Habanero Tacos food truck

I am happy to say that food truck season is back up and running for the summer! There have been a few nice days here and there, but I didn't have time to get out there yet. This erratic weather is my nemesis.

I tried the Habanero Tacos truck last week. I saw they had tacos el pastor and I could not resist. The tacos were pretty good, but the pork was a bit on the dry side. They were pretty authentic though with good amounts of grilled pineapple inside and onion, cilantro and lime on the side. They also serve salsas and chips. The pork did not have a ton of flavor so the salsa helped spice things up a little bit, but none of the salsas were spicy. A hot salsa would be nice, though the tomatillo had a nice bright, freshly made flavor.

Though these were not as good as the best el pastor tacos I've had in Puerto Vallarta, they were not bad. The Habanero Tacos truck has some other meat options as well as burritos, quesadillas and something called alambres, which will bring me back to try it again.


Habanero Tacos
Twitter: @HabaneroTacos

Erik the Red

I had bought a Groupon for Erik the Red, thinking it would be a good excuse to try a newish place, since the location is out of the way for us. I had read a Heavy Table review awhile back and thought the Nordic BBQ concept sounded interesting.

I had the brisket with burnt Brussel sprouts as my side. The Brussel sprouts were pretty good. They were a crisp and a tad salty, but probably the best item on my plate. The brisket was OK, it really needed the sauce to give it flavor as it did not have much otherwise. No smoke flavor to speak of either.

John had the brisket with root fries, which were potatoes, carrots and parsnip fries. They may have had potential, but they were cold. Not even a little warm, freezing cold. The server never asked how the food was, so no opportunity to share that fact with him. Oh well.

Two BBQ sauces were available to top the meats. The white sauce had horseradish and garlic flavor and was quite good. The red sauce was a traditional tomato based sauce.

While the food was just OK, I think this restaurant may have potential as a good spot to visit before or after events at US Bank Stadium. The service was OK, a bit more than a little slow at times. Overall, I would not go out of my way to go back though. There are quite a few better places for BBQ in the city.


Erik the Red
601 Chicago Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: (612) 249-5999
https://www.eriktheredbar.com/

Broadway Fast & Fresh Skyway

The Broadway Pizza in US Bank Plaza closed awhile ago, remodeled a bit and reopened with a new concept where you can build your own freshly made pizza. The toppings are unlimited and they also offer salads, wraps and pasta dishes. They offer a few favorites or you can build your own pizza and any pizza is priced at $7.99.

I tried this out the other day and was pleasantly surprised. The line moved quickly, you just tell them the toppings, pay and they call your number when the pizza is finished. The whole process only took about seven minutes from start to finish.

I topped my pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and green olives. The finished pizza was hot and fresh, which is often a problem with skyway pizza places if it sits there too long. The toppings were generous and the sauce and cheese had good flavor.


Broadway Fast & Fresh
200 South 6th St #270
(612) 465-8899
http://www.broadwaypizza.com/downtown-minneapolis/

Firelake MOA

I visited Firelake again recently for a girlfriend getaway at the Radisson Blu at the Mall of America with Kelly and Michele.  After reviewing the dining choices at the MOA we realized there are not a lot of great options there.

Kelly ordered the Blue Smash drink and it looked cool! It was made with fresh blueberries, vanilla simple syrup, fresh squeezed orange juice, Zaya 12 year rum and ginger ale.

We started with broccoli tots, which were deep fried chopped up broccoli with Boursin, white cheddar, smokehouse bacon, potato crust. The dipping sauce had a good kick to it. These were oddly good.

Our second starter was the Dirty Fries- hand-cut frites, Eichten’s cheese curds, Pinot Noir reduction, oven dried mushrooms and truffle salt. They were serviceable fries. I wished for more of the cheese curds.

Kelly had a salad with rock shrimp.

Michele had the Roasted Tomato Soup & Hook’s Grilled Cheese Hook’s 2-year aged Wisconsin cheddar cheese and brioche.

I had the I had the rosemary rotisserie chicken entrée with cheddar mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes were good, but I did not detect a lot of cheese flavor in them.

We found the service to be excellent and the food was quite good also. The menu had a pretty wide variety and a lot of local themed and sourced items.


Firelake
2100 Killebrew Dr
Bloomington, MN 55425
Phone: (952) 881-5258
http://www.firelakerestaurant.com/moa.php