Murray's

We visited Murray's back in October for my birthday dinner. We made reservations in advance and we were apparently one of the first reservations of the evening as the doors were locked on arrival.  We only waited a couple minutes before the doors were unlocked and we were seated promptly.

We've never tried their famous Silver Butterknife Steak, so we decided to take the plunge. It is a 28 oz. strip sirloin carved tableside for two people. 

It also included a choice of Caesar salad or French Onion soup, which I neglected to take photos of. I believe we both had the salad and it was freshly made with a potent Caesar dressing. 

We both ordered a baked potato for our side.

My serving of steak after slicing

John's serving. The steak was cooked as ordered (medium rare) and well seasoned with salt and pepper. It was very tender and juicy. Since I love tableside preparation of pretty much any type of food, I enjoyed the slicing and serving of the steak at the table. 

The portion was more than enough for two people. I forgot to take a photo of the garlic toast and bread basket, but their garlic toast is amazing. It is chock full of butter and garlic with just the right amount of crunch. 

complimentary lemon bundt cake birthday dessert was a nice special touch

The service was very good, friendly and helpful when needed, but not stopping by too many times. The steak for two was not cheap, but the fact that said and a potato were included was nice. They do offer more budget friendly options on the menu as well as non-beef choices. We really enjoyed our meal and I feel Murray's is a great spot for a fun night out downtown or a special event meal. 

Murray's
26 S 6th St
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 339-0909
http://www.murraysrestaurant.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/

Burch Steak - brunch

We ended up at Burch Steak for brunch awhile ago when we tried to visit one spot and saw lines out the door, so we quickly brainstormed a new idea. Burch Steak did not have lines out the door and we even found street parking nearby. It seems to be a hidden brunch gem though because it wasn’t at all busy.

John had the classic breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and potato cakes.

I had the crab toast, which was fresh crab, grilled bread, beurre blanc, sautéed spinach and fried egg. Oh my goodness, loved this so much. I see the photo and I remember how delicious it was. The spinach was sautéed with some garlic to give it tons of flavor and there was quite a bit of crab in this dish. The egg was perfectly over easy too. At first, I didn’t think it looked like a ton of food, but I was filled up by the time I finished it.

The service was excellent throughout our visit and we were in and out in a relatively short amount of time, which was nice. We will be back, so I can have the crab toast again! There are a few egg sandwiches on the menu that look interesting as well. 

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

Burch Steak

We went back to Burch steak for our annual holiday dinner. I don't think we'd made it back since we went for our anniversary a couple years ago. We had a reservation and were seated promptly.

We started with the seared scallops with lemongrass aioli. They were nicely seared and the aioli added a bright, fresh flavor.

The marlin crudo with coconut, cilantro and chili oil was very fresh and light. We both loved the and would order it again.

The first of our sides was the roasted carrots with thyme and chèvre. These reminded me of the carrots at Bar la Grassa and were very flavorful and delicious.

At the recommendation of our server for a potato we went with the pommes purée with poutine and horseradish. The potatoes were actually quite mild and did not have strong horseradish flavor.

For our steak, we tried the grass fed Manhattan cut steak. It looked a bit overdone at first glance, but was prepared correctly once we cut into it. The meat was tender, but a little dry. I don't think we'd go with the cut again.

We enjoyed our meal a lot and found the service to be great throughout our visit. We really need to go back and try the pizza from the bar in the basement bar area. I guess we tend to forget about Burch as it is on the edges of Uptown, but not quite downtown. It is definitely worth the trip!


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

6Smith

Stephanie and I checked out 6Smith in Wayzata for our most recent dinner outing. Wayzata is a nice midpoint for both of us to meet and there are a lot of new dining options too. While 6Smith is no longer new, I had not visited for dinner in the main restaurant yet, just the rooftop last summer.

We started with a couple drinks, Stephanie’s Red rum drink looked very nice. It contained Sailor Jerry, Lola Belle rum, Aperol, lime juice, cranberry juice, Angostura and cherry bark vanilla bitters, topped with soda.

We started with the tuna poke, which was pretty standard: Ahi tuna, sesame & soy sauces, seaweed, avocado and wonton crisps. It tasted fresh and we liked the light, crisp chips.

I had a fish special and I can’t recall all of the details to save my life. I think it was Cajun seasoned with a cilantro cream and chili oil sauce. The fish was excellent- a bit spicy, but not overly so. The sauces added a nice fresh flavor.

Stephanie had the prime rib eye with the bacon jam and Fini cheddar fondue sauce added. The sauce was divine, not that the steak really needed it, it was great alone too, but the cheese was rich and creamy and you can’t go wrong with bacon of any kind.

We shared the French fries as a side. They were fresh, I am pretty sure made in house and came with béarnaise and truffle aioli . The truffle aioli was excellent too.

Our dessert was the butterscotch and chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream and a warm cookie and some caramel drizzled over the sides. It was quite good.

Overall, the service was excellent. Our server checked with us often and we never waited for a thing, though we did not feel rushed and were given plenty of time to visit. The dining room has large windows facing the lake letting in lots of light and an industrial feel throughout.  I enjoyed everything about 6Smith and I look forward to returning when the weather is warmer so we can sit outdoors and enjoy the lake view.


6Smith
294 East Grove Lane
Wayzata, MN 55391
Wayzata Bay, Lake Minnetonka
952-698-7900
http://www.6smith.com/

Barbette

Barbette is another one of those Minneapolis restaurants that has been around for years and I have never tried. Stephanie and I went there recently after visiting the Art Institute for a special exhibition. We were able to find free parking on the street nearby and we did not have a reservation, but got right in as it was quite early in the evening, around 5pm I think. The room is open with a bar on one side and funky light fixtures scattered around the room.

Our server greeted us in a timely manner and we ordered drinks. They offer a full bar with beer, cocktails and wines. I had the Frida y Diego drink and Steph had a Bent Paddle beer.

Stephanie had the soup of the day, which was some sort of vegetable soup if I recall correctly.

We both ordered the Parisian style steak frites. The French fries were very good, very fresh, hot and crispy. I liked the Bearnaise on the side also. The steak is more of a braised beef or roast style, than an actual steak, but the meat was very tender and had great flavor.

Parisian style steak frites

Since we did to order any appetizers, we tried two different desserts. First, the vanilla creme brûlée, which was very good. It was rich and creamy with a warm, crisp top.

The second dessert was the squash tart. It had bourbon carmel sauce, marshmallow fluff and candied pecans on the plate. It basically tasted like pumpkin pie and this is not a bad thing. I suppose squash and pumpkin flavors are so close, they taste more or less the same.

We enjoyed everything we ordered and found the ambiance and service to be great. I would like to return and try a few items from the brunch menu.


Barbette
1600 W Lake St
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Phone:(612) 827-5710
http://www.barbette.com

Manny's Steak House - burgers

Even though our last experience at Manny’s wasn’t all that great, we decided to go back for lunch and give it another try. I’d been wanting to try their burgers for awhile anyway. We were seated right away, no reservations necessary for lunch apparently.

John had the steak sandwich with fries. It was topped with sautéed mushrooms and bacon as well. It was cooked medium rare as ordered.

I had the prime burger with cheese and bacon. It had a pile of onions strings on top too. The burger was cooked medium as ordered and was very thick and juicy. The bacon on this burger was amazing. I think it was Nueske’s bacon too. Very thick with lots of smoky flavor. The fries were very good as well. They looked and tasted like fresh, hand cut fries. I really liked that they came with a side of béarnaise sauce.

The service was much better on this visit than the previous visit. It did not seem very busy, but we were in the front section and the booths are tall, as it is hard to tell if other booths were occupied or not. The server checked back often and kept our beverages filled.

Here is a link to the recent Manny's post I mentioned at the top of the post: http://whereshouldwegomsp.blogspot.com/2015/02/mannys-steak-house.html.


Manny’s Steak House
825 South Marquette Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 339-9900
http://www.mannyssteakhouse.com/

Manny's Steak House

We visited Manny’s Steakhouse for our anniversary celebration this year. We had a reservation, we were seated right away and it was surprisingly busy for a Monday night. It took awhile for our server to come by with drink menus. He seemed to be very rushed right off the bat.

We ordered drinks, he dropped them off and then a bit later brought menus over for us to review. It seemed like we were waiting a long time for him to come back to take our order. We did get the tour of the meat cart with the live lobster handing out on the side. The meat cart is a bit of a spectacle and an important part of the Manny’s experience though.

my Irish cock and bull drink; very strong! 

bread basket; tried not to eat much, but we were starving 

We started with the lobster crab cakes and they were excellent. There was a lot of lobster in them and not much filler. They had a lot of Old Bay flavor and were maybe a touch salty, but not bad.

Then we waited some more. I don’t know how long it took our food to arrive, but it was a long time. I knew things were off when the server came back and asked if we wanted onions in the hash browns. I’d originally asked to have bacon added as well, but I forgot that when he came back in a rush to confirm. Oh well.

So we had the hash browns with onions and they really were excellent. The portion is gigantic and the potatoes were crisp on the edges and less done in the center.

We shared the ribeye steak. The steak was delicious and seasoned well. It was cooked unevenly however. The left side was far more done that the other side.

Since it was our anniversary we did get a complimentary dessert, the Bailey’s chocolate cake. They pour additional chocolate fudge over the cake at the table, to make it even more decadent. It was topped with real whipped cream and the bottom was very dense and sweet and the top had the Bailey’s flavor in it. You could taste the alcohol a bit!

Overall, our Manny’s experience felt very mixed. The service was not that great and the steak was not cooked evenly, so I felt a bit disappointed. I feel at this price point everything should be perfect or darn near perfect and it certainly was not.  Our night was not ruined by any means, it just could have been a lot better. I’m not sure that we will be rushing back to Manny’s anytime soon. I think our money is better spent elsewhere.


Manny’s Steak House
825 South Marquette Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 339-9900
http://www.mannyssteakhouse.com/

Wildfire

We decided to visit Wildfire in Eden Prairie as I had received a coupon mailer with discounts at all of the local Lettuce Entertain You restaurants in the chain. We arrived around 5:30pm and were told there was a 45 minute wait. The bar was packed to the gills so we grabbed a drink and waited in the  entry area. The wait was considerably shorter than quoted, I think we only waited about 20 minutes for a table.

We both had the prime rib and it was perfect. It was cooked as ordered and the horseradish sauce was spicy and excellent.

The service was good, although nothing memorable. We were in and out rather quickly actually.

 

Deals and Discounts: The loyalty club has proven to be a good value so far, since I already recouped the cost for the card. I also received some discount coupons for all of the restaurants in the chain in the Twin Cities. Wildfire also offers happy hour specials on food available Monday through Friday from 3-6pm and 9-close in the bar area.

 

Wildfire

8251 Flying Cloud Dr

Eden Prairie, MN 55344

(952) 914-9100

http://wildfirerestaurant.com/

 

6Smith

We visited 6Smith for a happy hour on the patio recently. Oddly, there are not that many places with patio seating on the lake in Wayzata. 6Smith certainly has a great patio right on the marina. I should have taken a photo of the view. The patio is on the second floor with a separate bar and small kitchen. There is also another patio on the first floor off the bar.

The calamari with Thai dipping sauce was good, though the dipping sauce was very salty and soy sauce based. The calamari was cooked perfectly though.

The sticky balsamic glazed ribs were very flavorful, but they were cold when they arrived. I’m not sure if they were supposed to be warm or not. I think they would have tasted better hot. The meat was tender and the sauce was very sweet with a little bit of spice.

The smoked chicken wings were quite good. The tamari glaze added just a bit of spice, however they tasted awfully salty. Probably because tamari is a soy sauce.

The drinks were quite good; I had a margarita and a Moscow mule. John had a couple of Pacificos, which was available on tap.

The rooftop menu has several lobster options, a variety of appetizers, salads and sandwiches as well as fresh oysters daily. The menu for the main restaurant is more steak and meant centric in addition to the items mentioned above.

One note: while there is a large parking lot, it seems to fill up quickly and we found valet parking was really the only option. Maybe if you arrive really early you will get a parking place though.

Deals & Discounts: There is a happy hour in the bar on the first floor, but no deals on the rooftop. The happy hour might be new as I did not see anything about it on the website before we went. Might have to go back and check it out.


6Smith
294 East Grove Lane
Wayzata, MN 55391
Wayzata Bay, Lake Minnetonka
952-698-7900

Burch Steak

We visited Burch Steak recently for our anniversary. We were there on a Sunday night and it was much busier than I expected it to be. The room is very nice with wood floors and brick walls and soft pendant lighting.

 We started with a couple drinks. I had a dark and stormy.

 John had a spicy margarita.

We started with the cinnamon smoked barramundi with cauliflower and bacon aioli from the raw section of the menu. The fish was very mild with a light citrusy sauce underneath and the topping added some nice crunch to the dish. I think it is interesting that some of the best raw fish items I’ve had lately are from steakhouses.

Next we had the veal and pork kinkhali, with butter and chili thread. The outside of the dumpling was perfect, not too soft. I did not get a lot of flavor from the chili thread, if I was supposed to. The pork and veal was and excellent combination. There are definitely some unusual for a steakhouse menu selections here. And I like it. The dumplings section of the menu intrigues me. We need to try a few more items form that section next time we visit.

Four the steak course, we shared the 16 oz prime beef ribeye. We decided to share again so that we could try more side items. I’m sure servers hate this, but we don’t need to eat our own steak as it is far too much food anyway. The steak was cooked perfectly and seasoned well. I liked that the menu had so many options for steak, They sell 100% Grass fed beef, Prime beef, domestic Wagyu and certified Japanese A5 Wagyu with a variety of cuts within the types.

I really liked the fact that the steak came with their house made steak sauce, béarnaise sauce and pickled mushrooms.

 For sides we ordered the triple cooked chips with ketchup and mayo. They were very crispy on the outside and light and fluffy inside and really delicious overall.

 We also tried the roasted cauliflower with anchovies and burrata. It was a little salty, but quite good overall with a bit of a smoky flavor.

We finished the meal with the flourless chocolate torte, which was very rich and dense but the ice cream on the side helped keep the chocolate from being too overpowering.

For once, I think we did  a good job of not over-ordering on food. We had a little bit of cauliflower left to bring home and that was all, which was fine with us.

Our server was very good, we did not ask for any recommendations, but she did go over the sections of the menu in detail and she checked back often. I thought the service was excellent overall.

Another thing to note, they have valet parking available for $7. This is very handy in this area as there is nowhere to park other than on street parking.


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

Capital Grille

We visited the Capital Grille due to a coupon I received in the mail from American Express for $50 off any purchase. We thought it sounded like a good value, and we have not tried Capital Grille before so we thought we would give it a try. We ended up visiting on a Sunday night as they were booked solid, I suppose to due to the fact that Wicked was playing down the street.

We arrived a few minutes early, but we were seated right away in a side room off of the main dining room. The atmosphere was very dark and clubby, with lots of dark wood and dark carpets. Our server stopped by right away to introduce himself and get us started with drinks. He also made some menu recommendations, which we found to be very helpful.

I started with a glass of prosecco and John had a Sapphire tonic. He said the drink tasted off. Not a lot of liquor either, lots of tonic.

I was not that hungry so we shared a Caesar salad. This may have been a bad idea. The salad was too white and yellow for my tastes, poor quality lettuce.  The dressing had good flavor though.

John had the porcini delmonico. It had a porcini mushroom crust and it was drizzled with 12 year aged balsamic. The steak was very good. Cooked perfectly. The porcini crust gave it a nice earthy taste.  John’s steak was cooked as requested too.  

We shared a side of roasted mushrooms, which were cooked perfectly and we had a nice variety of types in the mix.

I had the filet Oscar, which is a filet with crab meat and béarnaise sauce.    All of their steaks are dry aged and mine was very tender and cooked perfectly as I had requested.

Overall, I think we were happy with our food and the service, but not wowed by it. I think the steak was very good, the other items were just average. For an expensive steakhouse, wowing is in order. Every time.

Compared to other nice steakhouses we’ve been at in the Twin Cities, I would rate Capital Grill near the bottom though. I think Murray’s was better. You get the same service and good quality food at slightly lower prices. Manny’s was definitely better. Manny’s impresses all the way around. So I’m glad we got a deal on this experience, but I don’t think we will be going back.


Capital Grille
LaSalle Plaza
801 Hennepin Ave 
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 692-9000
www.thecapitalgrille.com