Hen House

We visited Hen House in downtown Minneapolis awhile ago. I am way behind in postings, but I had some nice photos I wanted to post. We sat at the counter and while they were very busy, the service was ok.

John had the archer tostadas with corn tortillas topped with refried black beans, eggs, queso fresco, avocado, cilantro and crema and hash browns.

I had the cinnamon roll pancakes with bacon. They were definitely very sweet and the drizzle tasted like frosting. They were tasty, but I could really only eat about half of them.

This is a great breakfast spot and it is often very busy on the weekends, but the food is usually worth the wait. I think they have improved considerably since they have been open.



Hen House
114 S 8th St
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612-345-4664
http://henhouseeatery.com

Burch Restaurant - pizza menu

We finally got around to trying the pizza at Burch. It turns out they do take reservations, which I didn't know, but I do not think they are required. You can also order off of the full steak menu for the dining room upstairs, which I also was not aware of. So if you do not mind sitting in the basement, this is a nice option.

John had the margarita pizza topped with mozzarella, tomato, fresh basil. It is his default go to pizza and always a safe option if you ask me.

I had the Gorgonzola Mostarda Prosciutto with crème fraiche, gorgonzola, orange mostarda, prosciutto. It was definitely a sweet and tangy flavored pizza. It had unusual flavors. I liked it, but I am not sure i would order it again.

The pizza crust on both pizzas was very good. Definitely similar pizza to Punch pizza with a wood fired pizza oven flavor.

The service was OK-- a bit slow at times. I'm not sure our server knew we were her table or something like that. And when we were ready for our check she was nowhere to be seen, but someone else brought it for us and ran the payment.



Burch Steak
1933 Colfax Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 843-1515
http://burchrestaurant.com/

Noble Lion

Stephanie and I visited the Noble Lion in Victoria awhile ago. There are a couple new places in Victoria that we have been hearing a lot of positive things about. It is always nice to see a non-chain restaurant come to a suburban area. Because like it or not, I think Victoria is a suburb of the Twin Cities now.

We started with bread service and the gouda curds. I liked them, but know the gouda certainly give them a unique flavor.

Next, we had the scallops and bacon with creamed corn. They were well prepared.

The Lake Superior whitefish cakes were a dish I was surprised I liked so much. They are essentially similar to a crab cake but with whitefish.The mustard sauce was really flavorful.

We also shared the Steak au poivre. The potatoes were amazing. So rich and creamy. The steak was cooked as ordered and quite tender.

Crème brulee in classic vanilla bean flavor. Crispy, tasty and everything crème brulee should be.

Overall we really enjoyed everything we ordered. We usually share everything so we can both sample a few more items than normal.

The service was great throughout our visit. Keep in mind this is a pretty small restaurant and seating is on a first come first served basis. Our solution to this was to arrive early, around 5:30 for dinner. You can call ahead to be added to the waitlist and they do accept reservations for parties of 6-8 people.




The Noble Lion
7940 Victoria Dr
Victoria, MN 55386
Phone: (952) 855-1008
https://www.thenoblelion.com/

Wooden Hill Brewing Company

We visited Wooden Hill for a weekend lunch recently. Yes, this is a brewery, but the interesting thing about Wooden Hill is that they also have a full kitchen offering a nice variety of burgers, sandwiches, pizzas and other bar food.

We both had the house burger that is topped with cheddar cheese, garlic aioli and house made pickles. I had sweet potato fries as my side and John had the regular fries. It is an attractive looking burger and it tasted great also. It is a thin patty burger. I found the toppings and bun to be nice quality also.

There is a small patio in the front and a larger one in the back and both are dog friendly if you want to bring your canine companion along. The tap room is quite nice and spacious as well.



Wooden Hill Brewing Company
7421 Bush Lake Rd
Edina, MN 55439
Phone: (952) 960-9663
https://woodenhillbrewing.com

Dipped and Debris

In our quest for new and interesting dining options, we recently visited Dipped and Debris in Northeast Minneapolis. Dipped and Debris specializes in sandwiches and frozen custard.

The service is quick and straightforward. You order at the register and they deliver the food to your table when it is ready. They also had a wide variety of bottled soda pop to select from near the register with many specialty and local brands. The dining area is basic but brightly lit and brightly colored, which fits the quick service style and motif.

John had the Debris sandwich with roast beef, lettuce, onion, tomato, mayo and gravy on a French loaf.

We shared an order of fries. I liked the slightly spicy seasoning on the fries a lot.

I had the Dipped sandwich with beef on a French roll, dipped in gravy and topped with provolone and hot giardiniera peepers all on a French roll. The roast beef was very tender and juicy and there was a lot of it as well. This was a huge sandwich! It was messy to eat but very delicious.

The service was efficient and friendly. We did not wait long for our food to arrive. I’d like to return soon and try the Po Boys as well. I am sure the custard is amazing, but we didn’t get a chance to try it as we were stuffed form the sandwiches.



Dipped and Debris
2422 Central Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55418
Phone: (612) 800-9424
https://www.dippedanddebris.com/

Las Vegas Trip Report 09.05-10.2019 - The one where we upgraded everything

Time for another super late Las Vegas Trip report. Anyway, to begin this trip, we had the chance to upgrade our seats on the flight to first class for a pretty good price. We have never sat up front on Delta, so it was a fun experience.

Also, at the airport we had drinks and snacks at the Blue Door Pub in the A concourse. The food was decent and it wasn't very busy. We cut across via a skyway to the G gates, so it wasn't even that much of a walk to our gate.

The flight attendants were excellent. Erin and another lady who was not wearing a name tag. We had bottles of water waiting at the seats and pre-departure cocktails as well. The extra legroom was really nice. too bad the doofus in front of me had to recline is seat. Rude.

We were able to select our entrees ahead of time in the Delta app. I was not excited about the chicken salad, but it was actually quite tasty.

 The Uber and Lyft pickup area was a madhouse as usual. 

We have been playing the newish Wynn app for awhile now. We both finally earned enough gems to both book one free night each. We were happy go get a Friday and Saturday night for free as weekends on the strip are not cheap. I paid for the Thursday night room via American Express so we got free breakfast and a $100 spa credit.

There was no check in line when we arrived at the Wynn, and Karissa was very nice and helpful getting us checked in. We got a free upgrade to the 57th floor and she helpful in getting my spa appointment rescheduled.

The room was very nice and I would totally stay at the Wynn again. The location is not the greatest, but with rideshare easily available, we just took Uber or Lyft anywhere we wanted to go. The pickup area is convenient at Wynn, just out in front of the main valet area.

 Nice views from the third tallest hotel in Las Vegas!

We started the evening off with drinks at Parasole Down. Hello Sinatra Smash. We took an Uber to Downtown and played blackjack at the Golden Gate for a few hours with minimal losses.

 Friday morning we were up surprisingly early. We had breakfast at Terrace Point Cafe at the Wynn.

 heaves ranchero skillet

 Benedict trio

I headed to the Encore spa for my massage. The spa was very nice and had a lot of amenities; four different hot tubs, waterfall showers, steam rooms and relaxation areas with lots of bottled water, fruited water and snacks. John played some slots and got water for the room while I was at the spa.

After I was done at the spa we went to the pool for awhile. The pool area was pretty nice but rather crowded.

 We had a late lunch at Wazuzu at Encore. Not cheap, the but food and service were both excellent. 

 potstickers

 chile hamachi

 sweet and sour chicken

 bao

After lunch we went down to the Cromwell to play some blackjack. They even had $10 minimums on the tables. We both did OK. We walked over to the Cosmopolitan as John had some free play on his account. After that we sat at the sports book bar and played video poker and watched some football.

We decided to have dinner at Blue Ribbon at the Cosmo. We were just seated in the front area near the bar.

 wings

 shrimp cocktail

The duroc ribs were fun. You could grill them on the little tabletop grill on the plate. I found them just OK though and would not order this again.

After dinner we took an Uber down to the El Cortez and played blackjack there for awhile. I finished up a little bit, John didn't do great. We called it a night after getting back to the Wynn.

 few more pics of the view from our room at Wynn

Saturday morning we had breakfast at Jardin at Encore. We made a quick open table reservation while we were in the room, so we did not have to wait for a table long. I had stuffed french toast.

 John had steak and eggs

After breakfast we went down to the pool to find some chairs, went to the room to change and headed right back to the pool. We got a nice spot so we had shade for a long time, which was nice.

For lunch we went to El Segundo Sol at Fashion Show mall across the street for lunch. John had steak tacos.

 I had mahi mahi tacos. the food was tasty and considerably cheaper than food at the Wynn. 

Quads were scarce on this trip for me. John had a bunch at Gold Coast and later at Suncoast. We used some coupons for free slot play at Gold Coast and then played blackjack for awhile. We ended up starting a promo card to win a free polo shirt. It took awhile, but I ended up finishing a card and getting a black polo for John.

 We had to go back to the Wynn for our dinner reservations at Lakeside. 

 lakeside salad

 snapper

 mahi mahi

 fries

The food and service at Lakeside were all very good. We were seated towards the back of the restaurant so we could not really too the lake shows, but we could sort of hear the music and see the lights.

After dinner we played a few slots at Wynn and then went back to Gold Coast so we could play blackjack and finish the cards for the free polos.

Sunday morning we went to the buffett at the Wynn as it was a quick option. The food was all very good and we thought there were plenty of choices for breakfast, brunch and dessert.

We managed to find a spot to watch the Vikings game over at Encore by a closed pit area. The sports book was super packed at Wynn. At halftime we packed up our room and checked out of Wynn and graded an Uber over to Palazzo. Sorry, but I was to going to drag my crap down the street!

The Palazzo room was great and we actually got a strip view this time at no extra charge.The check in agent was super nice too.

We went downstairs and watched the second half of the game by the bar near the elevators. A guy from Toronto named Sammy told us he used to live in Minnesota and he even bought us a round of drinks, which was really nice of him!

 Hello Super Sky Wheel! Had a little win on this at he Palazzo.

 We went downtown and used some table games free play and free slot play at The D. I think we both managed to turn our $25 free play into $75 and $100 each at blackjack.

 We had an afternoon snack at American Coney at The D on food comps. 

We went  out to the Suncoast Casino to meet up my pal Deanna from Texas who was in town with her mom and some friends. We played a bunch of video poker, played a dismal round of blackjack and generally lost our asses.

W grabbed a late meal at 90Ninety Bar and Grill at Suncoast. All of the food was on happy hour and was very tasty and nicely priced.

 giant warm pretzel

 ahi tuna nachos

 meat lovers pizza

 We Ubered back to Palazzo and called it a night. 

Monday morning we had breakfast at Gran Lux Cafe. We both had two eggs with bacon, hash browns and toast.

 construction in area between the pools

 New pool area on Venetian side. Work was just recently completed. 

Palazzo pool area. My guess is that this will be redone next as the construction cranes are still in place.

 We had a late lunch at Sushi Samba for happy hour at Venetian mall. This is the yellowtail tuna.

 gyoza

 shishito peppers

 samba fries

 wagyu sliders

We went downtown to do a bit more couponing, starting at Main Street with some video poker, then blackjack using match plays. We also used matchplay at the California and Golden Gate. I know I did quite well on my $25 much play at th Golden Gate, which kept me up on blackjack for the day.

 construction on Circa casino downtown is moving along quickly 

They were filming something outside and inside Main Street Station; maybe that Fremont Street show I heard something about?

We Ubered back to Palazzo and had a late dinner at Sugarcane before calling it a night.

   empenada

 brussels sprouts

 hamachi 

 rock shrimp

Sugarcane was OK. There was a huge chip in the rim of my drink and it took awhile to get someone's attention to get it replaced. It also took ages to get our check and pay. The food was all tasty though.

 Tuesday morning we had breakfast at Bouchon.

 waffle

 bacon

 omelet

I did a little shopping at the mall at Venetian after breakfast before we packed up and headed to the airport around noon.

 few pics from our Palazzo room

Overall, we had a great trip. John said he really missed staying downtown, but I feel like even though we stayed on the strip we went off strip and downtown a lot for gaming. Plus I really liked staying at the Wynn and Palazzo as the rooms are so nice, especially compared to downtown rooms.

It was fun to sit in first class on the way to Las Vegas also, but that is something we would only do if the price is low enough.

Our flight home was on time and very full, but otherwise uneventful. We had a great trip and we are already looking toward to our upcoming Thanksgiving trip that will be here in no time.