Laredo’s October 23, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in Bar, Mexican, Seafood.Tags: excelsior, food, grand, laredo's, Mexican, minnesota, restaurant, review, st louis park, tex-mex
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Tonight after work, Lauren and I stopped off at Laredo’s in St. Louis Park in the Excelsior & Grand neighborhood. This Tex-Mex bar & grill is new as of last year, and I’d always been tempted to try it. When the Twins had a deal on their website selling $50 gift cards to Laredo’s for $25, I snatched one up.
My first impression of Laredo’s was very favorable with a country atmosphere. Our very attentive waiter made sure we were good to go on free chips & salsa and drinks. Their drink menu featured a few signature cocktails, including the Excelsior & Grand, which I tried. I believe it was a type of margarita with cactus juice served in a martini glass. I would have to look up the ingredients again, but I rather enjoyed it.
The menu wasn’t very expansive, but we both found entrees we wanted to try and ended up sharing each other’s meals. I ordered the Seafood Combo Platter, which consisted of two San Diego fish tacos and two seafood enchiladas served with refried beans and desert rice. Lauren opted for the Drunken Tequila Shrimp—five jumbo grilled shrimp served with a tequila-lime tomato broth, fried plantains, pineapple & desert rice.
I made a bold choice with the Seafood Combo Platter.
Lauren also opted for seafood, trying the Drunken Tequila Shrimp.
My meal was excellent! It took me until I was 25 to try tacos, enchiladas, or burritos, but as long as they’re light on the cheese (which I specifically requested) then they’re good. The fish tacos were my favorite. The only downside was they went a little overboard on the refried beans. Lauren’s shrimp was also tasty. I’ve never been one to fill up on a handful of jumbo shrimp, but for someone with Lauren’s appetite they’d do just fine.
I would recommend ordering the extra spicy salsa, both with the free chips and with your main course. It truly was a sweat-inducer. Lauren offered me a dollar to eat the little container of spicy salsa, but I turned her down.
This place filled us up. We were nowhere near finishing the two meals when we threw the towel in. True, we went a little overboard on the free chips, but these portions are bigger than expected. It was also a little on the spendy side. Expect to drop $16 per plate. Those fancy drinks were also spendy at about $7 each. Thankfully I had that gift card, but even then I owed another $20 on top of that.
Overall, I’d recommend this place. Excellent atmosphere, excellent service, great freebies, and huge portions. Just beware of the prices and don’t overeat!
Ryan: 4/5 Noms
The Gunflint Tavern October 15, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in Bar, Beer, Seafood.Tags: grand marais, gunflint tavern, mussels, salmon, stew
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On our final night of the honeymoon, Lauren and I took a day trip even further north of the Lutsen Resort and went all the way to the Grand Portage national monument and then made our way back to Lutsen, stopping in Grand Marais for dinner at The Gunflint Lodge.
I said I was going to order something adventurous.
Of everything on the menu, I decided on the Nova Scotian Fisherman’s Stew, the most obscure thing that I thought I might like. Now this is a dish I never would have seen myself ordering in the past, but we were on vacation and I wanted to be different.
Turns out, it was pretty decent! The meal was served with tapenade, an olive-based spread on bread. I hate olives, but I found that dipping the bread in the tomato-based sauce was rather enjoyable.
The stew itself consisted of a full salmon fillet at the bottom of the plate, covered in the sauce filled with tomatoes, onions, and herbs. Also included in the stew were a number of mussels, something else I’d never tried before. It was a bold adventure digging into this meal, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t lick the platter clean, save for the mussel shells.
This meal was odd but good, and for someone like me who’s not very often an adventurous eater, it took some courage to not only eat but order this meal. I found it was best served with a glass of Lake Superior Red.
3/5 Noms.
Lutsen Resort October 13, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in 4-Course Meal, American, Seafood.Tags: dining, lutsen, mahi mahi, resort, Seafood
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For our honeymoon, Mrs. Glanzer and I went up north to the Lutsen Resort on the shore of Lake Superior. While there, we had the chance to dine at the fancy lodge, which had surprisingly excellent fine dining!
Course 3 of 4 at Lutsen Resort, the Mahi Mahi
I ordered the Prix Fixe, which I guess means the chef’s special hand-picked four-course meal. Each portion of the meal was quite delicious.
Appetizer – For an appetizer, I received an artichoke dip with bread. This is one of those things I never really find very appealing, but it was as good as I’ve had. Lauren also got an appetizer with her meal—a set of beef kabobs, which I thought were outstanding.
Salad – My next portion was the house salad, a tossed salad with walnuts and a blueberry dressing. Our waitress assured us most patrons say this is the best salad they’ve ever eaten. While I wouldn’t make that claim, it was pretty good. Salads with fruit-based dressings always set well with me.
Entree – The main course for the night was the mahi mahi, served with steamed greens and pureed Jerusalem artichoke… though I thought it was mashed potatoes until Lauren told me otherwise. The mahi mahi was very tasty—a lighter option but bursting with savory goodness. The artichoke and greens were nice complements.
Dessert – For dessert, I had little choice but to order the loganberry cheesecake after seeing someone else order it earlier. It was everything I hoped for! With a little help from Lauren, I polished it off rather quickly and left my four-course meal comfortably full.
Overall, the Lutsen Resort provided us with some outstanding service and great first-class dining. I’m not sure about the price, as we cashed in an $80 meal voucher and paid the balance, but it seemed reasonable enough!
I’d give Lutsen 4/5 Noms.
Fuji-ya August 27, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in Asian, Sushi, Uptown Minneapolis.Tags: fuji-ya, minneapolis, Sushi
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For my 27th birthday, Lauren surprised me by organizing a dinner at Fuji-ya in Uptown with some of our closest friends! I never suspected a thing, except for when Jason called me late in the afternoon for directions to the restaurant.
All sorts of deliciousness exploding into my taste buds.
I admittedly am doing this review more than a month after the meal, so I can’t remember exactly what all I had, but I know one of the rolls I ordered was the caterpillar roll, one of my all-time sushi faves. I had never even tried sushi until 2007, and even then it took a while to grow on me. But since I met Lauren, we have been ordering sushi more and more often and now it’s among my favorites.
Fuji-ya is about as good of sushi as I’ve had in the Twin Cities. I am a fan of Mount Fuji, Origami, Wasabi, and Kabuki as well, and at this point it’s difficult for me to differentiate much between the places. I tend to prefer sushi with the crispy outers but not sushi with smushy insides. Lauren’s meal wouldn’t have been as much to my liking. But I snarfed mine down and washed it down with some warm sake.
Like I said, I can’t say for sure if Fuji-ya is any better than any of the other sushi places, but I’d recommend it! 4/5 Noms.
Liffey’s Pub August 2, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in American, Bar, Beer, Burgers, Dessert, Salad.Tags: American, Bar, Dessert, irish, liffey's pub, minnesota, st. paul
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Today, Lauren and I visited St. Paul to tour the Titanic exhibit at the Minnesota Science Museum (I touched part of the Titanic), but before that, we stopped for a late lunch at Liffey’s Pub in St. Paul, right down near the XCel Energy Center.
I ordered the Shepherd’s Pie and a pint of Boddington’s. The food was excellent. I am all about thick gravy, meat, and vegetables, so this was right up my proverbial alley. And of course the Boddington’s is always a favorite. As my good friend Patrick once described it, “it kind of tastes like air.”
I ordered the Shepherd's Pie, which came with a side salad.
Lauren opted for the bison burger, which she enjoyed but wondered if it was as lean as it could have been. She also sampled four half-pint glasses of Guinness beers, including the original, the 250 special lager, Harp, and Smithwick’s.
Lauren opted for the bison burger.
Lauren also slammed back sample-sized Guinness brews.
The real fun was dessert. The waitress talked me into ordering a 3-dessert sampler, supposedly small portions of their three desserts. I anticipated little shooters or something, but I was shocked to receive full-sized portions of chocolate cake, apple crisp with ice cream, and a carmel apple cheesecake. This was definitely the highlight of my meal, and all for only $6.99! I made certain to hit the gym extra hard that night to work off what had to have been a couple thousand calories.
This 3-course dessert could have fed a family, but I did it proud myself.
Aside from the food, I enjoyed the quiet, empty atmosphere of the 2:40 Sunday crowd, and the attentiveness of our vocal waitress, who did an excellent job with recommendations. We tipped her well for her efforts.
Ryan: Overall, I’d recommend Liffey’s for food and drink before or after your next Wild game. 4.4/5 Noms + bonus points for atmosphere and staff friendliness.
Lauren: She’ll fill her rating in later.
Smalley’s Caribbean Barbecue June 27, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in Caribbean, Spicy.Tags: brisket, Caribbean, chicken, smalley's, stillwater
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Ryan
On Saturday around noon, Lauren and I stopped in at Smalley’s Caribbean Barbecue in Stillwater, a restaurant we’d never heard of before. Something about this place intrigued me—I thought the food would be extra spicy.
Our first impression of the restaurant wasn’t great as we walked up to the podium where a pair of hostesses were exchanging some heated words, but we were promptly seated and our beverages were out within minutes.
A pretty healthy portion of food from Smalley's.
The menu item that interested me the most was one of the combo platters, not unlike those of Famous Dave’s. We both ordered the Chicken/Brisket combo but with different sides. I opted for the curried vegetables and rice. While we waited for our order, we sampled the various sauces. They were all unique and certainly did have that Caribbean vibe.
The food was out relatively quickly and I dug right in. My beef brisket was awesome as I doused it in the jerk sauce, but Lauren’s helping seemed to include lots of fatty pieces. Maybe I just snarfed mine down too fast to notice, but I was impressed with the brisket. The chicken seemed like maybe it was a little pink, and wasn’t the easiest thing to eat, but I found it adequate and finished it off. The side dishes were both delicious. The rice had a hint of coconut flavor while the vegetables were sauteed just right.
I was nervous to try the atomic pepper, but it was a big dud.
One thing that I found troubling was this atomic pepper that you can order for free. Apparently it’s supposed to be super hot, but I found it to be more salty than anything. The heat level was about 2/10.
The atmosphere was pleasant, the waitress was attentive, and the food was good for the most part. The prices were reasonable as well. Nothing really stood out as being overly good though, just a whole lot of adequacy and a little disappointment in the heat department.
Ratings
Ryan: 3/5 Noms
Lauren: …waiting!
Good Earth June 21, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in Breakfast, Organic.Tags: Breakfast, edina, eggs, good earth, natural, Organic, pancakes
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Ryan
On the morning of Father’s Day, June 21, Lauren and I went looking for a new place to try breakfast. We originally stopped at the Original Pancake House, but it was backed up for 55 minutes, so we went across the street to the ritzy Galleria and tried Good Earth, a restaurant known for its natural and organic ingredients. Our wait was about 20 minutes, but that was to be expected at 11am on Father’s Day. Our waitress kept saying things like “I hope you don’t think I’m ditzy” and “I’m not normally so uncoordinated!” I thought she did a good job, but she kept apologizing to us for various things!
To be different, I started out with one of their specialty juices, the Watermelon Wahoo, which includes watermelon, pineapple, and apple juices. This drink was small and expensive, but very tasty, healthy, and frothy. Lauren opted for a latte. Since I was wildly hungry, I opted for a caramel roll before the main course. Good Earth’s hyper waitress informed me they had none left, but they made me something sorta like it and gave it to me for free!
My breakfast at Good Earth
For my main course, I ordered the Turkey Sausage Scramble, which was a moderate-sized serving that included turkey sausage, roasted potatoes, tomatoes, scrambled eggs, purple onions, diced peppers, and green onions. (I asked for no cheese and minimal sour cream.) My initial thought was this was not enough food for $9.50, and it was a little bland. But like always, a healthy dose of Tabasco sauce really brought this dish to life! I also found something hard and black in my food, but later discovered it was a huge piece of unground peppercorn.
Lauren ordered some 10-grain hotcakes and turkey sausage.
Lauren
Lauren, here’s where you will type about your food!
Ratings
Ryan: For me, my Good Earth experience was just okay. Though the ingreidents were fresh and healthy, I thought it was slightly overpriced and slightly bland. 2/5 Noms.
Lauren:
Town Hall June 20, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in American, Beer, Burgers, Salad.Tags: Beer, burger, fries, minneapolis, oatmeal stout, Salad, seven corners, town hall brewery
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Ryan
After attending the Twins/Astros game on the evening of Saturday, June 20, Lauren and I met up with friends Christian and Jaime at one of our favorite local restaurants/breweries, Town Hall. Located at Seven Corners in Minneapolis on Washington Ave, Town Hall has long been Lauren’s standby for excellent food and drink.
A couple of Town Hall's craft brews went down smooth on a muggy summer night.
In my experiences there, I’ve found their home brews exceptional. On this night, I tried the Oatmeal Stout and was once again very satisfied! This isn’t the kind of place you should go to get drunk. I think Town Hall is better for occasions when you’re going to just sip on a beer or two and savor the flavor.
I didn't think to get a picture until I was halfway done. But, better late than never.
I had no choice but to order the Seven Corners Burger, the best burger I’ve tried so far in the Twin Cities. Of course I’m biased because I don’t like cheese, so I can’t consider most people’s favorites like the Juicy Lucy. The Seven Corners burger is a 1/2 lb. burger topped with smoked bacon and Oatmeal Stout BBQ sauce, served with a lettuce, tomato, and pickle. I’m not sure what it is that makes it so good. Maybe it’s the BBQ sauce or even the bun, but whatever it is, it blows me away!
Lauren
Let’s see what Lauren has to say about her Town Hall experience!
Lauren raved about her Raspberry Chicken Salad.
Ratings
Ryan: 5/5 Noms! The food and drink were delicious, the atmosphere was great, and the prices were very reasonable.
Lauren: Coming soon!
Ryan’s Quasi-Edible Beef Stir Fry June 20, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in Asian, Home-Cooked, Spicy.Tags: Asian, hot, Spicy, stir-fry
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Saturday night, I decided to cook up a little dinner for the two of us. We enjoy spicy food a lot. So much so, in fact, that we routinely bury our food in Sriracha sauce. A little burn is to be expected with just about any meal that we make. But on this occasion, I went too far.
Looked pretty, didn't it?
The ingredients in my beef stir-fry included the following.
- Beef
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 1/2 onion
- Handful of bean sprouts
- 4 Habanero peppers
- Handful of chile de arbol peppers
- About a cup of broccoli
- Asia-Asia Spicy Teriyaki Sauce
- Spoonful of Sriracha sauce
- Spoonful of Srirachi chili garlic sauce
I stir-fried these ingredients together until it was sizzling hot, then served it up in equal-sized bowls to the two of us. I am all about the heat, but as Clay Davis would say, “sheeeeeeeeeeeeit!” It was damn-near too hot to enjoy. Lauren ate most of hers, and I ate all of mine then finished what she couldn’t, but it wasn’t without a battle.
In the process of eating this stir-fry, I guzzled two cans of Coke Zero and two 20 oz. glasses of water. I then ran to the bathroom and ate a few Gaviscon tablets. After much perspiration, I finally recovered.
Overall, the flavor was good and all the ingredients were very tasty and fresh. But the Sriracha additions and the overload of Habanero peppers was too much to overcome.
Ratings
Ryan: I give it 2/5 “Noms”. Had I toned down on the heat, it would have been very tasty. And it needed some rice, which I didn’t have time to prepare.
Lauren: 2/5 “Noms.” Too spicy, and sauce got too watery.
Jasmine 26 May 30, 2009
Posted by glanzerr in Asian, Spicy, Uptown Minneapolis, Vietnamese, thai.add a comment
Lauren and I recently went out on a romantic late-night dinner for two at Jasmine 26 on 26th & Nicollet. We used to live just a block or two away, and it was a favorite spot to go for happy hour and good Asian food.
Jasmine 26's Chicken Pad Thai and Pomegranate Lychee Martini
Ryan
We opted to sit outside at one of their tables on the sidewalk since it was a nice, cool night, despite the fact that no one else was out there. The waitress was very attentive to us and was outside numerous times to check on us, so she gets an A! We started off with some specialty drinks. I had the Pomegranate Lychee Martini, as I’ve often been known to down the “girly” drinks. Lauren had the Midori Mojito, and the two of us shared hot sake.
My Pomegranate concoction was excellent! It was made of pomegranate juice and pomegranate vodka, I think, and garnished with a lime. My bright pink drink sure went down smooth. Although it was very sweet, I could taste the alcohol. That’s one drink that could get me in trouble!
We ordered a variety of food that night as well. I got the Pad Thai with chicken, Lauren got the Pho with beef, and we split orders of spring rolls and wontons.
Chicken Pad Thai may very well be my very favorite food. Jasmine 26 provided us with a variety of sauces, and I loaded the chili garlic sauce onto my Pad Thai. It’s a very simple, standard meal, and I would imagine fairly difficult to screw up. Jasmine passed the test, providing me with a healthy portion of chicken and bean sprouts, and that chili sauce made all the difference. I thoroughly enjoyed eating my food.
The spring rolls with the peanut sauce were outstanding, and the wontons were hot, crispy, and delicious when dipped in the sweet & sour sauce.
Lauren
Lauren will be adding her experience here very soon!
Rating
Ryan: I give Jasmine 26 the maximum “Noms”: 5 out of 5! One of my favorite places to go in Minneapolis!
Lauren: Coming soon…
