chose a table that was a bit in back and out of the way. (This would guarantee that we would not end up on the SGT blog as we have in the past!) We were joined by two women who made the evening much more interesting than if it were just the hubby and me.
So, onto the dinner. The event was held toward the back of the restaurant which left the front section for walk-in customers. While we gathered, the waitstaff took drink orders and passed around appetizers. I decided to go with a beer instead of wine with this meal and had a glass of Fulton Beer's Worthy Adversary. I know one of the four guys behind Fulton Beer so was interested in trying it because of him. Worthy Adversary was a very dark, "thick" beer and one that I normally wouldn't have tried. However, it was very good and went well with my meal. Good choice on a warm April evening!
After welcoming the attendees and a few introductions, we were on to our first course. We were served egg drop soup with foraged ramps. What surprised me most about this soup were the tomatoes. It reminded me more of a vegetable soup than what I think of as egg drop soup. I was disappointed with only one ramp in my bowl, but I believe the hubby had more. It was very good and was a great way to start the meal.
We then were brought out a basket of bread which had two different types. One was foccacia and the other was a sourdough type bread. I only tried the foccacia and it was very tasty and didn't have the oily texture that I typically associate with foccacia.
There was quite a bit of time in between courses and so we continued to have fun discussions with our table mates while we waited. The main entree came and was a roasted duck breast with door county cherry chutney, nettle and ricotta agnolotti, and picked green garlic. I will admit that if I would have seen the menu ahead of time I would have likely pre-ordered the vegetarian option. I have tried duck before and it just is not something that I typically order. I suppose it was good to get me out of my comfort zone. It was good from what I could tell - not having much experience with duck! The hubby avoided eating the skin because he said it was rather fatty. He is much more likely to order duck than I am, so he seems to know what it should and shouldn't taste like. The agnolotti was ok. We were served a rather small portion of it and to me it was gritty. The hubby loved it and would gladly have eaten mine. So, the main entree was ok. It probably was more appealing to duck eaters. Me....I think I'll go back to my comfort zone and forego duck for awhile.
After the entree and before dessert there were more speakers talking about eating local and getting kids to eat local and healthier. Then the best part of the meal arrived...3 small desserts that we didn't have to share with anyone! One was a pavlova (similar to a meringue) with mascrated berries - it was good. Then a chocolate friand with chocolate ganache (mini cake) and lemon curd - very good - what's not to like about chocolate! Finally, a lavender and almond ice cream - which was great!! The ice cream was fresh and cool and had the crunchy surprise of almonds sprinkled throughout. My only complaint was that I could have used a lot more of that ice cream! However, I enjoyed the three mini desserts and felt it was a good ending to a nice evening.
I have a Common Roots gift card and will definitely go back! It's a great restaurant and if you are all about the "local foods" movement, this restaurant delivers.
Happy Eating!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Birchwood Cafe and Cake Eater
After some absence on the blog, I am back and ready to continue on with my take on the local dining scene. While the absence does not mean I was eating at home, I think I'll just start with more recent visits versus trying to recreate some of the great meals I've had over the last month.
Yesterday we found ourselves in the area of Birchwood Cafe. It had been a couple of years since I had been there and was ready to give it another chance. I can't quite remember the reason why it wasn't high on my list of places to go to, but it simply wasn't.
We arrived late for breakfast and early for lunch. We could have ordered either, but we both went with a lunch option. I ordered the Curried Egg Salad Sandwich and the hubby ordered the Avocado, Pepita, and Turkey Salad Sandwich. I hesitated to order the egg salad due to the curry in the description. It's not that I don't like curry, I just wasn't sure I would like it with egg salad.
I was delighted with my egg salad. It was served with Fischer Farm Bacon, roasted tomatoes and microgreens on sourdough bread. The egg salad had large chunks of egg in a very yellow creamy sauce. It tasted fresh and the bacon was an added treat for the sandwich. I did not notice any taste of curry in the egg salad - not sure if I missed it, don't know what curry really tastes like, or what. I thoroughly enjoyed the sandwich. The sandwich was served with Blue Corn tortilla chips and salsa. I found the chips to be a little on the salty side. The salsa had pockets of spice, but for the most part was a nice dipping sauce for the chips. I ended up sharing a portion of my chips with the hubby and focused on my sandwich.
The hubby enjoyed his turkey salad sandwich. It was served on toasted Birchwood Multigrain bread with Avocado Spread, Red Onion, Cilantro, Watermelon Radish and Bibb Lettuce. He offered me a bite of the sandwich, but I was happy with mine and passed on the opportunity. He did mention the avocado spread having a lemony taste to it and the watermelon radish was interesting to look at.
His sandwich also provided us with an opportunity to discuss the extreme love or hate that people have of cilantro. Julia Child hated cilantro. Some of those who hate it think it tastes like soap. Sadly, I must admit I'm not a "super taster" by any stretch of the imagination and so don't mind cilantro on things, but I really don't taste it either. (Hmmm...maybe there was curry in that egg salad.)
The restaurant itself was hopping. All tables were full of people finishing off breakfast, grabbing a pastry and a cup of coffee, or grabbing an early lunch. The restaurant is pretty small for the business it does. There is talk of moving across the street to a larger location. That would definitely help.
My biggest issue with Birchwood Cafe is the price. Our sandwiches each cost $10. If we wanted a side salad instead of chips, it would have been an extra $1.50. Sure the sandwiches were good, but the prices are rather steep for sandwiches. They don't seem to have a lot of options either, so be ready to spend some money. I'm sure the cost is due to the fact that their food is local. It likely costs more to shop and serve local foods. So I won't complain too much given that we were helping the local economy.
We then wondered over to the newly opened Cake Eater Bakery. This is a small little store on a corner of a neighborhood - about 3 blocks down from Birchwood Cafe. There are only 4 tables inside, so it's not a place to linger. They have awesome cupcakes! I went with the strawberry rhubarb and the hubby went with the lemon raspberry cupcake. They were seriously delicious!
We like our cupcakes and try a variety from around the city. Some cupcakes are served right out of a cooler which makes the icing taste like shortening and the cake a little dry. Not so with Cake Eater Bakery! These cupcakes were fresh and at room temperature! The cake almost fell apart it was so moist. Behold....the Cake Eater cupcake...
We will be back!
Happy Eating!
Yesterday we found ourselves in the area of Birchwood Cafe. It had been a couple of years since I had been there and was ready to give it another chance. I can't quite remember the reason why it wasn't high on my list of places to go to, but it simply wasn't.
We arrived late for breakfast and early for lunch. We could have ordered either, but we both went with a lunch option. I ordered the Curried Egg Salad Sandwich and the hubby ordered the Avocado, Pepita, and Turkey Salad Sandwich. I hesitated to order the egg salad due to the curry in the description. It's not that I don't like curry, I just wasn't sure I would like it with egg salad.
I was delighted with my egg salad. It was served with Fischer Farm Bacon, roasted tomatoes and microgreens on sourdough bread. The egg salad had large chunks of egg in a very yellow creamy sauce. It tasted fresh and the bacon was an added treat for the sandwich. I did not notice any taste of curry in the egg salad - not sure if I missed it, don't know what curry really tastes like, or what. I thoroughly enjoyed the sandwich. The sandwich was served with Blue Corn tortilla chips and salsa. I found the chips to be a little on the salty side. The salsa had pockets of spice, but for the most part was a nice dipping sauce for the chips. I ended up sharing a portion of my chips with the hubby and focused on my sandwich.
The hubby enjoyed his turkey salad sandwich. It was served on toasted Birchwood Multigrain bread with Avocado Spread, Red Onion, Cilantro, Watermelon Radish and Bibb Lettuce. He offered me a bite of the sandwich, but I was happy with mine and passed on the opportunity. He did mention the avocado spread having a lemony taste to it and the watermelon radish was interesting to look at.
His sandwich also provided us with an opportunity to discuss the extreme love or hate that people have of cilantro. Julia Child hated cilantro. Some of those who hate it think it tastes like soap. Sadly, I must admit I'm not a "super taster" by any stretch of the imagination and so don't mind cilantro on things, but I really don't taste it either. (Hmmm...maybe there was curry in that egg salad.)
The restaurant itself was hopping. All tables were full of people finishing off breakfast, grabbing a pastry and a cup of coffee, or grabbing an early lunch. The restaurant is pretty small for the business it does. There is talk of moving across the street to a larger location. That would definitely help.
My biggest issue with Birchwood Cafe is the price. Our sandwiches each cost $10. If we wanted a side salad instead of chips, it would have been an extra $1.50. Sure the sandwiches were good, but the prices are rather steep for sandwiches. They don't seem to have a lot of options either, so be ready to spend some money. I'm sure the cost is due to the fact that their food is local. It likely costs more to shop and serve local foods. So I won't complain too much given that we were helping the local economy.
We then wondered over to the newly opened Cake Eater Bakery. This is a small little store on a corner of a neighborhood - about 3 blocks down from Birchwood Cafe. There are only 4 tables inside, so it's not a place to linger. They have awesome cupcakes! I went with the strawberry rhubarb and the hubby went with the lemon raspberry cupcake. They were seriously delicious!
We like our cupcakes and try a variety from around the city. Some cupcakes are served right out of a cooler which makes the icing taste like shortening and the cake a little dry. Not so with Cake Eater Bakery! These cupcakes were fresh and at room temperature! The cake almost fell apart it was so moist. Behold....the Cake Eater cupcake...
We will be back!
Happy Eating!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Luci Ancora
We found ourselves in St. Paul a week or so ago. It was dinnertime and we had no plans. The beauty of the iPhone! I quickly used the Yelp app to locate nearby restaurants. I then flipped over to my OpenTable app and had reservations for 10 minutes later at Luci Ancora.
Luci Ancora is a quaint restaurant across the street from the College of Saint Catherine in St. Paul. The neighborhood is great with lots of old trees and houses - seems like it would be a great area to live. Across the street and down a half block is Luci's sister restaurant, Ristorante Luci. We have had the good fortune to eat at both of these restaurants a couple of times at least.
On this particular night, the restaurant was not real busy. It was a week night, so not too surprising. The positive of this was that we had a great table by the window and could look out at the college. However, this was pre-daylight savings time and it was dark. The ambience in the restaurant was warm and cozy.
The hubby and I decided to order some wine and they had several selections of 1/2 bottles. We went out on a limb and chose a Falanghina to share. The waitress informed us that the wine was their sweetest white - this was not at all what we were looking for, so we changed to a known dry white wine. I always appreciate the honesty of wait staff and the waitress' tip immediately increased due to the fact that she steered us away from a wine that we likely wouldn't have enjoyed.
My meal consisted of the mista salad and Ravioli alla Napoletana. Both the salad and the main entree were very good. The salad was nice and crisp. The ravioli was tasty and creamy. The tomato sauce added a nice acidity to the creaminess of the ricotta cheese.
The hubby had an appetizer and then fettucine for his main entree. Sadly we can't remember exactly what he had and the website just has a sample menu and not the actual one. I do know that he thoroughly enjoyed his meal!
I ended the meal with one of the best desserts that I have had in a long time. The surprising thing - it didn't consist of chocolate or ice cream! What it did consist of was a yummy brandy soaked pear in the center of layers of phyllo dough. It was topped with whipped cream, currants and powder sugar. Oh my....what an awesome dessert. Any liquor soaked food makes me nervous - often it is too strong to actually enjoy, but this pear was incredible. I had to share a few bites with the hubby, but for the most part this dessert was ALL MINE!
Luci Ancora and Ristorante Luci have special deals during the week nights including a nice 4 course tasting menu for a very reasonable price.
I would highly recommend Luci Ancora. The food is fabulous, the atmosphere quiet and romantic, and the service was awesome.
As I mentioned, we've been there a few times now and after this last experience, we'll definitely be back.
Happy Eating!
Luci Ancora is a quaint restaurant across the street from the College of Saint Catherine in St. Paul. The neighborhood is great with lots of old trees and houses - seems like it would be a great area to live. Across the street and down a half block is Luci's sister restaurant, Ristorante Luci. We have had the good fortune to eat at both of these restaurants a couple of times at least.
On this particular night, the restaurant was not real busy. It was a week night, so not too surprising. The positive of this was that we had a great table by the window and could look out at the college. However, this was pre-daylight savings time and it was dark. The ambience in the restaurant was warm and cozy.
The hubby and I decided to order some wine and they had several selections of 1/2 bottles. We went out on a limb and chose a Falanghina to share. The waitress informed us that the wine was their sweetest white - this was not at all what we were looking for, so we changed to a known dry white wine. I always appreciate the honesty of wait staff and the waitress' tip immediately increased due to the fact that she steered us away from a wine that we likely wouldn't have enjoyed.
My meal consisted of the mista salad and Ravioli alla Napoletana. Both the salad and the main entree were very good. The salad was nice and crisp. The ravioli was tasty and creamy. The tomato sauce added a nice acidity to the creaminess of the ricotta cheese.
The hubby had an appetizer and then fettucine for his main entree. Sadly we can't remember exactly what he had and the website just has a sample menu and not the actual one. I do know that he thoroughly enjoyed his meal!
I ended the meal with one of the best desserts that I have had in a long time. The surprising thing - it didn't consist of chocolate or ice cream! What it did consist of was a yummy brandy soaked pear in the center of layers of phyllo dough. It was topped with whipped cream, currants and powder sugar. Oh my....what an awesome dessert. Any liquor soaked food makes me nervous - often it is too strong to actually enjoy, but this pear was incredible. I had to share a few bites with the hubby, but for the most part this dessert was ALL MINE!
Luci Ancora and Ristorante Luci have special deals during the week nights including a nice 4 course tasting menu for a very reasonable price.
I would highly recommend Luci Ancora. The food is fabulous, the atmosphere quiet and romantic, and the service was awesome.
As I mentioned, we've been there a few times now and after this last experience, we'll definitely be back.
Happy Eating!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
D'Amico Kitchen
While I rarely need an excuse to try out a new restaurant, this last week was Restaurant Week in the twin cities and so it was a great excuse to grab some friends and head out to a new place.
The hubby, RFO, and I decided to try out D'Amico Kitchen. The restaurant is a reinvention/ reincarnation of the old D'Amico Cucina that served Minneapolis for a number of years, albeit in a new location at the Chambers Hotel in the former Chamber's Kitchen spot.
RFO and I arrived about 20 minutes before our reservation and so we took a seat at the bar for a pre-dinner drink. Unfortunately the bartender seemed less interested in taking our order and more interested in washing glasses and talking to wait staff. He finally made his way down to us after about 10 minutes and we caught his attention. Uh oh...not off to a good start!
I went with a Malbec, Weinert “Carrascal”, 2004. When RFO asked the bartender his opinion between two different glasses, he of course suggested a totally different one that was higher in price than the other two - precisely the reason I tend to avoid asking for opinions. He also disparaged the Malbec - guess in his attempt to upsell to RFO he neglected to think about the fact that I had just ordered the Malbec. RFO took his suggestion and went with the Prugnolo Gentile, La Braccesca "Sabazio" 2006.
Not long after getting the drinks settled, the hubby arrived and we were seated at our table. We sat in the basement of the restaurant which was a much nicer option than the upstairs tables. The upstairs section was nice, but being close to the bar it would have been a much noisier affair than the dinner downstairs. The only downside is that we had to carry our glasses of red wine down a flight of stairs. Thankfully we both made it safely down without a spill.
The downstairs section of the restaurant is adorned with various white chairs, benches, and sofas. The lighting was primarily candle votives which made for a romantic atmosphere. We were told a 3-piece jazz group would be playing in about an hour. They were underneath the stairs and the music was a nice soft background to our meal. It wasn't until they started playing that I realized that the evening was missing exactly that - music. Before they played it was pretty quiet. They also weren't very full when we first got there, which made us question why we couldn't have gotten an earlier reservation.
During Restaurant Week you can order from the regular menu or the special priced prix-fixe menu. All three of us chose the special 3-course menu. After hearing about the options, we all ordered the same starter, different entrees, and two different types of desserts. While we waited for the first course, the waitress brought us a basket of warm bread that was very good. The crust was crunchy and the bread was chewy.
All three of us ordered the Puree of cauliflower soup, Brussel sprouts, and truffle. We knew the hubby would go for that starter if for no other reason than the truffle. The soup came and was a delicious puree topped off with the truffle oil which gave it a signature smell. The hubby liked the brussel sprout topping which was basically crisp "leaves" of brussel sprouts. RFO and I thought they were a little awkward with the soup. They just didn't seem to blend in well with the soup. Although the hubby always likes crunch with his meal, and the brussel sprouts did provide that for him. I quickly ate the sprouts so I could concentrate on the soup. Definitely a good start to the meal.
Next up were the entrees. I went with what I can only surmise was the best option at the table. Butternut squash cappaletti, pistachio, with pumpkin seed oil. The cappaletti provided a nice pasta wrap for the butternut squash puree. It was both savory and sweet all at once. The pistachios were a great addition for the "crunch." The portion size was just right in my opinion - about 5 cappalettis. RFO went with a different pasta option and had the Orecchietti, spicy lamb sausage, chickpea, olive. She seemed to enjoy her dish and I'm sure will be reviewing it soon over at Reservations for One. The hubby went with Onion braised beef short ribs, buckwheat polenta, roasted carrots, horseradish gremolata. Again, it was a given that he'd order this with polenta in the description. Polenta and truffles - a definite for him. The waitress said the beef short ribs would be taken off the bone before serving, unfortunately the fatty part of the meat was still there. Once he worked around the fat, he enjoyed the meal. He did complain that there wasn't enough of the polenta. One thing that he noted a couple of days after the meal was that not one of us shared our meal with each other. I think that was a sign that we all were happy with what we ordered and didn't find the other options all that interesting.
We finished off the meal with dessert. RFO and I both ordered the Steamed Chocolate Spice Cake, Amarene Cherries, Olive Oil Gelato. It wasn't until writing this that I remembered the gelato was olive oil. The only real thing I remember about it was that it was very hard and difficult to eat with a spoon. The cake was delicious though and was a great ending to a very good meal. The hubby went with the Yogurt Panna Cotta Parfait, citrus almond sponge cake, blood orange gelee, Pomegranate Foam and enjoyed the freshness of the dessert.
The downside of the night was the fact that we had to wait 20 minutes or so to get our bill from the waitress. They had gotten busy by that point, but I always think the end is where waitstaff either make or break their tip. I wasn't too put off by it this time given I was enjoying the conversation with my dinner partners, but she was on the ropes.
The evening was good - even with the odd bartender and the waitress delaying our bill at the end of the evening. The food, drink, and conversation were great. While I doubt I will run back to D'Amico Kitchen anytime soon, it will not be due to the food. There are just so many other options to explore!
Happy Eating!
The hubby, RFO, and I decided to try out D'Amico Kitchen. The restaurant is a reinvention/ reincarnation of the old D'Amico Cucina that served Minneapolis for a number of years, albeit in a new location at the Chambers Hotel in the former Chamber's Kitchen spot.
RFO and I arrived about 20 minutes before our reservation and so we took a seat at the bar for a pre-dinner drink. Unfortunately the bartender seemed less interested in taking our order and more interested in washing glasses and talking to wait staff. He finally made his way down to us after about 10 minutes and we caught his attention. Uh oh...not off to a good start!
I went with a Malbec, Weinert “Carrascal”, 2004. When RFO asked the bartender his opinion between two different glasses, he of course suggested a totally different one that was higher in price than the other two - precisely the reason I tend to avoid asking for opinions. He also disparaged the Malbec - guess in his attempt to upsell to RFO he neglected to think about the fact that I had just ordered the Malbec. RFO took his suggestion and went with the Prugnolo Gentile, La Braccesca "Sabazio" 2006.
Not long after getting the drinks settled, the hubby arrived and we were seated at our table. We sat in the basement of the restaurant which was a much nicer option than the upstairs tables. The upstairs section was nice, but being close to the bar it would have been a much noisier affair than the dinner downstairs. The only downside is that we had to carry our glasses of red wine down a flight of stairs. Thankfully we both made it safely down without a spill.
The downstairs section of the restaurant is adorned with various white chairs, benches, and sofas. The lighting was primarily candle votives which made for a romantic atmosphere. We were told a 3-piece jazz group would be playing in about an hour. They were underneath the stairs and the music was a nice soft background to our meal. It wasn't until they started playing that I realized that the evening was missing exactly that - music. Before they played it was pretty quiet. They also weren't very full when we first got there, which made us question why we couldn't have gotten an earlier reservation.
During Restaurant Week you can order from the regular menu or the special priced prix-fixe menu. All three of us chose the special 3-course menu. After hearing about the options, we all ordered the same starter, different entrees, and two different types of desserts. While we waited for the first course, the waitress brought us a basket of warm bread that was very good. The crust was crunchy and the bread was chewy.
All three of us ordered the Puree of cauliflower soup, Brussel sprouts, and truffle. We knew the hubby would go for that starter if for no other reason than the truffle. The soup came and was a delicious puree topped off with the truffle oil which gave it a signature smell. The hubby liked the brussel sprout topping which was basically crisp "leaves" of brussel sprouts. RFO and I thought they were a little awkward with the soup. They just didn't seem to blend in well with the soup. Although the hubby always likes crunch with his meal, and the brussel sprouts did provide that for him. I quickly ate the sprouts so I could concentrate on the soup. Definitely a good start to the meal.
Next up were the entrees. I went with what I can only surmise was the best option at the table. Butternut squash cappaletti, pistachio, with pumpkin seed oil. The cappaletti provided a nice pasta wrap for the butternut squash puree. It was both savory and sweet all at once. The pistachios were a great addition for the "crunch." The portion size was just right in my opinion - about 5 cappalettis. RFO went with a different pasta option and had the Orecchietti, spicy lamb sausage, chickpea, olive. She seemed to enjoy her dish and I'm sure will be reviewing it soon over at Reservations for One. The hubby went with Onion braised beef short ribs, buckwheat polenta, roasted carrots, horseradish gremolata. Again, it was a given that he'd order this with polenta in the description. Polenta and truffles - a definite for him. The waitress said the beef short ribs would be taken off the bone before serving, unfortunately the fatty part of the meat was still there. Once he worked around the fat, he enjoyed the meal. He did complain that there wasn't enough of the polenta. One thing that he noted a couple of days after the meal was that not one of us shared our meal with each other. I think that was a sign that we all were happy with what we ordered and didn't find the other options all that interesting.
We finished off the meal with dessert. RFO and I both ordered the Steamed Chocolate Spice Cake, Amarene Cherries, Olive Oil Gelato. It wasn't until writing this that I remembered the gelato was olive oil. The only real thing I remember about it was that it was very hard and difficult to eat with a spoon. The cake was delicious though and was a great ending to a very good meal. The hubby went with the Yogurt Panna Cotta Parfait, citrus almond sponge cake, blood orange gelee, Pomegranate Foam and enjoyed the freshness of the dessert.
The downside of the night was the fact that we had to wait 20 minutes or so to get our bill from the waitress. They had gotten busy by that point, but I always think the end is where waitstaff either make or break their tip. I wasn't too put off by it this time given I was enjoying the conversation with my dinner partners, but she was on the ropes.
The evening was good - even with the odd bartender and the waitress delaying our bill at the end of the evening. The food, drink, and conversation were great. While I doubt I will run back to D'Amico Kitchen anytime soon, it will not be due to the food. There are just so many other options to explore!
Happy Eating!
Friday, March 5, 2010
The Lexington
The hubby and I have been on a tour of "old school supper clubs/ insitutions" of the cities. Our latest stop landed us at The Lexington. The Lexington opened in 1935 and while their website touts "more than eighty very good years," they either are missing a few years of history on the website or their math is off. I'm not a math major, but I believe they've been around for 75 years. But why quibble...they've been around a long time!
We walked into the restaurant and enjoyed the warmth and coziness of the atmosphere. It was not a modern looking restaurant, but one that you could picture a number of 3-martini lunches back in the day.
We each ordered our drink of choice, me - red wine, the hubby - a side car. We then reviewed the menu and each decided on a house specialty. I went with the Walleye Almondine and he went with the Chicken Pot Pie.
We started with salads. He went with the classic caesar which he claimed was the best he's had in ages. I went with the Lexington salad which was topped with their signature "lexington dressing." The vegetables were crisp and fresh and were a great start to the meal.
Our entrees came out soon after we finished our salad. My dish was fabulous. The walleye was flaky and soft while the almonds were crisp which created a nice texture balance. The asparagus was heavily sauteed in butter which of course made it taste amazing! My starch was a baked potato. They had a waiter stop by with toppings for my potato which was a nice touch, but in the hurry to cut open the potato to have him add the toppings, I didn't get the butter on until after the topping - made for an awkward potato. The potato was by far the disappointment of the meal, but it was just a potato. I wasn't expecting "wow."
The hubby's entree came out and looked awesome. The pot pie crust was heaping over the dish. The waitress asked if he wanted her to flip it over for him. She then did her thing and the result was a tasty chicken pot pie. Well, I will have to assume it was tasty since when I asked for a bite I was given the "no go." Oh well, my meal was also wonderful.
The wait staff seemed to be on the top of their game. They knew exactly what to do and when to do it. Not too bothersome, but helpful.
The Lexington was a great stop on our "old school" tour. We will definitely go back!
We walked into the restaurant and enjoyed the warmth and coziness of the atmosphere. It was not a modern looking restaurant, but one that you could picture a number of 3-martini lunches back in the day.
We each ordered our drink of choice, me - red wine, the hubby - a side car. We then reviewed the menu and each decided on a house specialty. I went with the Walleye Almondine and he went with the Chicken Pot Pie.
We started with salads. He went with the classic caesar which he claimed was the best he's had in ages. I went with the Lexington salad which was topped with their signature "lexington dressing." The vegetables were crisp and fresh and were a great start to the meal.
Our entrees came out soon after we finished our salad. My dish was fabulous. The walleye was flaky and soft while the almonds were crisp which created a nice texture balance. The asparagus was heavily sauteed in butter which of course made it taste amazing! My starch was a baked potato. They had a waiter stop by with toppings for my potato which was a nice touch, but in the hurry to cut open the potato to have him add the toppings, I didn't get the butter on until after the topping - made for an awkward potato. The potato was by far the disappointment of the meal, but it was just a potato. I wasn't expecting "wow."
The hubby's entree came out and looked awesome. The pot pie crust was heaping over the dish. The waitress asked if he wanted her to flip it over for him. She then did her thing and the result was a tasty chicken pot pie. Well, I will have to assume it was tasty since when I asked for a bite I was given the "no go." Oh well, my meal was also wonderful.
The wait staff seemed to be on the top of their game. They knew exactly what to do and when to do it. Not too bothersome, but helpful.
The Lexington was a great stop on our "old school" tour. We will definitely go back!
Grand Cafe - Simple, Good & Tasty Event
I am the recipient of many an email from the hubby linking me to various foodie blogs. One such email led me to stumble upon an event being held by Simple, Good, and Tasty at the Grand Cafe. From the Simple, Good, and Tasty (SGT) website, SGT "exists to promote local, sustainable, and organic foods and the people who produce them." While I support the idea of "eating local," what really drew me to the event was wanting to check out Grand Cafe for dinner. The event gave Reservations for One (RFO), the hubby, and me an excuse to go out in the middle of the week for dinner. So, we signed up and went.
We had a fabulous time and the food was amazing. I could write about the food, but Reservations for One has a great write-up on her blog. I will add that I did not get the duck cassoulet, but went for the vegetarian option. No huge hang-up on eating duck, but if there are other options I tend to choose them first. I did choose well! Pan-Fried Mandan Bride Polenta Cakes on a bed of Carrot and Golden Raisin Purée, Rapini and Romaine Lettuce Braised with Bleu Cheese. Yes, it was as good as it sounds! I was forced to share some of the polenta with the hubby and RFO. In exchange, I had a few bites of the House-Made Garlic Sausage - excellent!
One of the highlights of the evening was getting a chance to visit with the chef. Jon Randle visited with each table and let us ask questions and learn more about the meal and his background. He just seemed very down to earth and proud of his work. Chefs can have a reputation for being cranky and standoffish, but Jon was very approachable.
The evening was quite a success and we have already signed up for the March event. Look for a post in the not too distant future about Sen Yai Sen Lek.
On a side note, I recently visited Sen Yai Sen Lek for lunch and was amazed at the tasty Taohoo Tod (appetizer of Tofu with a peanut cilantro chili sauce) and the noodle dish I had. I will save my write-up for the next SGT event.
Happy Eating!
We had a fabulous time and the food was amazing. I could write about the food, but Reservations for One has a great write-up on her blog. I will add that I did not get the duck cassoulet, but went for the vegetarian option. No huge hang-up on eating duck, but if there are other options I tend to choose them first. I did choose well! Pan-Fried Mandan Bride Polenta Cakes on a bed of Carrot and Golden Raisin Purée, Rapini and Romaine Lettuce Braised with Bleu Cheese. Yes, it was as good as it sounds! I was forced to share some of the polenta with the hubby and RFO. In exchange, I had a few bites of the House-Made Garlic Sausage - excellent!
One of the highlights of the evening was getting a chance to visit with the chef. Jon Randle visited with each table and let us ask questions and learn more about the meal and his background. He just seemed very down to earth and proud of his work. Chefs can have a reputation for being cranky and standoffish, but Jon was very approachable.
The evening was quite a success and we have already signed up for the March event. Look for a post in the not too distant future about Sen Yai Sen Lek.
On a side note, I recently visited Sen Yai Sen Lek for lunch and was amazed at the tasty Taohoo Tod (appetizer of Tofu with a peanut cilantro chili sauce) and the noodle dish I had. I will save my write-up for the next SGT event.
Happy Eating!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
3rd Anniversary
Today marks the 3rd anniversary of my fall and the broken ankle. What a difference 3 years makes. I'm now very mobile and my ankle is back to normal...albeit 2 scars down the side, 8 screws, and a plate. Anyway...good to be walking with both feet today. :)
Sidetrip: KoFusion
I wanted to provide a separate post for a nice find we discovered while in Champaign, Illinois a few weeks ago.
The KoFusion storefront had interested me for several years now, but something about the name made me pass it by. I also thought it would be a hard sell to get anyone to go to it with me.
This visit to town I went on OpenTable and it had reservations available. So, we gave it a try. There were 4 of us that went that evening. When we got there, the waiting area was full. We walked to the hostess stand and gave our name. We were escorted to our table immediately….love OpenTable!
The restaurant was not at all what I expected - unique lighting, blue walls, aquariums. It seemed like it should have been in a large metropolitan downtown.
The restaurant was packed the night we went and we were told immediately by the waiter that if we wanted sushi they were running a bit behind. We were fine with that as none of us were sushi eaters. I did see a number of tables around us getting sushi and it looked like people were enjoying it.
Two members of my party ordered sake for their beverage of choice and at least one of them really enjoyed it. The other one tolerated it, but I think a margarita would have been more up his alley. I had a glass of the Cote du Rhone which was quite nice. My mom had hot tea which she enjoyed.
We started out with a starter of Edamame. They were nicely salted and proved to be a nice start to the meal. My parents tried two different stir-fry dishes and enjoyed them both. The portions were generous and made for tasty leftovers. I had a steak special that was very well done with awesome mashed potatoes. The hubby tried the Bul Go Gee (Korean-Style Char-Grilled Sliced Strip Steak). He really enjoyed his dish.
For dessert, my parents split the Crème Brulee and the hubby had the trio of gelatos. Note I didn’t say we split the dessert. He thoughtfully let me try the gelato which was very good, but it was not “split.”
The experience was great and we all walked away satisfied. I would highly recommend this restaurant for a romantic dinner, a special occasion or any other reason you want a little fine dining in downtown Champaign.
Happy Eating!
The KoFusion storefront had interested me for several years now, but something about the name made me pass it by. I also thought it would be a hard sell to get anyone to go to it with me.
This visit to town I went on OpenTable and it had reservations available. So, we gave it a try. There were 4 of us that went that evening. When we got there, the waiting area was full. We walked to the hostess stand and gave our name. We were escorted to our table immediately….love OpenTable!
The restaurant was not at all what I expected - unique lighting, blue walls, aquariums. It seemed like it should have been in a large metropolitan downtown.
The restaurant was packed the night we went and we were told immediately by the waiter that if we wanted sushi they were running a bit behind. We were fine with that as none of us were sushi eaters. I did see a number of tables around us getting sushi and it looked like people were enjoying it.
Two members of my party ordered sake for their beverage of choice and at least one of them really enjoyed it. The other one tolerated it, but I think a margarita would have been more up his alley. I had a glass of the Cote du Rhone which was quite nice. My mom had hot tea which she enjoyed.
We started out with a starter of Edamame. They were nicely salted and proved to be a nice start to the meal. My parents tried two different stir-fry dishes and enjoyed them both. The portions were generous and made for tasty leftovers. I had a steak special that was very well done with awesome mashed potatoes. The hubby tried the Bul Go Gee (Korean-Style Char-Grilled Sliced Strip Steak). He really enjoyed his dish.
For dessert, my parents split the Crème Brulee and the hubby had the trio of gelatos. Note I didn’t say we split the dessert. He thoughtfully let me try the gelato which was very good, but it was not “split.”
The experience was great and we all walked away satisfied. I would highly recommend this restaurant for a romantic dinner, a special occasion or any other reason you want a little fine dining in downtown Champaign.
Happy Eating!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sidetrip: Central Illinois
Recently I took a trip to Central Illinois where I was able to visit with family as well as revisit some long-time favorite restaurants.
We started out with Papa Del's pizza. This is a University of Illinois institution, but sadly I couldn't find a website! It's a deep dish pizza with lots of crust, sauce, and cheese. We did the pepperoni version which was as good as we remembered. Papa Del's pizza is so thick that 1-2 slices is plenty of pizza. Really one is probably enough, but given we don't eat it very often it was hard to stop at one. There is another local pizza favorite that I didn't have this time around, but worth a mention. Monical's is a favorite for the townies. It is about the exact opposite of Papa Del's - a thin, cracker crust pizza cut into squares. You can get deep dish at Monical's, but really...why bother. If you're going to do deep dish, go Papa Del's. Both pizzas are good and worth a try if you have the opportunity. We finished the evening with cupcakes from Cakes on Walnut. This is a relatively new bakery in downtown and worth a visit. They have some great flavors and are nice and moist.
Lunch the next day was a visit to Farren's Pub. This is a small restaurant that has grown to be one of my must visits when in town. It has a small kitchen off to the side of the bar and you might expect run-of-the-mill bar food. It is a pleasant surprise to be presented with a menu that will please both the foodie and the non-foodie in the group. The burgers are great and the handcut french fries are worth getting. They offer a Kobe burger on the menu. I've had that in the past, but the regular burger is just fine with me. I don't need the "massaged beef" that the Kobe offers. My only disappointment with this restaurant is that once or twice they have had a wonderfully seasoned barbecue pork sandwich on the "specials" menu. They haven't had this the last several times I've been there. I wish they had this on the regular menu so I can be sure of getting it when I visit.
That evening we were on the western edge of Central Illinois and stopped at a restaurant in a small town, Liberty, Illinois. Mike's Place (no website) has to be the local favorite of that area. It is traditional country cooking at its best. I had to go old school and get the Country Fried Steak. It was exactly what I expected - fried yummy goodness and mashed potatoes covered with gravy. The rest of my party went with breakfast for dinner. We all ended the meal with homemade pie.
We ended the western edge visit with brunch at the country club the following morning. The meal was good and a great way to end the weekend visit.
We started out with Papa Del's pizza. This is a University of Illinois institution, but sadly I couldn't find a website! It's a deep dish pizza with lots of crust, sauce, and cheese. We did the pepperoni version which was as good as we remembered. Papa Del's pizza is so thick that 1-2 slices is plenty of pizza. Really one is probably enough, but given we don't eat it very often it was hard to stop at one. There is another local pizza favorite that I didn't have this time around, but worth a mention. Monical's is a favorite for the townies. It is about the exact opposite of Papa Del's - a thin, cracker crust pizza cut into squares. You can get deep dish at Monical's, but really...why bother. If you're going to do deep dish, go Papa Del's. Both pizzas are good and worth a try if you have the opportunity. We finished the evening with cupcakes from Cakes on Walnut. This is a relatively new bakery in downtown and worth a visit. They have some great flavors and are nice and moist.
Lunch the next day was a visit to Farren's Pub. This is a small restaurant that has grown to be one of my must visits when in town. It has a small kitchen off to the side of the bar and you might expect run-of-the-mill bar food. It is a pleasant surprise to be presented with a menu that will please both the foodie and the non-foodie in the group. The burgers are great and the handcut french fries are worth getting. They offer a Kobe burger on the menu. I've had that in the past, but the regular burger is just fine with me. I don't need the "massaged beef" that the Kobe offers. My only disappointment with this restaurant is that once or twice they have had a wonderfully seasoned barbecue pork sandwich on the "specials" menu. They haven't had this the last several times I've been there. I wish they had this on the regular menu so I can be sure of getting it when I visit.
That evening we were on the western edge of Central Illinois and stopped at a restaurant in a small town, Liberty, Illinois. Mike's Place (no website) has to be the local favorite of that area. It is traditional country cooking at its best. I had to go old school and get the Country Fried Steak. It was exactly what I expected - fried yummy goodness and mashed potatoes covered with gravy. The rest of my party went with breakfast for dinner. We all ended the meal with homemade pie.
We ended the western edge visit with brunch at the country club the following morning. The meal was good and a great way to end the weekend visit.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Biella Ristorante
Thanks to my iPhone and the Open Table app, several weeks ago we tried Biella Ristorante in Excelsior on a whim. Biella is in a beautiful space. An old building with exposed brick...very cozy!
We were among the first guests that evening, so our waiter was very attentive. They had a large staff ready for the tables to be filled with diners. While they waited there was a lot of adjusting of tables, fixing unsturdy chairs, and shining silverware. It was interesting watching the wait staff check their tables and make sure the settings were in good shape for their guests.
We both started off with a salad. I had the Mista which was comprised of Romaine, Sweet Corn, Baby Tomatoes, Blueberries, Provolone, & a light Balsamic Vinaigrette. The Vinaigrette made the lettuce look like it was old and wilted, however the lettuce was crisp and fresh. I might suggest they put the dressing on the side so that the salad at least looks fresh when it is brought to the table. I enjoyed the blueberries in the salad. I'm sure this salad would seem much fresher if it was the middle of summer. The hubby had the Florentine Salad which had Mizuno Greens, Egg, Bacon, Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber, and Olive Oil & Lemon. Both salads were fine, but not outstanding.
I stayed with the blueberry theme for the main entree and ordered the Manhattan Filet. This was an 8oz. Filet with Blueberry Demi, Potato Puree, & Broccoli. The filet was more like a New York Strip than a filet and was a bit on the tougher side. I think they could have butterflied the filet to cook it. Instead I went with ordering it medium (versus my normal medium well). It had a nice flavor. While there was a blueberry demi sauce, I didn't get an overwhelming blueberry taste. I suppose that was fine, the sauce was still a nice addition to the meat and the potato puree.
The hubby went with the Chicken Ravello - which was a seared ChickenBreast, Fingerling Potatoes, Spinach, Bacon, with Star Anise Glaze and a hint of Truffle Oil. I know that if there is anything on the menu with truffle oil, he'll end up ordering it. Same thing with polenta - although that was not on the Biella menu that evening. His meal was fine, although the fingerling potatoes were oddly cut and seemed to just roll around on the plate.
Overall the meal was nice and the atmosphere was great. Our waiter was one of the best we've had in ages. He was attentive, able to explain the selections, kept the water glasses filled, and all in all was very good.
Biella is a good restaurant if you live on the west side of the metro area. I doubt we'll be rushing back anytime soon, but mainly that is because we have so many restaurants to try that it's hard to revisit average ones.
Happy Eating!
We were among the first guests that evening, so our waiter was very attentive. They had a large staff ready for the tables to be filled with diners. While they waited there was a lot of adjusting of tables, fixing unsturdy chairs, and shining silverware. It was interesting watching the wait staff check their tables and make sure the settings were in good shape for their guests.
We both started off with a salad. I had the Mista which was comprised of Romaine, Sweet Corn, Baby Tomatoes, Blueberries, Provolone, & a light Balsamic Vinaigrette. The Vinaigrette made the lettuce look like it was old and wilted, however the lettuce was crisp and fresh. I might suggest they put the dressing on the side so that the salad at least looks fresh when it is brought to the table. I enjoyed the blueberries in the salad. I'm sure this salad would seem much fresher if it was the middle of summer. The hubby had the Florentine Salad which had Mizuno Greens, Egg, Bacon, Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber, and Olive Oil & Lemon. Both salads were fine, but not outstanding.
I stayed with the blueberry theme for the main entree and ordered the Manhattan Filet. This was an 8oz. Filet with Blueberry Demi, Potato Puree, & Broccoli. The filet was more like a New York Strip than a filet and was a bit on the tougher side. I think they could have butterflied the filet to cook it. Instead I went with ordering it medium (versus my normal medium well). It had a nice flavor. While there was a blueberry demi sauce, I didn't get an overwhelming blueberry taste. I suppose that was fine, the sauce was still a nice addition to the meat and the potato puree.
The hubby went with the Chicken Ravello - which was a seared ChickenBreast, Fingerling Potatoes, Spinach, Bacon, with Star Anise Glaze and a hint of Truffle Oil. I know that if there is anything on the menu with truffle oil, he'll end up ordering it. Same thing with polenta - although that was not on the Biella menu that evening. His meal was fine, although the fingerling potatoes were oddly cut and seemed to just roll around on the plate.
Overall the meal was nice and the atmosphere was great. Our waiter was one of the best we've had in ages. He was attentive, able to explain the selections, kept the water glasses filled, and all in all was very good.
Biella is a good restaurant if you live on the west side of the metro area. I doubt we'll be rushing back anytime soon, but mainly that is because we have so many restaurants to try that it's hard to revisit average ones.
Happy Eating!
Suburban Restaurants
Over the last several weeks, I have visited a number of new restaurants. I will provide a few thoughts and overall impressions on these restaurants. Two of the restaurants were visited on a work night for a “see what the suburbs have to offer” meal.
One evening we ventured to The Cove. This restaurant is not really new, but until recently my interest in going to it was very low. During our time in the cities, this location has housed approximately 5 different food establishments. I’m not sure what the problem is with the location, although it shares a building with a Live Bait shop – which in my opinion is not exactly appetizing advertising. Another part of my hesitation was based on their website which is awkwardly put together. In addition, the menu is rather obnoxious. The addition of the z on the end of wordz is annoying. The menu is difficult to read and I often wonder if people who create menus actually look at the finished product. Different fonts are used and way too much verbiage is used on the different songs/records that introduce the different categories of food. Just feels like they are trying too hard to have a theme.
We did venture out one evening to the restaurant to give it a try. The evening we went, it was pretty well populated. This is always good to see. They had some awkwardly placed tables in the restaurant – meant for one person, but the person would have to face the wall in the corner. I know when I eat in a restaurant by myself, I like to be able to look out and people watch. I would feel like I was in trouble if I had to sit in those seats facing the wall. The restaurant is decorated with various rock ‘n roll posters, albums, etc. This played along with the theme on the menu. Ironically, the tv station was turned to the country station and the overhead music was country as well – although not the same which was annoying.
So …what about the food? I went with a plain hamburger and fries. The hubby went with the Chubby Checker Chicken Sliders and the Elvis Cheese Curdz. The food was surprisingly pretty good. I think I had low expectations so the fact that the food was decent was surprising. I doubt I will rush back to The Cove, but if I’m in the area…I’d give it another try.
Next up…Casa Nostra Pizzeria and Ristorante Italiano. We tried this new restaurant during their opening week. We will go back and try it once they are a bit established, but it was worth a try this particular night. We went fairly early and had no problem getting a table. By the time we left, nearly every table was full.
The restaurant is pretty small in size. The décor of the dining room was pretty nice…deep red walls with dark trim. One of my biggest pet peeves of restaurants is when they don’t think through all of the design elements of the space and how the customers will experience the meal. This particular restaurant had an opening between the kitchen and the dining room that had no door. While it was nice to not have a door swinging back and forth, the harsh bright light of the kitchen was distracting. Unfortunately I chose a seat that faced that door. It was very distracting to me throughout the meal. A simple curtain would have helped provide a barrier.
The hubby tried the fettuccine alfredo and thought it was ok. I ordered a pepperoni pizza that when delivered had a neon orange look to it. It was so unappealing looking that if I were the chef I would never have served it to a customer. I gave it a try and it was tolerable. Part of the problem was the grease from the pepperoni. That coupled with what appeared to be a cheddar cheese blend provided the orange glow. While I didn’t send it back, I also will not order it again if I go back. They have paninis that might be worth a lunch trip some day if in the area.
Both of these restaurants were worth a week night try. I won’t rush back to either one, but they do offer a suburban option.
Happy eating!
One evening we ventured to The Cove. This restaurant is not really new, but until recently my interest in going to it was very low. During our time in the cities, this location has housed approximately 5 different food establishments. I’m not sure what the problem is with the location, although it shares a building with a Live Bait shop – which in my opinion is not exactly appetizing advertising. Another part of my hesitation was based on their website which is awkwardly put together. In addition, the menu is rather obnoxious. The addition of the z on the end of wordz is annoying. The menu is difficult to read and I often wonder if people who create menus actually look at the finished product. Different fonts are used and way too much verbiage is used on the different songs/records that introduce the different categories of food. Just feels like they are trying too hard to have a theme.
We did venture out one evening to the restaurant to give it a try. The evening we went, it was pretty well populated. This is always good to see. They had some awkwardly placed tables in the restaurant – meant for one person, but the person would have to face the wall in the corner. I know when I eat in a restaurant by myself, I like to be able to look out and people watch. I would feel like I was in trouble if I had to sit in those seats facing the wall. The restaurant is decorated with various rock ‘n roll posters, albums, etc. This played along with the theme on the menu. Ironically, the tv station was turned to the country station and the overhead music was country as well – although not the same which was annoying.
So …what about the food? I went with a plain hamburger and fries. The hubby went with the Chubby Checker Chicken Sliders and the Elvis Cheese Curdz. The food was surprisingly pretty good. I think I had low expectations so the fact that the food was decent was surprising. I doubt I will rush back to The Cove, but if I’m in the area…I’d give it another try.
Next up…Casa Nostra Pizzeria and Ristorante Italiano. We tried this new restaurant during their opening week. We will go back and try it once they are a bit established, but it was worth a try this particular night. We went fairly early and had no problem getting a table. By the time we left, nearly every table was full.
The restaurant is pretty small in size. The décor of the dining room was pretty nice…deep red walls with dark trim. One of my biggest pet peeves of restaurants is when they don’t think through all of the design elements of the space and how the customers will experience the meal. This particular restaurant had an opening between the kitchen and the dining room that had no door. While it was nice to not have a door swinging back and forth, the harsh bright light of the kitchen was distracting. Unfortunately I chose a seat that faced that door. It was very distracting to me throughout the meal. A simple curtain would have helped provide a barrier.
The hubby tried the fettuccine alfredo and thought it was ok. I ordered a pepperoni pizza that when delivered had a neon orange look to it. It was so unappealing looking that if I were the chef I would never have served it to a customer. I gave it a try and it was tolerable. Part of the problem was the grease from the pepperoni. That coupled with what appeared to be a cheddar cheese blend provided the orange glow. While I didn’t send it back, I also will not order it again if I go back. They have paninis that might be worth a lunch trip some day if in the area.
Both of these restaurants were worth a week night try. I won’t rush back to either one, but they do offer a suburban option.
Happy eating!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Solera
So my post about Solera has to begin a number of years ago. Specifically, I’m going back to 2004. This was the year that the hubby and I decided that we were tired of the same old restaurants. Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine published their Top 50 restaurants and we decided to “work the list.” Every week we would pick a different restaurant from the list and make reservations. Thus began the love affair of trying new restaurants. Now we never did hit all 50, we’re both not big sushi fans and several of the restaurants are focused on that cuisine. However, we did hit a fair share of the list and most of the Top 20. The one exception – which is still on the list is Canoe Bay in Wisconsin. That would require a likely stay overnight due to the drive, so we haven’t gotten there quite yet.
Which brings me back to Solera, after our first visit to this Tim McKee restaurant, I fell in love. As Reservations for One indicates, the Chorizo Stuffed Dates are an all-time favorite of mine. Now when you are working the Top 50 list and new restaurants continue to come and go, it is hard to always get back to restaurants that you’ve tried already. Solera is one of those that I make exceptions for. I’ve been there for birthdays, before a play, after a concert, happy hours, and just because. Now I still don’t go on a regular basis, but in the last 6 years I’ve been there a number of times.
When visitors come to town, this is one of the restaurants I always want to take guests too. My girlfriends from high school have been there….unfortunately one HATES goat cheese which was very disappointing given my love of the dates. We are still friends though; I just know we have our differences. One of the more memorable excursions was when we took my parents to Solera after a Garrison Keillor show. My dad is “vanilla,” plain and simple. He likes vanilla ice cream, regular coffee – no snooty latte or cappuccino, he’s a meat and potato man through and through. My mom on the other hand enjoys trying whatever we suggest and is more open to new foods. When I mentioned Tapas to my parents, I think my mom was intrigued and my dad was skeptical. We got them to go and my dad absolutely LOVED this place. My mom enjoyed it, but the surprise of the evening was how into the various tapas and the experience my dad was. (I will have to say this was after seeing Garrison and guest performer Wilco, so he was in a pretty decent mood.) It was a lot of fun and the food was great as always.
Which brings me to my recent visit…Reservations for One and I went there after work one evening. She has a great review of the dishes we tried. Please check out her blog for the specifics. I do depart from her on the Chorizo Stuffed Dates review. When you have the creamy goat cheese, who cares about whether there was enough Chorizo in the mix. They were still as good as ever! (And thank you that I got the extra one!) They no longer offer the breadsticks with Serrano ham, cheese and honey. That was also a great dish and I was sad to see it go. Every dish we tried was great. What’s awesome about tapas is if there was a dish you didn’t care for as much, you order another. It’s not like you are stuck with a full meal of something you don’t like. We also enjoyed a nice glass of Rioja which paired well with the items we ordered. I agree with the review of the dessert dish – the chocolate was just not quite sweet enough.
I would encourage you to give Solera a try if you have not already. As for me, I will be back and will order Chorizo Stuffed Dates as my first tapas.
Happy eating!
Which brings me back to Solera, after our first visit to this Tim McKee restaurant, I fell in love. As Reservations for One indicates, the Chorizo Stuffed Dates are an all-time favorite of mine. Now when you are working the Top 50 list and new restaurants continue to come and go, it is hard to always get back to restaurants that you’ve tried already. Solera is one of those that I make exceptions for. I’ve been there for birthdays, before a play, after a concert, happy hours, and just because. Now I still don’t go on a regular basis, but in the last 6 years I’ve been there a number of times.
When visitors come to town, this is one of the restaurants I always want to take guests too. My girlfriends from high school have been there….unfortunately one HATES goat cheese which was very disappointing given my love of the dates. We are still friends though; I just know we have our differences. One of the more memorable excursions was when we took my parents to Solera after a Garrison Keillor show. My dad is “vanilla,” plain and simple. He likes vanilla ice cream, regular coffee – no snooty latte or cappuccino, he’s a meat and potato man through and through. My mom on the other hand enjoys trying whatever we suggest and is more open to new foods. When I mentioned Tapas to my parents, I think my mom was intrigued and my dad was skeptical. We got them to go and my dad absolutely LOVED this place. My mom enjoyed it, but the surprise of the evening was how into the various tapas and the experience my dad was. (I will have to say this was after seeing Garrison and guest performer Wilco, so he was in a pretty decent mood.) It was a lot of fun and the food was great as always.
Which brings me to my recent visit…Reservations for One and I went there after work one evening. She has a great review of the dishes we tried. Please check out her blog for the specifics. I do depart from her on the Chorizo Stuffed Dates review. When you have the creamy goat cheese, who cares about whether there was enough Chorizo in the mix. They were still as good as ever! (And thank you that I got the extra one!) They no longer offer the breadsticks with Serrano ham, cheese and honey. That was also a great dish and I was sad to see it go. Every dish we tried was great. What’s awesome about tapas is if there was a dish you didn’t care for as much, you order another. It’s not like you are stuck with a full meal of something you don’t like. We also enjoyed a nice glass of Rioja which paired well with the items we ordered. I agree with the review of the dessert dish – the chocolate was just not quite sweet enough.
I would encourage you to give Solera a try if you have not already. As for me, I will be back and will order Chorizo Stuffed Dates as my first tapas.
Happy eating!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The Anchor Fish and Chips
The hubby and I ventured out to The Anchor Fish and Chips recently to see what all the hype was about. I actually was more interested in trying it than he was - the idea of Fish and Chips just sounded appealing. We had an event to go to in the evening, so we hit The Anchor around 4:45 pm. It was packed! There are pros about being a party of 2 as we were seated immediately while larger parties had to wait.
The place is small, but not confining. I'm borderline claustrophobic and small enclosed spaces can sometimes bother me. This was not that way. While the waiting area is small, the actual dining area was comfortable. I wouldn't necessarily go there to have a serious conversation with someone - others will hear you. But really, who has a serious conversation over fried food? My one complaint on the space (and one that I have with other smaller restaurants) is the lack of a vestibule from the outside to the restaurant. There was not much between the guests and the outside air. In the middle of winter that can make for some drafty dining. The decor of the restaurant was simple and on the dark side. Very cozy, minus the drafty door.
We placed our orders relatively quickly. I went with the restaurant namesake, the Fish and Chips. The hubby went with the Sausage and Chips. I think I had a Diet Coke and he had water, so no commentary about the beverages on this review. Although a cold beer probably would have tasted pretty good with the fish and chips, I'll save that for summertime.
The wait for our food didn't seem to take too long. The fish portion was a generous serving. Technically there were two fillets, but they were huge. I think we could have easily split this and maybe an appetizer to go with it. There was one sausage in his meal. It was quite large and definitely filling. The chips were very good - especially with the white vinegar. I ordered a side of tartar sauce (ahhh....childhood memories of fish stick night)! This was not your Mrs. Paul's tartar sauce. We shared it between the fish, sausage and chips. Hints of garlic. Mmm. Very refreshing and worth the 50 cents extra it cost. The fish was an Alaskan cod deep fried to a golden brown. The fish itself was flaky and oh so tasty. I tried it with the vinegar, then the tartar sauce, and by itself. All 3 ways were appealing. The breading was good, but I quickly tired of it as the portion was so huge. I ended up leaving quite a bit of the fish...next time I'll split it! I didn't have them box it up for leftovers. I just don't think it would have lived up to the hype had I reheated it later. The sausage was presumably good as well. I didn't try it as it just didn't appeal to me. I like sausage for breakfast, but later in the day...not so much. He enjoyed it though and I think would recommend it to others.
We finished the meal and gave up our table for the waiting crowd. We both agreed it was a good choice and one that we would go back to again. However, the food was fried and heavy and stuck with us for awhile. We actually contemplated blowing off our evening event since we were uncomfortably stuffed. Thankfully we didn't as we had fun at the event and the uncomfortable full feeling went away fairly quickly.
My overall opinion is great restaurant for good pub food. Split the Fish and Chips with someone. Go early as it is busy. Looking forward to trying it again in the summer.
The place is small, but not confining. I'm borderline claustrophobic and small enclosed spaces can sometimes bother me. This was not that way. While the waiting area is small, the actual dining area was comfortable. I wouldn't necessarily go there to have a serious conversation with someone - others will hear you. But really, who has a serious conversation over fried food? My one complaint on the space (and one that I have with other smaller restaurants) is the lack of a vestibule from the outside to the restaurant. There was not much between the guests and the outside air. In the middle of winter that can make for some drafty dining. The decor of the restaurant was simple and on the dark side. Very cozy, minus the drafty door.
We placed our orders relatively quickly. I went with the restaurant namesake, the Fish and Chips. The hubby went with the Sausage and Chips. I think I had a Diet Coke and he had water, so no commentary about the beverages on this review. Although a cold beer probably would have tasted pretty good with the fish and chips, I'll save that for summertime.
The wait for our food didn't seem to take too long. The fish portion was a generous serving. Technically there were two fillets, but they were huge. I think we could have easily split this and maybe an appetizer to go with it. There was one sausage in his meal. It was quite large and definitely filling. The chips were very good - especially with the white vinegar. I ordered a side of tartar sauce (ahhh....childhood memories of fish stick night)! This was not your Mrs. Paul's tartar sauce. We shared it between the fish, sausage and chips. Hints of garlic. Mmm. Very refreshing and worth the 50 cents extra it cost. The fish was an Alaskan cod deep fried to a golden brown. The fish itself was flaky and oh so tasty. I tried it with the vinegar, then the tartar sauce, and by itself. All 3 ways were appealing. The breading was good, but I quickly tired of it as the portion was so huge. I ended up leaving quite a bit of the fish...next time I'll split it! I didn't have them box it up for leftovers. I just don't think it would have lived up to the hype had I reheated it later. The sausage was presumably good as well. I didn't try it as it just didn't appeal to me. I like sausage for breakfast, but later in the day...not so much. He enjoyed it though and I think would recommend it to others.
We finished the meal and gave up our table for the waiting crowd. We both agreed it was a good choice and one that we would go back to again. However, the food was fried and heavy and stuck with us for awhile. We actually contemplated blowing off our evening event since we were uncomfortably stuffed. Thankfully we didn't as we had fun at the event and the uncomfortable full feeling went away fairly quickly.
My overall opinion is great restaurant for good pub food. Split the Fish and Chips with someone. Go early as it is busy. Looking forward to trying it again in the summer.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
A Burger is a Burger....or not
Occasionally on a weekend, we'll hop in the car and find an out of the way diner or burger joint to try. Minnesota Monthly magazine helped the process along a couple of years ago by publishing an article on hamburgers. Over the last couple of years we've managed to try a number of these "burger kings".
To start with, I must explain that when it comes to burgers...plain is the way to go. I've had friends tease me about ordering a plain burger, but what better way to compare burgers to each other than to just order the tried and true standard. Meat on a bun. I mean really, you throw on a piece of cheese or a crisp piece of bacon and you've lost the essential taste of the meat. I want to be able to tell if it's juicy or dry, well seasoned or bland. Now sometimes I will add a little mayo or ketchup to the burger, but only after trying it au natural. (And if I'm adding a sauce, I've likely not found the end all be all of burgers.) I do enjoy a good cheeseburger every now and then, but if I'm trying out a new place I typically go plain. Speaking of cheeseburgers and idiosyncrasies, my Dad has to have mustard on a cheeseburger but not on a hamburger.
Recently we paid a visit to an out of the way restaurant/bar called House of Coates. I can't find a website, although there are a number of reviews if you google them. We have been there for lunch a couple of times before, so we knew what to expect. We got there about 6:30 and had just a small wait, although the host said 25 minutes it was more like 10-15. There were a couple of spots at the bar, so we grabbed a drink and waited. We each ordered a plain burger and split fries. The place was busy and so we had to wait a bit for our meal. Just made us that much hungrier. The burgers and fries came and looked good. The burgers were not the "fake looking" pressed patties that you sometimes get at restaurants. These burgers were handmade patties - not perfectly round, a little loose in the formation. The fries were pretty standard. I was disappointed in the lack of taste of the burger. It was juicy, just a slight pink center, but really not much taste at all. Let's put it this way....I added ketchup. There are just too many other good burger places to go these days.
We went to another out of the way burger place during the holidays. We headed to King's Place (warning, the website is slow to open). This is an interesting burger place. It sits in a town with a population of probably no more than 150, but it is always busy. They have a huge variety of burgers. I know I went on in the previous paragraph about ordering plain burgers. Well here, there are so many interesting ones that after the initial visit with a plain burger, I usually mix it up now. As with the Coates restaurant, the fries are unremarkable. The burgers are just soooo good. Juicy, flavorful, handmade (no pressed patties there). I would highly recommend a visit to King's Place if you are looking for a good, inexpensive burger.
Let me know if you ever need ideas of where to go. I have many thoughts on good burgers in the area...even some in other parts of the country. For example, nothing beats a good Kelly Burger.
Happy Eating!
To start with, I must explain that when it comes to burgers...plain is the way to go. I've had friends tease me about ordering a plain burger, but what better way to compare burgers to each other than to just order the tried and true standard. Meat on a bun. I mean really, you throw on a piece of cheese or a crisp piece of bacon and you've lost the essential taste of the meat. I want to be able to tell if it's juicy or dry, well seasoned or bland. Now sometimes I will add a little mayo or ketchup to the burger, but only after trying it au natural. (And if I'm adding a sauce, I've likely not found the end all be all of burgers.) I do enjoy a good cheeseburger every now and then, but if I'm trying out a new place I typically go plain. Speaking of cheeseburgers and idiosyncrasies, my Dad has to have mustard on a cheeseburger but not on a hamburger.
Recently we paid a visit to an out of the way restaurant/bar called House of Coates. I can't find a website, although there are a number of reviews if you google them. We have been there for lunch a couple of times before, so we knew what to expect. We got there about 6:30 and had just a small wait, although the host said 25 minutes it was more like 10-15. There were a couple of spots at the bar, so we grabbed a drink and waited. We each ordered a plain burger and split fries. The place was busy and so we had to wait a bit for our meal. Just made us that much hungrier. The burgers and fries came and looked good. The burgers were not the "fake looking" pressed patties that you sometimes get at restaurants. These burgers were handmade patties - not perfectly round, a little loose in the formation. The fries were pretty standard. I was disappointed in the lack of taste of the burger. It was juicy, just a slight pink center, but really not much taste at all. Let's put it this way....I added ketchup. There are just too many other good burger places to go these days.
We went to another out of the way burger place during the holidays. We headed to King's Place (warning, the website is slow to open). This is an interesting burger place. It sits in a town with a population of probably no more than 150, but it is always busy. They have a huge variety of burgers. I know I went on in the previous paragraph about ordering plain burgers. Well here, there are so many interesting ones that after the initial visit with a plain burger, I usually mix it up now. As with the Coates restaurant, the fries are unremarkable. The burgers are just soooo good. Juicy, flavorful, handmade (no pressed patties there). I would highly recommend a visit to King's Place if you are looking for a good, inexpensive burger.
Let me know if you ever need ideas of where to go. I have many thoughts on good burgers in the area...even some in other parts of the country. For example, nothing beats a good Kelly Burger.
Happy Eating!
Settling the Bill
I wholeheartedly agree with Philip Dorwat in his post on the Mpls St. Paul Mag blog. One of my biggest pet peeves at a restaurant is when the server asks "Do you need any change?" when picking up the bill. And yes, I am a good tipper by practice.
I was at a restaurant before Christmas where the bill was $14.50 and I laid down a $20 and was asked "Do you need change?" Really??? Am I going to tip you that much? Maybe on a holiday or special occasion, but it was for a pizza on a random day in the middle of the week.
I was at a place this evening for dinner and heard our waitress ask another table if they needed change. I decided I would use a credit card versus having to get asked that question. I've thought about just not tipping if they ask that, but I haven't quite gotten to that point. It's just one of those things that does cause the tip to go down after potentially a good experience.
Another way for a waitress/waiter to lower their tip is by waiting too long to bring the bill. So many servers drop the ball on this one. They may be extremely attentive all meal, but when it comes time to get the bill they have suddenly disappeared. See it through people, see it through!
What causes you to leave a smaller tip? What causes you to leave a more generous tip?
Happy Eating!
I was at a restaurant before Christmas where the bill was $14.50 and I laid down a $20 and was asked "Do you need change?" Really??? Am I going to tip you that much? Maybe on a holiday or special occasion, but it was for a pizza on a random day in the middle of the week.
I was at a place this evening for dinner and heard our waitress ask another table if they needed change. I decided I would use a credit card versus having to get asked that question. I've thought about just not tipping if they ask that, but I haven't quite gotten to that point. It's just one of those things that does cause the tip to go down after potentially a good experience.
Another way for a waitress/waiter to lower their tip is by waiting too long to bring the bill. So many servers drop the ball on this one. They may be extremely attentive all meal, but when it comes time to get the bill they have suddenly disappeared. See it through people, see it through!
What causes you to leave a smaller tip? What causes you to leave a more generous tip?
Happy Eating!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Pardon My French
Tonight the hubby and I ventured out for our second trip to Pardon My French Bakery, Cafe and Wine Bar. The first trip was a Saturday afternoon several weeks ago. While the overall experience of the first visit was ok, I definitely wanted to give it a second try.
Let me start by mentioning the layout of the restaurant. It's a large, awkwardly laid out space. One area is like a coffee shop with oversized chairs, computers, reading material. Then in the middle of the restaurant is a gas fireplace with sofas and tables surrounding it. Then the other side of the restaurant has tables and the aforementioned wine bar. I felt that it couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
The second aspect of the restaurant that left me scratching my head was the clientele. Nothing was wrong with the individuals themselves, but the first time we went there was a huge group of high school (or college) aged students who took up a large portion of the restaurant. They didn't seem to be eating much, but rather socializing, etc. Tonight there was a jewlrey party (Lia Sophia) in the middle of the room. While they weren't altogether distracting, I just struggled with whether or not this was a restaurant or a community center. The side of the room we were on this evening was all females. I think the hubby was estrogened out.
Now, onto the food. During the first visit I had the quiche special. Two quiches with a side salad. I had the Quiche Lorraine and the Asparagus, Tomato, Chicken Quiche. Both were good, but I tired of the spinach pretty quickly in the Quiche Lorraine. There was a ton of spinach in the quiche. The second quiche was more evenly balanced and tasted good.
Tonight we both went with the Tart Flambe. The menu noted that it was a 25 minute preparation time for these and so we waited. The tarts came out and were essentially flatbread pizzas. Mine consisted of a lot of cheese, onions, and bacon. It tasted very good, but I couldn't finish the entire thing. I still am puzzeled by why a flatbread type pizza takes 25 minutes to prepare. Thankfully my new iPhone comes in handy when you have a lot of waiting to do. We finished dinner by sharing a piece of dessert - Raspberry Pave. It was a lot of chocolate and very rich. I washed the meal down with a glass of red wine.
So, we gave it the second try it deserved. Not sure it will get a third visit anytime soon. While the food was good and the service was fine, I just can't get passed the idea that they don't know what they want to be. Even the title of the restaurant sums it up pretty well - is it a bakery, a cafe or a wine bar. Is it a community center, a library, or a place to just hang out.
Happy eating!
Let me start by mentioning the layout of the restaurant. It's a large, awkwardly laid out space. One area is like a coffee shop with oversized chairs, computers, reading material. Then in the middle of the restaurant is a gas fireplace with sofas and tables surrounding it. Then the other side of the restaurant has tables and the aforementioned wine bar. I felt that it couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
The second aspect of the restaurant that left me scratching my head was the clientele. Nothing was wrong with the individuals themselves, but the first time we went there was a huge group of high school (or college) aged students who took up a large portion of the restaurant. They didn't seem to be eating much, but rather socializing, etc. Tonight there was a jewlrey party (Lia Sophia) in the middle of the room. While they weren't altogether distracting, I just struggled with whether or not this was a restaurant or a community center. The side of the room we were on this evening was all females. I think the hubby was estrogened out.
Now, onto the food. During the first visit I had the quiche special. Two quiches with a side salad. I had the Quiche Lorraine and the Asparagus, Tomato, Chicken Quiche. Both were good, but I tired of the spinach pretty quickly in the Quiche Lorraine. There was a ton of spinach in the quiche. The second quiche was more evenly balanced and tasted good.
Tonight we both went with the Tart Flambe. The menu noted that it was a 25 minute preparation time for these and so we waited. The tarts came out and were essentially flatbread pizzas. Mine consisted of a lot of cheese, onions, and bacon. It tasted very good, but I couldn't finish the entire thing. I still am puzzeled by why a flatbread type pizza takes 25 minutes to prepare. Thankfully my new iPhone comes in handy when you have a lot of waiting to do. We finished dinner by sharing a piece of dessert - Raspberry Pave. It was a lot of chocolate and very rich. I washed the meal down with a glass of red wine.
So, we gave it the second try it deserved. Not sure it will get a third visit anytime soon. While the food was good and the service was fine, I just can't get passed the idea that they don't know what they want to be. Even the title of the restaurant sums it up pretty well - is it a bakery, a cafe or a wine bar. Is it a community center, a library, or a place to just hang out.
Happy eating!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I'm Back
It's been more than 44 days since I last posted. (Obviously!) Since early November, I have finally completed my Masters degree in Human Resources and Industrial Relations. I still haven't quite gotten used to that fact. I think part of it is that until the last week or so it just felt like semester break. I didn't feel like doing much over break. School didn't get out until almost Christmas. Needless to say, I did not get cards out this year. Now the new semester has started and I have friends back at school. However, I am doing what I want in the evenings. So....what does that entail?
I have gone back to a Bible study on Monday nights. This is something that I've enjoyed over the years (prior to classes). It's been nice getting back into that type of a study.
For Christmas I was given a set of private squash lessons. I had my second one tonight and I'm feeling pretty sore already. (Hope I can walk tomorrow!) My goal is to beat the hubby once in awhile. I'm learning some strategies to do that...now if I can put them to use!
Those are the only two "committments" that I have during the week with the exception of work. One thing I've been enjoying is catching up with friends for dinner and/or a glass of wine. Just knowing I can do that when I want without the pressure of "needing to study" is great.
I've been slow getting back to Debbie's Discourse as I am still contemplating what I want this blog to be about. It's been 3 years (almost) since I started this to occupy my time during the ankle recovery. I have used it over the years to provide quick updates, talk about the dogs, etc. I'm wanting to change focus. What might that be??? I've thought about gearing it towards a food blog. There are so many out there, so I wouldn't be competing with the heavy hitters. This would just be a place to capture some of the great meals that I share with friends. So, that might be an option.
So....if I have any readers still, I'll try and get back to this blog on a more regular basis. If I don't have any readers anymore....well, it's a good place to write and capture thoughts.
Hope you all are having a great start to 2010!
I have gone back to a Bible study on Monday nights. This is something that I've enjoyed over the years (prior to classes). It's been nice getting back into that type of a study.
For Christmas I was given a set of private squash lessons. I had my second one tonight and I'm feeling pretty sore already. (Hope I can walk tomorrow!) My goal is to beat the hubby once in awhile. I'm learning some strategies to do that...now if I can put them to use!
Those are the only two "committments" that I have during the week with the exception of work. One thing I've been enjoying is catching up with friends for dinner and/or a glass of wine. Just knowing I can do that when I want without the pressure of "needing to study" is great.
I've been slow getting back to Debbie's Discourse as I am still contemplating what I want this blog to be about. It's been 3 years (almost) since I started this to occupy my time during the ankle recovery. I have used it over the years to provide quick updates, talk about the dogs, etc. I'm wanting to change focus. What might that be??? I've thought about gearing it towards a food blog. There are so many out there, so I wouldn't be competing with the heavy hitters. This would just be a place to capture some of the great meals that I share with friends. So, that might be an option.
So....if I have any readers still, I'll try and get back to this blog on a more regular basis. If I don't have any readers anymore....well, it's a good place to write and capture thoughts.
Hope you all are having a great start to 2010!
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