The choice for the out-to-eat birthday meal was Zelo. More to come, but to sum up: YUM-O. By far the best dining experience all around that we've had in a LONG time.
That was Dh's start to this post, now I will follow it up with more succulent details.
On my birthday morning I went to Details spa in the Highland Park area of St. Paul. I had a wonderful massage and facial. In this state of bliss I went to White Rock Coffee Roasters for a delicious, just right, not too bitter, not too sweet cafe miel. Just reading about it is going to spur me to go back there post-post to have another. Granted that they're open of course.
I picked Zelo for a birthday meal when I had read about it in the Mpls St. Paul "Best of..." magazine edition. It had all sorts of good things to say about the atmosphere, and the food. I love eating food in beautiful artsy places, so I though great food in a lovely place- sounds great to me.
Zelo exceeded my high expectations by far. I believe we had Matt for our waiter, and he took excellent care of us, and was quite helpful. I couldn't decide between shrimp pesto flatbread with organic goat cheese, or pesto crusted sea bass on a bed of wasabi mashed potatos with a thai chili beurre blanc, or another fish that I can't remember all of its details, but it sounded really great too. Plus, I really wanted to try this "organic goat cheese.' I asked our waiter if there was any way I could have just a little goat cheese with my salad. He said they could do that, and I was very happy.
I had been "carbed-out" lately, and did not want another pasta or even a sandwich. We did order the low-carb salad with egg, pancetta, chicken, lettuce, and smoked mozzarella cheese. He also brought a small plate of nice little blobs of the goat cheese on the side. They were rich and creamy, not crumbly like the goat cheese that I buy at the store. That and the salad was really great. All the salad ingredients were the perfect bite-size pieces. No awkward bulky lettuce sticking out of your mouth at this restaurant!
For our main course Matt the waiter helped use to select the pesto-crusted sea bass. Every bite of it was to be savoured, the light pesto crust, the tender sea bass, the zippy wasabi potatos, and the thai chili beurre blanc. Wow. It was the kind of thing that you eat that makes you virtually speechless.
Oh, I forgot to say that I was eating all this with a pomegrante Izze Fizz, pomegranate sparkling drink with a limon vodka accent. That was nice and light tasting.
Previously while at White Rock I read about the budino chocolate cake with homeade vanilla bean gelato and a piece of almond brittle. Since it was chocolate cake I really wanted to try it. Until I had this cake at Zelo I thought Buca had the best chocolate cake (till they changed the Buca cake). It was very rich and chocolatey, and I had to try the hot chocolate with organic whipped cream, too. It also was splendid. They use two types of cocoa in it to make it extra good.
So, do go there, especially if you are a foodie. We went for lunch and split the small salad, and the fish was a special dish, so it cost more. It was a beautiful, artsy restaurant with magnificent food, and service to match.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Dixies on Grand
12.20.06
My wife's BFF took us (husbands too!) out to Dixie's on Grand. I'd never been there before, but I it was pretty good.
My wife's BFF took us (husbands too!) out to Dixie's on Grand. I'd never been there before, but I it was pretty good.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Pancheros
12.14.06
Again, I wouldn't normally include a chain like this, especially not one of the many big burrito chains, but my wife and I had to do an emergency lunch rendezvous to deliver Christmas music for her holiday party, so we ended up meeting at Pancheros. The main difference between Pancheros and the rest of 'em is that they make their tortillas as you order - they've got a big tortilla press, and they just pick up the little ball of dough, throw it in, and 5 seconds later you've got your tortilla. Tastes quite good. They also have a good cheese sauce if you're hungry, and I particularly like their spicy pork, which is way spicier (even without salsa) than anything I've had at Chipotle.
* Mello Yello available!
Again, I wouldn't normally include a chain like this, especially not one of the many big burrito chains, but my wife and I had to do an emergency lunch rendezvous to deliver Christmas music for her holiday party, so we ended up meeting at Pancheros. The main difference between Pancheros and the rest of 'em is that they make their tortillas as you order - they've got a big tortilla press, and they just pick up the little ball of dough, throw it in, and 5 seconds later you've got your tortilla. Tastes quite good. They also have a good cheese sauce if you're hungry, and I particularly like their spicy pork, which is way spicier (even without salsa) than anything I've had at Chipotle.
* Mello Yello available!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
M&S Grill
12.09.06
It's my mother-in-law's birthday, so we're dining in style. M&S Grill is a slightly more reasonable version of McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant, which was where my father-in-law had originally intended for us to go but was all booked up. Turns out it didn't matter - from all I could tell, the extra price tag for the full-fledged place wouldn't have gotten us more than we got.
My wife took charge of the appetizers and got some pan-seared ahi tuna and some phyllo dough filled with brie cheese. Quite fancy. For the main course, I went with steak, and it was pretty good. I think I'm a bit of a steak snob ever since I made my own last year on the grill and it was SO good. This one was good, though, and the au-gratin potatoes that came with it were quite interesting and unique in a tasty way. My wife's choice, though, was really good - salmon stuffed with shrimp, bleu cheese, and crab. Yum-my.
My wife also jumped on the dessert cart and ordered some creme brulee. We like creme brulee. Aside from the fun of cracking the top, it's just plain good.
Speaking of which, if I haven't mentioned it yet, you should go get a cream puff at The Bravo Cafe on Grand Avenue. They're $1.25, and they are essentially filled with creme brulee. You won't be disappointed.
It's my mother-in-law's birthday, so we're dining in style. M&S Grill is a slightly more reasonable version of McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant, which was where my father-in-law had originally intended for us to go but was all booked up. Turns out it didn't matter - from all I could tell, the extra price tag for the full-fledged place wouldn't have gotten us more than we got.
My wife took charge of the appetizers and got some pan-seared ahi tuna and some phyllo dough filled with brie cheese. Quite fancy. For the main course, I went with steak, and it was pretty good. I think I'm a bit of a steak snob ever since I made my own last year on the grill and it was SO good. This one was good, though, and the au-gratin potatoes that came with it were quite interesting and unique in a tasty way. My wife's choice, though, was really good - salmon stuffed with shrimp, bleu cheese, and crab. Yum-my.
My wife also jumped on the dessert cart and ordered some creme brulee. We like creme brulee. Aside from the fun of cracking the top, it's just plain good.
Speaking of which, if I haven't mentioned it yet, you should go get a cream puff at The Bravo Cafe on Grand Avenue. They're $1.25, and they are essentially filled with creme brulee. You won't be disappointed.
Ketsana's Thai Restaurant
12.08.06
On this day my wife and I were attending a seminar together, and we needed something for lunch. We decided to just drive around and see what we found, and relatively quickly we passed by Ketsana's. I remembered hearing that it was good Thai food, so we went in for some take-out.
We settled on spring rolls and Pad Thai to split. The spring rolls were quite good. Now here comes the warning: when they ask you at Ketsana's how hot you want it, they are not speaking in Minnesota terms. My wife chose "Low Medium", which probably translated to closer to medium, and it definitely had a kick to it. I actually liked it quite a bit, but my spice threshold is higher than my wife's, and it was right near the top of it - my lips were burnin'! It was quite good, though. Someday we'll have to try some more adventurous options.
On this day my wife and I were attending a seminar together, and we needed something for lunch. We decided to just drive around and see what we found, and relatively quickly we passed by Ketsana's. I remembered hearing that it was good Thai food, so we went in for some take-out.
We settled on spring rolls and Pad Thai to split. The spring rolls were quite good. Now here comes the warning: when they ask you at Ketsana's how hot you want it, they are not speaking in Minnesota terms. My wife chose "Low Medium", which probably translated to closer to medium, and it definitely had a kick to it. I actually liked it quite a bit, but my spice threshold is higher than my wife's, and it was right near the top of it - my lips were burnin'! It was quite good, though. Someday we'll have to try some more adventurous options.
Pei Wei
12.03.06
I won't say too much about Pei Wei other than to say it's the only Asian chain restaurant we really go to. I think it's mostly because my wife loves the Cream Cheese Wontons. And it really is pretty decent food - IMHO much better than Chin's. I got fried rice, which was good. We also tried out the Edamame, which wasn't too bad and Meleah liked, but was too much work for me.
I won't say too much about Pei Wei other than to say it's the only Asian chain restaurant we really go to. I think it's mostly because my wife loves the Cream Cheese Wontons. And it really is pretty decent food - IMHO much better than Chin's. I got fried rice, which was good. We also tried out the Edamame, which wasn't too bad and Meleah liked, but was too much work for me.
Red Lobster
12.01.06
Normally I wouldn't post something as mundane as Red Lobster, but we had a couple of gift cards and it was Seafood Celebration, so we went to get some crab legs. And say what you will about Red Lobster, their Alaskan King Crab Legs have never failed to disappoint us.
I won't go on too much, but man those things were tasty. I noticed that they've started pre-slicing them as well - the legs came with a slit or two through the shell to make them easier to extract. We also tried the calamari salad appetizer - fried calamari, broccoli, and red peppers. Pretty good, although even fried I don't like broccoli. ;)
And of course, the Cheddar Bay Biscuits are always yummy.
Normally I wouldn't post something as mundane as Red Lobster, but we had a couple of gift cards and it was Seafood Celebration, so we went to get some crab legs. And say what you will about Red Lobster, their Alaskan King Crab Legs have never failed to disappoint us.
I won't go on too much, but man those things were tasty. I noticed that they've started pre-slicing them as well - the legs came with a slit or two through the shell to make them easier to extract. We also tried the calamari salad appetizer - fried calamari, broccoli, and red peppers. Pretty good, although even fried I don't like broccoli. ;)
And of course, the Cheddar Bay Biscuits are always yummy.
Cabinas
11.30.06
We went out to eat with Meleah's parents' tonight before my worship practice. We decided to try out a new pasta place called Cabinas.
Now, I haven't mentioned this here before, but I tend to have reservations about pasta places. I mean, I can cook noodles, and even if I don't have time to make my own homemade pesto, there are some pretty decent sauces in jars. So why am I paying someone $15/plate for something I can make at home for $4 that will feed 10 people?
So, for instance, I have a bit of a disdane for a place like Noodles. I just don't see the point. The food isn't that great, and it costs me $8. Bah.
At first, I was a little worried Cabinas was going to be the same thing, only with a bit more atmosphere. I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised! The pricing was about par with Noodles - around $8/plate - but the food was WAY better.
My wife had a six-cheese tortellini with pesto sauce. YUM! I had the Spicy Sausage Shells. YUM! We also got cheese bread, which was good but not out of the ordinary, and I ended up being more impressed with their standard breadsticks. I mopped up a lot of sauce with those things.
To top it off, the cashier lady came out halfway through the meal and offered us free pizza samplers - they had just gotten their pizza oven, and were trying out some new pizzas. This offering was a shrimp with garlic sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. It was way good. They also came out with a barbequed chicken sample after we were finished eating, and we SO wanted to try that out, but the food had been so good that we had no room left. Guess we'll have to go back.
Personally, I would highly recommend Cabinas. It is what Noodles wishes it was - reasonably priced, good quality, and fast service (our food was out very quickly, and a friend of mine remarked that he didn't like paying that much for "fast food," but I figured if you're serving pasta, there's no reason not to be fast - have the noodles pre-cooked and the sauce pre-made, stuff it in the oven for a few minutes and you're done!).
We went out to eat with Meleah's parents' tonight before my worship practice. We decided to try out a new pasta place called Cabinas.
Now, I haven't mentioned this here before, but I tend to have reservations about pasta places. I mean, I can cook noodles, and even if I don't have time to make my own homemade pesto, there are some pretty decent sauces in jars. So why am I paying someone $15/plate for something I can make at home for $4 that will feed 10 people?
So, for instance, I have a bit of a disdane for a place like Noodles. I just don't see the point. The food isn't that great, and it costs me $8. Bah.
At first, I was a little worried Cabinas was going to be the same thing, only with a bit more atmosphere. I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised! The pricing was about par with Noodles - around $8/plate - but the food was WAY better.
My wife had a six-cheese tortellini with pesto sauce. YUM! I had the Spicy Sausage Shells. YUM! We also got cheese bread, which was good but not out of the ordinary, and I ended up being more impressed with their standard breadsticks. I mopped up a lot of sauce with those things.
To top it off, the cashier lady came out halfway through the meal and offered us free pizza samplers - they had just gotten their pizza oven, and were trying out some new pizzas. This offering was a shrimp with garlic sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. It was way good. They also came out with a barbequed chicken sample after we were finished eating, and we SO wanted to try that out, but the food had been so good that we had no room left. Guess we'll have to go back.
Personally, I would highly recommend Cabinas. It is what Noodles wishes it was - reasonably priced, good quality, and fast service (our food was out very quickly, and a friend of mine remarked that he didn't like paying that much for "fast food," but I figured if you're serving pasta, there's no reason not to be fast - have the noodles pre-cooked and the sauce pre-made, stuff it in the oven for a few minutes and you're done!).
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