2nd- mainstreet bar and grill. hopkins
8th- good earth, edina
16th- lone spur, minnetonka
20th- dino's gyro's, shakopee
22nd- snuffy's malt shop, edina
23rd- vescio's, st. louis park
30th- park tavern, st. louis park

2nd-mainstreet bar and grill, hopkins (a-)

you know, i like going here. a sports-bar type of place, admittedly, but even during a twins game, we got fast service. and this time there were some really nice touches by one of the servers that i was impressed by. little things, like giving me a container for the leftover fajita stuff with the bottom facing towards me, writing the date on it, giving me caps for the containers of salsa and stuff, and bringing a plate to assemble the fajitias on, things like this.

the food still was tasty (onion rings!). there was still a lack of chicken in the fajitas, though, like last time, but the proportions were more balanced. i think they switched their salsa, as it didn't taste like pace, but something fresh and quite good. the same still can't be said of the faux-guacamole. oh, well.

if you go, be warned- if you sit in nonsmoking during a busy time, it's a bit drafty because of the machines they have to suck up the smoke, and it makes the food cool off faster, but the atmosphere better. trade off.

8th-good earth, edina (c-)

so yeah, the huevos again. i have to stop ordering them now, they are not living up to my idealized huevos, the potatoes underdone, the flavors requiring a lot of salt, not enough egg.... even the water tasted a bit off. and let's just say the server said someone forgot to tell her i was there. it's hard to miss someone when three out of the many, many tables are full and there are only two servers, i guess. ahem. but the server was nice after that. and stuff.

16th-lone spur, minnetonka (b)

good thing i don't review drive thrus, as dino's would have failed for the food, come crashing down from lofty heights. the only thing that i could eat off the greek salad was the one olive and the feta, the rest hit the trash (brown slimy lettuce, the tomato needed cpr or something). i did call 'em, and i do get a free dinner, but still, that salad should have only left the restaurant in a trash bin.

anyway, lone spur. mr. bad restaurant karma ordered the chicken taco salad, which was crap, of course. the thing was all lettuce, with a small scattering of chicken, olives, cheese and tomatoes on top. so when it was mentioned to them, the server brought the manager over, who was all nice, and offered to get a replacement meal. good.

however, though they took the taco salad off the bill, they did charge for the replacement food. (possibly because we had a $5 coupon, they charged $5 for it. coincidence? i think not.) that was crappy, which is why no a. i bet without a coupon, they would have been free. hrm.

otherwise the food was really good, as were the fries. i had the red pepper chicken burrito with refried beans. the burrito was large, and there were lots of both things inside. the fries with that were steak fries, seasoned well, not greasy, browned outside, squishy inside. and they tasted like potatoes (sad when that makes it stand out in a good way... ). the service was good, too, the water glasses never were more than half empty (or half full, depending on how you want to look at that. ha. ha.), things like this.

20th-dino's gyros, shakopee (b)

of course the goodness wouldn't last at dino's, or at least the high grade. i was in getting my free meal (look at the 16th of this month for more detail), and made the mistake of going in on a day where some church (not of the poison mind, heh) was having a fundraiser. this place is not built for high-volume eat in. strangely, the food was up faster than it was when no one was in the joint, but it wasn't a great place to eat it in, all squished in. i tried the spinach puff (spanakopita in 'real life'), which i wished i hadn't. the fries were tasty as always, and the chicken gyros better than last time, though.

and though i was told that there was a post-it note on the front counter with my name on it for a free meal because of the nasty salad, it wasn't there. the manager on duty did give me one anyway, i think he's the one guy who cares about his job there, and when he's not there, it shows (like in the drive thru salads... ahem).

22nd-snuffy's malt shop, edina (a)

back to the fresher grilled buns, better chicken on the sandwich, better fries. the murals aren't done yet, they're working on a baseball one now with some member of the twins in it.

the only strange thing was the 70's and 80's tunes mixed in with the 50's rock and roll, like hall and oats followed by some buddy holly, then some omd (molly ringwald flashback time. not the 50's.). then again, the dishwashing room has completely different music, as does the kitchen, which you can hear when you walk by.

23nd-vescio's, st. louis park (d+)

pasta puttanesca. i can't see the olives, i can't smell the olives, i can't taste the olives. i am told they are ground up into the sauce. that's just bad and wrong, and... not even. the bread was cold and not tasty. (courtesy of mr. bad restaurant karma, i suppose). at least we did manage to get seated, etc., this time.

it wasn't worth it, but we were.

the salad was better than gets served in most joints, though. ('cause the one tomato slice actually tasted like a tomato slice, and wasn't frozen to death.) and the hot tea selection was pretty good. thus the +. (which was not for the service. i had to ask for a fork a few times, even after i had gotten some forkable food. by the end of the meal, i bet they wanted me to fork off.)

(yes, it's not funny, but hey, i had to get it in there).

30th-park tavern, st. louis park (c)

not good, not bad. though the service was a bit slow. it's like the waitress was not really in the moment, she seemed like she would have rather been elsewhere. or retired.

chicken with mushrooms and swiss was what i was craving, and they had it on the menu. so, logical person that i can be at times, i ordered it. it did take care of my craving, but it wasn't anything great. the chicken could have been a lot better (as in less processed-tasting). the fries with that were of the 'spicy' variety (i must be getting used to spice, as i couldn't taste it, though everyone else could), and were nothing to write home about, but weren't horrible.

we had tried to go here before, but when you go for dinner, it's all crowded with bowlers. random side not: speaking of bowling here, this is the only place i was ever thrown out of (with the friends i was with, not just me), for bowling... creatively. lunch was less crowded, and i would guess, a lot less smoky. since their nonsmoking section is three booths (and it's a fairly large room), that's worth noting.

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