Apostle Supper Club – St .Paul, MN

 

We finally booked a double date with SVB and the Weathermatologist, after months of me forgetting to check my calendar and confirm days that actually worked for all of us. I take full responsibility. There’s a new supper club in downtown St. Paul, right across from the Xcel Energy Center, and somehow we accidentally managed to pick a night where nothing was going on at the X, so we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. 

 

The website says it is a 1960’s Palm Springs inspired supper club, piano lounge, and tiki bar. And it’s also a funny coincidence that D and I were recently in Palm Springs at various tiki bars, so we have a close comparison. But it definitely has that feel once you get inside. 

 

The first thing you’ll notice is that there isn’t a parking lot. I’m not sure why people get so bent out of shape about that, especially since this is a downtown metropolitan area, where tons of restaurants exist perfectly fine without parking lots. There’s multiple parking ramps right across the street, so just suck it up and park there. If it’s an event night, you’ll just have to suck it up. Welcome to the big city. 

 

Once you walk inside, you’re already getting vintage vibes. Tufting on the green leather door and some seagrass behind a modern tiki painting. I’m already digging it. You’ll walk into a lavish and beautifully dark piano lounge. There are multiple rows of chairs and stools circling the piano player (who was slaying the night we were there). 

You can see the tiki bar on the side as you walk in, as well. There are rolling garage doors that undoubtedly lead out to an outdoor space. In the rear of the restaurant, there’s more of a dining room feel and you can also sit near the kitchen area and watch the goings-on there. Just make sure you get reservations, as this place fills up. 

D and I got there early (intentionally), so we could check out the tiki bar, called False Eyedoll. The drink menu is slim, but does have a good showing – better than some bars that sort of have a tiki offering. They’ve also got a small snack menu that had some delicious sounding dishes (wings, smokies, tacos, pickle roll ups, etc.). I started with the False Eyedoll – rum, lychee, peach, pineapple, lime, and mango. D got the Pain Killer – rum, pineapple, coconut, lime, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Both drinks were actually quite delicious and didn’t come from a mix. The bartender did a heck of a job and kept us entertained, too. I blew through mine too quickly and had to order a Glove Drop – jalapeno-infused tequila, pineapple, and lime. I’m not a fan of “spicy” drinks (but I AM a fan of spicy food), but this was actually really good. Lots of jalapeno flavor, without the spiciness. I really liked this one more than I expected. Then our friends showed up, so we went over to our reservation-booked table – eatin’ time!

 

Before I go further, let it be known there is a fuzzy wall on the way to the restroom. I love a good fuzzy wall, ever since Get Him To The Greek came out. This one is pretty spectacular.

 

The menu is pretty interesting. Lots of upscale and cheffy dishes to choose from. We had heard the portions aren’t large, so we kept that in mind. D and I started by splitting the coconut miso noodle salad. We also ordered some crinkle fries, because why not? D got the halibut & caviar and I caved and went with the waygu manhattan steak (our Lyft driver asked me if I was getting a steak as soon as he heard we were going to a supper club, so he is to blame for planting the seed). The waiter kept getting a bit confused with our order for some reason, which was weird, since it was pretty straight forward, both ours and our friends. He came back to our table no less than three times asking what we had ordered. Hmmmmm. 

 

The server brought us a small table relish tray – various things like peppers and pickles and such. Good colorful showing to start with. We waited a bit for our food, which is fine, since we had plenty to get caught up on (see the aforementioned delay on me booking dinner with these wonderful people). The coconut miso salad arrived and it was FAR better than either of us expected. Noodles, herbs, cucumber, cabbage, carrots, edamame, and sesame seeds all combined into a pleasant hillock. And we both thought it was a pretty reasonable portion size. This was absolutely the best thing we ate at Apostle. Would recommend highly. 

 

I had to order another drink (since we took a Lyft), and went with the Passionfruit Collins – vodka, passionfruit, lemon, and soda water. Since I usually just get a Collins with vodka, I can’t tell if they’re usually separated like this one was, but the passionfruit puree was settled at the bottom and hard to stir, so I either got a mouthful of goo or a mouthful of straight vodka. Not sure I’d order this one again, even if that’s how the presentation is intended to be. Just weird.

We waited a bit more, and they brought everyone’s food out, but mine was not what I ordered, so they sent it back and said they’d start on my steak right away. Remember all the confusion at the beginning? That was part of it, although we had a pretty lengthy discussion of what temperature the steak should be cooked at, so I know what I ordered. D’s halibut was pretty small, especially for a pricey entrée. And it came with two asparagus sprigs. I know caviar is expensive, but I don’t get the impression this is the million-dollar stuff. The halibut was cooked about right, but even with the caviar and herb butter, the dish left a little bit to be desired. 

 

A little while later, the waygu steak showed up. I’ve had waygu steak a few times and this one was the ok-est of the ones I’ve had. It was cooked like I requested (thankfully), but there wasn’t a ton of flavor with it. The two baby bok choy stalks didn’t really add much to the presentation and the “chron sauce” that was supposed to be topped with herbs and capers (which it wasn’t) was unremarkable enough that I honestly couldn’t figure out what it was made of. The meat flavor was perfectly fine, but the most expensive item on the menu should probably knock my socks off, or at least make them itch.

 

We had to remind the waiter that our fries had never arrived. So, we ate those for dessert instead of ordering anything additional. The fries were actually cooked really well and perfectly crispy and salty, but I didn’t know until just now what the dip was supposed to be until I looked it up to remind myself. It didn’t taste like much, so I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be cheese or honey mustard or bechemel – it was supposed to be horseradish hollandaise, for what it’s worth.

 

We thought we were done with the mix-ups, until the waiter brought the bill which again, we thought was straight forward and didn’t have shared dishes, but had swapped some of our items. We didn’t even bother bringing it up and just figured it out amongst ourselves. We’re pretty easy going couples and just rolled with it and didn’t complain. But, when we left, the waiter said he hoped we enjoyed our meals and he hoped we got a better waiter the next time we were in. hahahaha. I’ve never actually had any staff say something like that before. I wasn’t even sure how to respond or if he was joking. But, probably an appropriate finisher to this extraordinarily lengthy and pricy meal that we could have expected. 

 

http://www.apostlesupperclub.com

Apostle Supper Club

253 Kellogg Blvd. W.

St. Paul, MN 55102

Hazelwood Food & Drink - St. Louis Park, MN

 

Full disclosure: I wanted to show readers that I don’t ALWAYS eat garbage food or culinary atrocities – that’s what this review is. I met Trash and M.Giant for lunch in St. Louis Park since we had many things to get caught up on. Hazelwood is a slightly upscale and modern restaurant with just-short-of-tweezery dishes. Lots of instagramable decoration and plating. I think I had something going on that afternoon and didn’t want to fill up, so I ordered one of their healthy bowls with chicken. Of course, Trash asked me if I was ok or had some ailment that I was about to explain to them during lunch. But, really, I just love quinoa.

 

I’ll be honest, I did find it a little weird that all of the bowls have the exact same thing in them and you just pick what’s on top. But thankfully, everything in the list of ingredients sounded great and I just went along with it. Don’t most places have different flavors with different proteins? Just seemed a little simple for a place like this. Not complaining, just pointing out that I found it odd.

 

The bowl they brought out was picture perfect, as you can see. Green beans, baby greens, edamame, toasted pepitas, cucumbers, tomatoes, quinoa, lemongrass sauce, and plum sauce. The chicken had a roasted poblano sauce on it, as well, which was quite good. Everything was fresh and tasty and there was plenty of it, as well. The quinoa actually had flavor, which sometimes, it’s just a boring grain, so Hazelwood definitely knew how to cook it properly. The lemongrass sauce wasn’t too overpowering, either. This dish, for as simple as it is, has a lot of things that could take over the dish, but that didn’t happen. So, well done, Hazelwood. 

 

The menu has a couple of things that sound interesting, but I think what Hazelwood does well is take normal food and make it much prettier. They’re doing great at it, too. No complaints on my end.

Pro-Choice Potluck at Hai Hai - Minneapolis, MN

I don’t always post “reviews” (I use that term very loosely) for once in a lifetime experiences that you’ll never get to duplicate, because sometimes it comes off as bragging or something. But, in this case, I’m going to rave about an event that we went to that was pretty amazing.

After Roe v Wade was overturned recently, Hai Hai decided to host an event to raise money for reproductive rights and awareness. They called their closest chef friends and asked then to whip up a potluck-style dish that would bring some folks in for a fundraiser. They has so much interest that they needed to host two separate dates. Both of these dates sold out in under a day and we were lucky enough to buy some tickets.

The putluck brunches were both held at Hai Hai on July 31^st and also August 14. Some chefs made food for both dates, but it was a difficult decision on which date to pick because some of our favorite chefs were only cooking at one of the days. The events raised over $50,000 for Just the Pill and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance. There was also a raffle with multiple really cool prizes from local businesses that also support reproductive rights. Also, great work by DJ Keezy, who really nailed the songlist and got many people up from their chairs and dancing.

 

We started with some fancy cocktails that were also in partnership with some local restaurants like Hai Hai, Hola Arepa, and Meteor. There were also some N/A cocktails from Tres Leches and Hi-Lo Diner, but we were in the mood for some full-alcohol coctails. 

 

When you read this food list, though, you’re going to be very mad that you weren’t there enjoying these delicious dishes. 

 

·      MEKONG SALAD I Chef Christina Nguyen I Hai Hai

Lao sausage, tom yum coconut milk dressing, herbs, peanuts

·      BRAISED CORN I Chef Alex Roberts I Alma

on the cob with whole spice coconut sauce

·      JAHPCHAE I Chef Ann Kim I Pizzeria Lola

sesame-soy dressed sweet potato noodles with marinated vegetables

·      EMPANADAS DE HUMITA I Chef Daniel Del Prado I Martina

creamed corn & provolone with chimichurri

·      BUDIN AZTECA I Chef Gustavo Romero I Nixta

Mexican lasagna with layered corn tortillas, chicken tinga, queso chihuahua, nopales salad

·      SMOKED CHICKEN LARB I Chef James Winberg I Travail

with sweet rice, shiso vinaigrette, herbs

·      SPICY SPINACH PANEER I Chef Janene Holig | Hot Indian Foods

coconut rice, mint-cucumber raita

·      BIRRIA ENCHILADAS I Chef Jon Wipfli I Animales BBQ Co

Braised beef, adobo, cheese, salsa, corn tortillas

·      ALBONDIGAS I Chef Jorge Guzman | Petite Leon

en mole poblano with sesame seeds

·      BORICUA “ARROZ CON POLLO" I Chef Nettie Colon I Red Hen Gastrolab

Puerto Rican rice with chicken, Longaniza sausage & pigeon peas

·      CHICKEN SKEWERS I Chefs Nikki & Brian Podgorski I The Salsa Collaborative

mojo marinated chicken thighs with deep fried plantain

·      PAN-FRIED DUMPLING | Chef Peter Bian | Saturday Dumpling Club

with brisket, carrot & onion, Chinese vinegar chili crisp sauce

·      MINI PRETZEL DOG I Chef Sun Cowles | Create Catering

with kimchi scallion ranch

·      SAVORY DOUGHSCUIT I Chef Tim Niver | Muccis

with tomato tartare and chèvre vinaigrette

·      STRAWBERRY PANNA COTTA | Chef Katie Elsing | Lynhall

with roasted plum & salted white chocolate crumb

·      PASSION FRUIT DIVA CAKE I Chef Zoè Francois | Zoe Bakes

almond jaconde cake, passionfruit buttercream, blackberry, ganache & toasted meringue

 

In the food line, I didn’t tell a single chef “no thank you” – just put them anywhere on my plate that you can find room. It ended up being a really impressive display of food. I felt like it would be MORE rude to tell someone you didn’t want the one thing that they brought to the potluck. Plus, I REALLY love to eat and I didn’t want to miss anything stellar.

It’s basically impossible to rank these in order of my favorite, since I’ve changed my mind about 20 times on what was the best. Just know that ZERO of these dishes were bad. In fact, none of them were even ho-hum or average. They were all fantastic. I can probably narrow it down to the best five dishes that I can determine as of me sitting on my couch right now writing this. So, in no particular order, I’ll list five of my above-and-beyond favorites:

·      Mekong Salad

·      Albondigas

·      Spicy Spinach Paneer

·      Savory Doughscuit

·      Strawberry Panna Cotta

·      (And yes, I’ve already gone back and edited this list – DAMMMIT! They were all so good!)

 

We didn’t end up winning anything in the raffle, but honestly, this was one of the best ways to kick off a Sunday that we’ve had in quite some time. I know the pandemic isn’t over, but it really is nice to ease into social events like this again. Of course, now the bar is set really high and we’ll never be able to assemble quite a lineup like this again, unless it’s at some spectacular event like this one. All the people working the event were having a good time; all the chefs and food servers were having a good time; all the people eating and drinking were having a good time. It just made you feel good!

 

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Buckhorn Exchange - Denver, CO

My BIL thought we should go to Denver for his birthday. The one thing he wanted to do while he was there was to eat Rocky Mountain Oysters. So, STOP READING HERE if you’re grossed out easily. Yes, there are pictures.

I did a little research to find out where we should go for such a delicacy. There a re few places that come up when you search, each prepared/sliced/served in different ways. But, the one that had the most bragging rights was the Buckhorn Exchange. It’s Denver’s oldest steakhouse and also a bit of a history museum and taxidermy showcase – and their house specialty is Rocky Mountain Oysters. We got reservations and dragged our spouses along for the ride (this sounds much easier than it actually was in real life).

The restaurant itself is pretty amazing. Two stories and literally hundreds of animal busts and heads on the walls of every room, including the restrooms. Full size mounts are in pretty much every room, so you really get a feel for the wildlife in here. Which is apropos, since the menu also contains a much larger variety of meats than your run-of-the-mill steakhouse. Beef, buffalo, elk, lamb, chicken, pig, quail, duck, game hen, salmon, alligator, and rattlesnake. Impressive. 

We were really there for one thing, but we decided to get a sampling of appetizers, in case we were unable to actually eat the aforementioned Rocky Mountain Oysters. We got some fried alligator tail, sirloin game tips (beef, buffalo, and elk), and a half order of RMOs. And of course a couple of cocktails to make sure we were good and loose for game time.

The fried alligator was absolutely fantastic. I have always been a fan, but these folks know their way around a fryer and they were cooked perfectly. You didn’t just taste the fried part, you tasted the meat, as well.

 

The Sirloin tips were really quite good, as well. Served with mushrooms, and a different sauce each day, these had a great smoky flavor. My only complaint is that it’s always difficult to tell what kind of meat you’re eating when it’s all mixed together like this. Thankfully, every bite I had was delicious, so not really much of a complaint, after all. 

The RMOs came out with some horseradish dipping sauce, but since my sister and I are solidly from the Midwest, we also had some ketchup. Sad, but true. If we were thinking, we should have ordered BBQ sauce, since it would have been a totally different flavor. These RMOs are served sliced thin and in relatively large pieces, good for dipping. The fry on these things are really thorough, so you’d be hard-pressed to know that’s what you were eating. Both of our spouses ate a few of them, and more than we expected, so we’ll call it a win. They are actually quite delicious. I’d for sure eat these again, but I’d have to have help since a half order filled an entire basket. 

 

When we were done with them, our server came back around and asked how things were. She was pleased with our progress of fried foods, clearly. She said that she always has to ask, but would we like to see the RMO before it gets sliced and fried. Only two of us said yes, which must high enough on the percentage threshold for her to bring one out for us to gawk at. These things are huge. Bigger than my hand (as shown in the picture). And, now that we’ve eaten a half order, we know how the original uncooked ball translated to the fried version. Really a fun way to see it, but I could tell this thing shouldn’t sit on our table for too long as some people at the table were visibly horrified. Still glad we saw the after and before versions!

Rocky Mountain Oysters may not be everyone’s jam, but if you’re near the Rocky Mountains, you should probably just try them, even as a dare/bet. You may just end up liking them. After all, the folks at Buckhorn Exchange have been mastering this art for more than a hundred years. Really happy we got to try some local delicacies!

www.buckhorn.com

Lolo American Kitchen - Hudson, WI

We had taken a trip to one of our favorite breweries in Wisconsin – Oliphant – and needed to get some dinner before we headed home. We always love driving through Hudson and had passed by Lolo enough times to know they were always busy, so we had to check it out. 

The place is upscale, but not quite fancy. The prices aren’t outlandish and the food is much better than average, so you should probably check this place out. They’ve got fancy cocktails, too. We got some!

I got a “That’s a Bold Move Cotton” – cachaça, passion fruit, mango, and lime, and D got the mango passionfruit margarita. Both were extremely tasty (so tasty, we forgot to take photos of D's!).

We started with some Spicy Ahi Poke tasters, with sriracha, sesame, tamari, lemongrass, and nori crisp. Delicious bite-sized snacks that we always want a bucket of, but we know they’re just to get our taste buds going. But, we STILL want a bucket of these things.

We also got the charred asparagus with lemon, parmesan, and guanciale. This was a really stellar dish with so many good flavors. They don’t hold back on this dish, and we were very happy to accept their generosity of flavors.

We got a burger to split a Jamz Burger, which is a really delicious and flavorful burger patty covered in bacon jam, gorgonzola, and lettuce, served with fries. Happy to split this one!

We also got the coconut curry chicken soup, which is always a gamble at a non-Thai restaurant. But, they did a really good job with this. Tons of flavor and just a bit of heat. Glad we ordered this one.

Since you’re really not done until you get dessert, D ordered the flourless chocolate torte, which comes with dulce de leche, hazelnuts, and caramel ice cream – right up her alley.

And, I got the Butterscotch Budino in a tiny mason jar. Perfect ending to the night.

 

Top 5 things about Lolo

1. Coconut curry chicken soup

2. Jamz burger

3. Charred asparagus

4. Spicy Ahi Poke

5. Really comprehensive menu

 

Bottom 5 things

1. There may be a wait

2. It’s pretty loud inside

3. It might be too fancy for some people, but they truly do serve everyone – it’s Wisconsin, so that just means it’s a good mix of people to watch!

4. Nothing else

5. N/A

 

www.loloamericankitchen.com

Emerald Lounge - St. Paul, MN

We needed a semi-fancy night on the town, and D wanted to surprise me. She took me to Emerald Lounge down on West 7^th in St. Paul. The space is right next door to Claddagh Coffee, which isn’t an accident – Emerald Lounge uses the kitchen from Claddagh to make really amazing and upscale appetizers and small plates (and breads and desserts). The atmosphere inside is like a casual and almost formal, but it’s really open to anyone at all. You don’t have to dress up or be snooty to go here (thankfully). There’s seating at the bar, a couple of smaller tables, and then some more casual seating areas like a living room setting – whatever you’re in the mood for (or whatever is available when you’re there). The emerald green colored subway titles behind the bar are really classy and visually quite stunning, and you can’t miss them.

We just wanted a couple of snack-y things, so we decided to split some of their PEI Mussels (aka Bangkok Mussels) and Beef Mandu (Korean dumplings). But we had to get some fancy drinks to start with. This place is very clearly a fancy cocktail bar. Lots of tinctures, bitters, garnishes in plain sight, and tweezers. Yes, I said tweezers. I always ask D when we go places if the food will be “tweezer-y”, meaning will the chefs deliberately place small items on my food with tweezers. In theory, I don’t mind it, but it’s a good barometer of how fancy a place is. I didn’t even know that cocktails could be tweezer-y, but alas, they CAN. I truly am jesting, but the tweezers are in plain sight. And they use them. The bar tenders, dare I say mixologists, were very fun and talkative, but they were also REALLY good at what they do. They know their craft. Like I said, I joke about the tweezers, but they know how to use them. 

I ordered a Green Lotus Grogg – three rums, lime, honey passionfruit syrup, crushed ice, and bitters. Delicious! D ordered the Pretty In Peach – tequila blend, peach, grapefruit cordial, lime, cava, with a cayenne cinnamon rim. Also, delicious!

The PEI Mussels were really some of the best I’ve had. These mussels were poached in Thom Kha Gai inspired broth (think Thai Curry/Soup) with plenty of red chili peppers and all kinds of mushrooms. It’s also served with a big chunk of crusty bread made next door. The richness of the broth was pretty stellar and the choose-how-much-heat-you-want chilis were fantastic. The mussels were really tender and not gritty. Just all-around fantastic work on these!

The Beef Mandu is a handful of bite-sized Korean dumplings with beef, tofu, garlic, ginger, and scallions, topped with chili garlic crisp and sesame soy dressing. These were little pouches of spicy joy. We ended up keeping very close track of sharing so no one got more than the other person. But thankfully, we share pretty well most days. D had heard people mentioning these were the best things there, and I’d be really surprised if that wasn’t the truth. They were great.

We had to end the night with some dessert. I went with the chocolate beet cake with goat cheese frosting - it sounded interesting. It WAS definitely interesting. D said she could taste too much beet, and I thought there wasn't enough beet flavor, which I know doesn't help you decide at all. But the goat cheese frosting was really delicious and prevalent. It's not for everyone, but I still thought it was pretty good. 

D went with a trio of desserts (which I believe change from time to time depending on the dessert chef's mood) - a lemon bar, a fancy truffle, and a nut bar with some frosting. The truffle was good, but not mind blowing. The nut bar was really pretty interesting and surprising. But the lemon bar was the clear winner this evening. 

Overall, this place is worth going back to. Lots of people watching to do and if the people don’t entertain you, then the cocktail magicians at the bar will. 

Top 5 things about Emerald

1. Beef Mandu

2. PEI Mussels

3. Green Lotus Grogg

4. Pretty In Peach

5. Atmosphere/Ambience

 

Bottom 5 things

1. This place doesn’t take many people to be packed, just be patient and wait

2. Someone will complain about the prices, but it’s totally worth it

3. Best not to come with a big group unless you’re ok with sitting in multiple areas

4. Nothing is actually a negative here – it’s delightful!

5.

 

www.emeraldstpaul.com

Estelle – St. Paul, MN

It’s my birthday week, and D.Rough is really good at spoiling me. She managed to get a reservation at this restaurant in the Tangletown/Macalaster/Groveland neighborhood area. I’ve been reading things about this place, so I was really excited to check it out.  This place is roughly focused in southwest Europe – think Italy, Portugal, and Spain mostly. It’s tough to get a table here and the bar-side of the restaurant is first come first serve, so it can be a challenge to get in here from 4-10. 

We started with some cocktails – D got the regular sangria (the seasonal sangria had too much going on for her particular mood), and I got a nice Sasseo Primitivo red wine. Both of us loved our respective openers. It was hard not to. 

The menu has so many delicious items on it that it’s difficult to decide. Small plates, small sandwich-y thigs, and bigger portions. We knew right away we wanted the Patatas Bravas, but then we also wanted the Arancini, and then we threw on some baked oysters, too!

The Patatas Bravas arrived first and were pretty much the star. The roasted potatoes are covered in a homemade picante tomato sauce (that’s the brava sauce) and then drizzled with a lemon aioli. There were some minor squabbles about who was going to each the last remaining potatoes, but since it was my birthday, I played that card. Bam. 

The oysters were also delicious. I enjoy a baked oyster from time to time – takes that snot texture out of it a little bit. They were cooked in a chorizo butter and covered with spinach, parmesan, and breadcrumbs. Totally delicious. 

D.Rough and I are suckers for any type of arancini (Italian fried rice balls). These were perfect. Small little mozzarella filled balls of happiness. Every time I have these, I wonder why I can’t buy them in a five gallon bucket. 

I also needed a new glass of wine, so I got a glass of Udaca Dao from Portugal.

Making decisions on the larger plates was a little more difficult. We had to make strategic decisions. But we powered through and came up with splitting an order of Creste De Gallo – housemade noodles with jalapeno pesto, almonds, lemon, and parmesan. And the Fideuà – fideo-style noodles, with clams and shrimp, ham hock, white wine, tarragon, and parsley. 

The Cresto De Gallo was fantastic. The jalapeno pesto wasn’t spicy, but had a very surprisingly light jalapeno flavor, and paired well with the lemon and parmesan. The unsung hero of this dish was the almonds. Delicious flavor and a fun crunch to this dish. The more of this we ate, the more flavors came through and it just got more and more delicious. Loved this dish.

The Fideuà won the night, though. So many flavors in this dish and it was very rich and hearty. The shrimp and clams were little surprises of flavor in the dish, but they flavored the whole dish. The seasoning on this dish was so good and substantial – not an afterthought or subtle at all. I’ve been dreaming about this dish since we ate it. Sooooooo magical.

Since it was a birthday celebration, and my wife is Italian, we had to order cake. D.Rough got the Blood Orange & Olive Oil Cake and I got the Cereal Milk Soft Serve. 

The Olive Oil Cake had some white chocolate, cardamom, pickled citrus, and tuile and was really pretty to look at. We thought it was a tad heavy on the olive oil, but the citrus part was really delicious. 

The cereal milk soft serve was awesome, though. And, a really hefty portion (maybe because D.Rough spilled the beans that it was my birthday). The cereal they used was Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so it was sweet and delicious, and it was topped with chocolate-covered cinnamon toast crunch – brilliant idea. This was sooo delicious. I’m glad I caved and ordered it.

www.estellestp.com

Travail Basement Bar – Robbinsdale, MN

D.Rough and I continued celebrating my birthday week with a visit to Travail’s newest offering – an upscale basement lounge experience with upscale food and very crafty cocktails. I understand it’s a challenge to get reservations here, and that they have three different “time slots” available, so if you’re interested, get on the website and reserve your spot! Totally worth it.

Like Travail’s other establishments, it’s sort of European-style seating – you WILL be seated at a table with other diners. I like to let people know this so they aren’t alarmed. It’s as fun as you make it – you may end up best friends at the end of the night or you might exchange a few questions about the food or drinks that the other people ordered – you get to decide. Pro Tip: Show up early for your reservation and you may get to decide where you sit, before the space gets filled and you’re stuck with whatever is left open.

The hostess, servers, bar tenders, and food delivery folks are all professionals. They want you to have a good time and enjoy yourself, and they are very gracious and helpful.

We started with a few cocktails, which is really what this place is known for. If you look around the rooms, they have most of the cocktails presented in little nooks, and deconstructed so you can see the ingredients. Bottles of booze and also some of the flavors you’ll be tasting – very interesting concept. Classy and informative (something I’ve never been accused of being). D.Rough got the house tiki-style drink – the Many Faced God (vodka, macadamia nut liqueur, pineapple, coconut, and damiania). I got the Ronaldo Burgundy (Bacardi heritage white rum, pomegranate, pineapple hibiscus milk punch). I'll apologize in advance for the photo quality - the dim lighting wasn't doing my camera any favors - but you'll get the general idea.

D.Rough’s tiki drink was REALLY good. Not too much macadamia and the pineapple and coconut were magical. Fantastic. 

My rum-forward drink was also incredible. It came with a smoky bubble on top AND in a bat-painted tea cup (on a bat painted saucer). A little bit fruity and plenty of rum flavor – I loved this drink!

We ordered a couple of food items to tide us over for the night. The Broadway Burger, the poutine, Salt & Peppa Shrimp, and the lobster egg. The kitchen sends out the folks who prepare this stuff and they explain what’s in some of the dishes and answer any questions – very top-notch.

The lobster egg is a soft boiled egg with lobster, truffles, brown butter, and tarragon, all served in an egg cup. Beautiful presentation and it tasted great too. It’s nice when you can recognize the flavors of each of the ingredient and none of them are overpowering. This is a well-put-together dish.

The Salt & Peppa Shrimp are deep-fried shrimp with garlic butter and jalapeno slices. A relatively simple dish but the garlic butter and jalapeno elevated it a lot. I considered ordering a second round of these, they were that good.

The poutine was fantastic – perfectly fried fries and a rich gravy that clearly was not an afterthought. There weren’t curds, but the gruyere foam was a fun change that I approve highly of. Great job!

The Broadway Burger was not just a restaurant burger. It had a lot of pickled things going on and some mustard situations, but it was a VERY juicy burger. Not sloppy, just really moist and juicy. I loved this thing.

I needed another cocktail and the Travail Basement Bar is not short on them. In fact, they’ve got a few different kind of drinks. They’ve got some small cocktails, for if you’re feeling like you just want a little bit or if you’re toasting someone (very fun idea). And, they’ve got a handful of fancy non-alcoholic drinks, as well. I politely asked the server if they could just add a bunch of rum to the pina colada-style non-alcoholic drink they had on the menu – The Bird C.R.E.A.M.  He assured me it wouldn’t be a problem at all to do so. And since he was already there, I also ordered the Potato Pavé – a thick stack of super-thinly-sliced potato covered with gruyere and cheddar sauce and serrano ham.

The drink was as good as I had hoped it would be – I actually liked it more than the Many Faced God, but only because it was rum, not vodka, and not nutty, otherwise, they were pretty similar. Delicious! And the Potato Pavé was fantastic. Cut-able with a fork and lots of cheese flavor. I’m glad I got to try this one.

Additionally, since my wife’s family is Italian and literally do not believe something is a celebration until there’s cake, we ordered a slice of chocolate cake. Not just any cake – a serious cake, with chocolate mousse layers and a chocolate ganache outer layer. It even comes with a bit of edible gold foil on top – see? Super classy! And, amazingly moist and tasty.

Overall, zero things to complain about at this new restaurant. The staff are all very “interchangeable” and everyone can help you with any request you have. They’re all there to make sure you enjoy yourselves and return to the basement. We even joked with our server that in the basement, everyone looks tan! We will definitely return here and enjoy some additional menu items. We understand this will be an ever-changing menu, so we’re excited to see what new cocktails and food items are available the next time we go there!

www.travailkitchen.com/basementbar