Shamrocks/The Nook

Nate and I love burgers. It is probably our favorite food to go out for. This past weekend we were definitely in a burger mood, but wanted to try something new. I suggested the Nook as we had seen it featured recently on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Nate pulled up their menu online and said, yeah, that sounds good. Our back up plan was the Nook's sister restaurant Shamrocks, which was just a little further down the street from the Nook.

The Nook is in St. Paul, on Randolph Avenue and Hamline Avenue. It's not too far at all from my old stomping ground near the St. Kate's campus actually. We headed over around 5:15 or so thinking the earlier we could try to get in the better as we knew it wasn't a real large place. Well with traffic and fun things like that, it was a little after 5:30 when we got there. Sadly, there were several groups waiting and they were standing outside. Nate poked his head in and said there really weren't all that many tables. So, we got back on Randolph and headed to Shamrocks which is at Randolph and 7th Street.

Fortunately, Shamrocks is much larger inside. It was just as busy, but there was a high top table available for us. It's more Irish themed inside, but the menu is essentially the same as the menu at the Nook. And let me tell you, it is quite the menu! Many appetizers, burgers, chicken sandwiches and other entrees were listed. The beer list is just ok, most of your standard, commercial beers. Nate and I have kind of become beer snobs, so the majority of the beer wasn't anything of interest to us. I chose the Summit Horizon Red Ale since it was on tap and Nate asked for a Newcastle Brown Ale.

We then ordered cheese curds as an appetizer and our awesome waitress (she was really great) asked if we wanted those out first (unlike at the Sunshine Factory) and we said "of course!" They came out shortly after we ordered them and they were definitely fresh and warm. They were not the best cheese curds I've ever had, but they were darn good. Good batter, lots of cheesy goodness. Would've liked a bit more cheddar cheese inside of them instead of mozzarella, but overall they were tasty.

The highlight of our meal was definitely our burgers though. Nate selected the "Juicy Nookie" which is what The Nook/Shamrocks is famous for, their version of a Juicy Lucy. I stuck to a simple cheeseburger. Each burger came with a side of fries, but I noticed on the menu you could also choose Cole slaw or chips.

The burgers are outstanding. Juicy, cooked to perfection. Heart attack on a plate I think, but oh man, they're just so good. I believe they get fresh bakery buns from a nearby bakery and they're fantastic. And then the fries....ok, there used to be a place in Northeast Minneapolis that was called Nan's. Nan's had the worlds best fries ever. But Nan's shut down in 2001 and we haven't had fries quite as good since. Well let me tell you - the fries at Shamrocks were pretty much as good as Nan's. Seriously outstanding fries. You can tell they were made from fresh, huge Russet potatoes and fried to just the right level and I just can't say enough about them. They are thick cut the way fries should be!

We both ended up pretty stuffed when all was said and done. We agreed that next time, we could probably skip the cheese curds and go straight to the burgers. Then if we feel like it we can maybe try dessert. I also could do without the beer, it was actually kind of spendy.

At any rate, we are definitely going to go back sometime and if you love burgers, you should really try to go there too!!

Tea Time!

Since our visit earlier this month to Willowgate, I have been interested in tea. We had fantastic Oolong tea when we ate there. Everyone knows I'm a coffee girl and I still will be forever a coffee girl, but suddenly I discovered, I now actually like tea, at least Oolong tea!

We decided to buy some different Oolong tea from the store to sample at home. We purchased two different kind, both of which are not bad, one is a wee bit citrusy. However, Nate remembered a really neat website that he had ordered some green tea from awhile back so we decided to check it out.

Adagio Tea is a wonderful site filled with all things tea. As we went through the website we found several different sampler packs we decided we wanted to try. The only problem with Adaigo's teas, is that they are all loose leaf. So, we also ordered a teapot that allows you to easily steep loose leaf tea along with our sampler packs.

The box arrived this past Thursday and we've used it several times already! We have two Oolong Sampler packs and two Black tea sampler packs. So far we have tried Jasmine tea and one of the Oolong teas (I believe Oolong #12). Both were outstanding. The Jasmine was a different one for me, it smelled lovely, but I was worried that I wouldn't like the taste, but it was just incredible.

I'm having fun with our new teapot. It's been a nice afternoon pick me up to have a cup of tea and I know I'll love it even more when it's colder outside this fall and winter!

Our new teapot filled with Jasmine tea

The Sunshine Factory

We ate at the Sunshine Factory in Crystal on Saturday of this past weekend. We met our friends Gina and Steve since they live near there and it had been ages since the four of us had been out to dinner together.

It was about 6:00 or so when we got there and discovered there are sort of two sides to the restaurant, the actual Sunshine Factory and then another part called "The Bistro." The normal restaurant was rather busy, it would've been nearly 45 minutes for a table, so we agreed to be seated in the Bistro as they promised us a full menu. We got a nice table near a window.

The menu was pretty large, but I am thinking it was a slightly smaller offering than what the regular restaurant menu was. At any rate, there was a lengthy appetizer list, salads, soups, burgers, sandwiches and also a good number of entrees. I chose a Surly Furious to drink as it was on tap, Nate had a bottle of Horizon Red Ale, Gina had Blue Moon and Steve had soda.

I decided that even though the sandwiches sounded really good, I was more in the mood for something else as I had a sandwich for lunch earlier that day. So I chose a pork chop with baked potato and salad. Nate also steered away from a sandwich or burger and chose beef tips with pasta in a white sauce. Gina chose the turkey club panini and Steve chose the chicken bacon ranch panini. We also ordered spinach and artichoke dip as an appetizer and Gina and Steve chose steak bites as an appetizer.

Here's where I ended up a bit disappointed. First of all, my salad didn't come out right away. Then when it did, it was super cold. Now I know that sounds funny, but it felt like it was in a bowl that was sitting in the fridge all afternoon. Then we were sitting around talking about how we hate it when a place brings you the appetizer and then two seconds later brings your entrees. Well, we ended up getting our appetizers WITH our entrees only a few minutes after my salad came out. All of sudden our table was so full we didn't know what to do with ourselves! So that was a wee bit frustrating.

Most of the food though was really quite good. I liked the dip, we had it with baguette bread and it was really quite tasty. But, my pork chop was pretty dry, not much flavor to it. The potato was also a little disappointing in flavor. Nate's pasta on the other hand was very good, creamy, with some garlic flavor as well. The meat was tender and juicy. Both Gina and Steve said their sandwiches were really good too. They looked tasty, the cheese melting and the bread nice and toasted. So, I'm the only one who really didn't love my meal, and I should've known better, I usually am disappointed when I order pork chops most places. The only place that does pork chops the way I really like them is Jax! Ha.

At any rate, it was a nice place, they had plenty of indoor and outdoor seating on the Bistro side. Full drink menu and the service was decent other than the fact that we got our appetizers with our main course! I'd be interested to see what the other side is like sometime. Since my sister-in-law also lives close to the Sunshine Factory I'd say odds are we will end up back there sometime, who knows?

Christos

Opa!

It was my sister-in-law Ali's birthday over the weekend. To celebrate, we told her to pick a place near where she lives, since we always make her drive to our neck of the woods. She picked Christos in Minnetonka. It is a Greek restaurant.

I was excited, we never really go out for Greek food. We arrived and were greeted by a host who I am thinking possibly owns this branch (it is a chain, there is one in Minneapolis as well) and he was definitely Greek. We were seated at a nice long table back in a corner.

I think our waitress was a little new, we kept asking her questions and she was not 100% certain of the answers and seemed a little nervous at times, but other than that she was really great. Nate and I decided to go for the full Greek experience, he ordered a Greek beer called Keo and I convinced Ali and my mother-in-law that we should order a bottle of Greek wine called Aphrodite.

Nate and I decided to order something called the Iliad which was a sampling of different Greek food, which came with the following: Spanakopita, Mousaka, Koupepia, Gyros and Loukaniko with country pilaf, oven-roasted potatoes and Tzatziki. It was encouraged to be a meal for two, we also each got a salad. My in-laws also chose to split that meal. Ali ordered Souvlaki which was skewered pieces of pork tenderloin, marinated and broiled, served over pita with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, Tzatziki and fries. For an appetizer we chose the Taverna Platter which had a couple of kinds of hummus, feta cheese and this weird octopus thing (I'm not even kidding, but it was sort of marinated, just tasted like fish).

The hummus was super tasty, I liked both kinds. The fresh pita bread we got was fantastic.

Appetizer

The Iliad was a TON of food, I don't know how we ate as much as we did. I liked about half of what was on the plate, but that still was enough. The gyros meat was the best, the sausage was good but spicy. The mousaka was also really good, I didn't think I'd like it, but I really did. I have decided I don't like grape leaves! And I have a hard time with spanakopita, it's a texture thing mostly.

Picture tipped, whoops - but here is the Iliad

Finally we also chose desserts. Since it was Ali's birthday, she got a complimentary dessert, so she chose baklava. Nate and I decided to split Milopita, which was an apple dessert with cream cheese and ricotta cheese in a pastry type shell. It was warm and gooey and wonderful!

Overall, the food was great, the prices were a bit steep, but it was a slightly upscale kind of place, the service was great and you definitely got alot for your money. There were leftovers to take home! I was a little disappointed in the wine, it was pretty weak, and didn't enhance the flavors of the food all that much. But that was the only low point of the evening. Everything else was fantastic. It's not a convenient place for us, so I don't think we'll be back soon just based on that, but I would recommend it!

Oh, a side note, we got to watch them set up for a bachlorette party and then the beginning of the party too - looked like a bunch of Greek women having fun, reminded me of My Big Fat Greek Wedding! Too funny.

Willowgate II

Well it's been awhile since we've tried something new, but we finally did over the 4th of July weekend. Both of us love Chinese food, but we're also picky about it. We're not as big of fans of the two closest take out places to us anymore (sorry Heights residents if you still love either place, we just feel that the quality isn't there anymore). We like a couple of higher end type places, but you have to drive a little to get to them and they're a bit spendy in price.

Nate suggested Chinese for dinner on Friday night and it sounded fantastic to me. He decided to simply Google Chinese restaurants near our zipcode. He came up with Willowgate II. Willowgate is located in Roseville and is sort of tucked away from the main drag if you will. It's almost overshadowed by nearby Applebees, Red Lobster, Bakers Square and Good Earth. But, we found it and boy were we happy we did.

It's super cute on the outside, they have a stone replica of the Great Wall of China, I read online that they added this when they reopened after remodeling in 2000 to great fanfare. This was when they added the "II" to their name. They have actually been around since 1983.

We stepped inside and were seated immediately, nothing too exciting about the inside decor, in fact they had the lights kind of dim, but there were plenty of people enjoying dinner. The menu is HUGE. It could almost be overwhelming in way, but they also help make it easier by offering combination specials and dinner specials to help you hone in on something. We were served hot tea and water and then left to scan the menu. We both decided on the combo specials, for $6.95 you got a choice of soup or salad, an appetizer and then one of their entree selections. I chose egg drop soup, cream cheese wontons and then chicken chow mein and sweet and sour shrimp. Nate chose hot and sour soup, egg rolls and sesame chicken.

They brought the soup out and it was a nice small sized bowl, just enough to wet your appetite. Hands down it was the best egg drop soup I have ever had! It was light in flavor, nice and warm and didn't leave me feeling overstuffed or anything. Nate enjoyed his hot and sour too, he said there was pork in it which you don't always get with hot and sour soup. He really liked the flavors and also agreed it was just enough as a starter.

The pace was great, we enjoyed a little more tea and a chance to talk a bit and then they brought our entrees, which included the appetizer but that was fine with me.

It may sound like I had a ton of food on my plate, but it wasn't too bad. Half of the plate was chicken chow mein, half was the sweet and sour shrimp and then there was fried rice kind of in the middle. I also had two cream cheese wontons. Some Chinese places heap so much food on your plate it's hard to dig in. Not the case here, but I wasn't feeling like I was gyped either. I started with the wonton - it was heaven! Nice and crispy, tasty shell, just enough cream cheese with a touch of sweetness. I haven't had wontons that good since a place we used to visit called the Saigon Star closed. Then I moved on to the chicken and rice - again, fantastic. The rice was perfect, the chicken had a great tasting gravy, mixed in with some chinese noodles. I like my celery nice and mushy and it was done exactly that way. Then I moved on to the shrimp - also very tasty, I loved the sauce, it wasn't too sticky or heavy like some sweet and sour sauces and had just enough tang and sweetness combined.

Nate let me taste his egg roll - again, wonderful. I am not a big fan of them normally, but this was good, not overly cabbage flavored, nice blend of veggies and the sauce was actual fish sauce which you don't always get according to Nate. He was pleased. His sesame chicken was very good as well, sauce was a little tangy without being too much, in fact he said next time he'd ask for it a little hotter since they gave you a choice of mild, medium or hot. But he still enjoyed it along with his fried rice too.

We purposely made sure we brought leftovers home since nothing beats leftover Chinese, especially good Chinese! The best part was the bill - around $15 for both of us. It is so rare to have a bill that low when you go someplace like that. We almost ordered a piece of their cheesecake to go just because the bill was so low! It probably helps that we stuck with the complimentary tea and water as our beverages. I did notice their wine list looked interesting - plum wine, sake, and another oriental wine were among the choices. They also listed several beers. Might be worth going back and trying one of them sometime.

Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Willowgate, it was a short drive, great service, outstanding food, we will be back!!

Sarna's

Those who live in Columbia Heights are probably familiar with this place, but I thought I'd write about it anyway for those less familiar with it and it's one of our favorite places to go.

We were severely lacking in "nice restaurants" in town for awhile. There was a Mr. Steak for years and years that closed down to make room for another tire store because hey, we don't have enough of those in Columbia Heights (sarcasm - drive down Central Avenue and you'll see what I mean). So, when Sarna's opened up it filled a void for sure.

At first, we were reluctant to try it - it's kind of in a weird spot in town, at the corner of 40th and University Avenues, in the space of a former gas station and in an area that was very industrial for awhile. Also, the name "Sarna's" is the family that owns the place - but they also own several tobacco shops, so just the name turned us off a little. Finally when they opened up, it was before the smoking ban went into effect so we feared being smoked out if we ate there.

Sarna's was probably open for a whole year before we actually ate there. It was after a Christmas event we had gone to at the Heights Theatre, we were hungry and it was a nice close option. I was pleasantly surprised when we stepped inside. It's clean, spacious, the wait staff is super friendly and nice, and the food is actually pretty good!

That was in late 2007 and since then we've pretty much added it to our regular rotation of places to go. Something unique that they do is have a rotating list of weekly menu specials - so you can go in and try something different just about every time. The regular menu is good too, but the specials can be kind of fun. Nate and I had some of the best cheese curds ever one January. One of my favorites is a fish deal that they have on occasion, prepared and tastes the way my dad would do fresh fish from a lake, I love it. Otherwise I love their pork tenderloin sandwich - it's huge, you could almost split it with someone, it comes with a pepper relish that's actually pretty good.

We also both like the "blue plate special" which is your basic open faced turkey sandwich/mashed potatoes and gravy - but it's fantastic. The burgers are good too, I like the "Heights Burger" which is a smaller option than some of their other burgers. Fries are simple shoestring fries, but I like that they are not overseasoned.

The menu really has something for everyone: salads, burgers, sandwiches, pizzas and entrees that span from Italian (my dad enjoys the Pasta el Forno - which comes with sausage and peppers) to Chinese (my mom enjoys the Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry) down to comfort food like the blue plate special I mentioned or beef stroganoff.

The portions are HUGE on everything. We always have leftovers. The bar is all right, they have good happy hour specials, but you'll just see your standard beers, wines, and they'll do just about any mixed hard drink you can come up with. In the winter I love the peppermint patty - hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps - warms you up inside and out! I also like their margaritas. Simple, small, and when it's happy hour - they're cheap!

I can't say enough good things about Sarna's really. It's just nice to have a decent place to eat in town, the staff remembers you and welcomes you each time, and I don't think I've had but maybe one meal I didn't enjoy in the last two years. Prices are moderate - you'll probably spend about $30 for two people if you both order meals and drinks but as I mentioned, you'll probably get two meals out of one entree with the portions being so large!

I really hope Sarna's will be around for some time to come. I have never seen the place empty, so I think it's a pretty safe bet!

Fogo de Chao

May 27th was our three year wedding anniversary. Due to circumstances beyond our control in 2008, our 2nd anniversary, we didn't do anything special. So, because we had the means to do so this year, we decided to give Fogo de Chao, in downtown Minneapolis a try, as we had read about and heard much about it.

It did not disappoint. We arrived in downtown for our 6:30 reservation, managed to score parking in a valet ramp a block away for only $6.00 (the valet parking Fogo itself offered was as much as $8, so this was a deal!).

We were seated immediately. They have a large dining area of which we were seated kind of off to the side in a slightly quieter area and we were kind of glad. The walls are filled from floor to ceiling with bottles of wine. Shortly after being seated one of the gauchos came over to explain how everything works. You can go choose offerings from the salad bar and then when you are ready, you get a little circle that is green on one side and red on the other. When you want some of the meat they serve, you flip it over to green. Then the gauchos come to your table with varieties of meat cooked on skewers, you pick the piece you want and they carve it directly on to your plate. When you've had enough, you flip your circle back to red and they will leave you alone to eat.

First we chose a bottle of wine, we figured between the two of us we probably would drink an entire bottle so might as well go for it. We had Robert Mondovi Cabernet Savingon. It was very good. Then we went up to make our plates at the salad bar.

I will admit - I was slightly disappointed by the salad bar. I had heard for months that it was the end all, be all of salad bars, but it's actually very simplistic and has some different items than you'd normally see and that's about it. There are two kinds of salad you can choose, four types of dressing and only a handful of add ons for the salad - broccoli, peppers, extra cheese and croutons. However, the other items were interesting - various cheeses, meats, artichoke hearts, asparagus, salmon, some creamy salad items and bread. I enjoyed the two types of cheese I grabbed, one was a swiss, the other I'm not real sure, it was a bit crumbly. The dressing I chose was Caesar, which was good, but I just didn't feel it was all that unique.

Salad is really not meant as the main event here though. It is clearly all about the meat. When you are ready for your meat, they also bring out the side dishes. I loved the sides, again, simple and light in flavor, but I think that is done on purpose. There were mashed potatoes, fried bananas and polenta. I loved the fried banana the best, it really brought out the sweet flavor without being over powering.

We flipped our circles to green and were immediately served beef sirloin, filet mignon, chicken and sausage. I decided I was good and flipped to red, Nate waited to get some pork tenderloin and then also flipped to red.

The filet was good - but very, very rich. I honestly wish I hadn't started with that cut of meat. But it was still tasty. The chicken is really good. I loved the sirloin the best I think, which was probably a good thing since it was the largest piece of meat on my plate! The sausage was not to my liking, it smells really good, but the spices were a bit odd for me. Nate liked everything, but felt his pork tenderloin was too Parmesan flavored, as it was rolled in Parmesan cheese.

Nate flipped back to green and was served chicken wrapped in bacon and a piece of lamb chops. He said both were good, but that lamb is definitely an acquired taste. He said he kind of wished he'd skipped the chicken/bacon as it's a flavor you can have anywhere, think of a chicken bacon club sandwich.

We were both getting super full, but wanted to try the pork ribs very badly, so we flipped to green and kept turning meats offered down until they brought it over. The ribs were very good, probably my next favorite after the sirloin.

While we were eating, the manager came over and asked if we were there celebrating or just dining. We said it was our three year wedding anniversary and he said, well you know what, we'll buy dessert for you. So, when we finally had our fill of meat they brought out a beautifully decorated piece of cake for us to share and the plate had "Happy Anniversary" written in strawberry syrup. The cake was a layer cake with chocolate and vanilla and creamy filling as well. Very decadent, but a great way to finish our meal.

Overall, I don't think I'd care to eat that much meat in one sitting again for awhile - but it was worth the trip for sure. They are very attentive and because there are so many different gauchos roaming, you won't be lacking for your food at any point. It was all warm and fresh and everyone was friendly. The wine was great, even if it was expensive. And I think it's a great touch that they offer a free dessert for a special occasion. We both loved it and would go again for another special occasion as long as some time had passed in between.

Pictures coming soon - don't have many, but do have a couple. :)