Flagsmash tacos at La Dona Cerveceria & Royal Foundry Craft Spirits

The building at 241 Fremont Ave N has tuned into quite a fun adult oasis with both La Dona Cerveceria and Royal Foundry Craft Spirits in the same building. Flagsmash tacos has taken up residence inside  la Dona serving tacos most weekends this winter to complete the trilogy.

A few food items form Flagsmash tacos are below from our recent visit. Too bad I forgot to take photos of the La Dona beers.

steak quesadilla

chips and salsa

one steak taco

Then we went next door to Royal Foundry Craft Spirits to try some cocktails. The room is very large, open and industrial with one wall covered in subway tile behind the bar.  They had some sort of a bowling game and a badminton net set up in a back room.

What's the Dill and Basiloon Collins

Party Thyme

smoked Virginian Professor

I was even brave and my second drink was a gin based cocktail. It was very smooth and I usually do not like gin, but this was very smooth with no pine flavor. We were given a sample of the straight gin to sample also.

All of the drinks were fantastic and the service was great also. Unfortunately, on our visit they only had gin and vodka available, with rum available very soon and whiskey a few weeks later. So we will need to go back to try those spirits again soon.


Flagsmash tacos at La Dona brewing 
241 Fremont Ave N
Minneapolis, MN 55405
Phone: (612) 315-4613
https://dameladona.com

Royal Foundry Craft Spirits
241 Fremont Ave N
Minneapolis, MN 55405
Phone: (612) 208-1042
https://royalfoundrycraftspirits.com

The Lowbrow

We’ve been meaning to visit the Lowbrow for brunch and haven’t made it yet. We did make it for a late lunch recently. It wasn’t busy so we were seated very quickly.

John had a burger that was their burger of the month. He doesn’t remember what was on it, but said it was a very good burger. The fries appeared to be house made and were very good also.

I had the panko breaded wild-caught Alaskan cod tacos served on corn tortillas topped with cabbage, radishes, pickled jalapeños and spicy sour cream. It came with chips and salsa on the side. The fish was plentiful and lightly breaded. The jalapenos and sauce added a bit of kick.

The food and service were both great. This is a nice neighborhood spot with lots of variety on the menu for both food and beverages. There are even a couple TVs by the bar for the people in your life that can’t miss sporting events on TV.  I’m sure we will be back soon for brunch too.



The Lowbrow
4244 Nicollet Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55409
Phone: (612) 208-0720
http://thelowbrowmpls.com

Lucky Cricket

Another revisit for us. Lucky Cricket at the Shops at West End. Sorry for another rerun, but I think this place will take awhile to warm up to for us and everyone else.  I want to like it. I really do. But I'm just more sure. We decided to give it another try because it is close by and convenient.

We started with the pork dumplings. I'd call these solid. We both liked this dish.  

We also had the chicken wings. The sauce was soy based and the wings were nice cooked. These were also solid.

 Next, we had the Peking chicken. the chicken was juicy and cooked perfectly. 

And last, was the kung pao shrimp. the shrimp were so tiny and sad. The sauce had a good garlic flavor, but I just could not get past the sad, sad shrimp. I would not order this again. Not worth the $17 price tag.

The service was a bit on the slow side. We had to ask for plates on two different occasions. They were happy to clear things, but very slow to reset the table. We found ourselves waiting for drinks for one time and also for the check.

Overall, I think this visit was a bit better than our first visit, but it certainly was not great. I'm still not sure anyone really knows what this place is supposed to be. If it is an Asian restaurant, the food needs more work. If it is a tiki bar, the drinks need some work. Maybe it will continue to improve the longer it is open. We can hope anyway.

Link to our first Lucky Cricket visit:
http://whereshouldwegomsp.blogspot.com/2018/12/lucky-cricket.html



Lucky Cricket
1607 West End Blvd
St Louis Park, MN 55416
Phone: (952) 206-6830
https://luckycricket.net/

Bellecour

John and I visited Bellecour recently. He had not been yet and I was more than willing to go back. I'd managed to get a reservation just the day before. Must have been a cancellation or something. It's worth keeping an eye on openings even if they are booked.

I don't have much to add since the last visit, but I wanted to share the photos of the food so we can remember what we ordered.

 seasonal sidecar and winter cup cocktails

 shrimp cocktail

 endive salad

 We both had the hanger steak.

 hanger steak and béarnaise 

My coat check ticket to hold the leftovers until it was time to go. That's a new one!

hazelnut profiteroles 

The service was excellent once more and the food was very enjoyable as well. I'd like to return for brunch sometime. The menu looks wonderful.

Here's a link to my first visit to Bellecour:
http://whereshouldwegomsp.blogspot.com/2017/09/bellecour.html


Bellecour
739 Lake St E
Wayzata, MN 55391
Phone: (952) 444-5200
https://bellecourrestaurant.com/