4th- brit's pub, minneapolis
5th- pizza n pasta, shakopee
11th- snook inn, marco island, fl
12th- the grape, estero, fl
14th- bad ass coffee co., naples, fl
15th- real macaw, naples, fl
16th- sea salt, naples, fl
18th- little six restaurant, prior lake
20th-al's breakfast, minneapolis
27th- satay 2 go, apple valley

4th- brit's pub, minneapolis (a-)

a bowl of cream of tomato soup ($4.95 for a smallish bowl with oyster crackers, and weird bread with weird butter- they need a better bread supplier...). still winter, still cold. lost the cheese toasty this time, not worth it. service started out good, then at some point my water glass was taken away for about half an hour (during the pub quiz). why? who knows.

5th- pizza n pasta, shakopee (c)

wanted pizza. picked up a pizza. wanted better pizza, but stuck with lots of leftovers.

the 'veggie pleaser' ($18.39 for an xl usually, but i found a 50% off coupon) had mushrooms, green and black olives, onions, and green peppers and cheddar on a medium crust. could've used a few more veg, a bit more sauce. it was ok, better cold. it was the epitome of averageness. i suspect when i reheat and get the crust crisp (this one so wasn't) it'd be better warm.

11th- snook inn, marco island, fl (b)

a bit off the beaten tourist path (it's not on the main drag), it's a bit more local in flavor on the island. since you usually have to wait 20+ minutes for a water table on the slow days, we started with drinks. apparently they do a mean gin and tonic ($4.25). and the 'rum runner' i had (dark rum, blackberry, banana, lime and grenadine, $7) had a lot more flavor and booze than the watered down drinks you get at a lot of tourist places (ahem, naples beach club...).

you get a salad bar trip with your meal, and well, they had good pickles that were homemade. the rest, well... not so much worth it. but hey, i like pickles, and mostly had those.

i went with the 'famous' grouper sandwich (broiled) with fries ($13.99). a bit spendy, but most things are spendier in that area. the fish was quite good, as was the tartar sauce, but there were sandwich integrity issues, and the bread needed toasting. the fries were just ok.

the other people at the table each had the broiled seafood combo ($13). there were a few shrimp, a few scallops, and portions of grouper and mahi-mahi plus crabmeat stuffing along with fries. the fish were excellent, even better than mine (odd but true), and i was told the shrimp and crabmeat stuffing were also. the scallops were mixed- one person had good ones, the other one had underdone ones.

good service, though, for a busy place. it seemed like a pro crew. it reminds me of trader joe's staffing, if that makes any sense. and though we had waterside seats, we didn't see any dolphins. bummer.

12th- the grape, estero, fl (c-)

how surprising, everyone else liked their lunch more than i did. apparently they do fine burgers made of wagyu beef, three sliders with asian bbq sauce and mustard on tiny toasted buns ($9) or a regular-sized one with blue cheese and carmelized onions and a side of caprese salad (also $9) were a-ok according to those who lunched with me.

my greek salad was not as good as dino's version. the dressing was lesser (quality, quantity, flavor), the grilled chicken a bit overdone. the feta was bland, the tomatoes sad, the onion wasn't even red (as listed on the menu). you don't even get pita with it- you ask for more bread. plus it was overpriced ($12).

service was of the overly busy not enough staff sort, so that wasn't impressive either. the only things i enjoyed were the balsamic syrup in the olive oil for the bread, and the decor. the wine list wasn't bad, being that it is a wine bar (part of a smallish southern-based chain). not impressed with the menu, though.

14th- bad ass coffee co, naples, fl (f)

bad for me to post this when i am on their wifi, but their underdone blueberry muffin ($2.50) (note- it made me a bit ill, so i downgraded) and watery iced chai ($4.25 for a large) are not so bad ass.

15th real macaw, naples, fl (a)

a post-boating happy hour. we were with someone who knew the owner... i had a 'macaw juice' beverage with added grenadine (i asked for the most fruity girly sweet one available, and they started with the usual and added the extra to make it more so). nice. not sure how much that part was.

since i wanted something from the water (we caught no edible fish...) i ordered the "calypso" calamari ("crispy calamari with asian soy, honey, ginger, scallions and cilantro," $9.00). i got a sizeable amount and it was quite lovely- not rubbery, very flavorful, not overly deep fried. i asked for some of the extra sauce (it's marinated in the soy mixture) for dipping. i did wish there were happy hour prices, but alas...

i also sampled the very tasty ahi tuna tetaki ("yellowfin tuna, island spices, asian soy, wakame salad, wasabi, & pickled ginger," $11.50) and the outer bit of the cripsy, slightly unusual but not too far out there yucca rellenos ("mashed yucca stuffed with beef picadillo, corn and chipotle sauce," $8.00).

16th- sea salt, naples, fl (d-)

the only thing that's stopping me from giving it an f is the inventive 'home' fries that came with my meal. well, they kind of came with my meal- you get house fries, i asked for the shaved dark chocolate/foie/red sea salt fries and said an upcharge was ok (they're $2 extra if you order plain v. flavored on the menu). i couldn't taste foie, but the chocolate alone was interesting and new. the fries were ok sans it, but got cold and floppy quickly plain. why they were called home fries when they weren't... got me.

it would've been me with the brk... except the whole shellfish allergy thing precluded me from the crab cake slider, one of a series of three (grouper, salmon, with fries, $16. as both mom and i got the same thing, i swapped it for her grouper one. and yes, that was the one with the bit of aluminum in it. so the brk was intended for me...

when mrs. brk asked for a replacement for just that one, they brought out a complete plate with fries.... and three grouper burgers. um.... whathuh? there's no way that was the right answer. eventually we were able to get the server over and asked for just the one crab cake slider (again). they eventually got that right.

service, especially for a place so very high end that it was mentioned in gourmet, was slow and bad. it's what i expect at some sort of local breakfast joint. they lied about keeping my water glass filled (5-15 minutes between drainings), they took 10 minutes to get to the table after we sat down (once more i was edging out... should've gone with that intention)... didn't check to see how anything was (we had to call them over... twice... about the mistakes). the only person who inquired as to how things were was the runner/busboy, after we were done.

i'm guessing that the chef was off today. or the sliders a bit off in general... besides the multiple grouper/aluminum thing... the flavor profiles were completely uninteresting and the bun too big for the amount of fish. plus the bun needed to be toasted. it would've been interesting if they put slaw one on the crab, some sort of dill sauce on the salmon, and lettuce and tomato on the grouper, but all sandwiches got what looked to be a bit of mayo (supposedly truffled, but either it wasn't, or there wasn't enough of it to tell), a bit of lettuce, and some tomato (not entirely sad, but not happy either). you get a lemon, remoulade, and bbq sauce to do with what you wish. unless the sauces were for the fries. that wasn't clear. nothing special and overpriced for it ($16).

the warm olive bread and ciabatta served with olive oil and three sea salts (a very salty salt that i liked the best from bali, a pink peruvian one, and a black one from hawaii, lava something) was an interesting twist. nice bread, too.

though the restaurant is gorgeous (and nice, automated bathrooms... even the soap is automatic), the loud music was out of place for the interior and the clientele, and the menu. it's jazz, not blues rock, that should be the soundtrack.

so they did charge us for two slider plates (gave us one extra, kind of, maybe a bit more)... they didn't charge extra for the chocolate fries. that's the only thing off the bill. and i think they just forgot to do that.

all in all, i'd rather be at the sea salt closer to home.

18th- little six restaurant, prior lake (b)

was there for a work-related function. i opted for the soup (a very nice creamy chicken wild rice that was packed full of real chicken and real wild rice. the menu stated that it's a cup, but it's either a large cup or a small bowl) and half sandwich (pecan chicken salad... oddly not available on the dinner menu as a solo sandwich- they served it on white bread, i asked if it could be toasted. the untoasted white made it look unappealing. the salad was ok, but needed seasoning and the bread, event toasted, was blah).

originally it came with kettle chips, but not liking them so much and seeing the fries were not so delicious-looking, i got onion rings instead. i was told they'd be around $1.50 for the upcharge, but it ended up being closer to $.75 (total bill with tax was $7.14 and the regular soup/sandwich platter with tax was $6.33). the change was well worth it, they were the solid kind of o-ring that don't have all the onion slip out when you bite into it.

service was cheerful but slightly confused, for instance the syrup (smelled like pure maple) was put in front of me, between someone who ordered the same thing and someone who ordered steak and shrimp. not in front of the person who got the pancake. and we had one of those auctions when the food got to the table. there was only five of us.

20th-al's breakfast, minneapolis (b+)

you know you've eaten breakfast in a big way when it's about 6 hours later and you just can't stomach the thought of lunch. and i mean that in a good way,

i believe it was cranky guy's son (cranky jr? cranky in training?) on the grill this am most of the time, and he's not quite as good as cranky guy with the timing and such, so it was a bit off (about four people who sat and ordered after me got their food first... though i did cope). i hit it at a sweet spot, and had to wait less than 5 minutes (and it was before 7 am). though the seat i did get was at the end, where the bit of counter that can flip up is, and apparently that's not straight... so sorry about the syrup overflow. gravity, man. it's gravity.

so for $6.50 i got two slices of dark rye toast, two eggs over easy, hash browns, and a short stack (two) blueberry pancakes that make pretty much all other pancakes seem like they came out of a box in the freezer. love the pancakes. it would've been mad tasty had i thought to get the blackberry ones with walnut. but it was too early to think of that. sigh. and the food was a bit ungreasy... it seemed almost light. weird. i would've liked maybe a minute more on the hash browns, too... personal preference perhaps.

there's always next time, though i don't seem to make it here too often... probably the whole crowds thing, and i am rarely in the neighborhood.

27th- satay 2 go, apple valley (a)

after a crappyass week i needed comfort food. mee goreng all the way mad, all the way hyped. noodles rock. more and better chicken, etc. the place was more crowded at an earlier time than i ever remember seeing it. good thing i beat the rush.

 

 

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