Pad Ga-Pow

There has not been anywhere to get pad thai in the skyways since Sawatdee closed several years ago. I spotted anew place in the Highland Court building recently and it looked promising. It is in the former location of Sky Bites and seems to have undergone a paint job and menu change mainly.

Other menu items include pho, noodle soups and salads. I took a photo of the menu since I could not find a website for this restaurant. Combo #1 $6.99 is one item plus white rice, Combo #2 is two items plus white rice for $8.99, Combo #3 is three items plus white rice for $10.99, Soups are pho and are $8.99 and salads are $8.99. They also have cream cheese wontons and egg rolls available.

 Chili paste and other sauces to season and spice the entrees. 

My co-worker and I both tried the pad thai. This is the single order, but you could double or triple your order or add other entrees. I thought the portion was perfect for lunch, my co-worker would have liked a larger potion, but he did not realize he could have doubled the order. The flavor of the pad thai noodles was very good and I thought there was a good amount of chicken. The best part was all of the fresh chili sauces available to season and spice your pad thai as desired.

I thought the food was very good and I look forward to going back and trying more items. It certainly fills a void in the culinary scene, in the Minneapolis skyways at least.


Pad Ga-Pow
811 LaSalle Ave
Minneapolis, MN
Highland Bank Court building

Copper Hen

Yes, we went to brunch again. No, I do not feel bad about it. I like brunch! What’s the big deal?!  This time we visited the Copper Hen in Minneapolis.

This is one of those farm to table rustic chic places with lots of antique looking light bulbs and wooden beams in the ceiling. Yup, stuff is served in mason jars. The room is nice, but very loud. We arrived to a 45 minute wait, but we got lucky and scored seats at the bar, which was open seating.

John started with a Copper Hen bloody Mary: Prairie organic vodka, house made bloody mix, tomato juice, bacon and mini bacon blueberry breakfast cupcake garnish with beer chaser. I’m not a bloody Mary fan, but John liked it. It sure looked cool.

John had the Farmer’s brunch which included scrambled eggs, root vegetable hash, bread pudding french toast  and bacon. The French toast was very rich and amazing.

I had the Copper Hen benedict with crispy pork belly, béarnaise sauce, two poached eggs on toasted country bread, served with farmer's potatoes. The pork belly added a bit of crunch to the dish and the béarnaise was excellent. I was not crazy about the farmer’s potatoes. They were just cut up baby potatoes and could have used something more for additional flavor.

The service at the bar was acceptable. We were just happy to get seated. They were certainly very, very busy, but a server was devoted to just the bar and someone else was making drinks. The place was mobbed the entire time we were there, so arrive early or call ahead!

Deals & discounts: We used a coupon form the Chinook book for $5 off our $25 purchase. Not a big discount, but it got us in the door!


Copper Hen Cakery & Kitchen
2515 Nicollet Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Phone:(612) 872-2221
http://www.copperhenkitchen.com/

Jake's Stadium Pizza - Mankato

I’ve been in Mankato a lot recently, so I thought I might as well share a few finds from Southern Minnesota in case you find yourself in town.

Jake’s Stadium pizza has been around for as long as I can remember. According to their website it has been around since 1964. I’m not that old, so no wonder I think it has been there forever. It moved to a newer building in 2010, but the inside center portion of the dining room looks the same as the old location pretty much. I suppose someone would have missed the orange plastic booths if they did not bring them to the new location.

We had a thin crust pepperoni and sausage pizza. The sauce had a nice fresh flavor and the toppings were generously applied. The crust was nice and crisp too. I liked how the edges of the pepperoni crisped and curled up on the edges a bit. It is a solid pizza at a good price. A medium was $12.10 with two toppings and that was plenty for two of us, with a few pieces leftover.

This pizza is what I would call your standard Minnesota style pizza. It has a thin crust, lots of cheese, lots of toppings and it is cut into squares. I must admit, I never knew that was an official type of pizza, but I guess cutting pizza into squares is not done in many other places.


Jake’s Stadium Pizza
330 Stadium Rd
Mankato, MN 56001
Phone:(507) 345-5420
http://jakesstadiumpizza.com/

Haute Dish - brunch

It is time for yet another installment of the brunch chronicles. This time we made it to Haute Dish. I have heard about their sourdough waffles for awhile now and as you may know, we have a thing for sourdough toast. So sourdough waffles sounded excellent to both of us.

We both went for the chicken and waffles. The chicken is buttermilk fried chicken, sough dough waffles and bacon maple syrup. The stuff that looks like a dollop of butter was actually some sort of savory ice cream. I loved the ice cream, John did not care for it much. I found it a nice replacement for butter really.

The waffle had a nice sour dough flavor and the bacon maple syrup was really good. There were actual pieces of bacon in this syrup too! Nice flavor. The chicken was excellent too. It had a crisp skin and was juicy inside. The portion was huge too. I was only able to eat half of mine and it made a great meal the next day. We both loved this dish. I love how Haute Dish takes a basic dish and improves and elevates it.

There are a few more intriguing items on the menu that I would like to try. I bet the chilaquiles are great. Next time!


Haute Dish
119 Washington Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(612) 338-8484
http://haute-dish.com

Chef Shack Ranch - brunch

John and I have been hitting a ton of places for brunch lately for some odd reason. I guess it is one of our favorite meals. I have wanted to try Chef Shack ranch forever, too. I’ve loved the food truck for years and figured the restaurant would be just as great.

A couple of their famous mini donuts were brought out shortly afar we arrived and were complimentary. 

John had the French toast and brat, which included cinnamon brioche egg dipped breakfast toasts griddled to perfection, served with a vanilla pancake syrup, fruits of the moment, and bacon brat slices. John loved the French toast.

I had the daily benedict, which was two house made biscuits, smoked brisket slices on top, two each of poached beautiful egg, topped with skillful hollandaise sauce and a side salad. The brisket was tender and smoky tasting; very flavorful. The hollandaise sauce was bright and fresh tasting. I liked that this benedict was on a biscuit instead of an English muffin. It was far easier to cut and eat. There were also some breakfast potatoes on the plate and those were a good vehicle for soaking up the extra hollandaise. The salad was fresh and well dressed.

The service was good, the food was great and I look forward to returning and trying more of the items on the menu. The room has a fun shabby chic look to it as well. It was not busy at all either and we arrived around 10am on a Saturday morning. So it is a great place to try if you’d like to get right in without a long wait.


Chef Shack Ranch
3025 E Franklin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Phone:(612) 354-2575
http://chefshackranch.com/

Blaze Pizza

John and I visited the new Blaze Pizza in St Louis Park recently, mainly because we had received a coupon ion the newspaper for a free pizza. There was a short line on arrival, and you build your own pizza as you go through the line Chipotle style, they fire it and call your name shortly after.

John had the link in pizza with Italian sausage, roasted red peppers, sauteed onions, mozzarella, red sauce.

I had the white top pizza with white cream sauce with mozzarella, applewood bacon, chopped garlic, oregano, arugula.

Overall, the pizza was good, but I kept comparing it to Punch Pizza. I did not think the pizzas were as good as Punch. At Blaze they cut off the burnt edges of the pizza. WHY?! Hey, that is the good part! I did not think the sauce or other ingredients had as much flavor either. There was a gentleman in front of us telling us how much he loved Blaze, but he had never heard of Punch. He loaded up his pizza like crazy and shared it with his wife. I can see how it would seem like a good value, but I just didn’t think the flavors were that great. The crust is defiantly more of a thin crust and probably doesn’t hold up that well if you add tons of toppings. The crust was shaped by a machine and didn’t seem very light and airy.

John and I were not particularly dazzled and I don’t know that we would return. For about the same price you can get a much better pizza elsewhere.

Blaze Pizza
8126 Hwy 7
Saint Louis Park, MN 55426
and
1000 Washington Ave S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55414
http://www.blazepizza.com

Ummie's Bar & Grill - Mankato

I visited Ummie's Bar & Grill recently my friends Tricia and Christine for a late lunch on a Saturday. They suggested Ummie's since it is a newer spot in town. It was not busy at all and we seated ourselves near the front. The interior has been nicely redone and has lots of exposed brick and wood floors with a bar down the side of the room.

I had a chicken sandwich with a bourbon sriracha sauce and topped with swiss cheese. The sandwich was excellent and the sauce was sweet and spicy, but not so spicy I did not enjoy it. I ordered the house made potato chips with the secret recipe chip dip. The chip dip seemed to be cream cheese based and was very flavorful, but not spicy.

Christine had a bacon cheeseburger

Tricia had the avocado turkey burger

The service was good and the food was all excellent. Ummie's is a great addition to the Mankato dining scene. The town certainly needs more independent restaurants with great food. I look forward to going back and visiting during patio season.


Ummie's Bar & Grill
530 S Front St,
Mankato, MN 56001
Phone:(507) 625-8277
http://ummiesmankato.com

Mort's Deli

John and I went to Mort’s deli for a quick weekday dinner recently. It is close by, but we never think to visit. We had a coupon from the Metro Dining Club, so we thought we’d give it a try.

John had the French dip. He thought the flavors were a bit on the bland side for his sandwich. The portions were generous, we both had leftovers to bring home. The chips are not all that great either, pretty bland and I’d guess they are pre-packaged chips.

I had an open faced roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The bread under the roast beef was fresh and tasty, I guess they recently started making bread in-house, the roast beef was good, very tender, though the gravy was really salty. The mashed potatoes tasted real and freshly made and the vegetables, were a bit on the soft side, I liked the variety in the mix. I wanted comfort food and it was a large portion and tasted fine.

The service was pretty fast, we had no issues at all. The restaurant didn’t seem that busy, but many tables were occupied. The atmosphere is pretty low key and quiet.

Deals & discounts: We used a monthly punch card from the Metro Dining Club good for up to $10 off, when you buy one entrée you get $10 off the second. Two beverages are required as well.


Mort’s Deli
525 Winnetka Ave N
Golden Valley, MN 55427
Phone:(763) 544-2900
http://www.morts-deli.com/

Fat Lorenzo's

We visited the Fat Lorenzo’s in Minneapolis recently for an early dinner on a Sunday. It is a pretty small location with four rows of tables and booths, but it was not at all busy when we arrived.

We ordered a medium carne pizza (meat crazy) topped with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, sausage and sliced meatballs.  The pizza is a New York style pizza with a pretty thick crust, but it is not deep dish by any means. The toppings were generous and I thought the pizza sauce had a fresh tasting sauce. It was very filling and I could only eat a couple slices. More pizza to take home is always good though!

The service was friendly and prompt and our food arrived in a timely manner. In addition to pizza, the menu offers pasta, hoagies, appetizers and gelato. The Minneapolis location offers wine and beer. Parking is available in a small lot on the side of the building or on the street and it is easy to access just off highway 62.


Deals & discounts: The metro Dining Club has a monthly discount of one complimentary entrée when a second entrée of equal or greater value is purchased or 50% off the regular price of any size pizza for up to $7 off per month. Note: You must purchase a minimum of two beverages per card. Not a bad deal though.

Fat Lorenzo’s
5600 Cedar Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55417
Phone:(612) 822-2040
http://fatlorenzos.com/

Also a second location
Inside Everett McClay VFW Post 1296
311 W. 84th Street
Bloomington, MN 55420
952-888-3282

Ideal Diner

John and I visited Ideal Diner awhile back on a Sunday morning. We were thinking it might be busy with lines out the door, so we arrived kind of early, around 8:30 am. It didn’t get that busy throughout our visit though. But, keep in mind this is one of those small places and the only seating is at the counter, so maximum capacity is 14 seats. Of course, I also like watching the action of the cook behind the counter.

I think we both had the same thing, with differently prepared eggs. I had eggs over medium, with hash browns, bacon, toast and one pancake. The food is all very solid and well prepared. The hash browns were crispy, eggs cooked as ordered, bacon excellent quality.

The pancakes are quite good, I’d place them second behind Al’s Breakfast pancakes. It is a thinner pancake with crispy bits on the edges and softer in the center. The pancakes are buttermilk and had some of that nice buttermilk flavor, but not as strongly as Al’s Breakfast pancakes.

Here is John’s plate with scrambled eggs and rye toast.

We found the food and the service to be excellent at Ideal Diner. Considering we got right in and the food was ready quickly, we will certainly return again.


Ideal Diner
1314 Central Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
http://www.idealdiner.com/