2010 in Review

Once again the hubby and I did quite the job of hitting new restaurants.  We really should keep a running list throughout the year and not just wait until January 1 to try and remember - we aren't getting any younger after all!

In our current tally of new restaurants for 2010, I come in at 73, while the hubby comes in at a respectable 67.  Yes, for all of you math whizzes, that is over 1 new restaurant a week.  New restaurants is our hobby!  Maybe for 2011 our hobby will include more gym time as well.

I won't bore you with all of the restaurants we've been too, but will provide a few highlights:

• Best tatertot hotdish/casserole - Haute Dish
• Best burger - Victory 44
• Best pastry - Linzer 46 - Patisserie 46
• Best breakfast sandwich - Cocoa & Fig's fried egg sandwich
• Best pork candy - Subo
• Best surprise find for me - Ghandi Mahal - Indian cuisine
• Best surprise dish for hubby - fettuccine/haricots verts - Corner Table
• Best lemon ricotta hotcakes - Purple Sandpiper
• Biggest disappointment for hubby - Prairie Ale House, followed by Forepaugh's and Giuseppe's
• Biggest disappointment for me - Firelake Grill

Our vote for best restaurant of 2010 and the Startribune's Restaurant of the Year.

(and where we dined on New Year's Eve).......

Piccolo

My NYE review of Piccolo will be posted in the next few days.

Happy Eating in 2011!

Town Hall Brewery

The hubby and I stopped by the second location of Town Hall Brewery recently for a late lunch. We had talked about going to the original location on campus for some time, but just had never made it there.  The new location is more convenient for us and so we gave it a try.

The restaurant space itself is good - the last restaurant to occupy that space had a dark interior, but Town Hall Brewery has lightened up the color.  They have a few TVs for those that want to watch a game.  They don't take over the place though and so we actually could have a conversation without being sidetracked by the television.

We both had the Original Town Hall Burger which was served with french fries.  The burger itself was very well seasoned and I thought I tasted Worcestershire sauce in the mix.  It came with a seasoned mayonnaise that was very good with the burger.  We both only had half of our burger and had the leftovers a day later.  The burger was great the next day as well!

The fries were good.  The hubby liked them better than I did.  They had some kind of batter coating which I don't care for as much.  They were served with a nacho cheese sauce which gave the meal a little zing. 

Nice stop for a late lunch if you are in South Mpls. 

Happy Eating!

Haute Dish

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!

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.

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)!

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!
 

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!