As many of you know, Popeyes is my favorite fast food joint of all time, hands down. I don’t usually write about places I go regularly, but since I haven’t written about Popeyes yet, I figured I would at least give it some attention in case I hadn’t mentioned it in the previous posts. . . Plus, so many weird things happened here, I HAD to write it up.
First off this location is typical – not in a great part of town, but not outright dangerous or anything. In fact, it’s in a better part than most I’ve been to (East St. Louis for example). Inside, there are signs everywhere about everything. If you are illiterate, you can just go to hell. Some are hand written, some are typed, some are plastic, some are small, some are large, some are legitimately TINY for their new menu items, some have words underlined for angry emphasis, etc. You get the point.
Gerd ordered her food and had no problem. I ordered mine and apparently they were out of everything I ordered. I was trying to mix it up and get one (or both) of the new items on the menu that came with the subtle name change (Chicken N Biscuits is no longer the game, now it’s Louisiana Kitchen). I tried to get something new and they were out. So I fell back on to the standard (but awesome) strip meal I usually get. I tried a couple different sides and got yelled at because they were out of red beans and rice. Then I got yelled at because onions rings are no longer a signature side (or they were out of them – I couldn’t tell which). I ended up getting mac and cheese. Then I ordered the one new menu item they DID have.
I started with the biscuit. Always buttery and flaky and buttery (did I mention the butter?). Wurd. The Mac and Cheese I had high hopes for, but those were dashed on the rocks of hope. It was really runny and watery and tasted terrible (didn’t stop me from finishing it though, let’s be honest). Stole some of Gerd’s fries which ruled, and then finished up 3 spicy strips. I seriously love that chicken from Popeyes. Wash all that down with a strawberry soda, which I can always count on at Popeyes. I took a couple of bites of the sausage and chicken jambalaya (one of the new menu items), it was really tasty, although a bit dry. This new menu item was a temporary seasonal item a couple of times, but I guess now it's permanent. I took it home and it’s in the fridge for tonight!
At the end of the meal, I looked down at our tray and GASP!!!!!..... Gerd had not eaten her biscuit!!! At this point, I began to question our suddenly shaky relationship. Who was this person sitting across from me (not next to me – I’m not one of those people)? Had she taken a blow to the head? I couldn’t stand it anymore!!!! “Are you gonna eat that biscuit?” She snapped back, “Don’t you touch my biscuit!” Hilarious. I said, “Uh what’s going on? You haven’t touched your biscuit.” Apparently, Gerd saved the biscuit for last as a sort of dessert. She called it dessert since she squirted three packets of grape jelly onto her biscuit and inhaled the thing. Apparently, she saves the best for last and I almost lost a finger trying to commandeer her biscuit.
Bottom line, I love Popeyes, even though this trip wasn’t optimum. Also, there was a toothless woman in the restaurant who was wearing a leather Popeyes jacket (I wonder how long her 13 kids didn’t eat for her to afford that?)
Top 5 things about Popeyes
1. Red beans and rice when you can get them
2. Chicken
3. Onion Rings when you can get them
4. Strawberry pop/soda (depends on where you’re from)
5. It can also be pronounced Pope Yes, since there’s no apostrophe
Bottom 5 things
1. Mac and Cheese
2. Out of a lot of things on Mondays apparently
3. Signage is hilarious
4. Got yelled at
5. The heart attack caused by (what I assumed was) a wasted biscuit
http://www.popeyes.com
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Job For A Cowboy, All Shall Perish, Animosity, Annotations Of An Autopsy – Station 4 – St. Paul, MN
I’ll try to be quick about this show. This is a serious tech metal bill. All of the bands are super talented musicians, so there wasn’t even a question whether these guys were good. Hate Eternal was supposed to play, but cancelled “due to an injury” according to signage posted outside. Bummer, as I was looking forward to seeing Derek Roddy play some smoking fast drums.
The first band, Annotations Of An Autopsy, is from England. These guys can play. They’re very technical with some pig squeal vocals and low growls (like most of the bands). They had fun on stage and seemed genuinely surprised at the crowd being so into them. They attempted a wall of death, but didn’t tell everyone when to go, so it flopped. If you don’t know what a wall of death is, look at youtube. These guys should have played later. I liked them a lot.
Animosity played second and I really love these guys. Their newer stuff is a little more chaotic, but I saw them play in Davenport, Iowa, a couple of years ago, and they were incredible. Great musicians with lots of fun grooves and quick changes. The vocalist always seems to have fun as well. Moves around a lot and gets a little crazy. Great stuff.
All Shall Perish played third. I can’t get enough of these guys. They are amazing musicians and they aren’t afraid to show it and then break it down real heavy like. They had some dueling guitar solos (something I haven’t seen in a long time), and it wasn’t really that cheesy. They also were borrowing the guitarist from Sleep Terror, which is a huge feat, especially since he wasn’t playing lead – the guy is still amazing. The singer is a great frontman and they all seemed to have fun on stage, which is always nice.
Job for a cowboy, I can take or leave. I like them just fine. They’re great musicians and are pretty technical. Their stage present isn’t great, but it would be great for a top-notch supporting act. They’re headlining since they’re a draw, but if you went in order of talent and musicianship, I’m not sure they would be the headliner. They’ve got some good break down type parts, but mostly they’re fast and noodle-y.
Some things I saw at the show that cracked me up:
A) Some trashy whore-y girl wearing almost nothing. Normally fine, except she had a serious case of poison ivy on her upper body or some other unidentified rash. Girl, I appreciate your dedication to the metal show whore uniform, but hang it up until you get some salve or something.
B) During Job for a Cowboy, there was a different trashy whore dancing like a stripper to their music (and sound check). She was running her fingers through her hair and down her body all slutty. But if you know JFAC’s music, you know they don’t play the same speed or riff longer than 2 seconds, so I’m not sure what she was hearing, but she wasn’t on any sort of beat.
C) With a ratio of 75% comb-overs on the kids at the show, it was funny to watch the bands finish playing each song and then see 300 kids swing their head in unison to put their hair back on the right parted line and then run their fingers across their brows to keep it out of their eyes. You stupid followers… (sorry, just my little rant)
Top 5 things about the show:
1. Annotations Of An Autopsy
2. All of the bass players were really good and not filler
3. All of the bands seemed to enjoy themselves and the crowd
4. Trashy people watching enjoyment
5. I was home before 10pm – All ages shows rule!
Bottom 5 things
1. Sound guy – please put both guitars in BOTH main speakers so the people on the left can hear the whole band. Really bad form.
2. Hate Eternal cancelled
3. Comb-over kids
4. Coach and/or Jim weren’t able to go with me
5. I missed out on a guy selling a cheap ticket out front because he looked shady – I shouldn’t have judged (everyone looks shady at these shows)
Station 4
Annotations Of An Autopsy
Animosity
All Shall Perish
Job For A Cowboy
The first band, Annotations Of An Autopsy, is from England. These guys can play. They’re very technical with some pig squeal vocals and low growls (like most of the bands). They had fun on stage and seemed genuinely surprised at the crowd being so into them. They attempted a wall of death, but didn’t tell everyone when to go, so it flopped. If you don’t know what a wall of death is, look at youtube. These guys should have played later. I liked them a lot.
Animosity played second and I really love these guys. Their newer stuff is a little more chaotic, but I saw them play in Davenport, Iowa, a couple of years ago, and they were incredible. Great musicians with lots of fun grooves and quick changes. The vocalist always seems to have fun as well. Moves around a lot and gets a little crazy. Great stuff.
All Shall Perish played third. I can’t get enough of these guys. They are amazing musicians and they aren’t afraid to show it and then break it down real heavy like. They had some dueling guitar solos (something I haven’t seen in a long time), and it wasn’t really that cheesy. They also were borrowing the guitarist from Sleep Terror, which is a huge feat, especially since he wasn’t playing lead – the guy is still amazing. The singer is a great frontman and they all seemed to have fun on stage, which is always nice.
Job for a cowboy, I can take or leave. I like them just fine. They’re great musicians and are pretty technical. Their stage present isn’t great, but it would be great for a top-notch supporting act. They’re headlining since they’re a draw, but if you went in order of talent and musicianship, I’m not sure they would be the headliner. They’ve got some good break down type parts, but mostly they’re fast and noodle-y.
Some things I saw at the show that cracked me up:
A) Some trashy whore-y girl wearing almost nothing. Normally fine, except she had a serious case of poison ivy on her upper body or some other unidentified rash. Girl, I appreciate your dedication to the metal show whore uniform, but hang it up until you get some salve or something.
B) During Job for a Cowboy, there was a different trashy whore dancing like a stripper to their music (and sound check). She was running her fingers through her hair and down her body all slutty. But if you know JFAC’s music, you know they don’t play the same speed or riff longer than 2 seconds, so I’m not sure what she was hearing, but she wasn’t on any sort of beat.
C) With a ratio of 75% comb-overs on the kids at the show, it was funny to watch the bands finish playing each song and then see 300 kids swing their head in unison to put their hair back on the right parted line and then run their fingers across their brows to keep it out of their eyes. You stupid followers… (sorry, just my little rant)
Top 5 things about the show:
1. Annotations Of An Autopsy
2. All of the bass players were really good and not filler
3. All of the bands seemed to enjoy themselves and the crowd
4. Trashy people watching enjoyment
5. I was home before 10pm – All ages shows rule!
Bottom 5 things
1. Sound guy – please put both guitars in BOTH main speakers so the people on the left can hear the whole band. Really bad form.
2. Hate Eternal cancelled
3. Comb-over kids
4. Coach and/or Jim weren’t able to go with me
5. I missed out on a guy selling a cheap ticket out front because he looked shady – I shouldn’t have judged (everyone looks shady at these shows)
Station 4
Annotations Of An Autopsy
Animosity
All Shall Perish
Job For A Cowboy
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Doolittles Woodfire Grill – Golden Valley, MN
Gerd and I had a hankerin for some quality wood-fired food. We have been to the Eagan Doolittles with some friends but we wanted something a little closer to home. We chose the Golden Valley location. The environment is quite a bit different than the Eagan location. More loud, more cramped, but on the upside, the clientele were much better looking for some reason. Not sure why I noticed, but I did. Probably can’t count on a restaurant for that anyway, but whatever. Duly noted.
Gerd needed an appetizer so she ordered the Seared Ahi Tuna – a special for the evening. Sliced and seared (so I guess not raw, though it was red) pieces of tuna steak on won ton skins with guacamole and apple slivers. I had two of the EIGHT they brought out and they were pretty good. I’m not a seafood guy, but these might change my mind. They were good. And there were a lot of them. They also had Mt. Dew – SCORE!
Gerd got the maple honey crusted salmon (apparently, she was feeling the seafood), and I got the ribs and chicken combo. Her salmon really made her night, she was thrilled. However, the mashed potatoes it came with were really bland. They looked awesome, but tasted kind of sad. There was a big pool of butter in the middle, so I had high hopes, but was let down. Could have been garlicy or salt n peppa’d or soemthing. On the other other hand, the vegetable salad that came with it (squash, carrots, zucchini strips) was incredible. I ate most of it, in fact. Whoops!
Two times I’ve been to Doolittles and never once had I gotten anything wood fired – tonight was the night! The chicken was some of the best roasted chicken I’ve ever had, even despite the aforementioned aversion to high-labor foods. It was really good flavor and texture wise. I still had to work to get all the meat off, but it was worth it. The ribs were deceptive, I started with an end piece and there wasn’t much meat on it and the top was kind of burned. I was bummed. However, the next 6 ribs I got were incredible. Super thick BBQ sauce that wasn’t too smoky, but was perfectly sweet and tangy. Plenty of meat on these babies. While they didn’t fall off the bones, they were worth fighting for the meat. The fries were better than average as well, so no complaints at all. I was a winner all around!
I have never gotten anything bad here (with the exception of the mashed potatoes this night). Their salads are super good (we’d recommend the asian chicken salad and the spinach and bacon and also the Caesar salad), their burgers and sandwiches are good, and anything cooked on the woodfire grill or rotiserrie is good. They have a selection of foods from around the world, but I haven’t even tried those. I know Coach gets mad at me when I order food other than what the restaurant is known for (ie, chicken at Beef-A-Roo, or salad at a steak place).
Just go here. It’s really good.
Top 5 things about Doolittles
1. Ribs
2. Chicken
3. Seared Ahi Tuna appetizers
4. Vegetable salad/medley thingy
5. Hot ladies / Mt. Dew (equally happy whenever a restaurant has these… ha ha ha)
Bottom 5 things
1. Mashed potatoes
2. Waiter seemed disinterested in us (even though I had a hot lady with me)
3. Gerd’s drink kept running out
4. Men’s bathroom – door opened the wrong way so you could watch people, and the sink was broken
5. Really loud and cramped in the Golden Valley location
http://www.doolittlesaircafe.com
Gerd needed an appetizer so she ordered the Seared Ahi Tuna – a special for the evening. Sliced and seared (so I guess not raw, though it was red) pieces of tuna steak on won ton skins with guacamole and apple slivers. I had two of the EIGHT they brought out and they were pretty good. I’m not a seafood guy, but these might change my mind. They were good. And there were a lot of them. They also had Mt. Dew – SCORE!
Gerd got the maple honey crusted salmon (apparently, she was feeling the seafood), and I got the ribs and chicken combo. Her salmon really made her night, she was thrilled. However, the mashed potatoes it came with were really bland. They looked awesome, but tasted kind of sad. There was a big pool of butter in the middle, so I had high hopes, but was let down. Could have been garlicy or salt n peppa’d or soemthing. On the other other hand, the vegetable salad that came with it (squash, carrots, zucchini strips) was incredible. I ate most of it, in fact. Whoops!
Two times I’ve been to Doolittles and never once had I gotten anything wood fired – tonight was the night! The chicken was some of the best roasted chicken I’ve ever had, even despite the aforementioned aversion to high-labor foods. It was really good flavor and texture wise. I still had to work to get all the meat off, but it was worth it. The ribs were deceptive, I started with an end piece and there wasn’t much meat on it and the top was kind of burned. I was bummed. However, the next 6 ribs I got were incredible. Super thick BBQ sauce that wasn’t too smoky, but was perfectly sweet and tangy. Plenty of meat on these babies. While they didn’t fall off the bones, they were worth fighting for the meat. The fries were better than average as well, so no complaints at all. I was a winner all around!
I have never gotten anything bad here (with the exception of the mashed potatoes this night). Their salads are super good (we’d recommend the asian chicken salad and the spinach and bacon and also the Caesar salad), their burgers and sandwiches are good, and anything cooked on the woodfire grill or rotiserrie is good. They have a selection of foods from around the world, but I haven’t even tried those. I know Coach gets mad at me when I order food other than what the restaurant is known for (ie, chicken at Beef-A-Roo, or salad at a steak place).
Just go here. It’s really good.
Top 5 things about Doolittles
1. Ribs
2. Chicken
3. Seared Ahi Tuna appetizers
4. Vegetable salad/medley thingy
5. Hot ladies / Mt. Dew (equally happy whenever a restaurant has these… ha ha ha)
Bottom 5 things
1. Mashed potatoes
2. Waiter seemed disinterested in us (even though I had a hot lady with me)
3. Gerd’s drink kept running out
4. Men’s bathroom – door opened the wrong way so you could watch people, and the sink was broken
5. Really loud and cramped in the Golden Valley location
http://www.doolittlesaircafe.com
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Surdyk’s Scotch Tasting Class – Minneapolis, MN
This event was actually held at Elsie’s Banquet Room down the street from Surdyk’s, but Surdyk’s was running the thing. I ended up going solo as one of my high school chums bailed on me (legitimate reason, truly). There was a bit of trouble finding the place due to some heavy construction near there, but I found it nonetheless. I also had Gerd drop me off because I intended to not be in any condition to drive after the event. (Well played, in retrospect…)
I joined a table full of guys my age who didn’t look too doosh-y. Two were kind of the intelligent poet types, and the other two were the college 5 o'clock shadow kind of guys. I didn’t butt in on any of their conversations, but they included me a couple of times. Nice guys actually.
The instructor’s assistant filled everyone’s glass with scotch and then the class got started. I learned all about the history, legal terms, distilling, bottling, and regions related to scotch. And with a different sample of scotch every 15 minutes or so, it went very smoothly. Now when I say sample, I mean two small glasses of scotch (multiply by 7, and you get 14 – actually, what you do is lose count). Sure you can dump remainders into the bucket in the middle of your table, but why waste good scotch when you’ve got a designated driver?
There were two glasses for each person. A smaller wine glass and also a highball glass. The instructor said you get different flavors and different aromas from the different glass styles. Additionally, you get a different aroma by smelling the bottom rim of the glass than you do smelling the top rim of the glass. Prior to this, I would have called Bull-jive. But after testing this theory, he was 100% right. See, I learned something. 4 TOTALLY different smells. Freakshow science, I tell you.
There were also table settings with three kinds of fancy cheese on them (all sold at Surdyk’s) and small pieces of bread and nuts and such. To sort of cleanse your palette or soak up alcohol in your guts.
I learned a ton of other things which were super cool, and I got to try out some Scotches I wouldn’t have wanted to gamble a purchase on (since it’s not cheap). The guy giving the class was REALLY knowledgeable and pretty funny. I don’t know that we’d hang out or anything, but he was a great instructor.
In order of liking on my part (purely opinion – I’m sure this will make SOMEONE mad)
1. Speyside 12yr Single Malt
2. Bruichladdich 12yr Single Malt
3. Islay Mist Blended
4. Springbank 10yr Single (not to be confused with SpringBreak)
5. Dewars Blended
6. Glen Salen Blended Malt
7. Laphroaig 10yr Single (tasted like a cup of dirt – two cups of dirt actually, heh heh)
If you get a chance to do any sort of tasting or class event with Surdyk’s, I’d recommend it highly. They have a class act operation. I was hoping they’d have some sort of announcement about a scotch sale, but they didn’t. They did offer 10% off retail price if you bought scotch that night though. I didn’t. Though, I do need to stock up. I’m running dangerously low on scotch right now.
Top 5 things about the scotch class
1. Really good way to learn to appreciate scotch
2. Speyside might need a visit from Chao
3. Awesome Cheese – especially the Aged Gouda from Amsterdam
4. Great mix of history, present, operations, and tasting
5. Classy banquet facility, despite being in a bowling alley (my family loves bowling alleys, don’t ask)
Bottom 5 things
1. Laphroaig is VERY peat-y
2. Made me want to drop a few hundred on alcohol
3. Made me want to drop a few thousand on a trip to Scotland
4. I was a loner
5. Finding the place
http://www.surdyks.com
http://www.elsies.com
I joined a table full of guys my age who didn’t look too doosh-y. Two were kind of the intelligent poet types, and the other two were the college 5 o'clock shadow kind of guys. I didn’t butt in on any of their conversations, but they included me a couple of times. Nice guys actually.
The instructor’s assistant filled everyone’s glass with scotch and then the class got started. I learned all about the history, legal terms, distilling, bottling, and regions related to scotch. And with a different sample of scotch every 15 minutes or so, it went very smoothly. Now when I say sample, I mean two small glasses of scotch (multiply by 7, and you get 14 – actually, what you do is lose count). Sure you can dump remainders into the bucket in the middle of your table, but why waste good scotch when you’ve got a designated driver?
There were two glasses for each person. A smaller wine glass and also a highball glass. The instructor said you get different flavors and different aromas from the different glass styles. Additionally, you get a different aroma by smelling the bottom rim of the glass than you do smelling the top rim of the glass. Prior to this, I would have called Bull-jive. But after testing this theory, he was 100% right. See, I learned something. 4 TOTALLY different smells. Freakshow science, I tell you.
There were also table settings with three kinds of fancy cheese on them (all sold at Surdyk’s) and small pieces of bread and nuts and such. To sort of cleanse your palette or soak up alcohol in your guts.
I learned a ton of other things which were super cool, and I got to try out some Scotches I wouldn’t have wanted to gamble a purchase on (since it’s not cheap). The guy giving the class was REALLY knowledgeable and pretty funny. I don’t know that we’d hang out or anything, but he was a great instructor.
In order of liking on my part (purely opinion – I’m sure this will make SOMEONE mad)
1. Speyside 12yr Single Malt
2. Bruichladdich 12yr Single Malt
3. Islay Mist Blended
4. Springbank 10yr Single (not to be confused with SpringBreak)
5. Dewars Blended
6. Glen Salen Blended Malt
7. Laphroaig 10yr Single (tasted like a cup of dirt – two cups of dirt actually, heh heh)
If you get a chance to do any sort of tasting or class event with Surdyk’s, I’d recommend it highly. They have a class act operation. I was hoping they’d have some sort of announcement about a scotch sale, but they didn’t. They did offer 10% off retail price if you bought scotch that night though. I didn’t. Though, I do need to stock up. I’m running dangerously low on scotch right now.
Top 5 things about the scotch class
1. Really good way to learn to appreciate scotch
2. Speyside might need a visit from Chao
3. Awesome Cheese – especially the Aged Gouda from Amsterdam
4. Great mix of history, present, operations, and tasting
5. Classy banquet facility, despite being in a bowling alley (my family loves bowling alleys, don’t ask)
Bottom 5 things
1. Laphroaig is VERY peat-y
2. Made me want to drop a few hundred on alcohol
3. Made me want to drop a few thousand on a trip to Scotland
4. I was a loner
5. Finding the place
http://www.surdyks.com
http://www.elsies.com
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Bar Lurcat - Minneapolis, MN
Last night, Chao and I decided to go out to dinner to celebrate our acceptance into MBA programs. We decided to hit up Bar Lurcat as we are slowly working our way through the best burgers in Minnesota list and hadn't been there yet. I have eaten at the other location of this restaurant in Naples, FL, and thought it was extremely good.
We arrived and sat in the bar as Cafe Lurcat is a classy place and we weren't looking for something fancy - just burgers. The bar was super nice with plenty of couches and comfy chairs as well as the bar and some tables. We ordered drinks. Mine was a Blackberry Tea which consisted of blackberry puree, iced tea, and way too much alcohol. I couldn't finish it as I am a wimp when it comes to alcohol. Chao had something that surprisingly didn't look very girly but I can't remember what. We ordered a Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato with Blue Cheese and Buttermilk Dressing salad, Thai Meat Balls, and Lurcat Burgers. The salad was good but had a LOT of blue cheese. I could handle it but Chao was uneasy about it. We both loved the Thai Meat Balls. What kind of meat was in the Thai Meat Balls? NO idea. And I am okay with that. There were 5 small meat balls served with some type of a cucumber dipping sauce that was fabulous.
Now for the burgers. I thought the burgers were phenomenal. An order comes with two mini burgers on a bun. No lettuce, no tomato, no pickle, no ketchup, no condiments of any kind. But, would Coach eat them? No. Apparently they use a red wine shallot butter in the burgers as well as on the bun. I found the recipe here. Seriously these burgers melted in my mouth. Not as much as The Village Tavern chicken strips with secret finger mustard (the best chicken strips of all time - SHOUT OUT!) but close. Chao of course thought they were just a burger. This is his normal response to the burgers we have tried from the list.
Bar Lurcat and Cafe Lurcat are nice places but probably will only be reserved for special events as far as future visits go. Although, there was this random woman walking around in a full snowsuit which seemed kind of strange so maybe it isn't as exclusive as I thought. I HIGHLY recommend the burgers and the french fries. Yes, its true I didn't eat the french fries, but I had fry envy of other people's food. They are served in a bucket.
Top 5:
1. Burgers ruled.
2. Fancy atmosphere.
3. The bathrooms were so cool I called Chao from the bathroom hallway to have him look not caring how weird that might've looked to others.
4. No one thought Chao was a girl (been awhile).
5. The fries come in a bucket.
Bottom 5:
1. Drinks were too strong.
2. Their small plates are REALLY small.
3. Expensive and no happy hour specials as far as I could tell.
4. Could be difficult to find parking when busy.
5. As Trash said, could be pretentious.
http://www.cafelurcat.com/
We arrived and sat in the bar as Cafe Lurcat is a classy place and we weren't looking for something fancy - just burgers. The bar was super nice with plenty of couches and comfy chairs as well as the bar and some tables. We ordered drinks. Mine was a Blackberry Tea which consisted of blackberry puree, iced tea, and way too much alcohol. I couldn't finish it as I am a wimp when it comes to alcohol. Chao had something that surprisingly didn't look very girly but I can't remember what. We ordered a Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato with Blue Cheese and Buttermilk Dressing salad, Thai Meat Balls, and Lurcat Burgers. The salad was good but had a LOT of blue cheese. I could handle it but Chao was uneasy about it. We both loved the Thai Meat Balls. What kind of meat was in the Thai Meat Balls? NO idea. And I am okay with that. There were 5 small meat balls served with some type of a cucumber dipping sauce that was fabulous.
Now for the burgers. I thought the burgers were phenomenal. An order comes with two mini burgers on a bun. No lettuce, no tomato, no pickle, no ketchup, no condiments of any kind. But, would Coach eat them? No. Apparently they use a red wine shallot butter in the burgers as well as on the bun. I found the recipe here. Seriously these burgers melted in my mouth. Not as much as The Village Tavern chicken strips with secret finger mustard (the best chicken strips of all time - SHOUT OUT!) but close. Chao of course thought they were just a burger. This is his normal response to the burgers we have tried from the list.
Bar Lurcat and Cafe Lurcat are nice places but probably will only be reserved for special events as far as future visits go. Although, there was this random woman walking around in a full snowsuit which seemed kind of strange so maybe it isn't as exclusive as I thought. I HIGHLY recommend the burgers and the french fries. Yes, its true I didn't eat the french fries, but I had fry envy of other people's food. They are served in a bucket.
Top 5:
1. Burgers ruled.
2. Fancy atmosphere.
3. The bathrooms were so cool I called Chao from the bathroom hallway to have him look not caring how weird that might've looked to others.
4. No one thought Chao was a girl (been awhile).
5. The fries come in a bucket.
Bottom 5:
1. Drinks were too strong.
2. Their small plates are REALLY small.
3. Expensive and no happy hour specials as far as I could tell.
4. Could be difficult to find parking when busy.
5. As Trash said, could be pretentious.
http://www.cafelurcat.com/
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Don Pablo’s – Eden Prairie, MN
I went here once before when I started my new job. It was decent Mexican food. So when Gerd had the day off of work and I didn’t, we decided to go there since it was pretty fast for a lunch place. This proved to be not the best choice ever. Plus this place is a challenge to get to - you can drive past it multiple times, but never find the entrance.
Again, the food was palatable, but truly, not the best effort at Mexican food – but par for the course for the Minneapolis area. After the waitress called me a girl (See, I told you this happens all the time), we ordered one of the lunch specials, which includes a drink, a salad or soup, and a smaller entrée.
To be honest, the chips are pretty good at Don Pablo’s. Not stellar, but they were one of the highlights. The salsa is pretty standard, but better than a lot of places in Minneapolis, so I won’t complain about it. The salad was pretty good according to Gerd, so go Don P. for that. And I honestly liked the Tortilla Soup. It was waaay better than most tortilla soup I’ve had before. Again, not the best, but I’d get it again, for sure.
Gerd got two beef enchiladas with a chili sauce. They were pretty plain and non-special. The rice on the plate was the most gringo-infused rice ever. But apparently, that’s how the Twin Cities does it as we’ve seen it a lot in this area. It’s super basic and not even Kansas-ian, let alone close to the border. I got one of the beef enchiladas and one chicken one. The chicken ones were better than the beef ones, but that was all pretty relative.
This is a place I’d take someone who hates Mexican food. Finicky eaters could eat here since these foods are whiter than your mom used to make on Thursday nights when you were a kid. This place won’t ever be my favorite Mexican food, but I’ll eat here if someone asks me to. I wonder if I should maybe get the nachos next time or try a couple of margaritas before eating.
Top 5 things about Don Pablo’s
1. Tortilla Soup
2. Chips
3. Decent lunch menu combo meal deal for cheap
4. Able to get in and out of there on a lunch hour
5. The décor is actually kind of cool for a gringo Mexican restaurant
Bottom 5 things
1. Plain flavored enchiladas
2. Plain salsa
3. Plain rice was rubbery
4. Only have enchiladas on the lunch menu (mostly)
5. TWO waitresses called me a girl
www.donpablos.com
Again, the food was palatable, but truly, not the best effort at Mexican food – but par for the course for the Minneapolis area. After the waitress called me a girl (See, I told you this happens all the time), we ordered one of the lunch specials, which includes a drink, a salad or soup, and a smaller entrée.
To be honest, the chips are pretty good at Don Pablo’s. Not stellar, but they were one of the highlights. The salsa is pretty standard, but better than a lot of places in Minneapolis, so I won’t complain about it. The salad was pretty good according to Gerd, so go Don P. for that. And I honestly liked the Tortilla Soup. It was waaay better than most tortilla soup I’ve had before. Again, not the best, but I’d get it again, for sure.
Gerd got two beef enchiladas with a chili sauce. They were pretty plain and non-special. The rice on the plate was the most gringo-infused rice ever. But apparently, that’s how the Twin Cities does it as we’ve seen it a lot in this area. It’s super basic and not even Kansas-ian, let alone close to the border. I got one of the beef enchiladas and one chicken one. The chicken ones were better than the beef ones, but that was all pretty relative.
This is a place I’d take someone who hates Mexican food. Finicky eaters could eat here since these foods are whiter than your mom used to make on Thursday nights when you were a kid. This place won’t ever be my favorite Mexican food, but I’ll eat here if someone asks me to. I wonder if I should maybe get the nachos next time or try a couple of margaritas before eating.
Top 5 things about Don Pablo’s
1. Tortilla Soup
2. Chips
3. Decent lunch menu combo meal deal for cheap
4. Able to get in and out of there on a lunch hour
5. The décor is actually kind of cool for a gringo Mexican restaurant
Bottom 5 things
1. Plain flavored enchiladas
2. Plain salsa
3. Plain rice was rubbery
4. Only have enchiladas on the lunch menu (mostly)
5. TWO waitresses called me a girl
www.donpablos.com
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Gameworks – Minneapolis, MN
I’m embarrassed I’ve never to bee to a place like this as an adult. I’ve been to Chuck E. Cheese, Showbiz, Razzmatazz, and Tex Critters, but never Gameworks or Dave & Busters. So it was time to go I guess.
We grabbed a bite to eat in the restaurant to make an evening of it. Curt, our host was an awesome guy and Corey, our waiter was awesome as well. Both super helpful and not pushy. Corey hooked us up with an appetizer sampler which had Thai rolls, chicken strips, cheese sticks, and Tater skins on it. All were good, though Gerd wasn’t a fan of the Thai rolls. I liked em fine for cracker Thai. My standards are low though.
Gerd had a Caesar salad for her meal since the app was pretty big. I got a half slab of ribs. They weren’t great ribs, but they were passable. Better then Appleby’s or Chili’s though. But the best part is the availability of Mt. Dew there – awwww yeah.
We finished and went upstairs for some bowling. I performed miserably in all honesty. We played four games next to a bachelorette party of trixies. It was a pretty eclectic crowd overall. After 10pm, they throw out all the kids under 21, so it clears out momentarily. Then the club people show up to play games and drink.
We finished up bowling and hit the bar for a quick sit-down before playing more video games. They have some pretty good girly drinks, honestly. All kinds of stuff with ice cream in it, which ruled. Though our bartender, She-ra (yes that was her name) thought I was a girl when she strolled up. ha ha. Gerd and I shot some hoops (and I won) and we played some Arctic Thunder (which is one of Gerd’s all-time favorite games). She schooled me on that game, but I came back to tie it up with a round of something-or-other car racing. We played some House of the Dead 4 and Hydro Thunder (the aquatic version of Artic Thunder). And we played enough skiball to win tickets for some Mike and Ikes (Coach’s favorite).
We left feeling like 14 year olds, and will probably be back. I’d like to hit up Dave & Buster’s to see the difference, so I’ll let you know how that is.
Top 5 things about Gameworks
1. Bowling with black lights
2. Girly drinks
3. Arctic thunder
4. Bachelorette party
5. The card system for paying for games rules
Bottom 5 things
1. Juggalos
2. Gerd got upset because the basketball game took her money but wouldn’t let her play
3. Far too many Golden Tee games
4. I’m terrible at video games
5. The place can get packed on a weekend night
http://www.gameworks.com/locations/minneapolis.php
We grabbed a bite to eat in the restaurant to make an evening of it. Curt, our host was an awesome guy and Corey, our waiter was awesome as well. Both super helpful and not pushy. Corey hooked us up with an appetizer sampler which had Thai rolls, chicken strips, cheese sticks, and Tater skins on it. All were good, though Gerd wasn’t a fan of the Thai rolls. I liked em fine for cracker Thai. My standards are low though.
Gerd had a Caesar salad for her meal since the app was pretty big. I got a half slab of ribs. They weren’t great ribs, but they were passable. Better then Appleby’s or Chili’s though. But the best part is the availability of Mt. Dew there – awwww yeah.
We finished and went upstairs for some bowling. I performed miserably in all honesty. We played four games next to a bachelorette party of trixies. It was a pretty eclectic crowd overall. After 10pm, they throw out all the kids under 21, so it clears out momentarily. Then the club people show up to play games and drink.
We finished up bowling and hit the bar for a quick sit-down before playing more video games. They have some pretty good girly drinks, honestly. All kinds of stuff with ice cream in it, which ruled. Though our bartender, She-ra (yes that was her name) thought I was a girl when she strolled up. ha ha. Gerd and I shot some hoops (and I won) and we played some Arctic Thunder (which is one of Gerd’s all-time favorite games). She schooled me on that game, but I came back to tie it up with a round of something-or-other car racing. We played some House of the Dead 4 and Hydro Thunder (the aquatic version of Artic Thunder). And we played enough skiball to win tickets for some Mike and Ikes (Coach’s favorite).
We left feeling like 14 year olds, and will probably be back. I’d like to hit up Dave & Buster’s to see the difference, so I’ll let you know how that is.
Top 5 things about Gameworks
1. Bowling with black lights
2. Girly drinks
3. Arctic thunder
4. Bachelorette party
5. The card system for paying for games rules
Bottom 5 things
1. Juggalos
2. Gerd got upset because the basketball game took her money but wouldn’t let her play
3. Far too many Golden Tee games
4. I’m terrible at video games
5. The place can get packed on a weekend night
http://www.gameworks.com/locations/minneapolis.php
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