Friday, December 19, 2008

Beaujo’s Wine Bar & Bistro – Edina, MN

Gerd decided to take me out on a date last night. She told me to be ready at 5:30 and she would take care of the rest. I hopped in her car at precisely 5:30 and she started driving North. We pulled into a parking garage which I am familiar with and found a spot. We got out of the car and Gerd got lost. Remember I don’t know what she’s got planned, so I can’t help her find her way since I didn’t know what she was looking for. I was also wearing a sweatshirt instead of a coat. Had I known we would be walking through the frozen tundra lost, I might have worn something more substantial.

Gerd walked us into a wine bar we had driven past a couple of times and mentioned we should go there. The place was Beaujo’s (I’m assuming pronounced Bo-Joe’s – only Frenchified). We found a nice table and got waited on right away. Decent wine menu, so we picked out something we would both drink and set about deciding on dinner.

The place is really nice inside. Mirrors behind the bar set in a cool pattern and low lighting with yellow sponge painted walls set a classy and intimate atmosphere. Attentive wait staff offered recommendations and explanations for things.

We got a Cloudline Pinot Gris which was light and fruity and had a sweet after taste, not dry (sorry all you dry drinkers out there). We’ll get this again, for sure. Very tasty. We referred to it as a “chug” wine, since you could go through it pretty darn fast and not realize it (yes we finished the entire bottle).

Gerd got the Steak salad and I got the short ribs (the special for the evening). Gerd steak salad had a ton of things in it – all appropriate for salads, so no complaints. Lots of chunks of steak floated throughout this salad which was covered in blue cheese dressing. I had a couple bites of hers and it was really excellent.

My short ribs were perfectly cooked. The rib bones slid right out of the meat and despite not being fork tender, the meat was excellent. A very appropriate portion as well. Nough so that I got good and full, but not enough that I had to gorge myself. Lots of meat on the plate. I got some green beans with the meat and everything was sitting on a bed of smashed Yukon gold potatoes. Brilliant meal.

We’ll eat here again, for sure. They have a mini-happy hour, so in 2009, we’ll be back to test it out.

Top 5 things about Beaujo’s
1. Cloudline Pinot Gris
2. Short Ribs
3. Steak salad
4. Atmosphere
5. Super attentive staff

Bottom 5 things
1. Wine list isn’t huge, but we found what we needed
2. Small menu, but we found what we needed (both big and small plates available)
3. I’m guessing it could get crowded on a weekend or theater night
4. Handful of pretentious people, but you get that at wine bars…
5. Not sure if that’s how you pronounce the name

http://www.beaujos.net

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