Lulu’s Thai Noodle Shop – Kansas City, MO

We popped into Lulu’s to check out the noodles here. We didn’t know much about it, but we were all up for some tasty Thai food. It’s in a triangular-shaped building and it’s really fun inside – some good decorations and varied seating options, although there’s still some front-of-house areas being used for storage, which always changes the vibe. The menu has some good options on it – various street food appetizers, soups, salads, curries, and of course noodles. We thought we’d better check out the sampler platter, and then each of us got our own noodle dishes to try some things out. Drunken Noodles, Spicy Beef Jantaboon, and Rainbow Peanut Noodles. I also got a tiki drink (Mai Thai) since it was calling to me….

The appetizer platter came out pretty quickly. It had Vietnamese spring rolls, crab rangoons, pork dumplings, veggie dumplings, and some dipping sauces – a sweet carrot sauce, a gyoza sauce, and a sort of yellow curry peanut sauce. The Vietnamese spring rolls were good – I like mine with a peanut hoisin sauce, but the carrot sauce worked just fine. Tasted fresh and not like it’s been refrigerated all day. The crab rangoons were especially good – light and fluffy and crispy with plenty of filling. The dumplings were also really good – we asked the server if we should get them steamed or fried and she liked them steamed, so that’s how we got them. Really good and plenty of filling in them.

The drunken noodles arrived and though we had ordered our food with a medium heat, there wasn’t any at all. The noodle dish was good and satisfying, but not what I was hoping or expecting. There wasn’t a lot of seasoning nor flavor in this. It was perfectly fine, but the drunken noodles I’ve had at many other places are a bit darker and seasoned well (especially since I like thing medium-to-hot). The photo even looks a little bit white/plain. I will say that the basil flavor was the best and most prominent flavor in this dish, for what it’s worth.

I didn’t get photos of the other dishes (as they weren’t technically mine), but we made sure we each tried each other’s dishes to see what we got. The Rainbow Peanut Noodles were also just ok. The yellow peanut curry sauce from the appetizer sampler was the base for this dish (more curry than peanut) and it was also not up to the spice level ordered.  The Spicy Beef Jantaboon was also in that same ballpark of just fine but not the spice level requested. The sauce in this dish was probably the best tasting and the right amount, but there really wasn’t much in the way of seasoning for this one. Two or three jalapeno slices and some cilantro wasn’t what we were hoping for.

I think this dish might work well for people without a lot of spice tolerance or who are new to Thai flavors. I am always glad there are sort-of “gateway” restaurants like this, but we were all surprised this place has been cranking out noodles since 1997. They’re also serving noodles at the CPKC Stadium, which is also a good way to get into people’s brains, but if you want something with some heat or some flavors, there are a lot of other options to chose from in the KC area.

 https:www.lulusnoodles.com

 

Laka Lono Rum Club - Omaha, NE

When I’m out of town, I’m always going to find the local tiki bar in town. I’ve been to Omaha before and have been to some cool locations (that closed) and one location that exists, but it straight garbage. I knew there was a new tiki bar in town, since the last time I was here, so I figured I’d better check it out after my buddy FFIII’s birthday party. I wasn’t sure what to expect here, but I also figured since I was riding solo, I’d better take a Lyft and not have to limit my enjoyment of rums and juices. (Turns out, I’m glad I did…)

It took me a minute to find, since I didn’t know it was downstairs below street level. I followed a loud crew of college-aged folks downstairs and walked into an absolute madhouse of people. Shoulder to shoulder and everyone was having a great time. If I was with three or four other folks, I wouldn’t have been able to convince them to stay, but since I was solo and flexible, I made it happen. I grabbed a menu while I waited in line and finally made it up to the bar to order. The bartender was surprisingly chipper and conversational for how busy it was and I appreciated it immensely (and tipped accordingly). 

Since I didn’t want to wait in line again, I just ordered two drinks. Veteran move, if you ask me. Puka Punch and a Zombie. You really don’t care what various rums are in these drinks, so I’m not going to bore you with details. However, I will tell you that these drinks were really surprisingly delicious. The Zombie, is of course super-boozy, but not in a way that burns every time you drink it. There’s enough other flavors to make it delightful and it’s sort of a barometer for how others drinks are going to be. 

The Puka Punch had some other flavors besides booze, including passionfruit, pineapple, and lime, and it was also really well-made. I was really pleased with my order and loved to watch people look at me as I walked around the dining room, two-fisting fruit-lade cocktails, while looking for a place to lean or sit. I was really into this place. Lots of people watching and lots of decorations to look at. 

I eventually found a spot at the bar that had opened up, so I plopped down and got comfortable and listened to people order coronas and coors lights and laughed as the bartenders made faces at them. Hilarious. 

Since I had just found a spot, I figured I’d better order one more, since I now had easy access to bartenders’ attention. I went out of my normal lane and got a drink called “It’s The Wind That Gets Ya” – chai-infused bourbon, apricot, coconut, and lemon. Actually one of the better drinks I’ve had at a tiki bar. Really good flavors that worked together. Super happy with this order. 

At this point, I’ve had a lot of rum and am really glad I was taking a Lyft back home like a responsible grown up. However, unlike a responsible grown up, I figured I’d turn a two-drink night into a four-drink night. It was raining out above ground, apparently, and I was still having fun watching everything and drinking tasty beverages. I decided against the Holy Diver that I Was eyeballing and went with the tried and true Mai Tai. I forgot to take a photo of this one, but again, it was really delicious. 

Don’t let anyone scare you away from tiki bars in the middle of the Midwest – they CAN be awesome. I’m glad I stopped in here for a quick visit (it wasn’t quick at all, I assure you). And I’m also glad I didn’t have anything to do until about 2pm the following day…

 

I’ll be back!!

 

https://www.lakalono.bar

Tori (Ramen) - St. Paul, MN

This old train car (literally an old railway passenger car) has been a few restaurants in the past. Probably more than I even know. I know I went here when it was Chris and Rob's. But, Tori (formerly Tori Ramen when they were up in the Summit Hill area of St. Paul) has taken it over and given a totally new vibe and menu. They consider themselves noodle specialists and it shows in the menu they have put together. I know this opened up during the pandemic in this location, but for some reason, it has taken me a bit to get here.

The inside is… unusual… in that it has a sort of dining room in the train car portion, then a very small bar area – apparently housed by local regulars – and then there’s this unusual area with one of those open-atmosphere garage doors that sort of spreads out onto the sidewalk. Not complaining at all, but I just didn’t want you to walk in expecting a traditional 90-degree-angles everywhere situation. 

We were seated pretty quickly and spent some time deciding what we were going to get. The menu has a handful of delicious sounding starters, a list of various ramen dishes – the items in red are the ones that are spicy – and then some add-ins. Super easy to understand. They’re also known for pretty advanced cocktails, so I went with the tiki-est of the drinks “Will There Be Rum?”, and the server assured me that yes, it DOES have plenty of rum. D got a strawberry lemonade. We opted for some cold sesame noodle to start and then D got the Dra(MN) – which is the chicken noodle, miso, and bali ramen’s combined – and I got the Com Saw Mi Da, which is chili crisp, gochujang, chicken, and a soft egg.

Drinks were fantastic. The strawberry lemonade was sweet, but not too sweet, and downright refreshing. The Will There Be Rum drink was an excellent tiki-style drink and it was a challenge not to drink it down in like three drinks. Would highly recommend this one.

The sesame noodles were perfect. A nice tall pile of noodles and red cabbage and cucumbers with tahini and black sesame seeds (the most evil of the sesame seeds). Not necessarily spicy, but there was some zing there somewhere. We slopped tahini sauce all over table by sharing this one, but fighting over a dish just means its really good and fight-worthy. You should try this one.

The ramen arrived more quickly than I expected, which ruled. The rich broth in both of our bowls looked the same, but this proved to NOT be the case. The Dra(MN) had a little bit of heat (it was in the spicy section of the menu) and had really good flavor. Lots of tahini flavor from the bali, without it being too peanut butter-y, and a surprisingly generous portion of noodles. Really good dish. 

The Com Saw Mi Da was incredible, though. Plentiful noodles and lots of chicken, but the broth was so tasty and spicy. Growing heat, too. By the end, I was sweating. This place doesn’t mess around. Both ramen dishes were some of the more memorable ramen dishes I’ve had, so we will definitely go back here again.

A couple of random notes about this place:

• This place is great for vegans and vegetarians, and they’re willing to make changes to dishes to make sure you’re happy.
• I heard the table next to us say they had called “bullshit” on the heat level and ordered the Fire Shoyu and the Vegan Fire Shoyu. Both of them commented to the server that they may have ordered outside of their expectations and it definitely wasn’t Minnesota hot. Hahaha
• This place has a reallllllly weird vibe. Like Portlandia almost-jokingly quirky atmosphere. Apparently, on weekends, they’re open until 2am still serving ramen, but they have a DJ and it turns into a club atmosphere. Super out-of-the-box. Just didn’t want to forget to mention that it won’t be a chill Japanese restaurant vibe here.

Neither of us could finish our ramen, and we brought a whole additional meal of leftovers home. You can also have them throw in some extra noodles for like $4 and bring some home to reheat with your leftovers. …which I did. And they were so good the next day.

I would definitely recommend this place and I’m looking forward to going back and trying some different dishes, but I doubt anything is going to beat what I got this first time.

https://toriramen.com 

Dead Man's Isle - Astoria, OR

As most of you know, I love a tiki bar. Anything that encourages rum and fruit juices to flow down my throat is going to be a winner every time. Dead Man’s Isle wasn’t open the last time I was in Astoria, evidently because they opened in 2022. The décor and the feel are pretty fun and the staff were perfect!!! We happened to be there on the chef’s birthday, so he was sitting at the bar sharing drinks with friends and seemed like a great guy to have around (or a round with).

 

The menu is pretty extensive, both with drinks and even with the food items (more than just appetizers). I started with a Rum Barrel. As often happens, the bartender warned me this was for like 2 or 3 people, to which I replied “yup”. It does have 4 or 5 shots of rum in it, but it also has a bunch of juices and ice and garnishes, so it’s basically healthy. It really was delicious, and I’d recommend this one to anyone.

Since I wasn’t driving, I opted for a second drink – Nielsen’s Blood – rum, brandy, blood orange, falernum, and ginger beer. I was looking for something unusual, and the bartender (Audrey, I think) recommended this. It was fantastic and I enjoyed it so much. Just a few bubbles form the ginger beer and the combo of rum and brandy is always delicious. 

The place has an impressive collection of merch, including t-shirts and tiki mugs – including in a tiki vending machine! Be sure to stop next doo at Muntiki for some seriously upscale and unique tiki mugs. You won’t be sorry you did. 

Looking forwarding to hitting this tiki bar up every time I’m in Astoria! Gold star for you fine folks!

Dead Man’s Isle
1239 Duane St.
Astoria, OR 97103

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

Quick Review: Nova Bar - Hudson, WI

This less of a review than a plug to go check out this place. The former Nova Wine Bar and Restaurant in Hudson has opened up as a local drinking establishment called Nova Bar. It’s in the same building as Casanova Liquors (also known as the beer cave), so many of you already know where it’s at. So get this – liquor store in the same building, DQ 200 feet away, Air B&B across the street, and beach walkable. Sounds like we’re going to be spending a lot more time here…

It’s got a great cocktail list (the owner and his wife can pour a kick-ass Painkiller), has wine by the glass, robust whiskey/bourbon/scotch collection, and offers a really impressive craft beer list. They also have Miller High Life on tap at all times, for those of you that partake. 

The place is decorated in a pretty whimsical and fun way (just use the same decorations for the holidays up through mardi gras!) and everyone in the place is genuine and fun. They also offer various food trucks and pop-up situations, so you can often grab a bite to eat there. Check out their Instagram page for updates – that seems to be the best and most often updated. No full-time kitchen offerings, but they’ll feed you once in a while and you’ll just have to focus on drinking. 

Go support this business. Check out their cocktail list and drink specials. I bet if you bring them a funny story or video on your phone, they’ll be happy to return the favor. They’re great folks!

Hala Khaki Lounge - River Grove, IL

As many of you know, D and I enjoy the Polynesian culture and have found ourselves at more tiki bars than we ever admit to anyone. When we were in the Chicago area recently, I knew we needed to check out Hala Kahiki Lounge. I wasn’t sure what we were getting into, but I’m glad we went. 

 

The lounge is in a relatively residential area along the Des Plaines River and it’s an expansive building. Thankfully, it also has an expansive parking lot. People have commented that there are only two windows and you don’t actually know which door to go in – all of that is true, but do your best to find the entrance (the “front” is off the main road, if you consider the parking lot the back – that might help). The bar owners got out of the funeral business and into the tiki culture accidentally buy buying cheap paneling that looked like bamboo. It all makes sense when you walk in the door.

 

Hala Kahiki doesn’t take reservations, so you may have to wait. But, as I said, it’s huuuuuuuge. It just keeps going back. There’s a back room that apparently is sort of private like an event center, and there’s a heated outdoor space (not open when it’s crazy cold, but that makes sense), so just when you think you’re at the back of the building, it just keeps going a little further. You can peruse the small gift shop at the front if you have to wait, but I’d suggest getting your hands on a menu. It’s the largest list of tiki drinks I’ve ever seen. It’s maybe 25 pages and split into 17 different sections. There’s an impressive selection of non-alcoholic tiki drinks, so please bring your sober friends and family here. There are traditional and old familiar tiki drinks, and then there’s a large number of drinks they’ve either invented or borrowed from other famous places. There’s a number of ice cream drinks. And, to no one’s surprise, they are also known for their Malort cocktails – it’s the Chicago Handshake, if you didn’t know. hahaha

 

While you’re headed back to your table, check out the decorations on the walls and ceiling. There’s an incredible number of unique pieces on the walls (and a ton of Will Farrell Elf cardboard cutouts during the holiday season, which is hilarious). 

 

My wife matches the decor. She rules.

It looks like they have a limited food menu on weekend, and maybe some sort of chips and dip offering during the week, so be ready for that. But hopefully, you had a chance to look at the menu ahead of time. It’s really difficult to narrow down the list, but thankfully, we were able to. Also, make sure you’re familiar with the little icons on the menu. A skull and cross bones means it’s strong. A pineapple logo means it’s sort of a lounge favorite. They also go the extra mile and put other notes on the drinks that indicate if something Is spicy or cinnamon-y or floral. Really considerate. I got the Hala Kahiki – I try to get the namesake when I can – and D got the Kokomo with banana.

 

The Hala Kahiki is a combination of a zombie and a scorpion – two of my favorite drinks. What it actually means is that it’s a bunch of rums and a bunch of tropical juices and then topped with overproofed rum. It’s also got a skull and cross bones next to it on the menu, so it’s reeeeeally strong. The juice cuts the bite of the booze and it really is a fantastic drink. I’d highly recommend this drink if you’re new to tiki drinks. It’s what other drinks hope they become when they grow up. 

 

D got the Kokomo, which is sort of a pina colada style drink. DiSaronno, cocoa rum, coconut cream, and non-dairy cream. And, she got it with banana, so it comes blended up and topped with whipped cream. It’s like a banana coconut milkshake and not like most standard tiki drinks. We keep talking about this one, since it’s so good.

I knew I needed (at least) one more drink before we left. Since D’s blended drink was so darn good, I decided to go against my norm and check out the ice cream section of the drink menu. So many of them are good, and my favorite part is they really don’t steer too far from traditional tiki flavors. I decided to check out the Lava Flo – dark rum, coconut cream, bananas, strawberries, pineapple juice, vanilla ice cream, and topped with whipped cream. It was top-notch! Even better than I expected it to be. It even comes with a giant straw so you can suck up the strawberries and not get all clogged up. All the flavors go well together and it’s one cohesive drink, not 5 different flavors. Super glad I got this one as a finisher. 

 

This tiki bar is absolutely worth a special trip out of your way and I’ll be back here for sure. I know there are other tiki bars in the Chicago area, but this one is my kind of vibe – exactly what I was looking for.

 

http://www.chicagotikibar.com

Hala Kahiki Lounge

2834 River Road

River Grove, IL 60171

Swimply App - Twin Cities (but also, nation-wide)

 

Sometimes, you need to get away, even if you can’t plan a full-fledged vacation. And when my spouse and I get away, we generally need a pool Sometimes, it’s the inflatable kiddie pool in the backyard, and sometimes, it’s a little more… advanced.

 

If you’re not familiar with the Swimply app, then you need to GET familiar with it. The short explanation is that you can rent people’s swimming pools by the hour. Think of it like the Lyft app, but for pools. People have a pool they aren’t using, and they post it on Swimply and you can see if the dates and times line up with your calendar. It’s BRILLIANT. And they’re all over the place. 

 

I’ll show you a couple of places that we’ve rented, just so you know you aren’t being taken for a ride. We generally rent a pool for two or three hours and that’s plenty. The cost varies wildly (from like $30-100 per hour), but it depends on how fancy the pool is and what sort of amenities they have. If they have a hot tub and pool toys and a grill, it’s going to cost more than if it’s a more bare-bones operation. 

You can invite friends, but make sure you look to see how many people are included in your original cost. Sometimes, places charge a little extra if you’re over 5 people. But some places you can have up to 60 guests. Just do a quick check before you book it. We invited our friends last time and have now gotten them hooked on Swimply. 

 

One thing to keep in mind is most places don’t have an outdoor cabana or restroom, so you should probably expect to use a stranger’s restroom in their house. Sometimes, it’s sectioned off and it’s near the pool area, and sometimes, you’re walking through the living room and down the hall and petting their dog while they’re having dinner (I’m not kidding). We’ve had situations where we never saw the home/pool owners and other times the owners have come out and given us instructions or rules or told us where the restroom is or just checked on us to see if we were having fun.

The nice thing is there are usually plenty of directions so you know what to expect when you get there. They often tell you where to park and walk around which side of the house to the pool area. 

 

A couple of tips for those ready to dive in… see what I did there????

• If you’re going to bring drinks, don’t bring anything glass, just for safety. (Check that alcohol isn’t restricted, also)
• Please be discrete when you get there. The neighbors may not know the pool owner is renting their space and you don’t want to get them into trouble. Don’t sit out in front and honk or invite all your loud friends to park in their front yard. Pretend you’re visiting a friend and using their pool.
• If you’re going to be there for an afternoon or evening, bring some food to cook on the grill. Seems like every pool we’ve rented has had a grill. If you’re just going to be there for two or three hours, skip it, so you aren’t wasting time cooking when you should be recreating.
• Follow the rules and be courteous to the folks letting you borrow their pool.
• Don't pee in anyone's pool.
• Clean up after yourselves and put things back where you found them. This isn't a hotel.

We love this Swimply app and plan to use it when we go out of town or visit my relatives. We’ve been able to book pools the same day, if they’re available, so if you have a swimming emergency, try renting a pool. It’s waaaaay cheaper than buying one, my friends. 

 

I hope this helps you enjoy your summer!!!

Mallards – Inver Grove Heights, MN

I love going to a restaurant that changes my made-up incorrect perception of a place – Mallards did just that. I’m not sure what I expected, honestly. It was somewhere between Oceanaire and Applebee’s – but no one could give me a good description of the atmosphere, nor the food, so I thought I’d better check it out.

D.Rough and I were out on an adventure and decided since it was on the way home, we should pay Mallard’s a visit. There was a short 20-30 minute wait, since it was a Saturday night. Thankfully, it gave us some time to take in the whole atmosphere I mentioned before and then also, there a pull tabs, so D got to win us some money – which then she used to buy more pull tabs which were NOT winners. The inside of the place is much nicer than Applebee’s and is really well-lit inside. Sort of a nautical theme without being like a pretentious yacht club (my apologies to those yacht clubs who aren’t pretentious). A good mix of dress here, from jeans and sports jerseys to suits and ties. The restaurant is split into a bar area and a dining area, with the regular sports TVs in the bar area and plenty of service in the dining area. I thought I’d point it out, since some restaurants are struggling on staffing – this place didn’t seem to be suffering and al the staff were knocking it out of the park on the service side of things. 

 

We got seated near the bar, so we had a good angle on everything. We had a lovely server and she gave us a handwritten beer/tap list and a cocktail menu. A really great cocktail menu, especially in the “boat drink” department. Tough to decide, so we went with the Island Punch and a Mai Tai. The Island Punch was coconut rum, banana liqueur, and pineapple juice. A little heavy on the banana liqueur, but I was good with it since it wasn’t too overpowering. I'd get it again, for sure – I just like to give people a heads up. The Mai Tai was a really solid showing and even came in a mermaid tiki mug, which gets it bonus points. 

 

The menu is really impressive. Lots of different choices to peruse and in some cases, made it a challenge to nail down. We decided to get a little adventurous and order the Seafood Campechana for an appetizer. This is a Mexican-style dip, with seasoned shrimp, crab, avocado and pico, served with housemade tortilla chips. This ended up being one of the best decisions of the night – top-notch appetizer. It made us want a 5-gallon bucket of the stuff, but it gave us plenty to – as an appetizer should – get us in the mood to eat more stuff. We really liked this a lot. 

 

D is a lobster roll fan from way back, and this is one of the things that Mallards is known for, so that was an easy decision. She was really pleased with this, also. This roll is served cold (but on a toasted warm roll/bun) with mayo and some melted butter – also fries. Butter is a welcome addition to any plate, and D was happy to use it up. The lobster was good and the roll, also good. We’ve had some lobster rolls on the coast that were life-changing, but this one stands up for a Midwest showing. Definitely worth getting again. And, the fries were seasoned and double-fried, so we’re both a fan of those. 

It took me a bit to decide on my dinner – too many things I wanted to try. But I finally went with the Baramundi Rodrigo – seared sea bass with a citrus and cilantro pesto and that was on a healthy bed of coconut lime risotto. The sea bass was much better than I expected, and I’m sure it is because I’ve had some weird versions of this. But, that citrus pesto was awesome and it was perfectly cooked. But, the star of the night for the whole order was the coconut lime risotto. This was almost like a lime curry and light and fluffy. If they offered this as a side, I’d get this with absolutely everything. One of the best risottos I’ve ever had. 

 

Overall, we were really glad we went here. I think both of us were really pleasantly surprised at the service and the quality of the food, and also the choices on the menu (and cocktail menu). One thing D and I both agreed on was that now that we’ve had success with these dishes, it makes us feel more comfortable with some of the other adventurous things on the menu. Time to get crazy! It’s really close to our house, so now that we know how good it is, we may end up being regular visitors to this gem. There are four locations in the metro, so I’m sure you live close to one – go check them out. 

 

Mallards

5681 Blaine Ave.

Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076

www.mallardsmn.com

 

Tom’s Burned Down Café – Madeline Island (Technically La Pointe, WI)

I’m not sure this place really needs my review, but I loved this place so much, I am just making sure it doesn’t slip under anyone’s radar. 

Tom’s is a magical wonderland filled with booze. Imagine if you will, the perfect three-way marriage of pirate ship, junkyard, and circus tent, then fill it with bizarre but loveable characters and fill them full of booze and drama. This establishment is literally the only open on the entire island after the last ferry leaves for mainland Wisconsin (which is 7pm – I’m NOT kidding). So, the whole island shuts down, leaving Tom’s to stand alone in the Madeline Island after-hours entertainment scene.

There are so many things I love about this place. There is a huge number of seating options for its patrons: benches, indoor chairs, outdoor chairs, stools, steps, boxes, crates, etc. Just find a spot where there isn’t a human and park yourself there. When you’re finished with your beverage, there are a bunch of bins or boxes for you to throw the receptacle into – bottles, cans, cups, etc. Just do your best. There is a full bar, with lots of booze and different kinds of beers. But they also seem to have some sort of pre-made mixed punches or other types of drinks that are mainly booze. Great idea! There’s also a trailer parked in the “front” of the building that is clearly plumbed for booze or a soda gun that is probably an overflow bar. I was bummed that it wasn’t running when we were there. And there’s just a LOT to look at on the walls, ceiling, and floor. 

 

If you want to have a good time, just guy yourself a drink and sit down and watch the show. People from all walks of life are here co-mingling and having a good time. Don’t pass judgement, just sit back and be amused. 

 

And if you really want an experience, go to various review sites and read all the complaining reviews about it (clearly written by Karens) and make a mental note so you can look for those things when you go there. The complaints aren’t wrong, but those very things people are complaining about are what actually make this place magical. Yes, the bartenders aren’t going to be your best friend. Yes, the entire place looks like it’s being held together with duct tape and license plates. Yes, you might feel dirtier AFTER you go to the restroom than before you went in. But all of these are what makes this place special. 

 

You can thank me later after you go here.

 

Tom’s Burned Down Cafe

274 Chebomnicon Road

La Pointe, WI 54850

Tom’s Burned Down Cafe