112 Eatery – Minneapolis, MN

D.Rough and I were headed to a semi-professional wrestling event downtown, so we thought we’d grab a bite to eat ahead of time. 112 Eatery had been on our list for a while and I had stumbled across an article naming them one of the best burgers in the Twin Cities. We thought we’d check it out and see what else they had to offer.

112 Eatery is a little bit upscale, but not snooty-upscale. There were people in jeans there and people were enjoying sitting at the bar having appetizers and cocktails. (I, for example, was wearing a black band t-shirt and jeans, and didn't feel like I was being judged or anything.) It’s a multi-story building, but you still check in with the hostess on the first floor for a table.

Once seated, we got a plate of olives and some candied nuts to tide us over while perusing the menu. The menu is very manageable and doesn’t have TOO many things on , like some places. It’s got the right amount on it. Some small plates, some salads, a handful of side dishes, some entrees, and some desserts. It’s very manageable. (They also serve food up until close – midnight through the week and 1am on weekends – bonus!)

We knew we were going to get the 112 Burger, but we also needed some other fun things. We got some cauliflower fritters, some tagliatelle with foie gras meatballs. And, since we ended something green, we got the duck and radicchio salad. And a couple of drinks to unwind after the long work day.

They brought us a REALLY nice basket of bread to snack on before our food came out. A nice baguette and one of the best focaccias I’ve ever had. Sooo buttery and tasty. We should have asked for more, but we knew we were going to eat a lot, as it was. Next time!

The duck and radicchio salad came out first and they had split it into two small plates for us. We laughed because we ordered the salad for something green, and the cabbage was purple. Ha! But this salad was top-notch. The egg on top (possibly a duck egg?) was perfectly hard boiled and there were little pieces of duck throughout the salad. It was also drizzled with some gingery sauce which we loved. Seriously, this is an awesome way to start this meal.

They brought us the cauliflower fritters next. D.Rough is convinced they roasted the cauliflower first with some seasonings and then lightly batter and fry the florets. It didn’t matter It was amazing. They covered the whole plate with some parmesan and parsley and we absolutely fought over this dish. This, frankly was my favorite part of the meal – I’ve been on a cauliflower kick recently, so I’m a little biased.

The tagliatelle was good. Not amazing, but good. 112 Eatery recently got written up for its foie gras meatballs, so I had some high hopes for it, but I just felt they were good. Not mind blowing. I love foie gras, so it wasn’t that. I just thought everything would have a little more pop than it did. I wouldn’t complain at all about the tagliatelle, but it wasn’t my favorite thing on the table this evening. The generous layer of cheese covering this thing DID help, however!

The 112 Burger was pretty impressive. It’s an incredibly well seasoned burger patty served on an English muffin and has brie cheese on it. It got all melty and delicious as it warmed on the burger patty. Very few places take special care of the meet they put into a cheeseburger, but this place does. It’s definitely got butter IN the meat, but some simple seasonings made it stand out more than a simple appetizer burger. The whole thing is simple, but incredibly well done (I mean well executed, since we ordered ours medium rare). No wonder people rave about this burger. It comes with a small ramekin of pickles and ginger, but you honestly don’t need any additional flavors. The thing speaks for itself.

A fantastic meal, served by really nice (if not a little reserved) staff. We were happy with everything they brought to our table. We will happily head back to 112 Eatery again, especially since D.Rough and I were just discussing which places were open late downtown. Now that we know they serve food until 1am, we’ve got a new favorite late-night destination!

Top 5 things about 112 Eatery
1. Cauliflower fritters
2. 112 Burger
3. Right-sized menu (with awesome selections)
4. Duck and radicchio salad
5. Open until midnight during the week and 1am on weekends!

Bottom 5 things

1. Nothing was technically BAD, but I was slightly disappointed with the foie gras meatballs

2. The hostess stand is past the bar on the first floor and then you are advised to go up the elevator – just a little odd
3. The parking ramp I parked in closed at 8pm Friday until the following Monday. D.Rough made a few calls and got the security desk to let me into the parking ramp the following day. Bitter.
4. I’m bummed we didn’t ask for more of the bread basket

5. Nothing else negative happened, I promise!!!

www.112eatery.com

Vacation - Day 6 – Tucson, AZ – aka Gerd’s Birthday

Generally on Gerd’s Birthday, my only duty is to drive her around to do whatever she wants, and hold out the credit card when the time comes. Today would be no different, except we wouldn’t be near home nor near her favorite restaurants. We would have to make due.

We woke up too late to eat breakfast, so I avoided that bullet. Ha ha ha. I was also told I would not be playing disc golf, so she avoided a bullet herself. Well played, friend.

We headed to downtown Tucson to check it out. We heard the 4th Avenue area of downtown has some cool shopping and food places. We also heard it may not be as happening on a Monday as a lot of the places use that day as a day off of working. Most places were open though. It wasn’t a thriving metropolis of shopping, but it was interesting to walk around there. We already knew we were going to El Charro, so we were only walking around trying to get hungry for this lunch-time adventure.

Gerd found this place online and found about a billion reviews all saying it was the best. And they weren’t lying. El Charro claims to have invented the chimichanga and I won’t dispute it. It was amazing. Their claim to fame is some sort of beef which they dry on the roof of the building and then shred. It’s called Carne Seca, and you NEED to get this if you go there. Best chimichanga I’ve ever had. I also got a sampler kind of thing called Enchiladas Banderas and discovered the best shredded chicken enchilada I’ve ever eaten. This place is incredible. We had their special margaritas complete with a Grand Marnier float which were amazing. I apologize for the bluriness of the photos, but you should get the point.


We had heard about this steak place called McMahon’s while researching restaurants on line. Gerd likes to eat steak on her birthday, so we needed to find someplace classy for her. We overheard some random guy in El Charro talking to the waitress about McMahan's Steakhouse, so Gerd turns around and starts talking to him about it. Apparently, it was one of the VPs of the company that owns McMahon’s. Really nice guy. He even offered to make a reservation for us. We politely declined, but when Gerd mentioned it was her birthday, he bought her some birthday flan. It was also awesome and neither of us really like flan that much. We’re converted flan fans.

We drove to the Foothills Mall and checked things out there. We did some light window shopping and bought Gerd a couple of things. She had recently seen Twilight, but wanted to see it again, so we dropped in and caught a matinee. Great vampire film and it’s no wonder she wanted to see it a second time. I’d recommend it. We then drove to La Encantada – a really fancy mall. It was pretty classy. We didn’t buy anything there, except gelato, but it was fun to walk around. We were killing time until our reservation at 8pm at McMahon’s.

We tried to kill time by finding a minigolf place. However, this one was super scary and super closed forever. The internet says people loved the scary tackiness of it, but I was bummed it was closed.

We drove home to change into nicer clothes and then headed out to McMcahons. It was really classy. The waitress however told us that Rodney, the sommelier, would help us pick out a bottle of wine. However, she pronounced it like salmonelliay – as if he was some harbinger of disease. Hilarious. Rodney was awesome and very down to earth. We knew what we wanted, we just wanted him to decide for us. Besides, they had a 70+ page wine list - THAT's serious. Gerd had a Bone-In Filet Mignon and I had a full rack of lamb. Both were incredible. Super tasty and flavorful. The potato Gerd had was perfect as were the Scalloped potatoes I got. We got a nice Malbec to accompany dinner and thanked Rodney for his recommendation. The place was louder than a lot of restaurants we’ve been in but there were a lot of large groups there. We would both heartily recommend McMahon’s Prime Steakhouse.

We drove home to partake in some boat drinks with the cousin. Her boyfriend calls girly drinks boat drinks. I think girly drinks is a more descriptive term, but whatever. They’re both fruity and tasty. Gerd fell asleep before she finished hers, so the cousin and I made sure her drink got disposed of properly… heh heh heh.

Top 5 things
1. Best Mexican food ever – El Charro
2. My cousin had a birthday cake for Gerd
3. Got to see Twilight
4. Got some new Wii games
5. Awesome Malbec from Argentina

Bottom 5 things
1. Salmonelliay
2. Scary mini-golf place was closed
3. Gerd is another year closer to being old like Chao
4. No cool shirts in our sizes at El Charro
5. Downtown Tucson

http://www.elcharro.com
http://www.metrorestaurants.com/restaurants/ms-restaurant.htm

The Capital Grille - Minneapolis, MN

Gerd and I felt like livin’ large last night so we got a reservation for the Capital Grill in downtown Minneapolis. We knew this place was pretty upscale, but isn’t the kind of place that requires a jacket or anything. That being said, our friends are impressed that we ate there.

We made waaay better time than anticipated getting downtown, so after the classy valet parked my car, we sat in the bar and had a drink before dinner. I opted for their specialty drink, the Stoli Doli, after awesome bartender Dustin gave me a sample to get me hooked. Stoli vodka infused with Dole pineapple chunks for a week. It was incredible. With all of these girly drinks I plan on making in large vats, my basement is going to look suspicious to the feds, I’m sure. Gerd stuck with the Arnold Palmer (tea and lemonade).

We headed into the very elegant dining room and waited for out waiter Tim to help us out. We had questions about wine, Tim helped us out. We had questions about appetizers, Tim helped us out. We had questions about specials, Tim helped us out. We had questions about sides, Tim helped us out. We had ZERO questions about entrees, Tim was impressed.

With the help of Tim, we ordered Wagyu Beef Carpaccio for an appetizer. It is rare Japanese beef (from California) served chilled and sliced razor thin with an arugula salad on top. Seriously, there was no fat at all on these slices of beef. Top notch stuff. Gerd needed soup, so again with the help of Tim, Gerd went with the Lobster bisque. It had chunks of lobster in it and Tim poured some dry sherry on the top to bring out the flavor – I told you this place was classy. I got the mozzarella, tomato, and basil salad with 12-year aged balsamic. Seriously, this was a great salad before a huge meal. No complaints at all.

Gerd had a question about wine with her meal, so Tim recommended a simple pinot noir for her since she’s not usually a red drinker. I went big and bold and got the Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. I’ve never gone South American before with my wine, and it was awesome. Tim said buy a crap ton of it now since it hasn’t caught on how good it is just yet. That’s a good idea. We’ll be hitting up Surdyk’s in the next couple of weeks for me to buy more scotch, so I’ll see if I can score a bottle of this as well.

Since we were going big anyway, Gerd and I felt the need for steak. Gerd decided on the Dry Aged Sirloin (I’m guessing about 16 oz?) and I went with the 24 oz Dry Aged Porterhouse. I told you we weren’t foolin around. I can’t say enough about how awesome these steaks were. Second only to Ruth’s Chris (and a VERY close second at that). They were truly amazing and tender and flavorful without all kinds of spices and marinades. We got some squash and au gratin potatoes at Tim’s suggestion and they were really great. The potatoes were some of the best we’ve ever had.

Yes, we were stuffed, but Gerd is a dessert person. She went back and forth on like 5 desserts. She had been talking about flourless chocolate cake for months and when she opted NOT to get it, Tim and I were floored (we were good friends at this point in our relationship). Gerd needed cheesecake, so that’s what we ordered. However, when Tim came back out with it, he threw in a slice of the flourless cake on the house. So I was forced to eat some it. Flourless cake isn’t my thing, but this was really good. Coffee/Espresso flavored and chocolate-y. Great stuff. But the cheesecake was where it’s at. The piece was served with brulee-d (is that a word?) caramelized sugar top and sitting in strawberry syrup. It was the best dessert I have ever had in my entire life, bar none. I might actually be a dessert person after eating this thing. It was extraordinary.

I can’t say enough about this place. We spent a boatload of money here, so wait until the economy gets fixed and then go to this place. You will not be disappointed!!!!

Top 5 things about the Capital Grill
1. Steaks
2. Staff
3. Desserts
4. Wine selection
5. Atmosphere

Bottom 5 things
1. There aren’t any. Even the expensive prices are worth what you get.
2.
3.
4.
5.

www.thecapitalgrille.com

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse - Minneapolis, MN

We decided to visit Ruth's Chris after Chao's dad told us about their Summer Special. For $89.00, the Summer Special includes two first courses, two side dishes, two main course entrees, and a dessert to share. They have a special menu so you can't choose the Porterhouse for Two (regularly $80 alone) as one of your options, but there were still several great items to chose from.

We both got the Caesar Salad for our first course and it was amazing. It came with peppery cheese crisps and the dressing was creamy and fabulous. For our side dishes we chose two potato dishes, au gratin and mashed. Chao described the mashed potatoes as cloudlike and he was right. Chao ordered the Petite Filet and I ordered the Mixed Grill which included a smaller than Petite Filet, a Crabcake, and Stuffed Chicken Breast. If you are unfamiliar with Ruth's Chris, they serve their entrees on a really hot (like 500 degree) plate with butter that sizzles. Best. Idea. Ever. The Filets were fantastic. They only season them with salt and pepper and use a high grade of meat, and are cooked quickly in a 1800 degree oven or grill or some type of heat element. I didn't pay attention - I was too excited. The Stuffed Chicken Breast was as good as chicken gets but was attached to some bone and the Crabcake was the best I have ever had with big chunks of crabmeat. For dessert we split the Warm Apple Crumb Tart. By split I mean Chao had two bites because he hates dessert and I ate most of the rest. Score!

This meal was so good I wish there were Ruth's Chris lock-ins so I could stay there and eat all night. The server was awesome and it is one of those restaurants where they regularly scrape crumbs off of your table. I have eaten lots of fancy and expensive steak and this was by far my favorite. The Summer Special was a fun and fairly affordable (in comparison) way to experience the restaurant. We will definitely go back and we will definitely talk about this meal for weeks.

Top 5:
1. Sizzling butter on hot plates
2. Quality meat with fantastic flavor
3. We had a super fun server who looked and talked like Gwen Stefani
4. Everything was excellent from bread through dessert - I am not sure you can go wrong here
5. Great atmosphere

Bottom 5:
1. It is expensive
2. The bathrooms are hard to find and they escort you there if you ask
3. No lock-ins or other overnight programs offered
4. Valet parking
5. Lots of snooty rich people

http://www.ruthschris.com/