Bacio

Our first restaurant visit after COVID closures was to Bacio in Minnetonka. I thought I had done a previous post on Bacio, but I guess not. Anyway, reservations were required so we made a bunch once things started to open up in June. (Yes, I am super far behind on posting! oopsie!) 

ah, the glorious bread basket! How I have missed these small details. No one brings you a basket of warm bread at home. (We did not get into making bread during quarantine....)  

We started with the ahi tuna crisps. Because we missed fresh fish. These were topped with avocado, sesame and soy sauce. Fresh and delicious!  

I had some sort of ravioli. It was topped with asparagus and tomato with additional asparagus inside I think. Freshly made pasta is a wonder when you have not had it in ages!  

John had the shrimp scampi with freshly made fettuccini and garlic, capers, lemon, cream, herbs and tomato. 

The food and service were both excellent. We dined on the patio and all servers were masked and tables distanced, so we felt quite safe. We've found the 90 minute reservation time to be more than enough time at most restaurants, so that is never an issue for us. Perhaps this is something that should be kept going forward to reduce loitering, even after restrictions are eased? 

Bacio
1571 Plymouth Rd
Minnetonka, MN 55305
Phone: (952) 544-7000
http://www.baciomn.com

Caio Bella

John had received a Ciao Bella gift card from his team  at work for the holidays, so we recently went for dinner. We made a reservation in advance, I am not sure it was necessary, this is a very large restaurant, but we did not have to wait for a table this way, even though it was not crowded when we arrived.

John had never been to Ciao Bella and I had not been for many years, probably since I worked in Bloomington, so it took us awhile to decide on our selections from the large menu.

John had the cacao e pepe, the grilled shrimp with pecorino, cracked peppercorn and parmigiana reggiano served over spaghetti. There were six large shrimp over the spaghetti and it was a large portion.

I had the short rib and roasted tomato ravioli with caramelized onion and thyme. The ravioli were stuffed with the short rib meat and were cooked perfectly. The tomato and onion were served on top and added a lot of savory flavor to the dish.

The service was very good and we both enjoyed all of our food a lot. For some reason we usually do not crave Italian food, but whenever we have it, it is very good and we enjoy it a lot, when it is done well, so we should give it a try more frequently.


Ciao Bella
3501 Minnesota Dr
Minneapolis, MN 55435
Phone: (952) 841-1000
http://ciaobellamn.com/

Spasso

I visited Spasso recently with a couple friends. It has been open for quite awhile now, but it is one of those places just off the radar for me. Kelly suggested we check it out as she liked the $3 wines available during happy hour.

I had the butternut squash ravioli. The portion did not look that large, but it was more than I could finish. The pasta was very good and cooked perfectly.

Michele had the penne bolognese, a red meat sauce with cream and Parmesan. The portion was very large and she had a lot left over to take home.

Kelly had the grilled salmon burger with a Caesar side salad. She visits frequently with her family and said she gets this all the time.

Our server was great and we enjoyed the food and wine a lot. There is a wine shop attached that is owned by the restaurant and we found our server to be very knowledgeable as well. The menu has a wide variety and there is certainly something for everyone from pizzas to pastas to burgers and steaks.

Deals & discounts: Happy hour is served Sun-Thu 3-6 & 8-close and Fri-Sat 3-6 & 9-close. They offer one red and one white wine for the $3 happy hour as well as rail drinks for $3 and domestic taps for $3-4. A variety of food options are available starting at $3 as well.


Spasso Restaurant
17523 Minnetonka Boulevard
Minnetonka, MN 55345
(952) 224-9555
http://www.spassomn.com/

Tucci Benuch

We went to Tucci Benuch at the Mall of American recently as I had a couple Lettuce Entertain You diner club awards to use. I have not eaten at Tucci Benuch for many years and John had never been.

We were seated right away in the patio-like area in the front near the bar and it took a few minutes for a server to come by to greet us. The service after that was fine though. It was a good spot to sit and people watch at least.

Tucci’s famous ruby punch was recommended by the server and it was a delicious, sweet and fruity drink. It contained strawberrycello, blood orange, pomegranate and passion according to the menu.

John had the margarita pizza. The pizza is more of a flatbread, rather than a traditional pizza, with a very thin cracker crust. John was not crazy about the cracker crust, so he was disappointed in the pizza.

I had the chicken Parmesan. The chicken was actually quite good and the breading was very light, which I liked. I’m not sure I liked the marinara that much, it did not taste very fresh, it tasted canned.

Overall, out of all of the Lettuce Entertain You chain of restaurants in the Twin Cities, I think Tucci Benuch was our least favorite. Everything was ok, but nothing was outstanding or worth returning for.


Tucci Benuch
Mall of America
114 West Market
Bloomington, MN 55425
(952) 853-0200
http://www.tucci-benucch.com/

Butcher Block

Sometimes it takes a great deal, discount or coupon to get us into a restaurant we have never been to before. I had heard a lot about Butcher Block when it opened a few years ago, but nothing ever motivated us to try it, until I saw a Crowd Cut deal awhile ago. We made reservations for a Friday night, though I'm not sure they were necessary. Upon arrival, it was pretty quiet, though it did fill up before we left.

The storefront is very small, so you have to watch for it a bit, but once inside, you go down a hallway and the room opens up to a pleasant, open, brick lined room. We started off with a couple of drinks and some bread. We skipped salads or an appetizer and decided to see how full we were after our entrees and maybe order dessert.

I had the fettuccine with chicken and artichoke hearts. It was a very basic dish, but a very good one. The pasta was cooked perfectly and so was the chicken. The artichoke hearts added a nice tart bite to the dish. It was very delicious and I would order this again.    

Sorry for the bad photo. I need to slow down and take more time with the pictures! John had the rigatoni alla norcina, which is house ground pork sausage and truffle cream. The pasta was al dente, perfectly cooked, sausage was flavorful, but not spicy. Very, very good.

We decided to try the creme brulee for dessert. It was very tasty, with the crisp top you'd expect and a rich, creamy, custard below. I liked the cute butcher knife outline on top too!
We both enjoyed Butch Block a lot and plan to return again. I think we were pleasantly surprised. Sometimes, places offering discount certificates are a bit hit or miss. This was definitely a hit. There were a few other items on the menu we'd like to try next time. The food was great, the service was great, prices were affordable and we had a wonderful night out.

Deals & Discounts: As I mentioned before, I bought a Crowd Cut certificate awhile back for this restaurant. It was a $40 certificate for $20 and it was good on food and beverages. I must admit, in this case, the discount certificate really pulled me in and made us try a place I normally would not have visited. However, the food and service were great and we plan to return, even without a coupon.


Butcher Block
308 East Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55414
(612) 455-1080
http://thebutcherblockrestaurant.com

Rinata

We visited Rinata on Sunday, October 30th. I had been wanting to visit for awhile since they are listed in the Entertainment dining book and it was a new addition for 2011. They are also in the 2012 Entertainment book. 

We arrived on time for our reservation and were seated promptly. They had a four course dinner special for $20 per person, which sounded great. Apparently this is a Sunday special they offer every week. It took awhile before our server stopped by to greet us and take our drink order. In the meantime, someone else poured our water. Once the waiter appeared to take our drink orders were asked a few questions. When he delivered our drinks we placed our food orders. Then, the waiting started. The waiter said he was going to bring us bread and we waited 15 minutes and it had not arrived, so I asked for it. Then it was another 20 minutes before our first course arrived, which was bruschetta with white beans and pesto. It was very tasty, maybe a bit bland and at this point we were very hungry. 

The next course was the salads, and we waited another 20 minutes for them to arrive after the appetizer dishes were removed. I forgot to take a picture, because I was so hungry. This happens to me a lot. I'd blog about more places if I remembered to take more photos. We both ordered Caesar salads and they were quite good with a caesar dressing that tasted like it was made from scratch. I wondered if there were anchovies in the dressing. Hopefully, because I think authentic caesar is supposed to have anchovies in it. 

There was more of a delay after the salad plates were removed, but I do not recall exactly how long. I had the butternut squash ravioli. This was a great dish. The ravioli was fresh and cooked perfectly. I liked the brown butter sauce as well. I'd been craving butternut squash ravioli and this hit the spot. I had looked at their menu online in advance and planned on ordering it all along. I was lucky it was included as a choice on the $20 special. This was worth the long wait. 

John had the fettuccine puttanesca with shrimp which was spicy due to chili flakes in the tomato sauce. It was delicious and had just the right amount of spice. I was impressed with the large number of shrimp in the dish, I think there were at least seven or eight in the serving. Overall, both pasta dishes were really good. Fresh pasta, fresh ingredients. Worth all the waiting? I'm not sure. Either way, the pasta was way better than anything you'd get at a chain in the suburbs. 

The tiramisu was excellent. It was cool, but not cold, the cake was very light and fluffy and the cream was light and rich. I'm not usually big on dessert, but this was really good. 

I really liked the food at Rinata, but the service was extremely slow on our visit. It took over two hours for the four course meal. I was not expecting to be in and out of there in an hour, but I think two hours was excessive. I saw tables that arrived after us, leave before us and they had the four course meal as well. I'm not sure what happened to our orders; we were told the kitchen was backed up while we were waiting for our salads and no explanations were offered after that. The server offered me a complimentary glass of wine with my entree due to the wait, which was nice. I was still hungry, but I was in a better mood at least! I'd like to give Rinata another chance, but it may not be anytime soon. But for a place listed in the Entertainment book, it was good since some of the places in there can be very hit or miss. 

Discounts: Rinata is in the Entertainment book and we received $14 off our bill, in addition to the $20 four course special. It was a great value. The four course meal for $20 is a great value in itself. They also offer half price bottles of wine on Sundays until 6:30pm. 

Rinata

2451 Hennepin Ave 

Minneapolis, MN 55405-2605

P: (612) 374-8998

www.rinatarestaurant.com

Risotto

We visited Risotto for the first time on October 7th. It was in the Entertainment book and I had been wanting to use the discount all year. Somehow summertime just did not say pasta to us. We made a reservation in advance, but the restaurant was pretty quiet when we arrived, so I'm not sure a reservation was necessary.

I had the funghi porcini e pollo risotto because I figured I should try the restaurant's namesake dish. The risotto had sautéed leeks, chicken and porcini mushrooms and asiago cheese. It was very good, but really, really hot when it arrived. I could not eat it for 10 minutes or so. I thought the dish was good, very creamy with a good amount of chicken in it. Sorry for the bad photos, the restaurant was very, very dark and I don't like to use my flash in restaurants.

John had the rigatoni ai sugo di carne e funghi which had italian meat sauce with sautéed mushrooms and romano cheese . He said the meat sauce had a good amount of flavor, but the pasta was a little too done and rather chewy. It looked like a large portion as well.

The service was prompt and friendly. Overall, the food was much better than any chain Italian restaurant, but it was not overly memorable because everything was just acceptable and nothing was amazing that I'd want to go back for.

Discounts: Risotto was in the 2011 Entertainment book and we got one entree free with the discount I believe. Unfortunately, they are not in the 2012 Entertainment book.

Risotto
610 W Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-823-4338
www.risottomn.com