Jefe: Urban Hacienda

We tried Jefe at the recommendation of one of John's co-workers. It is on Main by the river in Minneapolis, kind of one of those hidden spots we tend to forget about. It has a great view and a nice patio once that weather comes back.

We were seated right away and greeted pretty quickly by our server. The inside is lots of dark wood and high ceilings with lots of cool art flourishes around the room.

I had the Jefe margarita and it was excellent. Good margaritas should be easy to make, but sometimes they are not if the ingredients are not good.

 We started with some chips and freshly made guacamole. 

Next up, the augachile, basically a  ceviche with hamachi , lime, cilantro, cucumber, jalapeno, avocado, onion, and housemate tostadas. It was fresh tasting and the serving of fish was generous.

We both had the camarones tacos made with sauteed shrimp, pickled pineapple, jalapeño, cilantro crema, peppers, cotija, and avocado. The fillings were generous and the shrimp had great flavor.

The tacos were very good and I even liked the corn tortillas, which I don't usually love. These were very fresh tasting and very soft and flavorful. You could tell they were made in house and fresh.

We both enjoyed Jefe and I thought their brunch menu looked interesting as well as the happy hour deals. We will have to go back soon!

Deals & discounts: we just missed happy hour, I think it goes form 4-6pm Monday to Friday. But you may want to verify that in advance.


Jefe: Urban Hacienda
219 SE Main St
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Phone: (612) 255-2000

The Nicollet Diner

We visited Nicollet Diner on Eat Street in Minneapolis for the first time awhile back for a weekend breakfast. It was not too busy when we arrived and we easily found parking on the street. We were seated quickly in a booth along the windows on the side.

We both had the All American breakfast with two eggs any style with your choice of bacon or sausage, served with crispy hash browns and a biscuit, toast or English muffin. We both substituted pancakes instead of bread on the side. While the food was good, I was just not overly impressed by anything.

The pancakes were OK, though the menu said they were made with buttermilk, I really could not taste it in them.

We found the service to be a little on the slow side. It seemed to take awhile to get our order taken and for our food to be ready. The place had not filled up that much since we arrived either.

Deals & Discounts: We had a coupon from the Entertainment Book, good for buy one entrée get  the second entrée free for a maximum discount of $10 off.

The Nicollet Diner
1428 Nicollet Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Hours: Open 24 hours
Phone: (612) 399-6258
http://www.thenicolletdiner.com/

Vito Lucco food truck

We came across a new (to us anyway) food truck at Indeed brewery recently, called Vito Lucco. They specialize in wood fired pizza and also offer a hot dog and chips.

John ordered the Don Vito pizza, which was topped with andouille sausage, pepperoni, mushroom, onion and green peppers.

I had a build your own pizza topped with green olives and pepperoni. The crust was pretty thick and doughy and the toppings were generously applied. I did not get much flavor from the wood fired oven unfortunately. The pizza did hit the spot with the beer from Indeed Brewery and I would probably order from Vito Lucco again. It is not as good as Punch pizza, but not bad for a food truck.

 menu

There was a 20-25 minute wait for the pizzas, but they just took down your cell number and texted you when the order was ready, so that was handy.

Vito Lucco Food Truck
Vitolucco.com
Twitter: @vitolucco
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vito-Lucco-Pizza-co-845109742241236/