Borough

Stephanie and I went out recently for dinner and we checked out Borough in the North Loop area of Minneapolis. We had a reservation and were seated promptly on arrival. The room is very cool in an old warehouse with lots of old wood floors and exposed brick.

The Not far from the tree cocktail with apple-infused square one botanical vodka, leopold cranberry liqueur, dolin blanc, earl giles vanilla bean, bitter truth lemon bitters. This was a great winter drink.

We started with tuna carpaccio with kalamata olive, pickled mustard, pepper, chive and rye crisp. The portion was tiny, but the fish tasted fresh and the items served with it were an interesting contrast.

Next, the pork belly with pear, red wine, pie crust, allspice and chive. The pork belly was perfectly grilled and very delicious.

My entree was the scallops with red wine risotto, leek, root vegetable, grapes, elderflower and salsify. The scallops were nicely seared, but I did not care for the red wine risotto.

Stephanie had the beef flat iron with mole, smoked tamale and pickled red onion. She said it was rather salty, but the meat was cooked as requested.

We finished with the smores dessert with smoked chocolate cream, burnt white chocolate, pickled blackberries and fluff. This was much better than it looked. It was basically a deconstructed and elevated version of smores.

Our service was good, little slow at times though. Overall, the starters and the dessert were the highlight of our meal and the entrees were just average. I think it would be worth going back for the happy hour and the burger, but I'm not sure the entrees are the draw.


Borough
730 N Washington Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Phone: (612) 354-3135
http://boroughmpls.com

Benedict's Wayzata

Benedict's is a brunch only place that opened in late 2017 in Wayzata. Considering how close by it is, I have not heard much about it.

John had the standard, which is two eggs with bacon, potatoes and toast. It was your basic breakfast. Not bad.

I had the egg sandwich, topped with egg, sausage, harissa, cheese and bacon jam. The sausage was ok, the English muffin was very light and fluffy and the bacon jam really made the sandwich. The hash browns had scallions mixed in to give it addition flavor and the potatoes were very finely shredded. I quite liked the hash browns.

The food was quite good, but it took quite some time to arrive and our server was either too busy or rather slow. We waited for beverage refills a few times and it took a very long time for the check to be delivered. So I guess the not great service may explain why I haven't heard great things about Benedict's. Hopefully, things improve with time.


Benedict's
845 Lake St E
Wayzata, MN 55391
Phone: (952) 923-1903
https://benedictswayzata.com

Red Rabbit brunch

John signed up for Red Rabbit's eClub recently, so we visited for Saturday brunch. You get a coupon for $10 off upon joining. We arrived just prior to noon and were seated right away. It did fill up quite a bit more by the time we departed. I guess North Loop brunches late.

I had the ham and cheese with grilled ham, mushrooms, arugula and triple creme, with grilled bread and a waffle hash brown. The waffle hash brown is just what it sounds like and it was a great combination of crispy and softer bits of potato. The grilled bread was excellent as it had a bit of smoky flavor.

John hasn't stopped raving about how good this waffle was. I'm told the waffle was very light and fluffy and the berries were fresh with great flavor. He added a side order of bacon as well. The bacon was thick cut and had nice smoky flavor. I was granted a small bite, but the waffle was gone before I got a nibble.

The service was helpful and attentive once more and the food was amazing. John has been talking about how good the waffle was ever since, so I am sure we will be going back very soon.

Brunch is available Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 2pm.


Red Rabbit
201 N Washington Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Phone: (612) 767-8
https://www.redrabbitmn.com/855

Eggy's DIner

We had noticed Eggy's Diner when we went down to Lakes and Legend's brewing, and I noticed it was also in our Metro Dining Club punch card deals, so we gave it a try for breakfast recently. It is down near Loring Park, but it should be noted that they do validate parking in the attached parking ramp, so it is easy to visit. Apparently, there is another location of Eggy's somewhere in Chicago, so it is a very small chain.

We arrived fairly early for brunch on a Sunday morning and were seated promptly. We had a bit of a wait before the server realized we were her table, but after that the service was ok.

I had Eggy's breakfast sandwich topped with 2 eggs over medium, bacon, mixed greens, red onion jam and herb aioli on a toasted bun. It was messy with the over medium eggs, but very tasty. The onion jam was delicious.

John had the two eggs with meat of bacon, egg whites, breakfast potatoes and a pancake. The breakfast potatoes are whole mini potatoes that are deep fried. They were good with crispy bits and fluffy soft bits and even better with some hot sauce added.

John liked the pancake, it was quite large and very light and fluffy.

With the discount form the Metro Dining Club, this was a very affordable breakfast. The service and food quality was good and I think I'd like to try a few more items on the menu. The food, along with the validated parking in the attached ramp, makes it easy to get to, which is sometimes a challenge in Minneapolis.


Eggy's Diner
120 W 14th St
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Phone: (763) 310-3449
http://eggysdiner.com

Portillo's Maple Grove

I was fortunate enough to notice an email to Portillo's for a preview meal the week before their opening to the public. I snagged a time that worked for us and got confirmation via email and regular mail. The meal was free with a donation to a local charity.

We arrived to a packed parking lot and a line out the door, but the line moved very quickly. They had people writing the orders down so once you got to the register, the order just had to be input. The food took about 10 minutes to be ready, but by then I had managed to find a place to sit.

The food is not particularly photogenic, but it tasted a lot better than it looked. I had the Italian beef sandwich with cheese and hot peppers added. The cheese was shredded cheddar and a little sparse. The peppers really added flavor to the sandwich and I did ask it to be dipped in gravy. IT made the bun soggy, but added more flavor. The beef was tender, but didn't have a ton of flavor. I also had cheese fires that come with a small container of melted cheese, which tasted better than it looked. The crinkle fries were were good though.

John had the Maxwell Street Polish sausage topped with grilled onions. He said it looked a little burnt, but it tasted like the one he had in Chicago last time we visited. It is a spicier sausage.

Overall, the visit went much better than I expected. The service was fast, friendly and professional. They should be ready for the hordes to descend when they open to the public! We look forward to going back regularly.


Portillo's
12251 Elm Creek Blvd N
Maple Grove, MN 55369
Phone: (763) 316-0860
https://www.portillos.com/maplegrove/

Lord Fletcher's Old Lake Lodge

I found a Groupon awhile ago for Fletcher's and we thought we'd give it a try since we've never tried the more formal main dining room. We visited on a showy evening and it wasn't too busy, but not empty either.

I tried the walleye dinner served with chef’s vegetable of broccoli and au gratin potatoes. The walleye was breaded, pan fried and topped with toasted almonds. The walleye was quite good, as was the au gratin potatoes. The broccoli had a lot of peppers mixed in, which I didn't care for.

John had the beef fried rice bowl topped with 4 oz teres major. He said the rice was pretty salty, but the steak was prepared as requested.

The food overall was average, but we did find the service to be very attentive throughout our meal. I'm not sure we were impressed enough to go back again anytime soon though, even with the deal from Groupon covering most of the meal.


Lord Fletcher's Old Lake Lodge
3746 Sunset Dr
Spring Park, MN 55384
Phone:  (952) 471-8513
https://www.lordfletchers.com