2nd- piazza's, golden valley
4th- benchwarmer bob's, burnsville
6th- fhima's, st. paul
10th- crossroads deli, minnetonka
18th- scoreboard, minnetonka
19th- mancini's char house, st. paul
22nd- dino's gyros, shakopee
24th- bloominton park tavern, bloomington
26th- edina grill, edina

2nd-piazza's, golden valley (d+)

i knew going in i didn't like the red sauce, it has too much sugar or something in it for me. so i went with white. linguine and "baby bay" shrimp. i love it when food terminology is seemingly randomly made up, baby bay shrimp indeed. anyway, we get served bread. the last time we went there, it was italian bread with a decent crust and it was warm. this time, it was cold and most like wonder bread. the salads were the same as remembered (ok, but with too many cold storage tomatoes), but they now don't come with most meals like they used too (plus everything seems more spendy).

we get served, mine is linguine with clams. when the server returns to bring more bread, she realizes her mistake, and brings a plate with the shrimp, taking away the other, and tells us there's no charge for it. so they get points for that. however, the sauce was heavy on the cornstarch and the shrimp were rubbery, the pasta tasteless. the people who split the lasagne also remember much better food here, at more reasonable prices.

i will say that compared to most other places, the wine markup was reasonable. bottles i see at $7-$8 retail were about $16 here. though the thing isn't too extensive.

4th- benchwarmer bob's, burnsville (b-)

how alliterative, no? anyway, not a crowded place at lunch today. a friend and i sat out on the terrace until the wasps got a little too much, then we went inside. i had the chicken sandwich with swiss and mushrooms (cordon bleu, so named, but sans ham), and fries with that. the mugs of pop were hugeass, which i enjoy, instead of having to get my glass refilled 50 million times (even though it was pepsi products instead of coke. i coped.). the fries were strangely a nonentity. i can't recall them as good or bad or indifferent, so i guess they were ok, or perhaps i imagined them. anyway, the sandwich was large and it was good, but it was on the spendy side (around $10 with a side).

my friend had a tuna melt. $24 for 2 sandwiches and two pops at lunch seem a bit high at a semi-obscure place in the 'burbs. perhaps we are paying for the privilege of eating at lurtsema's place? anyway... spendy as it was, it was a good thing we had a two for one coupon. maybe. because with that, it took the server three times to do the bill correctly. first we got someone else's bill, then we got our bill without the amount taken off. after having to track down the server (several eye contacts and even both of us staring didn't get them to get back to the table), they had to be tracked down to get the correct bill.

6th- fhima's, st. paul (b+)

a friend and i sat in the "chef's room," the back area of the place, which i prefer, as it's easier to have a conversation (less loud, more mellow, less 'scene' intensive), and has a coolass bathroom. anyway, the food. details. fhima's is so close to an a, but they miss in the details.

rolls and tapanade: lovely tapanade. detail(s) missed (dm from now on): rolls were not that great, and there were only two of them for the good quantity of tapanade.

first course: meritage tartare. a tasty combo of sushi grade tuna, cured salmon, sour cream, capers, shallots, lemon and lime, with a decorative splash of balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil on the plate. dm: too few bread slices to put them on, bread wasn't that great.

second course: crouton salade, with warm goat cheese (mmmm, goat cheese) and lovage greens. dm: too much bitterness in the salad to be balanced by the amount of goat cheese on bread served with it.

third course: i had the seafood rigatoni, pasta in a reduced seafood and saffron sauce with scallops, mussels, clams, and shrimp. dm: parts of the pasta were cold and there was a mussel that was dead (unopened shell) before it was cooked in the food, which is not at all happy. also, they threw in a crayfish, not mentioned on the description, because they can, which i suppose they think an amusing twist. which it wasn't. it was so close to being really good.

dessert: i forgot the name of the dessert, but it was a small slice of cheesecake served with green tea ice cream on a beignet. the chocolate sauce on the ice cream/beignet and the vanilla on the cheesecake was a nice touch, and the cheesecake better than most. dm: the beignet was made too cold and chewy by serving it with the ice cream on top of it, and the flavors of the green tea ice cream and cheesecake didn't balance that well.

but you should order the creme brulee. the other deserts may sound good, but someone at your table needs to order it so you can share it, but you must eat some of it. trust me. my friend did, and i was grateful. in fact, if you're in downtown st. paul post-theater or concert, stop here for coffee and the creme brulee after the show.

10th- crossroads deli, minnetonka (c+)

yes, another non-a restaurant. i'm not sure if i'd order anything but deli-type things here again, as the other menu items seem overpriced for the venue. i thought the benchwarmer bob's sandwich was spendy, the one the 'rents split (steak, topped with fried onions, side of cole slaw) was openfaced, not all that large, and cost $15, which was not worth what you got. they thought it was... ok. i had the baked salmon, which had skin on half of it. it was... ok. the garlic mashed potatoes tasted of potatoes. not garlic, but were... yep, you guessed it... ok. the bread and the side of fresh sauteed veggies were... ok plus.

10th- scoreboard, minnetonka (d+)

slipped since july. why? i ate my dinner (smoked salmon linguine... interesting concept, but i really should stick to my usual plan of ordering bar food in a bar and restaurant, it usually turns out more palatable... anyway). the 'rents were splitting meatloaf dinner. it came with a salad bar. they got the salad bar. they ate it. the meatloaf came, which is what my dad, mr. bad restaurant karma himself, wanted. of course was inedible (burnt and strangely hard). he sent it back.

we get the bill. there are three items on it, the meatloaf and salmon pasta, which we ordered, with the price of the meatloaf deducted. making a guest appearance was a salad bar for $7.50, which no one had ordered.

if one ordered the salad bar with a dinner that it didn't come with, it's $2.95. that would have been a reasonable charge. if the server had explained the bill before it was rung up or as it was delivered, the $7.50 have been perhaps tolerable. instead, it was dropped with no explanation. so when the server comes back (shorter than it took last time, but long enough to seem odd, about 5 minutes), we ask for an explanation, saying it seems odd the meatloaf would only be $2, etc. so the server says that they will discuss it with the manager. the manager comes over. apparently it wasn't discussed, so we go over the thing again. the manager then drops the charge for the salad bar, and said it should have been the $2.95 with an explanation.

19th- mancini's char house, st. paul(c)

the grilled toast rocked. the rest of the food, not so much.

22th- dino's gyros, shakopee (a)

it's not the same as vincent's, but for what they are, i love the fries with that here, and there's a generous serving for not a lot of money. the chicken gyros were tasty, the staff friendly (perhaps because shakopee isn't quite ready for them, they don't have a lot to do...) and willing to explain to newbies what the gyro is all about. i was also happy that the ketsup cups were generous, 'cause having to fill 50 million little tiny cups is not a happy thing. and a spearmint comes with your meal (though i am not sure if this is only oniony things they come with...). they even asked how things were (though again, this may be 'cause i was the only one eating in at dinnertime. still, they get credit).

24th- bloomington park tavern, bloomington (c-)

i would have given it a d had the food been crappy, but as it is it was just the service that was, again, kinda. examples: we told the server we were ready to order. theywandered off and didn't come back for a good five minutes or so. someone ordered the catfish sandwich and fries, and she asked if they wanted fries. we had to ask for our app to be served first, as it looked like they weren't going to bring it out. with my catfish sandwich (i am not calling it a po' boy, it still isn't) i got the broccoli cheddar soup, which was homemade. and tasty. so the food was good. again, an empty room, and it took forver to get food. weird, huh.

26th-edina grill, edina (b-)

i keep expecting the food to be as good as the highland grill, but it isn't. perhaps the grill needs more aging. but the food was ok. the service was ok. just not spectacular. i don't know. i ordered the "jack cakes," buckwheat pancakes with granola, blueberries, raisins, bananas, and peanuts on top. they were o-tay (sorry, couldn't resist).

i tried my friends spinach, tomato, and egg scramble. the brie in it was very, very strong, unbrie-like. nothing to write home about, but adquate. she thought they were a bit stingy with the coffee.

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