Lone Spur Grill

We stopped at the Lone Spur for happy hour on May 27th. The Lone Spur has some great happy hour specials daily. A large domestic tap beer is $3.

We both ordered the happy hour tacos for $2 per taco. They are largo hard shell tacos with beef and lots of fillings. They are very filling and more than enough for a meal.

We also got an order of the buffalo wings. The wings were better than I was expecting; they were crispy on the outside and had a nice amount of spice. I believe we got a dozen wings for $5.95 on happy hour.

Discounts:
The Lone Spur has a discount card in the Metro Dining Club good for $5 off an entree when you buy another entree. Their happy hour has some great deals as well and it runs from 4 to 6pm and 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm. Check out the website for details as specials vary by day.

Lone Spur Grill
11032 Cedar Lake Rd,
Minnetonka, MN, 55305
Phone: (952) 540-0181
www.lonespurgrillandbar.com

Wok in the Park

We visited Wok in the Park on May 21st on our way home from an afternoon at Canterbury Park.

I went with a variety of appetizers for my meal. I ordered the Puffs in the Park, which is a different cheese puff special every day. Today, it was filled with garlic and black bean curd I believe. I also got a couple of crab rangoon since they were short one puff for a full order. I guess I got the last order of puffs for the night. The manager came by to explain the situation, which was fine with me. Both were really good, the crab rangoon had some actual crab inside and a tasty dipping sauce. These were much better than other places I've had crab rangoon. The cheese puffs were really good, as well, the garlic was detectable, but not overwhelming and the dipping sauce was a sweet red berry sauce of some kind.

I also got an order of egg rolls. They did not look that great, since I prefer an egg roll with a thin rice paper exterior, but these were good anyway. The filling was excellent, lots of meat inside and I really liked the slightly spicy dipping sauce. I ended up taking most of these home and reheating them in the toaster oven the next day.

JS had the Slayer Sir Fry with white rice. This smelled like garlic when it arrived. It is a stir fry with beef, mushrooms, peapods, carrots, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and onions in a garlic sauce. He said it had a good garlic flavor and it was a bit spicy, but he liked it a lot and would order it again.

Discounts: I have not noticed any discounts for Wok in the Park.

Wok in the Park
3005 Utah Ave S
St Louis Park, MN
952-657-5754
www.wokintheparkrestaurant.com

Stella's Fish Cafe - Happy Hour

I just wanted to add a short post on Stella's happy hour. We stopped in here on May 2nd with JS and his mom and Al. I forgot to take photos of their food but mine is below.

Their happy hour is great. 2 for 1s on all tap beers and a great variety of happy hour food specials. Info at this link: http://stellasfishcafe.com/menu/happy-hour.pdf  I had the Ahi Tuna Crisps and the Peel 'n Eat Shrimp. Both were really good, I especially enjoyed the shrimp. Their cocktail sauce is very horseradishy and zippy. The ahi tuna crisps had small pieces of tuna on them on a crispy wonton like chip with some soy flavored sauce drizzled on top. I would order both of these items again.

If I recall correctly, JS had the buffalo wings and a couple orders of oysters. He really liked the oysters and they have a great deal on them. JS's mom had the Coconut Shrimp basket, which she said was great.

The happy hour specials are valid inside in the bar area only. Specials are not honored on the rooftop patio. it was cold and chilly the day we visited anyway so we could not sit outside.

Discounts: Happy hour is probably the best deal. I have occasionally seen Stella's on some of the coupon sites like Groupon, etc.


Stella's Fish Café & Prestige Oyster Bar
1400 West Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Phone: 612-824-8862 (612-824-TUNA)
www.stellasfishcafe.com

My MSP Donut Study 2011

Since I have had a lot of spare time lately, I decided to check out some of the more distant donut shops around town and find the best donut. This means I went to Minneapolis. During the week. In traffic. Do not be alarmed, I did not eat at all three places in one day! I went to the gym immediately afterwards to work the darn donuts off too.

The first donut sample is from Mel-o-glaze Bakery. This is a really amazing donut if you like the raised type of donut. They have glazed donuts and the one below is glazed with chocolate frosting. Double frosting basically. Yum. This donut was very fresh and light tasting.

The items below are a chocolate croissant and a brownie cupcake from A Baker's Wife bakery. I ordered a donut as well and it was ingested in the car. Sorry I do not have a photo. I need to work on that. Their standard donut was a cake donut and very, very good. It had a bit of crunch outside when you bit into it, but it was very soft and light inside. Really melted in my mouth. The chocolate croissant was good; very light and flaky with a lot of dark chocolate inside. The brownie cupcake was good too, it was a bit heavy and really filling.

Both Mel-o-Glaze and A Baker's Wife are within 5-6 blocks of each other on 28th Street in South Minneapolis.

The next selection of donuts is from Yo Yo Donuts in Hopkins. This is their standard cake donut on the right and a s'mores donut on the left. The s'mores donut was a raised donut as opposed to a cake donut; I preferred it to the cake donut because it was very soft and doughy inside. The cake donut was goos, but the outside did not have that nice crunch on the outside I prefer.

They also have a bunch of crazy donuts like a long john with bacon on it and some raised donuts with gummy worms on them.

Overall, I think my favorite so far was the cake donut at A Baker's Wife. There are a few other places I need to check out though. I live really close to Valley Pastries in Golden Valley, so I need to check that out soon. Actually, I have been there recently but I forgot to take photos again. I'm terrible. Or maybe just very hungry.

Mel-o-Glaze Bakery
4800 28th Ave South
Minneapolis, MN  55417
(612) 729-9316
www.meloglaze.com/

A Baker's Wife Bakery
4200 28th Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55406
(612) 729-6898

YoYo Donuts
5757 Sanibel Drive
Minnetonka, MN 55343
(952) 960-1800
www.yoyodonuts.com

Al's Breakfast

I went to Al's Breakfast on May 2nd with JS, his mom and her husband Al who were visiting form South Dakota. We were trying to think of some neat places around town that have good food and a unique experience. We went to Anchor Fish and Chips on Sunday night. I forgot to take photos of our food or else I'd talk about that. Let's just say I was really hungry and the food was great.

We figured going to Al's Breakfast on a Monday would be a good idea since the wait would be shorter. We only had to wait maybe 10 minutes or so and that was only because we had a party of four.

I had the Spring Special with a side of bacon. I ate most of my food before I remembered to take a photo. So sorry for the bad picture, but you get the idea. The Spring Special is scrambled eggs with asparagus  and hollandaise sauce. The best part of this is their made from scratch hollandaise. So very delicious.

Here is a photo of their famous Buttermilk Pancakes. Again, sorry the food is partially eaten. I shared the pancakes with JS. The pancakes here are good, no great,  because they are light and fluffy and the buttermilk has a bit of tang to it. I never really thought about pancakes very much until recently, but there are lots of bad ones out there. Too hard, too tough, etc. These are perfect!

JS's mom had the Eggs Benedict. She raved about the hollandaise sauce and how perfectly the eggs were poached. Maybe I should order that sometime....

I think Al had the Winter Special and JS had the Summer special and they were gone before I got the camera out.  I wish I would've gotten a photo of Al in front of the restaurant. I forgot. We will have to go back next time they come to town.

I can't say enough about the quality of the food at Al's Breakfast. It really is worth the wait. The sauces and pancakes are made from scratch. Yeah, the breads are store bought, but so what. Where the heck would they bake them anyway? No space!

Al's Breakfast is quite the experience. The line, the tiny space, etc. I admit the first time I went I was not expecting much. Yeah, it was on TV, but come on, what's the big deal? I hate to admit it, but I think the James Beard people and the Diners, Drive Ins and Dives guy are onto something.

Discounts:
No such thing at Al's Breakfast that I have ever heard of. The prices are very reasonable anyway.


Al's Breakfast
413 14th Avenue Southeast
Minneapolis, MN 55414-2005
(612) 331-9991

Victory 44

We visited Victory 44 on April 29th. I wanted to try this place for quite some time. I liked the atmosphere; it has a pub look and feels very relaxed and laid back. We sat in the bar area at a tall table so we could see the TV and also see the action in the kitchen a bit. The service was very good as well, she checked with us at just the right times without being too intrusive.

We started with the Tuna Tartare.  On top of the tuna was some crunchy potato bits and bacon bits. Off to the side were some red peppers, a creamy aioli sauce and a sprinkling of chili powder for spice. Really, really good. I would order this again.

I had the chicken entree. The chicken was stuffed with sausage and sat on top of shredded cabbage. The orange dabs were pureed carrots and the green was pureed peas. The carrot added some sweetness to contrast the chicken. There were a couple pieces of friend brioche as well. I'm not sure if I would order this again. It was good, but not something I would crave.

JS had the Perfect Burger that came with a side of Bacon Fries. The burger was great. We were going to get a starter of the bacon fries until we were told it came with the burger anyway. It had bacon, cheese, mayo on it as well and some homemade style pickles. There may have been other things on there. It had a lot of stuff on it. The fries were really good. They seemed to be hand cut fries and the seasonings on them were really amazing. I'd go back just for these.

Overall, it was great. I really loved the upscale food in a relaxing atmosphere. I believe in the past they used to do the chefs-as-servers format and that seems to have gone away. I did not see our server in the kitchen at all and nothing was finished or prepared table side. Or maybe we just did not order anything that was served that way, I am not sure.

Discounts:
I have never come across any coupons for Victory 44, but they had a variety of daily specials. I should have take a photo of she info sheet because I can't remember any details right now. I think on Monday burgers are $5 or $5.99.

Victory 44

2203 44th Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55412

Ph: 612 . 588 . 2228

www.victory-44.com

Bands I love - Hookers and Blow

Yeah, one of my favorite bands is a cover band. So what. At least it is filled with great Minnesota musicians. Hooks and Blow is just plain fun. Just go and find out for yourself sometime.

I'd tell you about the people in the band, but the thing is, you never really know who will be there. I guess people just show up if they can or something like that. Adam Levy is almost always there. You might remember him from the Honeydogs.

I'd tell you about what kind of music they play, but that can vary a lot too. According to their Facebook page it says they play old pop and soul. Most of what you will hear is fun covers that you can dance to.

We saw them on April 29th at Lee's Liquor Lounge in Minneapolis. Check them out sometime!

www.hookersandblow.org/
Or look them up on Facebook under Hookers $ Blow.

Pizza Luce

We stopped in at Pizza Luce on Saturday April 23rd, for brunch before the Twins game figuring it would be cheaper to eat anywhere other than the ballpark.

We both ordered the Shirred Eggs, which is hash browns with portabella mushroom, bell peppers, red onion, and 2 eggs with melted cheese. Very good choice! We both enjoyed this item a lot. It is kind of like an egg casserole almost. The service was good and it seemed somewhat busy in the restaurant, but not overly so.

We are very happy that there is also a new Pizza Luce location out in our neck of the woods in Hopkins so we don't have to go downtown for their awesome pizza and food. We have been there a few times already but I have not taken any photos yet. I will next time though!

Discounts:
I have never seen Pizza Luce coupons in any discount programs around town. If you know of any let me know. Luce has a happy hour but the specials tend to vary by location. According to their website the downtown location has the following happy hour: $3 taps, rails & house wine: 4pm - 7pm (Mon-Thurs) and 3pm - 6pm (Friday), $3 taps, rails & house wine. There was no information online for the Hopkins location.

We had a great time at the game in the cheap seats with people from my old job. They even won the game! Too bad a beer is $7.75 at Target Field this year though. 

Pizza Luce
119 North 4th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(612) 333-7359

210 North Blake Road
Hopkins, MN 55343
(952) 767-0854

www.pizzaluce.com

Redstone

We visited Redstone on Friday, April 22nd intending to sit in the bar and have drinks and appetizers. It was full in the bar so we got a booth in the dining room.

On this visit I had the Buffalo Shrimp. This is one of my all time favorites on their menu. I think Redstone was one of the first places to do this dish and they do it well. They use lightly breaded jumbo shrimp, coat them with buffalo sauce and there is blue cheese sauce and crumbles on the plate.

JS got the Original Burger and fries. He prefers the original burger as he is not into having tons of toppings on his burger. They will cook it to order. The fries were very good was well; very crisp and well seasoned. Their burgers are usually on the lists of top burgers in town and I can see why.

I'm not sure what to say about Redstone that has not been said already. The food at Redstone is always high quality and the service is wonderful. The prices are a tad on the higher side, but I really think you get what you pay for here. However, I still find it to be a solid dinner/lunch choice even though it has been around since 1999 or so.

They have a few other favorites on the menu I often come back for like the Classic Rotisserie Chicken, Prime Rib, BBQ Ribs, Jerk Chicken Fondue and the Seared Ahi Tuna. I have a few friends that love the fondue and we are always looking for reasons to go to Redstone so we can order it! Plus, going there and sitting in the bar or on the patio is entertaining beyond belief. It is like watching the nature channel for the older, divorced, affluent set sometimes. Maybe I am still too young to be their target market. Hope so anyway!

Discounts:
I've never seen any coupons or discounts of any kind for Redstone. If you know of any please let me know! I did call and ask if they had happy hour deals (I didn't think they did) and they are currently offering a variety of appetizers for $5 and $2 off all drinks from 2-6 pm.

There are 2 locations in Minnesota. I find the Eden Prairie location to be a bit busier than the Minnetonka location. So if you don't want to wait, try the Minnetonka location. If you want a fun bar atmosphere and a nice outdoor patio try the Eden Prairie location.

Redstone
12501 Ridgedale Drive,
Minnetonka MN,55305
Phone: (952) 591-0000
8000 Eden Road,
Eden Prairie,MN,55344
Phone: (952) 903.9500
www.redstonegrill.com

Pepito's

We visited Pepito's on Friday, April 15th to use a Groupon I'd bought recently. We tried to arrive early and make happy hour, but we were just a bit too late. I believe the weekday happy hour goes until 6pm. We had a couple drinks in the bar before we asked for a table in the dining room anyway.

On this visit I ordered the Nachos Lupitas with beef. The nacho chips here are a bit different than a normal chip as they have a slight sweet taste to them. You can choose any meat they have available, and there is cheese and a slice of jalapeno on top and it comes with a side of sour cream and a side of guacamole.

JS, the dear husband, ordered the Tacos al Pastor. I'd show a photo of them, but he ate them before I could get a photo. (We've had a tough time remembering to take photos lately when we go out! I think I get too hungry! So we need to work on that if I want to keep sharing with everyone!) Anyway, the tacos al pastor are a bit more like an authentic steak taco and I guess they were quite good.

Overall, I think Pepito's is a solid choice if you are looking for Americanized Mexican food. Plus the service is always quite good and the restaurant is very quaint and cozy. We'd like to visit the Parkway Theater next door sometime, which Pepito's now owns. I guess you can order food at Pepitos and bring it into the movie.

Discounts:
We used a $30 coupon which I purchased for $15, through Star Tribune Deals, which made this a great deal. I don't usually see too many other deals for Pepito's however.

Pepito's
4820 Chicago Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota
612.822.2104
www.pepitosrestaurant.com