Iron Range Eatery – Crosby, MN

D.Rough and I were "up north" at the family cabin and needed to find some food – mainly because we didn’t catch enough crappies to make dinner.  We had done some previous research on restaurants near the somewhat isolated cabin and found the Iron Range Eatery. The menu looked fantastic and the reviews are almost entirely raving (in a positive way). Reservations can be made for 5:00, 6:30, and 8:00 pm – very specific times, so they probably have some control over their workflow and such. It’s just a good idea to get a reservation, even though it’s a small town – this place fills up!

We decided to split the poutine, since someone else had it and it looked amazing. Battered fries with chicken gravy, cheese curds, and Applewood bacon. Yeah, it was crazy good.

We also got a caramelized pear and gorgonzola pizza – it just sounded right. It was! A really interesting – in a GOOD way – combination of flavors you don’t normally run across. The blue cheese wasn’t super overwhelming, and was balanced nicely with the sweetness of the pears. The walnuts also added some fun textures. A fantastic pizza!

I really “won” this dinner with my order, however – roasted sausage and chicken penne. It sounds like it could be blah, but it was some of the best pasta I’ve had recently. It’s their signature pasta and now I know why. It’s really quite spicy, so Minnesotans should steer clear of it, but the flavor was so incredible, I couldn’t stop eating it. The sausage was spicy and flavorful without being too fennel-y, and the chicken was moist and plentiful. The sauce was simply magic. I’d recommend this to anyone who can handle the heat. I will be hard-pressed to order anything else when I go back to this place, since it was so good.  Well done, Iron Range Eatery.

http://ironrange.3cheersmn.com

Crystal Garden – Minneapolis, MN

A-Wow and I had finished our work-based-biometric-screening-that-impacts-how-much-we-pay-for-health-insurance-premiums, so it is time again to let our bodies go for 11.5 more months. We usually hit up a buffet to really maximize our caloric intake and today was no different. We picked a spot neither of us had been, so we were really going into this with low expectations. I mean, one of our worst experiences was Wang’s, and they’ve since closed – so it couldn’t be worse than that.

The place is a challenge to get to, first off. You can only see the place from one direction on Hiawatha Ave, and if you SEE it, you’ve already driven past it and can’t get back to it. So, you have to circle behind a couple of buildings and a gas station to find it. Then, add on a bunch of construction to the mix and you consider yourself lucky to get to the business. However, A-Wow and I are tenacious, when it comes to food.

The inside is a pretty typical mom and pop Chinese restaurant, so not much to note here. A lot of older Caucasian folks in this particular lunch crowd. The buffet does have a decent spread, which was nice. However, many, if not most, of the name tags above them were scrambled in a pretty hilarious way, so you really didn’t know what you were getting. (Note: during our second trip to the buffet, there was an attempt made by the staff to correct this slightly)

As you can see, a lot of the food is friend and/or brown. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I like to point it out for my vegetarian friends who expect a little more color on the plate. The vegetables that DID exist were actually pretty good. The first plate ended up being more appetizer-y things than entrees, but that happens when I haven’t gotten a good feel for buffet items in relation to plate real estate. I’m not an egg foo yung guy, but the old people here were literally eating it up – it had to be replaced multiple times while we were there. The food was actually surprisingly delicious – better than expected, which was nice. They know their way around a fryer, clearly, and the food didn’t taste greasy. The cream cheese wontons were actually some sort of pork product packets, but whatever. The egg drop soup, which I know everyone likes different styles, is of the “snot” variety with lots of egg yolks and not much broth. It was tasty though.

Plate two – more of the same, but with more entrees. Delicious.

What? There’s more? Yes. Plate three. A-Wow is more polite than I am, so he stuck with only two plates. Will power: Something I don’t excel in.

This place is about average or slightly better than average in the grand scheme of Chinese food buffets. I’m not sorry I ate here, but I know there are other buffets to try before I end up back here. Not bad, though! Definitely worth a try if you fully intend to go there – you’re not going to swing past it and remember in time to make the turn to find it. Plus, the price is right - $7.75 during the week.

http://www.crystal-garden-mn.com

Café d’Marie – Davenport, IA

D.Rough and I were headed out of town and needed to grab some coffee and a snack for the road. The number one place from Trip Advisor was Café d’Marie – I’d never heard of it, but if everyone thinks it’s great, then we’d have to go there.

There’s a newspaper clipping just inside the door with the history of the place – Dr. DeAnna Walter operated a chiropractic office out of her home and would serve coffee, tea, and sometimes whatever she baked in her kitchen in the waiting area. People began asking for more food items, and within a few years, she hung up her chiropractor jacket and started a breakfast and lunch place – and is KILLING IT!

It’s not a big place, so you may have to wait in the hall way of her really beautiful house (literally) for a seat in the dining area, but there are all kinds of coffee and tea options, scones, cakes, cookies, and a bunch of amazing-looking quiches. We grabbed some coffees and a slice of quiche, and then while we waited, we caved and got a slice of this really attractive chocolate cake (somehow, I managed to talk myself out of the signature bread pudding, which I still regret).

The quiche was even better than we expected, and we wolfed that down pretty quickly, even though the slice was generous.

The chocolate cake was extremely moist and rich without being overwhelming.

Overall, the people at Café d’Marie know how to work magic. Give these folks a visit and you’ll be glad you did!

www.facebook.com/cafedmarie

Nally’s Kitchen – Davenport, IA

D.Rough and I were in the Quad Cities visiting some friends and we both stumbled across recommendations for this place independently – which meant we probably should go there. 

It’s a small little shop, but it does have plenty of room in the dining room for 15 tables or so. 

We checked out the menu behind the register and finally decided what we wanted – it wasn’t easy, since everything sounded delicious and there are photos of some of the dishes that kept making us change our minds.

We went with an order of empanadas – one of each of the dinner ones (meaning, not the dessert ones, which they are known for, as well), and the beef enchilada plate to split. We didn’t want to over-do it, so we kept the order small…. Or so we thought…

They brought out chips and salsa to the table, which was exactly what we needed (we were starving). Great homemade chips and the salsa had a little amount of heat to it, but great flavor. The server noticed we plowed through the first basket of chips and brought us another – super service!

The enchiladas came out and looked so tasty. A good amount of cheese on top, without being completely covered. The rice and beans were fine and I ended up eating all of those, since D.Rough didn’t want to waste her time on them – hahaha. The beef enchiladas were really awesome. Tons of meat in them, which great flavor and the enchilada sauce clearly was NOT from a can. Fantastic enchiladas!

The empanadas were where it’s at, though. Light and flaky crust and lots of filling inside each one. Also, molten lava. These were the best things we ate the whole trip! I think how we ordered them (one of each) is the best way to eat these, but some people like to really commit to one, so here is the order that I would place them in based on my own internal and random rating system:

1. Chicken
2. Cheese Steak
3. Spicy Ham
4. Cheesy Potato Bacon
5. Beef
6. Potato with Chorizo

Note: Nally's does have some dessert empanadas and stuffed churros, as well, but we were too stuffed to eat anything else - NEXT TIME!!!

The folks here at Nally’s Kitchen were really nice and helpful. They were rockin’ some awesome music from the kitchen (I’m a big fan of Jose Jose and I was singing along with it in the dining room). The food selection is pretty impressive and the quality and taste can back it all up. Just get here, if you’re passing through the area or if you live there. Really top-notch Mexican food.

www.nallyskitchen.com

Hai Hai – Minneapolis, MN

D.Rough and I needed “treat-yo-self” night, so we headed to Hai Hai – a relatively new “modern Vietnamese” restaurant in Northeast. It’s actually in the former strip club known as the Deuce Deuce, but don’t let that scare you. they’ve done amazing work in side and it looks absolutely lovely inside. The bar area is fun and inviting and the dining room has plenty of room without being too crowded. There’s also a really nice patio out back for more summertime dining.

D.Rough had already been to this restaurant before, so she knew the ropes and suggested a few things. A couple of appetizers to share and then two entrees to share. And, of course, cocktails. They have an amazing cocktail menu, which I have a feeling I’ll be working my way through in its entirety, at some point. 

I got something called Topical Tradewinds, which is some rum with jackfruit, falernum, pineapple in lime, served in a nice looking bowl. It was delicious!! D.Rough got the Hotel Continental – multiple rums, pineapple, and some other things, served in an awesome tiki glass – yes, I was jealous. Hers was also extremely good.

For food we got the salt and pepper fried tofu and the Hai Hai Spring Rolls. The fried tofu is so good, that it hurts. It’s large pieces of fried tofu – large enough to cut into 2, 3, or 4 pieces – sitting in a delicious rice powder and lime leaf sauce, and a small amount of thai chilis on the side that you can add if you like. It’s REEEEEALY good.

The Hai Hai Spring Rolls were good, but very unusual. It’s like a standard/non-fried spring roll, but there’s a pork sausage inside it and a fried egg roll skin inside, as well. It’s got a lot of different textures going on, which is nice, but it’s unusual, to say the least. It’s served with this delicious sauce for dipping, as well, and you’re going to love that part especially. Not our favorite thing on the table, but we did still enjoy it!

For dinner, we got Beef Larb and Hanoi Sticky Rice. It was extremely difficult to determine which one we liked best. The Beef Larb was great. I mean really great. It was served with some cabbage leaves for scooping the ground and spiced beef into, and also a few sesame-shrimp chips. Both were great. This had plenty of spice in it, but the seasoning on it was wonderful.

The Hanoi Sticky Rice was a tasty bowl of multiple ingredients – ground pork, pork floss (which is my favorite thing ever), Chinese pork sausage, mung bean, fried shallot, pickled vegetable, and some cucumbers in a sauce that you dump on top. All of these ingredients are sitting on top of a fantastic bed of sticky rice. The idea is to mix the whole thing together (which is difficult since the bowl is full), and then chow down. It was great, especially when you got some of each ingredient all in one bite. It was magic in a bowl.

I almost forgot about dessert!! They have four desserts on a small menu, that I believe rotates weekly or monthly, and they all look great. D.Rough got the Racine cake last time, so this time, we got the Coffee Pots de Crème. It had these delicious little crispy wafer things in it that I won’t even begin to describe. And the layers of sugary dessert were much better than I expected. Just get this thing.

Honestly, the next time we go back here, it’s going to be difficult to NOT get one of these four things again, since I know how good all of them are. There are, however, a few more items on the menu that I want to try, so that will help. I’m already planning it out and looking forward to the next trip there! Amazing job, Hai Hai!

www.haihaimpls.com

2018 Minnesota State Fair – St, Paul, MN

Here’s my review of some of the state fair foods I ate this year. Yes, I ate too much. Yes, I spent too much money. Yes, I am sunburned. Yes, I probably hit the beer harder than the food this year. Yes, I will be back next year! (I didn’t go into detail as much this year, since it’s towards the end of the fair and people just want a list to go on, not a story. This is all I had time to put together.)

Wild Bill’s Breakfast Bake at the Blue Barn – I need to figure out how to make this delicious breakfast concoction. Corn chips and eggs baked with cheese into a cube-format, then covered with scrambled eggs and salsa. It’s awesome. People say this is way too heavy to start the day off, but I don’t agree. I love it.

Tangerine Boozy Red Bull Slushy from LuLu's – It’s vodka, red bull, and tangerine juice in a freezy situation. It’s magic.

Also, I got a Schell’s Red Sangria beer, which was my favorite last year. It’s pretty incredible.

Nordic Waffle with berries – we waited in a massive line for this and I was bummed that it was small, but it did really have good flavor. I’m glad we got it and it was just about worth waiting in the longest line I’ve ever been in at the state fair.

Had to try the Two To Tango, Three to Mango mango sour beer from Starkeller (in the back corner of Lulu’s Public House). One of the best beers of the day.

Then off to try the Key Lime Pie beer from Lift Bridge. People told me to drink this very fast since it gets a little “off” when it warms up a bit. They’re right. Drink it fast or the chemically-lime taste grows quite a bit. It was fun while it was super cold, though!

I ate the Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl from the Café Caribe. It was good, but with the avocado, mango, and tomatoes, it tasted like a tuna salsa. The rice was just filler, so I skipped about half of it, but it was slightly better than meh.

I had a bite of my sister’s Campfire S’mores Rice Kristie Treat (golden grahams, chocolate chips, and marshmallow). It was good, but I don’t care much about S’mores (insert all kinds of outrage from my friends here), so I probably wouldn’t get it again. She loved it, though.

Sweet Greek Cheese Puffs were next. I was a big fan of these, and people told me I would be. Lots of fun Greek cheese stuffed inside a flaky dough and then covered with honey and powdered sugar. Dino’s does some killer stuff at the fair.

We headed to the Hanger next for some Brisket Sliders and Bacon Wrapped Pork Belly – yes, multiple pig meats. The bacon-wrapped pork belly was pretty incredible (thanks for the tip, Motz), and Uncle DumDum loved it. The brisket sliders were much better than I expected from any sort of “fair brisket”. It had three different toppings – coleslaw, BBQ sauce and pickles, and crispy onions – and all of them were surprisingly good. 

Since it was nearby, Uncle DumDum and I split a couple of beer flights. 

• Mankato Brewing – Cake’d Up Celebration Beer – I actually liked this one a lot
• Tin Whiskers – Wheat Stone Bridge - not a fan
• Insight – Crazy Aunt – really an awful beer
• Summit – Skip Rock - decent beer, I'm ok with this one
• Insight – Sunken City - decent beer
• Mankato Brewing – Mad Butcher – I liked this one, since it wasn’t as hoppy, for an IPA
• Tin Whiskers – Flip Switch - it was fine
• Surly – Furious – Always good
• Castle Danger – Ode IPA – I liked this one a lot, as well

We headed over to Giggle's Campfire Grill for some weird beers. Tin Whiskers Dill Pickle Ale was a hit last year, and this year was no different. It’s a solid beer without being too overwhelming on the pickle flavor. I also got the Beaver Island Uffda Ale, which has a piece of Lefse and fresh lingonberries in it. I really didn’t like this one, especially when it warmed up. 

Off to O’Gara’s for some Irish Tater Kegs, which are jumbo tots with corned beef sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and sour cream in them. I really liked these. The sauerkraut wasn’t too strong and they were really filling, and came with thousand island dressing. I liked these more than I expected to. I also got one of the new Surly Gaelic Dark and Stormy beers. I liked this one a lot – great ginger flavor to give it a good amount of tang without being too bitey.

Thought we’d check out the BBQ Split from Mama D’s. It was the worst thing we ate all day. It’s simply BBQ (beef or pork, whatever you choose), mac and cheese, and coleslaw in a sundae boat. If you’re going to do something that simple, you should make that BBQ meat something to talk about, rather than something to avoid. The best part of this was the coleslaw, which is sad. Avoid this one at all costs.

Since I was close, I tried a Helles Ya, You Betcha lager from Summit Brewing. It was just ok. I’ve had much better Helles-style beers, but I managed to drink this one, without TOO many problems. 

I’ve heard some negative things about the Moroccan Sausage Bowl from Sausage by Cynthia but I was really happy with it. It was a smaller portion, but I was pleased with the portion size when I was done eating it all. Great seasoning, and great veggies in it. I liked it a lot, especially the chopped green olives they put on top!

I had a Honey Cream Soda Float on my list, so I managed to find one at the Minnesota Honey Producers Association. This was surprisingly good and I am glad I got it. Also, I was amused that the young high schoolers there were scared of the bees that were buzzing around the stand. Hahahaha

My annual stop at the Mouth Trap for cheese curds! I love these things so much.

I thought I’d split a Zesty PB&J Sausage from the Gass Station Grill with Uncle DumDum. I honestly couldn’t even taste a hint of peanut butter nor of cherry jelly, but that sausage was one of the best I’ve ever had. It was delicious.

Off to the Ball Park Café for some more beers – I got a Kirby Pucker #34 from Eastlake Brewing (which is still amazing and I love it), and a Passion Fruit Pils from Bent Paddle (this one I didn’t like as much, but still drank it). 

I heard people talk about the Spumoni Tsunami beer from Bad Weather Brewing. This was the worst beer I had. Totally undrinkable and I pitched it after two drinks. Sorry, but it was bad.

I had a couple of Sweet Martha’s Cookies that I stole from my sister. They’re fine, but I truly don’t get the hype. 

Headed to Coasters to try the Funnel Cake Cream Ale from Lakefront Brewery (which was just ok, but the powdered sugar helped) and the Margarita-Style Kettle Sour Ale from 612 Brew. This one wasn’t as tasty as the Funnel Cake beer. 

I figured I’d better try the Pepperoni Chips with Roasted Red Pepper Queso from Lulu’s Public House. I’d heard bad things about this, especially about them being super salty. But, since I’m a salt-fiend, I tried them anyway. They’re fantastic and I think everyone should eat them. I am so glad I ignored the muggles that told me not to get it! I also tried the Slipstream Black Current Apple Cider from Social Cider Werks – which was amazing and exactly what I needed to stave off the heat and sunburn I was working on. This was really great.

Finally, as a cap off to the whole day, I split a Swedish Meatball Smörgås from the Blue Barn. It was really awesome. People got weirded out by the white gravy and pickles on top, but it was fantastic. Trust the Swedes, my friends – they know what they’re doing.

15 foods and 24 beers/drinks partaken in - not a bad year at the fair!

Top 5 foods to try:

1. Bacon Wrapped Pork Belly

2. Zesty PB&J Sausage

3. Sweet Greek Cheese Puffs

4. Brisket Sliders

5. Swedish Meatball Smorgas

Top 5 beers to try:

1. Two To Tango Three To Mango from Starkellar

2. Slipstream Black Current from Sociable Cider Werks

3. Kirby Pucker #34 from Eastlake Brewing

4. Schell’s Red Sangria Beer

5. Mankato Brewing Cake’d Up Birthday Cake Celebration Beer

Another Minnesota State Fair in the books!!! Thanks for coming to visit, sister and brother-in-law!!