5th- al vento, minneapolis
9th- brit's pub, minneapolis
10th- american burger bar, st. paul
17th- gather, minneapolis
20th- wild boar, hopkins
28th- w.a. frost, minneapolis
5th- al vento, minneapolis (a-)ironically now that they've changed their blurb promising the time of your life there, i had a better experience there. perhaps because it was for a party and they rented out the whole place? or because it was not restaurant week and overly packed. either way, the food and service were both quite good.
the starters chosen were various bruschetta. my favorite was the olive tapenade with goat cheese. the brussel sprout/herbed ricotta combo has sprouts that were too big and kept falling off, i also like my raw sprouts a bit smaller than the chunks they had, also. the eggplant caponata was good, but since it lacked cheese i only had a taste. the white bean ones i avoided as they looked a bit too piled to eat nicely without things falling over.
the pizzas, on a crisp cracker crust, were quite tasty. i had the neapolitan with basil tomato and house made mozzarella and the tomato flavor was very deep and set off everything nicely. those who sampled the fennel sausage with roma tomato and herbed chevre really liked the sausage flavor but had a bit of a difficult time keeping the sausage on the pizza.
the menu they chose for table service at the party started with a salad duo, served family style- a caesar with romaine hearts grana padano parmesan and crostini, for those among us who are fond of bold flavors and anchovies seemed a lot more standout than the last time i was here when it was just... fine. the mixed greens with balsamic was pretty much the meh choice this time.
there were three entree choices. no one near me went for default fall vegetarian option (ravioli with butternut squash and brown butter sage sauce). the house-made spaghetti- and you can tell it was house made, in a very good way- with their tomato 'mother sauce' and house made meatballs was spicy though quite tasty. then again it had a lot of cheese on it, the sauce did.
though i think the entree i chose was the clear winner- a breaded salmon in spinach risotto and a red wine butter sauce with pomegranite seeds and such on top. a very good crust on the salmon and it was done to what most people call spot on (but i like mine a bit more undercooked). that dish has more flavor and interest in it. a pity no bread was served during the entree to get at any of the leftover sauces.
there were two dessert rounds. vanilla and chocolate creme brulee was round one. the vanilla one was good. not a lot you can do to make your creme brulee stand out if you're keeping to the original, pretty much. the second round was more decadent- an extremely chocolate tart with a pastry crust with a chocolate caramel ganache center hazelnuts and whipped cream with a hazelnut gelato. i quite liked the gelato- it wasn't too sweet or rich. the pastry was, yes, too chocolatey for me. though small, it would be better shared between 3-4 people.
9th- brit's pub, minneapolis (c-)
another convenience dinner here. another splitting of apps at happy hour prices ($5.95 each). the chips and curry were a bit more meh than usual, especially the curry which needs flavor boosts. the chips were placeholders. the samosas were also a bit more sad than usual, a tad overfried, a tad understuffed so you didn't quite get enough potato and pea when you bit into them, and a few too many collapsed into themselves.
the new(ish) fried chicken sliders were better than i thought they would be in that they were ok (if so why did i order them? who knows....). the chicken was prefectly crispy but not flavorful. they were on white buns, untoasted, with a bit too much shredded iceberg lettuce and what seemed to be american cheese and had dill pickle chips. the menu listed sriracha mayo on them, which was undetectable (though they curry added a certain something there at least). not sure i'd get them again.
service was ok enough at first, but when someone else at our table ordered chips they never arrived. about par for the course at brit's. there's usually only one good server in the room where we are, and usually we don't get that server.
10th- american burger bar, st. paul (c-)
mom and i had to go to st. paul around lunchtime, so i got a restaurant.com certificate for here ($10 off $20) for about a dollar. why not. mom opted for their angus burger with their skinny fries ($7.48) and a diet pepsi ($2.75- freaking spendy for a pop). she thought the burger was pretty good and really liked the fries.
i went with the special of the day, a turkey cobb burger with blue cheese and avocado- i got the bacon on the side and handed it off to mom ($7.99). without the bacon, it was missing some sort of seasoning/flavor element, especially as any blue cheese flavor dissipated in a few bites. even with adding ketsup and mayo, it was kind of boring and there wasn't a flavor of turkey at all. the iceberg was also in pieces, and they fell like leaves onto the plate, taking some topping with it. the bun was also just ok- not bad, not great. pretty much the vibe of my meal.
it was supposed to come with jalapeno fries, but though mom had thought my fries tasted different than hers, i wasn't so sure that they would qualify as jalapeno in any way shape or form, mostly because, well, they completely lacked them. i was asked by the server if i wanted jalapeno fries and said yes. so why i didn't get them i know not. oh, the fries here are also hard to eat due to their slightness.... i half i wonder if they call them 'skinny' so more women would order them. they were crisp but lacked a definitive potato flavor but they were very crisp and when first served and piping hot, more charming.
the service was really really weird. they were understaffed, but yet there was no one that came in anywhere near we did. but we waited a long time to place food orders, but not drink orders. and i didn't get the fries i ordered. and we were seated at an odd table very far away from the other people. but, though i spaced on ordering $20 (it was close), they still took the $10 off without asking me to order more. and the water glass was kept filled. also weird- it's a burger joint. admittedly a spendy one for most menu items, but still, they sling burgers. but the host was in a suit, and the former matty b digs don't read casual burger place. they read more of a steakhouse sort of place. and it had many older people.
they did have the killer scent that makes me unable to breathe in the restroom, though, so even if the place was more hospitiable and the food better than ok, it's not like i'd go back.
17th- gather, minneapolis (c-)
i'm not sure that i know anyone who's been to gather. at least anyone who's mentioned it. mostly because for dinner they're only open on thursdays. and also perhaps because parking here is either pay or hike. and non-happy hour prices are a bit high. and it's a d'amico property, which has pretty much defined 'average' for me since the closing of cucina. (i was never fond of d'amico and sons, both parma 8200 and d'amico kitchen earned c grades.)
so i kind of knew what i was getting into when i ate here, but since i was going to see the john waters exhibit with someone here, we thought may as well try the happy hour, where all small plates plus one cocktail is $5 each (they have other booze specials, too).
so on their web site, the pdf of the small plates menu is from a few months back, but the 'view' menu is current. ditto the lunch menu. way to rock that. with the small plates, a few of them seemed a hugh deal at $5, but others weren't quite worth the happy hour price, let alone the menu price.
anyway, for a change i had a cocktail, as the $5 seasonal one was the coquito (i think it was $9 or so usual price), which tastes more or less like boozy egg nog. high recommended if you ever find one. or google a recipe. it's also less thick than regular egg nog, too. though i was a tiny bit disappointed the one with pumpkin puree wasn't the one on special. i coped. i would've liked mine a shade colder than it was, though. it was a bit too room temp.
i really wanted to try was the 'seared sea scallop, roasted porcini mushrooms, (and) brown butter' ($12 usual price) but alas, i was unable to what with the allergy. my friend had it, though. but if you have to phrase how you liked a seafood dish in a way that includes 'one of them had sand it it, but not a lot' that tells you something. maybe it was better i couldn't then.
the bbq short rib banh mi with some pickled veg on baguette ($10 usual price) was a bit pricey for the usual menu but a good happy hour price on what was apparently a decent sandwich cut up into four three or so bite pieces. though i liked my picked veg better, and the few i took were a bit floppy.
the sweet corn empañadas ($10 usual price) were less than thrilling. there were six one or two bite ones, stuffed with what i remember being told was cojita cheese but the dough was too thick and they were overfried. you couldn't taste the cheese at all. the 'blistered ancho tomato sauce' was the good thing on that plate. i'd like to see that in a pasta dish. or a dipping sauce for something more worthy. the flavor was deep with that one.
the assorted grilled cheese sandwiches ($8 usual price) were six crustless quarters (not sure how the math works on that one), four appeared to be cheddar and chutney, two seemed to be swiss and nothing. and they were all boring and overpriced even at $5. they were just not interesting in any way shape or form. and this is coming from someone who lists their favorite foods as #1 cheese and #2 bread, these should be right up my alley. but nope.
the first few bites of the french fries with truffle aioli ($7 usual price) were a tad cold. the middle was just right. and the last few had a very weird aftertaste that i didn't enjoy. kind of like dirt. maybe something went wrong in the truffle oil department or something. i did like the aioli though.the service was weird. the server, when i asked what was in the empanadas, decided to describe what empanadas were. um. i knew that. which is why i asked what was in it, not what it was. during the thick of happy hour, the servers were overly busy (but boy did that place empty out as soon as it was over) but then we got several people asking us how our food was. though odd, no one really stuck around for the answer. (it was difficult not to be snarky.) oh, and the place hasn't changed tons since it was 20.21. no waiting space in the lobby, though. and it had different furniture and a strange lack of art.
the best thing i had here was water. then the pickle slices off mom's plate (she got sliders, three with bbq sauce, cheddar and bacon for $7.99 off the apps menu). my chicken wild rice soup comes next ($5.99 for a bowl) as the chicken pieces were tender, but it tasted like it was made with some weak cream of something soup (which is so something i hate) that was too watered down instead of cream, like it was from a large can or mix or something. the veg seemed pre-sliced and/or frozen and the rice was only texture. the whole thing lacked the flavor of anything. it barely beat out the side of fries we split ($2.99) were worthless and bad and came from frozen and didn't taste like potato.
they don't seem to cook here, they seem to assemble from premade parts. we had a groupon we got for free, so the total was under $7 for the food and really it still wasn't worth the price. it was also not clean here (lots of dust on the tables, the mustard on our table had black soot or something on the bottle, the tables were carved into (and this place hasn't been open that long), booths had stuff on the seats that hadn't been cleaned off along with the table). service was ok, but really between the food and the ick factor, no. just no.
28th- w.a. frost, minneapolis (b+)
i think the one time i recall being here i was less than impressed but wanted to try again (it's been over half a decade and people keep telling me to go back)... so on the way to a meeting in st. paul i decided to have a lunch at someplace civilized... there's not much to choose out where i work. i can't recall the last time i've lunched solo at work. ah, well. there are many worse things in life to deal with.
my selection for w.a. frost was based on the online menu... they actually listed their soup of the day, and that was what drew me in. i will say the lunch prices are surprisingly reasonable, especially for the quality of ingredients they use. you can sit in the restaurant or the bar/lounge (i opted for the later) depending on what kind of experience you want, formality-wise, that's reflected in the lunch menu with more casual options and some entrees.
as mentioned, the pumpkin-rutabaga soup ($7.50 for a bowl) is what caught my eye, as i am mad for pumpkin-flavored things. not pumpkin spice, pumpkin. and the soup was quite nice with a velvety texture and enough pumpkin flavor to keep me happy. the garnish of a quarter piece of bread was a bit difficult to deal with- i awkwardly used the spoon to try to chop it into smaller bits. bread on the side would've been better. but the soup part, it was quite nice indeed.
bread with the cheese from their selection ($8) i had would've been better also than the matza with sesame seeds like crackers it came with. it was difficult to work with as the cheese was a tad cold and fell apart a bit too easily, plus it was hard to use anything to get the sauces/compotes that came with it. i'd also lose the two random raspberries on the plate and the wee heap of microgreens. the dried fruit and pumpkin seeds were welcome with the cheese. i wonder if the tailor the accompaniments to the cheese at all, i'd guess not. but i will say it's a very good price on the robiola tre latti that i had, and a good-sized portion.
service was casual (i was in the bar/lounge, so it was appropriate) and not quite as on point as i kind of expected from this place, but it was above average.
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