La Buvette – Omaha, NE

When two different unrelated sets of people recommend a restaurant in Omaha, you should probably go there. La Buvette is in the Old Market area and it’s a perfectly snooty French wine bar where all the servers act as if you’re inconveniencing them and you should be happy they’re even helping you. I’m only exaggerating a little this time. My friend NoPants had a hankerin’ for some wine and cheese, and who am I to complain?...

The place is more like a wine shop with some snacks. There are wine bottles all along the walls that you can pick out and they’ll uncork for you – for an additional fee. Not uncommon, frankly, but interesting nonetheless. The server brought us a menu which is a lot of snacks and smaller plate items, and some of their more popular wines, both glasses and bottles. 

We skimmed the menu and eventually turned around and grabbed the nearest bottle off the wall behind us – I’m 100% not kidding. It was just easier, and we both like Cotes du Rhone. (It was a 2013 Luberon from Dauvergne Ranvier – very tasty) The wine here isn’t outlandishly priced, which was actually very nice. Much more affordable than I even expected, even with the corkage fee.

Eventually NoPants caved and ordered a bunch more cheese, even though we had been eating copious amounts of cheese up to this point in the day. But when you share a bottle of wine between two people, sometimes you need some snacks.

This place is worth a check-out if you’re in the Old Market area of Omaha. Even if you stop in for a quick glass, you won’t be disappointed with the quality nor the prices. Very fun visit!

www.labuvetteomaha.com

Tom Reid’s Hockey City Pub (Poutine Crawl) – St. Paul, MN

A bunch of roller derby people in the Twin Cities got the bright idea to do a Poutine Crawl. Not a one-night event, but basically go around the area trying every variety of poutine available. I stumbled across this group on facebook during its planning stages and half thought, “It’s too good to be true.” Alas, it WAS true!

The group set their first meeting date at Tom Reid’s Hockey Bar in St. Paul. Poutine originated in Montreal and if there’s one thing Canadian’s know (I’m not saying there IS one thing they know), it’s poutine. Doing some sort of metric math conversion, you’ll end up with Canadian hockey players love poutine. Tom Reid’s should have the best, right?

If you don’t know what poutine is, it’s simple (pronounced POO-Teen). French fries (probably called frittes in Montreal), cheese curds, and gravy. Sounds interesting, you have to admit. I’ve been a long time poutine lover and have found a few of my favorite in the area already. But if some cool people want to go and check them ALL out, then I can get on board with that. It’s brilliant!

There were eleven of us at this first gathering. The waitress cracked up when we all ordered poutine (and a LOT of adult beverages - we found out they have 2-for-1's the night we went!). We chatted a bit about which places were on the list and it turns out there are quite a few. Citypages had recently published a poutine guide in the twin cities, so we would start there.

Enough talk. Our poutine arrived. Most of them – Tom Reid wasn’t really expecting this many orders of poutine, so they came out in two shifts. Hilarious.

Here’s my take. The fries were better than average for a bar, so no complaints there. Nothing seasoned about them, or anything, just simple and good fries. The cheese curds weren’t deep fried, just straight up, not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, I think that’s the traditional way. However, the cheese was melted into pools underneath the fries and wasn’t very “curd-like”, and was not the most stand-out cheese. It got lost in the mix visually, and flavor-wise. Finally, the gravy – a beef-ish gravy – was a little bit bland for most of us. Could have used some jazzing up with salt, pepper, and maybe some sri racha (I don’t think hockey bars believe in this mythical rooster sauce). Apparently, when people heated their left overs up the next day and doctored the gravy up a bit, it helped. There was also a considerable amount of parsley shrapnel on the top of the whole pile. It didn’t add anything, unless by seeing green on top, you can pretend it’s a healthy hillock of food... (In which case, kudos to you, Tom Reid!)

I will also point out that it’s a pile of potatoes, basically. Which means it fills you up extremely quickly. So, mad props go out to Killsbury Doughboy for finishing his entire plate.

The rest of the group didn’t even come close, coughcough A-Wow coughough…

(D.Rough and I split a plate between us and it was the perfect amount. No point in OVER-clogging your veins this early in the crawl!)

Despite the fact that none of us were particularly enamored with this first run of the Poutine Crawl, we all decided poutine is a bit like pizza. Even bad poutine is still relatively delicious. I don’t think anyone complained during this thing, but we all know we’ve got some life-altering poutine still on the list! Looking forward to this year-long poutine crawl!!

It’s difficult to do a Top 5 list for one item, so I’ll forego this for the poutine crawl posts. I hope you understand.

Here are a few comments from the group:

Sam: Well that was a pretty good start. I'm excited for the next round! My take on Tom Reid's Poutine: The fries were excellent. Golden brown, light and fluffy inside, just lightly crispy outside. The curds were ok, but not fantastic, and were too melty to truly recognize as curds. The gravy was bland, referred to by one attendee as "too close to KFC." Overall: Good bar food, but we can do better.

Jessie: I agree. This was a good starting point. And I can relive the experience with the poutine that's still left in my fridge. I look forward to next time at Rye Delicatessen.

Pete: One of the indicators of a real cheese curd is it squeaks when you bite into it, hence why it's sometimes referred to as "squeaky cheese". Either the cheese at Tom Reid's was too melted to discern its curdiness, or they don't use actual cheese curds (probably the latter as real cheese curds can be expensive). The fries were very good, but I feel there's better poutine possibilities out there.

Elise: I believe only fresh curds squeak and I think once you heat them up you'll lose all squeakiness fresh or not. Jessie, be sure to report on the re-heating success of the left overs, that's always a good thing to know!

Doug: The great thing about poutine is you can`t really miss. Tom Reid`s was good but there is better on the horizon. The bad thing about poutine is the mini-strokes you have after eating too much of it. Also, it made me take a giant poo this morning. 2 flushes!!

A-Wow: It held up relatively well to reheating, and the addition of some garlic and pepper did improve the flavor. But I agree that we will find much better poutine in the future. The chest pains are already subsiding...

tomreidshockeycitypub.com

Bacon Apple Monte Cristo – West St. Paul, MN

It was D.Rough’s birthday last week, so I thought I’d do something special for her, since she cooks for me all the time. I had seen a delicious looking recipe in the Rachel Ray magazine while waiting at the dentists office a few weeks back (don’t worry – no cavities!) and knew I should make it for her. It was a Bacon Apple Monte Christo. For those of you not familiar with the standard Monte Christo, you should find one. It’s basically a combination of a ham and cheese sammich and French toast.

Plus it’s extra sacrilicious if you call it “Christ Mountain”.

This one had strips of bacon on it, extra sharp cheddar cheese, and sliced apples. You basically do what you would normally do for French toast by dipping the bread in the egg batter and frying it up. It’s pretty simple, but really quite delicious. You can do all sorts of toppings for these things too: powdered sugar, jam, various compotes, fruit. We went the traditional route and dipped it in maple syrup, since we appear to have four bottles of the stuff for some reason. I’m not joking – we have four bottles of syrup in the cupboard.

I’m not going to give you the recipe or anything like that. It’s simple. Even for a cooking dummy like me.

Triple Rock Social Club – Minneapolis, MN

Some of the kickball people get together on Wednesday nights, even though kickball season is over. Tonight’s get-together was at the Triple Rock Social Club, due to the fact that every Wednesday night is free bacon night!!! All you can eat bacon, brought to your table upon request starting at 9pm. What else do you need? The answer is nothing.

I walked down the street to the Triple Rock since I was 3 blocks away at class. I found my people who had already filled up a booth. I grabbed a bar stool and a menu and set to deciding. The menu actually has tons of things on it. Tons of vegetarian and vegan options, which I know people really like. I didn’t realize they had as much food as they do. I ordered a girly drink, which I of course got mocked for, and asked the waitress whether I wanted a “Big Ass Meat Sandwich” (yes, that’s what it’s called) (it’s a bacon sandwich with a slice of ham and covered in cheese) or the Poutine. She told me the Poutine is pretty good. I also love saying the word Poutine over and over in public. It makes me giggle.

They brought the first basket of bacon. I’m guessing there are like 10-12 slices of bacon in each basket. I reached for my camera to take a photo of it, and this is what I got.


The scavenging bastards ate the entire thing in under 10 seconds. Which is why we had to get like 5 more baskets. I will tell you I ate FAR more bacon than I should have. HotGirlsBrother is right, the earlier bacon is crispier and more done. The subsequent bacon is, however, exactly how I like it. Throw it in the grease, turn it over and serve it. I like it hot, fatty, and floppy (like my ladies – Wait. What?) It was awesome.

The poutine came out and no one had ever heard of it, oddly (except for LowVee, which isn’t odd at all, actually). I assumed people were familiar with it, especially this close to Canada. It’s a Canadian staple, from what I understand. I even said, “What, you guys haven’t heard aboot this stuff?” just to make it official. It’s simply French fries covered in cheese curds and gravy. Sounds gross, but everyone at the table who tried it loved it. Why? Because it’s delicious.

The fries were crispy and the cheese curds were all melty. It was awesome.
Just do yourself a favor and go to the Triple Rock on Wednesday nights. Get there early to secure a table. Sure you’ll need a roll of paper towels to wipe the grease off your person when you leave, but it’s totally worth it. Just don’t go on bacon night anytime before you’re getting your cholesterol or triglycerides checked or anything…

Top 5 things about the Triple Rock Social Club
1. Unlimited bacon (this should be every one of the top 5 things)
2. Poutine was great
3. They make girly drinks without too much mocking from staff
4. Seriously diverse menu with vegetarian and vegan options as well as carnivorous delights
5. There was a random with a “BOBO” patch on his jacket. I took a photo of it for Coach, since he’s trying to bring the phrase back into the English vernacular.

Bottom 5 things
1. Gerd loved poutine, and would have reminded me of when we were in Portland with Chicken Little puking his guts out next to me eating poutine. Those were the days…
2. I totally missed out on the first round of bacon because of the vultures
3. I eat bacon until it’s gone (as a general rule), and they just keep bringing more – this is a bad combo for my guts
4. I was on a tall barstool while towering over everyone at the booth – I commented “this is what TheDoctor feels like all the time”
5. I need to go back and order about 15 other things on the menu, including for a Saturday or Sunday brunch.

triplerocksocialclub.com

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

Salut: Bar Americain – Edina, MN

This one is going to be a long post – I have a lot to say.

Let’s start by saying we’ve wanted to go here for a few months now, so we were really keyed up when we decided on this place. Salut is kind of an American-fare restaurant with a French twist. Inside it looks a bit like a French bistro, with red and white checkered table cloths and upscale without being completely snooty. We always see people sitting on the patio and the place looks packed all the time. We got some reservations and did it up.

As usual, we looked at the menu online, so we knew with about 85% confidence what we would be getting. Of course, the specials sometimes confound that plan, but we’re versatile in most situations (when it comes to food, especially).

The waitress brought us out some crackers with garlic/beet puree. It looked red and scary, but was actually pretty darn good. (I’ve decided I can do beets now, thanks to Dwight Schrute.) It was kind of the like the chef’s special appetizer. It ruled. We also got some French bread (it’s kind of French, remember?) and some super salty butter which I’m a huge fan of (getting huge-er).

Gerd decided on the burger, which we saw made the list of best burgers in Minnesota. It was huge and awesome. All covered with cheese and stuff. Honestly, it’s one the best burgers I’ve ever had. It should be number one on that list from what I’ve seen, but I know the people at Matt’s will put up a fight if I start lobbying for that. Seriously. It was awesome. The fries we’ve also heard about and the waitress recommended us trying them since we hadn’t been here before. They were REALLY good fries. Lightly seasoned and cooked much darker brown than fast food places. Get these fries, people. You’ll thank me for it.

I ended up with the Roasted Chicken Tagine. I discovered the wonders of the tagine this past summer at Williams Sonoma. I saw this triangle shaped pan on the shelf at WS and couldn’t figure out what it was. So I asked (Yes, I’m a guy, but I can still ask for help when I need it – see previous statement about food-related things). The worker told me all about the tagine, I don’t remember any of it, except you cook it with this pyramid shaped lid on it and all the juices run back down the sides and back into the food. You can cook many things at once and they all end up super moist. I was sold. Unfortunately, these things are multiple hundreds of dollars, so the tagine was not sold to ME. (If I find out I can make mac and cheese or bacon in this thing though, I might reconsider…)

Since I saw it on the menu, I went for it. Basically a half chicken with Moroccan spices and couscous. It had to be good right? The server (not our waitress) brought it out and promptly dumped a container of sri racha sauce onto my pants and freaked out. There were all kinds of napkins flying around and apologies. I told her not to worry about it after we got it cleaned up as well as we could. Then she said, “good thing I’m not your waitress,” and walked back into the kitchen. Hilarious. A manager came over to make sure I wasn’t going to stab anyone and gave me a shout pen to help with the stain (they’re in the washing machine right now, so I don’t know if the stain is coming out yet). He also was super apologetic. And our waitress came out and apologized as well. I think we’re good here, folks. It’s fine. Now I have hot pants. No worries.

Back to the tagine-ified chicken. This is a brilliant way to cook chicken. The flavor was awesome. I can’t tell you what Moroccan spices really are, but I know they are good. The couscous absorbed tons of the flavor as well, so the whole thing was awesome. I will stop right here though and tell you about my hatred of high-labor food. I hate to eat things that take longer to dismantle and get ready to eat than they do actually eat. Half-chickens are near the top of the list, as are whole walnuts, oranges (depending on my mood), and fajitas. Only lychees and peanuts are worth me spending any time on. And now, the tagine half-chicken is almost making it into the list. I really loved it, but I need to hire a food servant that will disassemble the chicken for me next time (I wonder if they’d be offended if I asked for chicken strips instead of bone-filled chicken) (I wonder if I could combine the tagine with Popeye’s and melt people’s faces with the awesomeness that would be what I would call – ca-jine [Cajun + tagine]) (I rule).

Bottom line, buy yourself a blast shield for your clothing and go eat here. It’s awesome. It’s slightly pricey, but you really will get what you pay for here. They have a raw bar there also – which is where you can hunt your own oysters (they’re fast critters from what I hear) and slurp them away from the table you’re sitting at.

Top 5 things about Salut
1. Tagine chicken
2. Amazing burger
3. Frites (French fries) ruled
4. Very friendly (and apologetic) staff
5. Beet/Garlic paste

Bottom 5 things
1. High-labor food
2. Spill-y McGee
3. Slightly pricey, especially in today’s economic… blah blah blah
4. It’s usually packed to the gills
5. I should have whipped my pants off after they spilled on me, just to guilt them into a free meal

http://www.salutbaramericain.com