date: 7/10/07
location: robbinsdale
grade: c-

boy, did the server/host/bus person/etc. sound not so happy about many of the things on the menu. implying with the tone of your voice that you think everything people inquire about is not good (especially the entire dessert menu) is not the best thing for someone working in a restaurant to do. but we forged ahead anyway.

the lobster bisque was quite nice, with mushrooms and large chunks of lobster, perfectly seasoned. someone had that for a starter. they went on to one of the pizzettas, which was more like a pizza in size. the mexican chorizo pizza with mole, grilled peppers, onions, and mozzarella suffered from an excess of mole, so much so it kind of killed the other flavors. it had good cheese, though.

the mediterranean pizza (i refuse to call it a pizzetta) had sun-dried tomato, artichoke heart, kalamata olive, basil, and probably the best cheese i've seen on a pizza in ages, a mix of mozzarella and parmesan that did the classic pizza string of cheese thing perfectly, and was tasty too. this was one of the things the jack of all trades person was so down on, yet was the item i liked the most out of what everyone ordered.

the crust on both pizzas tasted like it was made from the same dough as the bread at the table- a slightly underwhelming soda-bread, we think, with not that great butter. it didn't make for a good plain crust. it was ok with toppings.

i got the st. paul crabcake sandwich, though why it's called that i will probably never know. it was blue crab on an english muffin with a red pepper-chipotle aioli. the aioli was good, the crab cake was the kind with the stringy crab bits versus the chunks, and kept crumbling when i tried to eat it. disappointing. i had asked for fries to be subbed for the tortilla chips, that's the part of my order that never made it in after getting the tableside ok.

odd, as the table's about 5 feet from the ordering station and the kitchen. which made it awkward later when the jack of all trades started to put pressure on the kitchen to get the fries out. awkward. at first i was told two minutes for the fries when the sandwich was put down with the tortilla chips. they made their appearance at the end of the meal, when i was done with my sandwich. they were hot and fresh, but were in the lower-ok taste range. they tasted mostly of skin, and not so much of potato.

we really wanted to like the place. it's a cute space (except for the restrooms, which seem to be some sort of home improvement project half-abondoned in places, with screws in the wall and a 'rustic' home-made lock on a stall door), done in blue and dark wood, very ikea-esque. compared with the usual suburban sports bar, it's a nice option, perhaps.

but it seems a bit high priced, especially the entrees. and they were understaffed to the point of not refilling water until we were about to go get the pitcher ourselves, not putting in orders correctly (guess who's order got messed up?), and such. even though it's not as far away as you think, it's not really worth going to robbinsdale for. but if you live there, it seems a good option if you don't want the usual sports bar/suburban chain, etc.