Posted in Adventure, Minneapolis, Restaurants, Seafood on January 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »
shrimp dumpling and shark fin dumpling
We met a few (six) friends for Dim Sum this past Sunday. It was so much fun. And the Bloody Mary wasn’t too bad either!
pork dumpling and calamari ceviche
wasabi bloody mary
shrimp something, pork bun and fried spring rolls
Posted in Cooking, Recipes, Seafood on October 12, 2010| 2 Comments »
A pile of fresh, hot Fettucine, sautéed Shrimp, a half cup of Pesto, a generous splash (pour) of white wine, a dash of crushed red pepper and dinner is served. Yum.
Posted in Minneapolis, Outdoor dining, Restaurants, Seafood, Uncategorized on September 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »
I met a couple dear friends for dinner on Monday night at a neighborhood favorite, Al Vento. I’ve been there a number of times for both dinner and brunch and I’m always happy to return. Monday night was no exception and a real treat. Not only was the company fan-tabulous, but the food was absolutely amazing.
We started with two Bruschetta, including the Olive Tapanade and the Sweet Corn Relish. I passed on the Olive option in exchange for more the Corn. And it was a great choice. The corn was so fresh I half expected to see a corn field behind the restaurant. And there was just enough red onion to give it a kick.
For my entree, I chose the Halibut over Cauliflower Corn Risotto with an Heirloom Vinagrette. Again, the corn. And I was so, so happy with my choice. The Halibut was prepared perfectly, crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside and surprisingly hot when it arrived. The rest of the plate accented the fish nicely and I am still dreaming of that Vinagrette today. We passed on dessert, although their tiramasu is just stunning and quite authentic. (I sort of speak from experience…)
It was a lovely meal, with lovely ladies, on a lovely patio, on a lovely fall evening. I wish we could do it every week…. Ah…..
That’s it for me for the week. We’re heading Up North to the South Shore for a few days…. lots of great food up there and you can read all about it next week. Happy Weekend to you!
Posted in Restaurants, Seafood, Uncategorized on July 20, 2010| 1 Comment »
Husband and I were craving Sushi last week during our Stay-cation. Actually, we’re rarely NOT craving Sushi, but not usually able to chose a restaurant in the middle of the day in the middle of the week and go there. Without Daughter. But last week we were relaxing and eating and generally enjoying ourselves, so we headed over to Crave in Edina for a light lunch. We started with the beautiful platter pictured above. It’s the Yellowtail Jalapeno Sashimi and the blend of spicy, tart, sweet was really amazing. I could have eaten the whole platter myself, but Husband probably would have killed me. We also enjoyed the Mexican roll (Tuna, Jalapeno, Avocado, Spicy Mayo) and the Chipotle Ocean (Soft-shell Crab, Yellowtail and Chipotle Mayo). Along with a glass of Torrentes, it made for a delightful summer lunch. Just the two of us, some wine, some Sushi. Yum. Wish we could do that every week day.
Today at paper&clouds: Jumbo Crayons
Posted in Adventure, Minneapolis, Restaurants, Seafood on July 13, 2010| 2 Comments »
I saw this article in City Pages recently. They compared the Tilapia Tacos at Sea Salt with the Tilapia Tacos at Tin Fish. They liked both, but decided Sea Salt’s were better. I can now say I agree. We live near Sea Salt and it’s become our favorite restaurant, hands down, no debate. We had never been to Tin Fish until yesterday so we biked there along the Grand Rounds parkway and stopped for lunch along the way. Husband ordered the Crab Cake, I ordered the Tacos and we shared the Shrimp Nachos. And they were all good, the nachos were really good, just not Sea Salt good. Actually, nowhere near to Sea Salt good. Not even in the same area code Sea Salt good. But the line was short (no line) and the food came out quickly. And the bike ride? It was great. (But the ride to Sea Salt would be about 10 miles shorter.)
Posted in Restaurants, Seafood, Twin Cities on May 13, 2010| 4 Comments »
And sometimes I don’t feel like cooking. Or the cupboards are bare. Or I’d rather go to the club for a few minutes rather than cook dinner. On those days, and the days like today where the day job was non-stop all day long, we pick up the phone and order something Yummy from the Highland Grill. I love the variety of the menu, and everything is good. Tonight we both chose a special, Grilled Orange Salmon with Mashed Potatoes and a Cucumber-Avocado Salad. It did not disapoint. We didn’t have to cook and the best part? No dishes.
Posted in Cooking, Recipes, Seafood on February 4, 2010| 1 Comment »
I found this recipe for Cornmeal-Crusted Tilapia with Cilantro Pesto in the Star Tribune a couple weeks ago and it was a wonderful new way to prepare tilapia. The crust was crunchy, the sauce was light and flavorful. We served it over mashed potatoes. I think we’ll be borrowing this method again, and again.
Note: I searched and searched for the recipe on the Star Tribune site, with no luck. But I did find it on the Washington Post site. Enjoy!
Posted in Minneapolis, Restaurants, Seafood, Twin Cities, tagged Sea salt restaurant on May 1, 2009| 3 Comments »
I introduced our new daughter to our favorite restaurant, Sea Salt Eatery
She didn’t order anything, but the rest of us loaded up with Calamari (best in the twin cities), Fish Po’Boy, a Oyster Po’Boy, Red Curry Soup and Fish Tacos. We made it there about 20 minutes after they opened for the season and it was as if they had never closed for the winter. We’ll be returning quite often, too often probably, but the daughter will just be along for the ride until next season. More for us!
Posted in Restaurants, Seafood, Twin Cities, tagged Cheeky Monkey Deli, Salt and Pepper Chips, Shrimp Roll on February 23, 2009| 1 Comment »
We made it over to the new Cheeky Monkey Deli in St. Paul this weekend for lunch and we were not disappointed. It’s located in the Zander Cafe’s old space, but has been totally redone with red walls, retro art and a great fireplace in the back. It’s a comfortable setting, where you order at the counter and they bring the sandwiches out to your table.
I ordered the Shrimp Roll, which turned out to be really amazing the second time around. The first one they brought out to me had nearly-raw shrimp pouring out of it. I’m an adventurous eater, but I’m not touching raw shrimp. So back it went and out came another with multiple apologies and a bowl of their homemade coleslaw to keep my busy while I waited. Husband had the Cubano sandwich and friends had the Cumin Pork sandwich and the Muffeletta. They all raved about their sandwiches.
And considering they smoke, etc their meat on site, they should be good. I mentioned that my shrimp roll was almost as good as Sea Salt’s Shrimp Po-boy and Husband said, “Careful, you’re treading on thin ice there.”. It was really good, different than Sea Salts because these shrimp were not breaded and deep-fried, but still. very close. I can’t skip a mention of the chips, which are called Salt and Pepper chips and were also homemade. They were tender, thin and really crisp. Yum.
Three of the four of us had also ordered chocolate dipped macaroons, which were nearly as good as those at the Salty Tart. Close, really close.\
Can I be picky now? The sandiwiches are served in adorable wire baskets. And while this looks cool and different I found it hard to eat out of. Given my shrimp roll was a bit messier than the other sandwiches, it would have been nice to have a plate so I could set it down between ooey, gooey bites.
We’ll go back. Not sure when, because it’s a little out of the way for us, but it’s in a great neighborhood. And they serve wine and beer. So, nice job Cheeky Monkey and best of luck with the new venture!
Posted in Restaurants, Seafood, tagged Dinkytown Sushi, Gopher Hockey Game, Obento-ya Sushi on December 3, 2008| 1 Comment »
Husband and I had tickets to a Gopher Hockey game this past weekend, so I finally made it over to dinkytown to try out one of the new sushi restaurants I posted about back in January. We tried Obento-ya and had a nice dinner of sushi and other Japanese dishes. The first thing I noticed was the size of their menu… the options were endless. And maybe this small, family run place has offered too many options.
We started with the Miso Soup which was good and hot, which was nice on the chilly day. We also tried the Shrimp Shumai, which were interesting, but I’d stick with the regular Gyoza next time and shared a Soft-Shell Crab roll. Yum. Husband ordered a couple plates of sushi, including a spicy combo platter and I went with a Beef Teriyaki Bento Box. Everything was good, nothing knocked my socks off. The beef was a little to fatty, but the dipping sauce was great. The atmosphere was quaint, the tables a little too close together.
All in all, it’s a cute little place with many, many options. It would be a fun place for a group, so you could try lots of good stuff without spending too much. If you go, let me know what you think. Enjoy!
The Write Ingredients 