5-8 Club

It's another case of I thought I already did a post, but I guess not. I really thought I'd done a post on the 5-8 Club a long time ago. We visit the Champlin location occasionally as it is not all that far from where we live and it is a good place for a quick casual meal.

John ordered the garlic burger and jojo fries. The jojo's are basically potato wedges and are pretty tasty. John said the garlic burger was good, but it did not have very much garlic flavor really. The coleslaw is very good, seems to be freshly made and very creamy. Good coleslaw is harder to find than you would think!

I ordered a cheeseburger with onion rings on it. I can not recall what it is called on the menu and the website is down so I can't double check. Anyway, it was a decent burger and I would order it again.

The juicy lucy is a specialty at the 5-8 club. It is one of the places in the Twin Cities that claims to be the creator of the famous cheese stuffed burger. I have tried the juicy lucy here before and liked it a lot, but I do not have any photos of previous visits unfortunately.

The service was friendly and efficient. We sat in the bar on this visit and they have a bunch of TVs so it would be a good place to go and watch a football game on TV or other sporting event.

Deals & Discounts: The 5-8 always has a coupon in the Entertainment book. In the current 2012-2013 book there are a couple coupons for a 1/2 price hamburger basket or $3.25 off any item with the purchase of another item. Not the best discount, but better than nothing I guess.


5-8 Club
6251 Douglas Court North
Champlin, MN 55316
(763) 425-5858
www.5-8club.com

plus 2 other locations in Minneapolis and Maplewood:

5800 Cedar Ave S

Minneapolis, MN 55417

(612) 823-5858

2289 Minnehaha Ave E
Maplewood, MN 55119
(651) 735-5858

Sonora Grill

We visited Sonora Grill for a late Sunday lunch a couple Saturdays ago. It is a relatively new stall at the Midtown Global Market and we had seen it featured on a couple of food shows on TV. So we had pretty high expectations. First of all, we were a bit disappointed when we arrived and and found out they were sold out of the Sonora dog, the bacon wrapped hot dog. How do you run out of bacon and hot dogs? We we looked at the menu a bit, walked around the rest of the market and ended up coming back and ordering other menu items instead.

We each ordered the shrimp caramelos, and they were described on the menu as red tempura, cilantro and cabbage sonora style tacos. The tacos were quite tasty, and had just a tiny bit of spice. The red color made me think they looked like they would be quite hot and spicy, but I guess that was just an illusion. The shrimp were cooked well and this was a tasty taco. I think I liked this taco more than John did though.

We both ordered the beef skirt steak caramelos that had chihuahua cheese, sauteed onions, cilantro and salsa verde. We both thought these were good tacos with lots of steak and onion inside. The cabbage added  a nice crunch too.

I also got a side of the eggplant fries with chimichurri aoili. The eggplant fries were quite tasty, but they were also quite greasy. They really soaked up the oil they were cooked in. We ate about half of the eggplant fries and had enough of them. The dipping sauce that came with the fries was quite good and it gave some good flavor and spice to what is otherwise a very bland vegetable. The breading on the eggplant fries did not do much to give them more flavor either. I wanted to keep my arteries free for tastier greasy goodness.

Unfortunately, while eating my steak taco I bit into a piece of wood inside the taco. I should have taken a photo of it, but I forgot. (Major error on my part, I know.) I put it on a napkin and took it up to the counter and told them this was in my taco and I thought they should know about it. The employees did not seem very concerned. They said the steak is cooked on skewers, so that is where it came from probably. I told them I thought they would want to know about it because it ruined my meal for me. They did not offer any apologies or anything at all. I was very disappointed in how they handled the situation and would have at least liked a sincere apology. Their apathy led me to feel that they did not care if I returned again or not, which is too bad. So, to say the least, the service was not exactly great.

Sonora Grill
920 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55407
(612) 871-1900
http://www.midtownglobalmarket.org/sonoragrill
www.facebook.com/SonoraGrill

Ike's - Minnetonka

I have been anxiously and excitedly awaiting the opening of Ike's in Minnetonka all summer. Ike's in the West metro? With no downtown parking hassles? Yay! The construction and opening was delayed a few times, but they finally opened for business in mid-September. We waited awhile after it opened to visit because I hate it when a place is busy at first just because it is new. I like to wait until the food and service get into a groove and are up to par.

We arrived fairly early hoping to get in right away, but it was pretty packed at about 6pm. This location has a very nice patio with heaters and quite a few tables. The interior is a bit smaller than I was expecting, but it is still larger than the downtown location. The greeter said it would be a 45 minute wait, but we only waited about 20 minutes. Oddly enough, the entire time we were there, even after we were seated there appeared to be a wait for a table, but at all times there were at least 3-4 tables open in the dining room. I understand the concept of staggered seating, but creating a wait when there are tables available seemed strange to me.

This is the top shelf margarita. It is served a bit differently than at the other location, but it was excellent. Just what the doctor called for on a Friday night after a busy week at work!

The menu at this location is slightly expanded compared to the downtown location, so there were some new menu items that looked interesting. However, I think we both saw the prime rib on the menu and were unable to look beyond it at anything else. As you can see by the photos, we both made a good choice. The prime rib is hickory smoked and you could actually taste the smoky flavor. Wow. It was perfect. It was also cooked perfectly. The smoked flavor made it just a bit more interesting than prime rib I've had elsewhere. John ordered fries as his side.Hand cut fries, just like they have at the downtown location.

I ordered the garlic mashed potatoes as my side. They had a good garlic flavor, but they were just a bit dry. The horseradish sauce on the side of the prime rib was excellent as well, added a bit of spice, which was delicious.

Overall, the service was good and we were not kept waiting for anything. Our server seemed somewhat distracted and was always looking around at other tables even while he was talking to us, which bothered me a bit. Other than that, we had a great visit and we look forward to visiting Ike's in Minnetonka often.

Deals & Discounts: I am not aware of any coupons or Groupons for Ike's. However, the downtown location has a very good happy hour and I would expect the Minnetonka location would have a similar happy hour as well. I am not finding any information regarding happy hour on their website, so I will have to check on this on my next visit or maybe give them a call to confirm.

Ike's
17805 Highway 7
Minnetonka, MN 55345
Phone: (952) 681-7099
http://ilikeikes.com

Pizzeria Lola

We stopped in at Pizzeria Lola late on a Sunday afternoon while out running errands. I've been hearing for awhile that the pizza was great in the media and from friends, so I was looking forward to checking it out. We were not disappointed.

We were seated quickly and ordered right away. The menu had a lot of options that looked very interesting. We ordered the My Sha-roni! pizza that has red sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni and sausage. The pizza came out after just a short wait. The crust was great, rather light, but it was sturdy enough to hold all of the toppings. The pizza is wood fired so it had a bit of that flavor too. Love that! The red sauce was good with a very fresh tomato flavor and I loved the house made sausage. It was not too spicy, but very flavorful. Even the pepperoni were good. I love it when pepperoni is sliced thin so it gets just a bit crispy. They have a small bar with several beers on tap and wine is also available, though it looked like the bar was mainly for overflow seating.

We had a great visit to Pizzeria Lola. The food and service were both excellent. I wish they had more locations, because it is great and I can't wait to go back soon.

Pizzeria Lola
5557 Xerxes Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55410
612.424.8338
www.pizzerialola.com

Fayze's - LaCrosse, WI - Trip Report

We visited LaCrosse, Wisconsin, with our friends Megan and Jason back in September for a short weekend getaway for Oktoberfest 2012. So this report is way overdue. We all used to go every year, but due to other obligations we've had to take a year off here and there. This year we arrived Thursday night after work and attended the Tapping of the Golden Keg on Friday morning at 11 am. Later that evening we decided to visit Fayze's to refuel. We've been here quite a few times before and it is always pretty decent food. And great Bloody Mary's according to everyone else in my party. I'm not into Bloody Mary's, except for the olives. I'll eat your olives if you need me to!

I had the fire grilled prime rib dipped in garlic butter. The dipping sounded better than it tasted. I should not have ordered it dipped. It was very overdone and chewy. Maybe it would have been overdone either way, but this may have made it worse. The baked potato was good at least. They have great dinner rolls in the bread basket too. And all dinners come with a small side salad to start. You really do get quite a bit of food for the money.

Megan had a steak, the sirloin I beleive. She said it was really good and cooked as ordered.

Both John and Jason had the Friday fish fry special with cod. They both said the fish was really good, very light and flaky. The fries were ok, just your typical frozen french fries.

Cheap ketchup. Is it really that expensive to buy Heinz ketchup?

Oktoberfest song book and 2012 program of events.

They are tapping the Golden Keg on stage. Lots of people in attendance this year!

We had a good time in LaCrosse and everyone except me had a good dinner at Fayze's. I'm sure we will return again on our next trip. Even though the food is a bit hit or miss, there are not many other choices in the downtown area anyway.

Fayze's

135 4th Street South  

La Crosse, WI 54601

www.fayzes.com/
(608) 784-9548

Zen Box

Zex Box is a very popular, very tiny Japanese outlet located in the skyway system. I think they maybe have 4 or 5 tables inside the restaurant, which is not really an issue because most people take it to go.

They offer a variety of combo plates and rice bowls. My favorite menu item is the gyoza
(chicken dumplings). They come with any bento set or combo meal you order and they also have a combo that is all gyoza. On my most recent visit, I ordered the Bento #2 Chicken Kara-age that comes with chicken, gyoza and a small cabbage salad and ginger dressing. The ginger dressing is really good too, it makes a good palate cleanser at the end of the meal. The gyoza are always really good because they are just a bit crispy and they pour a bit of soy sauce over the top as well. The chicken dumplings are boneless and have a slightly crispy skin and then they pour what they call kamikaze sauce over the chicken and the rice. The sauce is a bit spicy with some garlic flavor for that extra kick.

Zen Box is a nice change from the usual Asian offerings in the skyway and it is very popular, so go early or be prepared to wait in a bit of a line.

Deals & Discounts: There are no coupon deals that I have been able to find, though they do offer a frequent diner card. After 10 punches you get a free bento set.


Zen Box
601 Marquette Avenue South #204
(Six Quebec building, skyway level)
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 341-3313
http://zen-box.com/

Trieste Cafe

There are plenty of places that serve average to poor tasting gyros in the skyways of Minneapolis. So after a long and lengthy search, I think I may have found the best gyro place downtown at Trieste Cafe in the Lumber Exchange building.

The meat seems to be about the same quality as everywhere else, but the warm, fluffy pita bread stands out, and so do the freshly chopped vegetables and generous amounts of a light and creamy yogurt sauce. The yogurt sauce stands out to me because it tends to be very soupy and sparse at other gyro places around town. The guy actually chops the vegetables while you watch. That should not be as impressive as it is, but how often do you see that anymore?  By the way, the portion was massive and the entire basket was full of just one giant gyro.

The lemonade is very good as well, seems to be freshly made. The place is about the size of a postage stamp, and there are some tables to eat in if you wish, but I recommend arriving early or late in order to avoid the line. I think it was about $8 for the gyro, chips and a drink.

The Lumber Exchange building is skyway connected, but it is a bit off the main habitrail, so I recommend consulting a map before setting out. Just when you think you know your way around the skyways, you find another corner with a hidden gem. That's just one more reason I love working downtown.

Trieste Cafe
10 S 5th St
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 333-4658

Zelo

I visited Zelo a couple times recently for weekday lunch with friends, so I thought I'd share photos of both visits. I have not been there in many years, so I was excited to go back since I have never heard anything but good things.

On the first visit, Kelly and I were able to sit outside on one of the last warm days of the fall. The patio is really nice and it faces Nicollet Mall, so there are a lot of people to watch if that is your thing at all.

Kelly had the walleye sandwich and french fries. She said it was very good and just the right amount of food for lunch time.

I tried the ahi tuna burger with fries. It was cooked perfectly to medium rare and the avocado really made the sandwich great. There was also a touch of wasabi aoli to give it a bit of extra spice and flavor. I really liked the french fries though. The menu says they are house cut fries and they were very light and crispy and not at all greasy, which is perfect.

A couple weeks later I went back with my friend Tracy from work. On this visit I tried the walleye sandwich. Kelly's looked so good last time, I thought I'd try it on this visit. I'm glad I ordered it, it was really good. The walleye was great, very mildly flavored with a really light, crispy breading. I really liked the lemon aoli sauce that gave it a nice tart bite overall. The bread was wonderful too, very light and fluffy, it tasted like milk bread that has become rather popular lately. The fries were really good again as well.

Tracy had the tortiglioni rossa and really enjoyed it. She also started with a ciao baby salad that I forgot to take a photo of. I had a bite of the salad and the pasta and both were great. The pasta was very flavorful with a wonderful tomato sauce. I really liked the sausage in the dish; it was flavorful without being spicy.

On both visits the service was excellent overall, very friendly and efficient. We were in and out of there within an hour, which is nice for a weekday lunch. Every now and then a nice sit down meal is a great change of pace from the usual cafeteria and skyway options, so I can't recommend it enough.

Deals & Discounts:
Zelo does not have too many deals that I am aware of, but they do have a happy hour Monday through Friday from 3-6pm where they offer a variety of food and drink specials for $5 each. I suspect the lineup changes, so I would suggest checking the website or calling for the most up to date information.

Zelo
831 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612.333.7000
www.zelomn.com

Which Wich

Which Wich opened in downtown Minneapolis over the summer and has been a very popular lunchtime destination ever since, with large lines almost daily. I've tried it a few times now, and I think it is ok. For some reason I don't love it as much as everyone else does, but I can't pinpoint the exact reasons.

The way that you order at Wich Wich is a bit different. There is a big menu on the wall, and underneath are a bunch of different paper bags with the sandwich names printed on them. So, say you want a turkey sandwich, grab that bag and printed on the bag will be a bunch of different boxes to check to customize your sandwich. They offer tons of choices from ham, beef, turkey, chicken, seafood, vegetarian, Italian, classics and more.

On this particular visit I had the TBR, which is a Turkey Bacon Ranch sandwich. So, to customize my sandwich I chose the bread (white), if I wanted it toasted or not (toasted), cheeses, sauces, onions, veggies, oils and spices, and don't forget to write down your name which they will call when your sandwich is ready to go. With this method, I guess you are not hovering over them telling them what to do like you do at Subway, but you still get your sandwich custom made each time. I thought the sandwich as fine, but I think I prefer Erbert and Gerbert. I think the bread is better at Erbert and Gerbert, with the bread middles and all. Maybe I need to go back and try some of their more unique flavors. On a previous visit, I had a muffeletta sandwich and enjoyed that a bit more due to the very tasty and flavorful olive spread.

Deals & Discounts: Which Wich has a birthday club! You get a free sandwich around your birthday. It does not have to be used on your birthday and you do not even need to bring another person along. You can sign up on their website www.whichwich.com/. Great deal!


Which Wich
800 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612-284-5325
www.whichwich.com/
Hours: Monday-Friday: 10:00-2:00

Campiello

I visited Campiello with a couple girlfriends on a beautiful Saturday afternoon a couple weeks ago. We sat on their patio, which is very leafy and lovely. You can hardly tell you are in a strip mall parking lot. I tend to forget that Campiello is still open since the Eden Prairie location is tucked away off highways 62 and 212. The food and ambiance were still very good even though I had not been here in some time.

Since we arrived pretty early, we were offered the early dining menu in addition to their regular menu. This is available from 5-6pm daily. I'd call or visit their website for details as I'm sure the selections change often.

Kelly and I both started with the Caesar salad. I had anchovies on mine. I have no idea why I said yes to them when the waiter asked if I wanted them. They just taste super salty, but I don't really care for them all that much. I especially liked their Caesar dressing as it had a nice strong garlic flavor.

Michele ordered the Sicilian meatballs for her appetizer. I had a bite and the sauce had amazing fresh tomato flavor.

All three of us ordered the penne pasta for our entree. This is one of my all time Campiello favorites.  The pasta has chicken, artichoke, basil, garlic and lemon in it. The chicken is the rotisserie chicken you can order as an entree, but they pull it off the bone for the pasta. It is very rich and delicious and the pasta was cooked perfectly.

The service was very attentive without being overbearing, which I prefer. The servers and busers were very good at keeping our water glasses filled as well. We had a great experience and I look forward to returning again soon.

Deals & Discounts: An early dining special menu is available from 5-6pm daily. For $24.95 you get a choice of appetizer, entree and a glass of wine. We felt this was a great value and we were able to change out the menu's wine selection with another for an additional change if we wished. There is a nice variety of appetizer and entree choices, which includes some of their most popular items such as penne, hanger steak and roasted chicken.

Campiello

6411 City W Pkwy
Eden Prairie, MN 55344

(952) 941-6868

http://www.damico.com