I don’t do a ton of disc golf course reviews on here, but sometimes disc golf courses need some love too. Especially when they’re worth mentioning. Before I moved up to Minnesota, I heard about Kaposia. I was fortunate enough to play here a few times before I moved up here, thanks to some tournaments and the gracious nature of M.Giant, who didn’t mind driving me a half hour across the Twin Cities in various snow storms when I drove up for a visit from Illinois. I’m now really happy to say I live about a mile from the course and it remains one of my favorites in the area.
Just this year, the city decided to make this a pay-to-play course, which I’m hoping will end up being a good thing for the course. Sometimes, this is a fun killer since our free sport suddenly costs more than two Gatorades to play now. (Sad that we think in those terms, but it’s true.) And it’s not cheap either. It’s five dollars for a day pass or $40 for yearly pass ($30 for South St. Paul residents). That’s more expensive than a lot of places I’ve played, but sometimes, you just have to suck it up.
Fortunately, they’ve been putting some work into the course, which is always nice. The course used to be played as a 27-hole course for tournaments (mainly the Minnesota Majestic – one of the best in the country). And for a while, they pulled a lot of the “back” baskets due to some serious elements of danger involved in the cliff faces and hills back there. So it got slimmed down to 18 (and still is in the winter, as far as I can tell). But during the warm months (yes, Minnesota does have those), it is a 24-hole course with an amazing mix of hole lengths and challenges. There is some water, there are some hills, there are some tunnel shots, there are some wide open shots, there are some lefty-friendly shots, there are some 500+ ft holes, there are some finesse holes, there are multiple pin placements, there are some landscaped greens, and there are some ace runs. This course truly has everything.
The first few are out in the relative open (a couple of mature oaks to navigate),and then you delve into the woods. A wooded tee on Hole 8 leads out to an open fairway and then you’re right back in the deep woods. Once you get to hole 16, you may need a guide to hit up the back holes. You turn left from the basket and go down the ravine a LONG way to the bottom. Then you basically play back UP the ravine around the backside of the course. Be ready for some extreme elevation back here, but you’ll be glad you played these holes. You eventually wrap back around behind the parking lot and finish up near the practice basket and payment shed.
I rarely play well at this course, but I’m always glad I come here. There aren’t a ton of places to lose discs at here, especially with a spotter or two on an occasional densely tree’d hole. But there are lots of places to add strokes if you don’t hit your line or have an unfriendly kick.
This is one of the best courses in Minnesota, if not the Midwest. I’m hoping this pay to play thing works out and they put some work into this course. It doesn’t need much, since it’s designed extremely well. Maybe the city is thinking it will cut down on traffic there and then they can keep up with maintenance (it was formerly a very busy course). I’m not sure that’s the right approach, but you have to have a plan of some sort, I guess. That being said, I’ll keep playing here. And if you get there early enough in the morning, you don’t have to pay the man – just some helpful advice…
D.Rough and I had another date night scheduled. We had both heard about this place called Ecopolitan and wanted to check it out. However, there are some serious red flags whenever we’ve spoken about this place. Alright, one red flag. It’s a RAW restaurant.
Previously, this is the only RAW I have ever condoned, and it’s pronounced more like RAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!. Oh wait, there’s this kind of RAW, also. I forgot. This restaurant is neither. It’s RAW as in raw vegetables. As in: a vegan restaurant where the food actually isn’t cooked. 100% Organic Vegan Raw (the website says so!). It’s just raw food and some juices. I will be the first to admit I poked some fun at this place and cracked wise when people would bring it up. However, whenever people would talk about it, they’d say really good things about it. I’m a veteran carnivore, so it took some time for them to wear me down, but I finally decided that I’d not only actually go here and try it, but I’d go one step further – I actually might enjoy something they had there. D.Rough is a much healthier eater than I am, so it didn’t take as much wearing down on her part.
We (mostly me) had no idea what the proper attire for this place was. Seriously, this actually became a concern on my part. Is it a dressy place? Is it full of dirty hippies and tie die? Do they require a minimum of three brown pieces of clothing? Hell, I didn’t even know if I could wear leather shoes in a place like this. It’s weird, I’ve never had this dilemma before, ever. I threw on some jeans and DC shoes and a collared shirt (but untucked, so I didn’t seem like too much of a douche). I hoped it was ok.
First things first, when we arrived, there isn’t any parking anywhere. Why? Think about it for a second. People either walk or ride their bikes here. It’s a green minimal-carbon-footprint kind of place. Never thought about that, either. It’s in an old multi-story house with all kinds of activity here. They do some alternative medicine kinds of things here, and the owner has an upstairs room where he lets people crash out, and a nice big porch where people can eat their food. We followed the signs to the restaurant part and went in. It’s really cozy inside. It actually kind of felt like a grandma’s house a little bit. Blue paint on the walls and lots of thick dark woodwork around. Built-in cabinets and shelves everywhere held all kinds of cookbooks and herbal supplements for sale. There’s a closed-up cabinet which houses a TON of supplements which people waiting for their food were rifling through and talking all kinds of Metagenics this and herbal chakra that. I don’t understand any of it, but hey, if it helps you, then go for it. A super nice bearded server brought us some menus. I had looked at the menu quickly online before I left work, so I knew it was quite large. All kinds of salads, soups, entrees, desserts, drinks, and juices. It took us a while to figure out what we wanted, since frankly, everything sounded weird and delicious. I’m not scared of vegetarian food at all, though the vegan stuff I’ve had wasn’t the best. I was cautious, but still very willing to give it a go and try something fun.
After much deliberation, I decided on the Future Shock smoothie and D.Rough got the Coconut Supreme smoothie. There are a ton of different juice combinations and a lot that sounded unusual, but are probably good. Crazy ingredients that I’ve never had smooshed into juice like walnuts, cinnamon, ginger, carob, dates, and celery. Future Shock has banana and carrot juice for a base, then lemon, ginger, and almond extract in it. The Coconut Supreme has a coconut base with pecans, dates, ginger, and cinnamon.
Deciding on food was much more difficult. We were trying not to be too conservative and yet also trying to order something we were almost sure we’d eat. I pointed out the severe lack of meat on the menu – which D.Rough didn’t find amusing at all. It is very difficult for me to visualize food without meat in it when I look at a menu, and even more difficult for me to visualize how these things would look since they were uncooked. My mind was reeling. We opted to split a Trio Sampler for an appetizer and then split an order of Spicy Thai Noodles.
Another unusual thing about the menu is that if you get things to go, you will be charged if you don’t bring your own containers to take it away. The biodegradable packages aren’t expensive, but it’s another way they’re helping the environment. If you get juices and smoothies to go, you get them in a reusable mason jar that you can get refilled the next time you’re in. It’s the little things like this that help the environment, people. Things that aren’t pushy or in your face and yelling. Pretty slick operation they run here.
The waiter brought us warm tap water, which D.Rough assures me is an “ancient Chinese secret”.
Word on the street (in Asia) is if you drink room temperature tap water, it aids in digestion. I thought maybe it was to save energy on making ice cubes or something, and who knows – maybe it’s both. But I let D.Rough be right this one time:) Yes, it tastes flat and boring and isn’t nearly as refreshing as cold or ice water, but it does the job. I just know people that would flip out if they didn’t have cold water to drink, so I thought I’d mention it. I’m not passing judgment. Promise.
We got our smoothies pretty quickly and ended up loving both of them. The Future Shock was really much sweeter than you’d think and the faint hint of almond extract was perfect. Very delicious. The Coconut Supreme was odd, but good. D.Rough said it tasted like Christmas in a glass. By that, she means it tasted like Gingerbread Cookies in a glass. Seriously. It is really quite good.
We began to look around the place to view the clientele. First off, we were waaaay over dressed. Totally my fault. It’s not a dirty divey place, but you can wear shorts and a ripped up t-shirt if you really wanted to here and not be judged. There was a wide variety of dress – I guess I would have been at the top of the upscale part, and there were people in sun dresses and guys in shorts. I also realized I sensed a distinct lack of patchouli smell. I don’t hate it or anything, but I just always assume it’s going to be there. Maybe I’m just too jaded from years of disc golf. Also, there were no dreadlocks, which I think I expected to see. Maybe that was an afterthought.
The appetizer came out and looked unusual to me, but not necessarily bad. It was a stack of flaxseed crackers and a plate with hummus, pesto, and olive tapenade in little round ball scoops. I expected the flaxseed crackers – I was told they are NOT called Flaxers – to be flavorless, but these were actually quite good. Just a tiny bit gummy, rather than crunchy like tortilla or pita chips, but well designed for scooping these spreads. The hummus was by far the best thing on the plate. Really light and creamy and with some ingredients I don’t usually see in hummus. Awesome. The pesto was also quite good and had a little bit of zip at the end. Not exactly heat or anything, just some delicious bite. I will warn you I’m not an olive person, so I won’t judge the olive tapenade, but D.Rough assured me it was really awesome. When we started to run out of crackers, I suggested the cooks might go out into the yard and rake up some more of these, and then got the eye for poking fun. I get the eye a lot. And it rarely slows me down. First plate down, and this restaurant had already moved up exponentially on my judgment meter.
Out of nowhere, D.Rough asked me if I’d like a wheatgrass shot. Not a chance, I assured her.
The Spicy Thai Noodles came out next. (In the photo, the dish looks small, but that’s only because they split our portion into two plates – the portions here are plenty generous, I promise.) First off, there actually aren’t noodles at a raw place, since those are cooked. They make noodle-like thin strips of vegetables like zucchini and radish things. The best part is, you totally don’t miss the noodles. This dish was fantastic. It was better than MANY actual Thai dishes I’ve had with noodles and MSG and meat. Ecopolitan has none of that, and yet, it was much much better. The yellow curry sauce was really flavorful and had a little bit of kick. I’m assuming the spice level is toned down for Minnesota, but it still had some tingle to it. There was lots of basil and cilantro in here for flavor and it turns out I didn’t actually miss the meat at all. There were almonds in the mix that added some fun texture to it and the pieces of pineapple added really awesome flavor bursts when you’d get one. This is an excellent dish and I ended up finishing D.Rough’s portion. I would recommend this to anyone first-timer to Ecopolitan.
While we were eating, we kept noticing other people’s food coming out of the kitchen. I’ve already raved about our food, but the more dishes we saw come out, the more we realized how conservative we had ordered. The other dishes on the menu which seemed more adventurous while reading, were obviously the way to go. The people around us were talking about how fantastic their food was and, based on how it looked coming out from the kitchen, it had to be true.
After dinner, guests are encouraged to look in the small shop and dessert case to see if there’s anything else you’d like to eat. D.Rough and I were both full, so we opted out, but there are some pretty unusual things back there, if you’re not familiar with vegan desserts. But at least take a look.
The server was really helpful to D.Rough and I, and also to all of the other customers in the place. There was a young girl and a friend who came in with her own roll of paper towels and a plastic garbage bag to go around her seat cushion. She cleaned off the table and then asked the server what he used to clean the table when he helped out. A simple vinegar solution which seemed to put her mind at ease. She’s got way dangerous food allergies, so this is probably one of the only places in town she can eat and know exactly what she’s getting in her food. Another niche market you don’t ever think about, but I’m glad there are places like this for her to enjoy.
On our way out of the place, D.Rough grabbed a couple of brochures for the alternative medicine place housed in the same Ecopolitan mansion in various rooms. I know they have some sort of infra-red sauna or something, and maybe some chiropractic, and health and wellness type things there, along with the book and video store full of healthy eating and living options. The best part about the brochures was it allowed D.Rough to read to me on the way home. There’s nothing like driving down the interstate while Sister Christian is playing on the radio and your lady is reading to you about colon hydrotherapy procedures and benefits - yes, they do them at Ecopolitan (not in the restaurant, don't worry). It was a fantastic wrap up to a wonderful date night.
Over all, I’m thrilled this place was as good as it was. It was both eye-opening and belly filling. I would come here anytime someone offers and I may actually suggest it from time to time. There was nothing about this meal or entire experience that wasn’t enjoyable and fun. Like I said, I will still poke fun at vegans and offer to pull grass and sticks out of my yard if they want to come over for dinner. But that’s all in good fun. I respect their decision to eat the way they do. But my vegan friends haven’t ever made me spicy Thai noodles that blew me away like these did.
Top 5 things about Ecopolitan
1. Spicy Thai Noodles
2. Future Shock
3. Sampler Trio (mainly the hummus)
4. Coconut Supreme
5. Really helpful staff
Bottom 5 things (ALL of these things are bad about me, not about Ecopolitan)
1. I really wish I hadn’t dressed up quite so much
2. I really wish I had been more adventurous with my ordering
3. I really wish I had tried this place sooner
4. I really wish we had come with a group of open minded friends who would share their dishes with us so I could try many different things
5. I really wish I had not looked like a jerk fiancé by typing notes into my phone while D.Rough was talking to me – I hate THAT guy
We needed to work on some of the Eastern division BBQ places for Rib Quest 2011, so we thought we’d hit up Lee’s and Dee’s BBQ Express. I reviewed it last year, but it’s a new Rib Quest challenge, so I had to go back (not that I haven’t been back a time or two since then). It’s close to my house, so we decided to make an evening out of it and grab some ribs and bring them back to my place to watch a couple movies. Low-Vee and HotGirlsBrother were available, as was EJens for this particular trip. Our excitement might have had something to do with the fact that we seeded Lee’s & Dee’s number one in the Eastern division, based on our meals there in previous trips. We knew this one was going to be good. First off, this isn’t fancy BBQ. It’s not flashy, and it’s not a place you might take your rich uncle. But the inside of the place is clean and the people that run it are really nice people. I know I brought this up last time, but they have an old stand-up Galaga video game in the dining room, and to get to the booths by the window you have to step over the radiator to sit down. It’s pretty low-brow and doesn’t have a lot of uptight attitude. Frankly, I feel right at home here. It reminds me of my Alabama grandma’s house. A couple of kitchen chairs are out on the sidewalk with people smoking in them, and a screen door to get inside the place. It’s homey. You order your food at the counter if you’re going to take it away. There’s a small Xeroxed menu next to the window that gives prices and such and there are a few regular specials taped to the wall near the window. I already knew what I needed. Half slab of ribs, which comes with two sides – baked beans and coleslaw. I also ordered some cornbread, since I remember it being good last time. I paced around and looked at the photo of Ice-T and Don King hanging out at Lee’s & Dee’s. That should tell you something there. While I waited, EJens and HotGirlsBrother showed up. I had to grab my food and go since I still had a bit of cleaning to do before those guys got to my house. (Whoops, how did that glass of Templeton Rye get next to my food?... Thanks, HotGirlsBrother!!!)
Once at my house, we decided to eat first and watch movies later. I dug into my coleslaw – again, I’m not a coleslaw person, but this was ok. No complaints, but I don’t think I order a bucket of it to bring anywhere. That’s just me. Next up, the beans. The beans here have this weird phenomenon in that they are flavorless. The first bite has a delicious BBQ sauce flavor, and then there’s nothing. And by nothing, I mean the flavor disappears. It’s is a flavor vacuum. I’m not even sure how it works, but all four of us experienced the same thing. We’ve tried to spice these up, but that ends up flavorless as well. So far, the sides aren’t the greatest.
The ribs on the other hand are stellar. I can’t explain how good these things are, but you pick up the bone and the meat slides right off into a lovely pool of sauce in the bottom of the container. Serious tenderness. Almost no fatty bits and aside from a couple of rib tips, no cartilage to speak of. Just delicious meat with incredible BBQ sauce flavor. We ranked these ribs in the number one spot for a reason. They are fantastic. And they aren’t small, by any stretch. They’re heavy on the meat, so don’t think you can get away with polishing off a full rack of these things. It won’t happen.
The cornbread is similar to the other times I’ve had it here. It’s a dry cornbread, which a lot of people don’t like. I don’t mean that it’s old or dried out. It’s just there are buttery and moist cornbreads and there are dry, less sweet cornbreads. I think this might be a little more southern to have it be dry since that’s how grandma used to make it. I like it both kinds, thankfully, but I know the others think the cornbread here is too dry. Depends on your preference, but I’m really happy with it.
I will note that Low-Vee had a less than stellar meal. All of us kept saying there was something wrong with her that she wasn’t very happy with her meal and giving her a hard time about it. She actually gave up, which is unheard of, and put the remainder in my fridge. I ate them the following day, and conceded she was totally right. The ribs she got were full of cartilage and less meat than the rest of us got. She was 100% right. I’m not saying there are consistency issues here or anything, since we’ve all had really good luck here in the past. But I guess everyone has a bad day at work, and unfortunately, she got a bad batch of ribs.
Also, word on the street is the beans somehow regain flavor when eaten as left overs and reheated. So keep that in mind.
I can’t wait until the final four of this Rib Quest, where we get to try the top 4 restaurants one more time. The others have a lot of work to do to beat these ribs. The only downsides to Lee’s & Dee’s are the sides and possibly consistency. The outcome remains to be seen.
That being said, I’m still recommending Lee’s & Dee’s to absolutely everyone. They’re going to be number one in my book, unless someone else beats them out.
Top 5 things about Lee’s & Dee’s BBQ Express 1. Some of the best ribs around 2. Cornbread – old school and dry, like grandma used to make 3. Coleslaw is still considered pretty awesome 4. Really awesome people working here 5. These ribs are relatively inexpensive, in comparison
Bottom 5 things 1. Baked beans still are a flavor vacuum 2. Low-Vee’s bad batch of ribs 3. I had absolutely no quarters to play Galaga this time around 4. I felt bad for interrupting a smoke break when I drove up 5. This place needs some T-shirts or something so I can tell even MORE people about them!
Lee's & Dee's BBQ Express 161 Victoria St N Saint Paul, MN 55104
D.Sales called me an invited me to lunch to meet a colleague who has a very similar background to my own (professionally, educationally, and personally) – I feel sorry for him. Hahaha. Kidding! After I got lost trying to find Lucky’s 13 Pub, I stumbled across it while angrily leaving a message on D.Sales’ phone that I was going to be really late and couldn’t find the place.
The inside is very cave-like with stone walls, tin ceilings, and dark lighting. But at the same time, it isn’t divey or anything. Nicely casual is a good description. When I walked in, some random girl hailed me from across the bar and had me come over to her. When I got to her table, she looked horrified – I wasn’t who she was looking for. Story of my life, I tell you. She apologized a million times and I just laughed at her mix-up. I didn’t think a lot of people looked like me, but maybe I have a twin here – this IS the “twin cities”, right?
I found D.Sales and the new guy. We made some introductions and swapped a couple of stories while waiting for the waitress to come. I was already late, so I felt awful about ruining the other two’s lunch, but they were cool with it. I perused the menu quickly, but kept coming back to one sandwich on the list. The Chivito. Sliced beef, ham, egg, bacon, mozzarella, & olives. I asked the waitress if they could leave off the olives. It wasn’t going to be a problem. Wurd.
The food took a while to arrive, which made me continue to feel awful for dragging out their lunch hours, but they assured me it was ok. The sandwich appeared and looked incredibly appetizing. It was a really large sandwich on ciabatta bread and needed to be cut into pieces to eat. It wouldn’t fit in my mouth due to its height, but once it got into more manageable pieces, it tasted as awesome as it looked. Really a top-notch sandwich. Lots of meat flavor with the beef, ham, and bacon, but the egg flavor wasn’t overpowering. Just perfect. This would be a welcome breakfast sandwich for every day of the week, I decided. The fruit that came with it was fresh and I actually wolfed it down. I wasn’t in a fry mood, so I’m glad I went with the fruit plate.
This is a great lunch plate – not particularly fast, but not excruciatingly slow, either. I’d come back here again as there are a whole bunch of sandwiches and appetizers I’m dying to try.
Trash and I hadn’t been out to lunch in a while, so we made it happen. We went back and forth on places to go and finally decided to go someplace neither of us had been. Mozza Mia was near the top of the list, so we both skipped out of work for the lunch hour and checked it out.
After we had claimed a booth inside (it was farrrrr too humid to eat outside), the waitress walked past our table and swapped out my white napkin with a dark one, so I would be sure not to get lint on my dress pants. I’ve never had that kind of quality service from a restaurant. Ever. Super thoughtful, and I wouldn’t have even noticed had she not pointed it out. It made the place seem even classier. The place is pretty classy anyway – it has a very open kitchen next to the dining room where you can see people preparing all kinds of delicious looking dishes and making pizzas in the fire-y oven.
I had finally decided what I wanted when the waitress came back and read the specials to me and ruined it. There was a truffle pizza with all kinds of cheese on it (including Pecorino – my favorite). I was torn, but I decided not to get it and to go with the Calabrese Pizza (lunch sized) – it has fennel sausage, mozzarella curd, chiles, and Swiss chard. It sounded amazing. And since the name of the place is called Mozza Mia, we thought we’d better get the cheese sampler as an appetizer.
The sampler came out pretty quickly and it was brilliant. There was house-made fresh mozzarella, smoked bufala mozzarella, fresh ricotta, buratta, and rollatini served with grilled crostini. The menu says it serves 2-4, and since I’m basically 2.5 people at my current weight, I got to eat most of it. The cheese surrounded some sort of pear salad which was good, and also a corona bean salad which was REALLY good. A few cherry and heirloom tomatoes thrown in and the whole thing drizzled in olive oil made the entire dish perfect. The smoked bufala was quite smoked and probably our least favorite, but I loved the rollatini, buratta, and the fresh ricotta. I could eat this entire thing as a meal – and might…
The pizza arrived and I was looking forward to it. The sausage was in large chunks and was quite flavorful. The chilies on top gave everything even more kick than the sausage did. The mozzarella curds were perfectly melted and the Swiss chard was more delicious than I remember it being. The crust was pretty old school Italian and was very thin and cracker-like. Just a little bit of sogginess in the middle towards the end of the pizza where the ingredients had soaked through the crust. One of the better pizzas I’ve had recently.
Trash said her plain cheese pizza was perfect for her, as was her bowl of cheese tortellini soup. She was rude and didn’t share, so I can’t personally vouch for it… hahahaha I’d recommend this place to anyone (well, maybe not people who are lactose intolerant and haven’t taken their proper medication, of course). It isn’t outrageously expensive, but you get really quality food, so it’s difficult to complain about it. We also had an amazing server who made the trip more enjoyable, so that also helped. Check this place out.
Top 5 things about Mozza Mia
1. Cabrese Pizza
2. Rollatini
3. Buratta
4. Fresh Ricotta
5. Super staff people
Bottom 5 things
1. Smoked Bufala Mozzarella
2. We immediately asked for more crostini after they brought us what looked like a children’s portion
3. Trash may or may not have been hit on by a waiter upon first arrival – the verdict is still out
4. It will never compete with Hot n Ready prices, so if that’s your style, don’t go here
5. You have to park in one of two parking garages and walk a bit to get there
TheDoctor gave me a call around the lunch hour to see if I was available. Fortunately, I was. He was feeling pizza and I had seen this place near where we’ve been to lunch before. I wanted to check out Pizzaioli Pizza Maker eventually, so now was as good a time as ever. Especially when he told me they have a lunch buffet. I’m not a huge pizza buffet guy, but for some reason it sounded good, since I was starving.
We went up to the counter and paid the man for our buffet, which includes a drink. It’s all really cheap ($7.47). So far, so good. We found a booth and headed to the buffet. There were four or five different pizzas staying warm under some buffet heat lamps, a salad bar area, and a small rotating cabinet that housed cheese bread and breadsticks in it. I loaded up plate number one.
The first go around was decent. No complaints and for the price, I could put up with just about anything. The only downside I really saw was the marinara sauce for dipping the cheesy bread into was a little watery. The flavor was still good, but it just never seemed like you could get enough sauce on the bite before it spilled off onto the plate. Fortunately, the cheesy bread was excellent and made up for it. The different slices of pizza really made my afternoon. Lots of different meats to choose from and some combinations of things. I got two meat-lover-looking slices, and a Hawaiian slice. The cheezaretti is basically cheese pizza without sauce, so it’s really quite good. The pizza was actually pretty decent. Maybe not my go-to place for pizza, but it is heaps better than CiCi’s Pizza Buffet.
The varieties of pizza were a bit more prevalent in the second trip. I got some jalapeno-ham something or other and a BBQ chicken slice, along with a standard pepperoni slice. All three were pretty good, despite the jalapeno and the BBQ chicken slices both having lots of onions on them. The breadstick with the cheese sprinkled on top was decent as well.
While it’s not going to be my first choice for pizza in the Eden Prairie/Chanhassen area, I know I can eat here and be reasonably full and reasonably happy.
Top 5 things about Pizzaioli Pizza Maker 1. Cheezaretti 2. Meat Lovers 3. REALLY cheap lunch 4. Pepperoni 5. Hawaiian
Bottom 5 things 1. Watery marinara for the dipping sauce 2. Onion in the BBQ Chicken slice 3. Onion in the Jalapeño-Ham slice 4. I didn’t see a single person utilizing the salad bar, which means they could use more space for pizza 5. When the cheese melts back together on the slices, it’s difficult to cut with the serving knife
M.Giant and I like to try new places and he left it up to me to find us one for our lunch date. I found one that was really to close to other places we’ve dined, but we hadn’t actually noticed it before. Cadao Express is in a strip mall near the corner of Penn and 66th, just south of the CrossTown Highway, so you’ve also probably driven past it without noticing it. I’m glad it popped up in a search I did while looking for fun new restaurants. The place is small. Really small. There are two 4-top tables, a 2-top, and one metal 2-top outside on the sidewalk. That’s all the room there is. Fortunately, this place wasn’t busy and we were able to get a table. The inside is sparsely decorated, but still feels cozy. There’s a rack with magazines, newspapers, and books on it to read while you’re waiting for your food. There are cases of soda against the wall to restock the soda fridge that is also there. There is a television set showing VHN-TV (Vietnamese television) with a stack or Asian DVDs and a DVD player next to it. There are also a couple of TV trays being used to hold condiments or newspapers within easy reach. The menu is more comprehensive than I expected. I saw the lit menu board above the cash register and assumed that was all they had. Then, I saw the menu on the table and realized there are a ton more things to get. It’s Chinese and Vietnamese food, so you’ll see some standards from both ethnicities on there. Here's the actual menu, so you'll know I'm serious. I was really in the mood for Pho, and it didn’t take much prodding for me to get that. I read decent reviews about it, so I got a bowl with sliced beef and meatballs in it. I also ordered some fresh spring rolls. The woman behind the counter doubles as the waitress to take your order, then goes back to cook the food (there’s one more cook in the back) and then brings it out for you. She’s pretty amazing.
The spring rolls came out and I was a little shocked at how huge they were. Someone with an online review called them fresh spring roll burritos and now I know why. They are, without a doubt, the largest spring rolls I’ve ever seen. AND, there are two of them. I think next time, I might just get an order of those and skip the entrée. And the best part was they were delicious. Very fresh ingredients inside and more slices of pork than I’ve ever seen in a spring roll. Plenty of shrimp and cilantro in there, as well. This was an excellent start to this meal.
M. Giant got a fried egg roll with his meal and it was equally thick. A little bit shorter than the fresh spring rolls, but it is pretty clear the people in back only know how to roll appetizers to the width of a forearm. I truly have seen burritos that would have girth envy from these things.
The Pho came out next – standard presentation: plate of ingredients for you to add yourself, and then a gallon-sized bowl of soup with noodles, meat, and broth. M.Giant suggested that Pho actually translates to “gallon” since I’ve never actually seen a small bowl of Pho before. I added the bits I needed to (after I pulled the onions out): hoisin, sri racha, bamboo shoots, thai basil, cilantro, jalapenos, squeeze of lime. Gave it a good stir and started eating. It was really good Pho. Not the best I’ve ever had, but I’d definitely get it again. The broth had a good flavor, although it seemed a tad bit thin. I will add more hoisin next time and hope to thicken it up. But like I said, the flavor was there, so no complaints. The meat wasn’t stringy, but the meatballs were a little tough – common at a lot of Asian places with pre-formed meatballs. Just go with the fresh sliced beef – my advice. It was nice and tender.
Somehow I managed to make it through the entire meal without slopping it on myself. Something Pho is notorious for (or maybe just me). I got nice and full without being stuffed and we told the lady we’d be back again soon.
I think anyone that goes here is going to be happy with it. Just give it a shot.
Top 5 things about Cadao Express 1. Pho 2. Fresh Spring Rolls – huge and delicious 3. Cheap lunch specials 4. Really nice staff 5. There are a LOT of things on the menu I want to try
Bottom 5 things 1. It’s extremely small inside 2. Only open until 8:30pm, so no late night Pho for me 3. The lip-sync music videos showing on the TV will begin to grate on your nerves. (And then there are glittery Asian cowgirls dancing around – which rules on 63 different levels – we have no idea how that made it past the programming screener, but whatever.) 4. Parking at the strip mall isn’t the greatest, but I managed to find a spot 5. There’s an ICE CREAM CAFÉ right next door that I didn’t see until I got too full to actually have dessert. Hahahaha Next time!!!
Cadao Express 6637 Penn Ave S. Richfield, MN 55423
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The first few are out in the relative open (a couple of mature oaks to navigate),and then you delve into the woods. A wooded tee on Hole 8 leads out to an open fairway and then you’re right back in the deep woods.
