Tampilkan postingan dengan label date night. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label date night. Tampilkan semua postingan

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Hola Arepa - Minneapolis, MN

D.Rough and I had random reasons to celebrate, so we decided to hit up a place we've been meaning to go to for months. Hola Arepa in Uptown. It was a Friday night, so we knew there was going to be a wait, but we were up for it - especially since they had a bar there. The host told us it would be about 30 minutes.

We put our name in and headed to the bar. As we were walking up, the people sitting there were leaving and told us to take their spot. We sat down and proceeded to look at the drink menu - soooooo many delicious sounding drinks. Apparently, these folks are known for their creative cocktails. All of them contain bitters, which I'm not a huge fan of, but I am able to order drinks without bitters like a grown ass man, so we're all good.

I ordered an El Camino Rojo and D.Rough ordered a Cortez The Killer. We watched the drink expert make these ridiculously expert-level drinks and were pretty impressed. These drinks were strong. REALLY strong. And delicious, thankfully. We both liked the Cortez The Killer better, but both were super tasty. This also gave us time to check out the food menu so we were ready when we sat down at our table.

We ran into some friends, like you do in Uptown, and chatted the time away. We also ordered two more drinks. I opted for the Jolly Poltergeist and D.Rough got the Southerly Pariah - again, both were incredibly strong. To the point of weavy-ness. This time, I ordered the winning drink (the Jolly Poltergeist)(again, without bitters).

It was just over 30 minutes when the host called our name and sat us at a table being served expertly by Bryce - a fellow long-haired bearded gentleman. We were already leaning towards a couple of appetizers and finally decided on the Vigoron appetizer - steamed yuca, roasted pork, citrus-cabbage slaw, pico de gallo, and chicharron on a banana leaf. After a few questions, I ordered an arepa with roasted pork and sweet potatoes and D.Rough ordered the arepa with shredded beef and plantains. If you don't know what arepas are, you're missing out. They're sort of a taco-like hand food. Picture a circular cross between a pita and an english muffin, but made out of corn meal. Then stuff it with all kinds of different ingredients (mainly the kinds of things you would put in a fancy taco) like lettuce, shredded beef/pork, black beans, onions, and other things.

The Vigoron came out and we were extremely excited for this crazy thing. It was a mound of shredded pork with some other fun things to dip the pork rinds into. Seriously this thing was worth fighting over. I was very surprised both at how large it was and also how delicious it was. I'm glad we decided on this for an appetizer.

The arepas came out just after we finished our appetizer. And I'll be honest, it was really difficult to tell which one was better.

The shredded beef was had fantastic cumin flavor and the sweetness of the plantains really cut through. The cotija cheese flavor also came through brilliantly. I was really surprised how good this thing was.

The roasted pork arepa with sweet potato was also fantastic. The green onion aioli was extremely mild and complemented the roasted pork very well. Just the right amount of sweet potato so as not to be overpowering.

The yuca fries that came with our areas were wonderful. I got the chimichurri dip and D.Rough got the aioli verde dip. Again, we couldn't decide which one was better - we loved them both.

I'll be honest, I expected to just think this place was "o.k.". I was totally wrong about it. The place is wonderful. I know there are competing arepa restaurants in the Twin Cities that are cheaper, but the arepas at Hola are much larger, more full of ingredients, and are more filling. One arepa is more than enough here, especially if you get one of their enormous appetizers (which I would recommend).

Top 5 things about Hola Arepa
1. Vigoron
2. Shredded beef and plantain arepa
3. Roasted pork and sweet potato arepa
4. Delicious cocktails
5. Both the chimichurri dip and the aioli verde dips for the yuca fries

Bottom 5 things
1. You're going to wait in line, especially in the winter when the patio is closed. There's a really good reason they're as busy as they are
2. The bartender, who is an absolute wizard, is leaving Hola Arepa to start his own distillery!!!!
3. You're going to want everything on the menu
4. I've heard people call it "Holla" arepa. Those people are idiots
5. If you don't like bitters, order your fancy drinks without them - it's that easy

www.holaarepa.com

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Hot Indian Foods - Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, MN

D.Rough and I decided to meet for a quick dinner before we headed to various commitments we had agreed to separately. Thankfully, she's a genius and wanted to go to Hot Indian Foods in the Midtown Global Market. We had heard about these Induritos (basically Indian-themed burritos) and had been dying to try them.

Her and I share pretty well, so we decided to get a Curry Lamb Indurito and a Vegan Channa Indurito. We also caved and decided to get the IndoFrites (yup, you guessed it - Indian-flavored french fries). The people working there were super helpful and gave us samples of the insides of the burritos so we could decide. Really awesome and helpful.


The Curry Lamb Indurito was really quite flavorful and D.Rough liked this one the best. Lots of Lamb meat and plenty of other filling. This one held it's shape/construction really well while eating.

The Vegan Channa Indurito was my favorite. Tons of veggies (duh) and filled with my favorite - chick peas. The thing was a little juicy and became messy quickly - not a complaint at all, just commenting. It simply makes you eat the thing faster. Absolutely amazing.

The fries were the real winner of the show. Super breaded and had both sweet potato and white potatoes. The seasoning on them was perfect and the spicy mayo dip that came with them was incredible. We should have gotten our own orders of these, and probably will next time. Make sure you get these.

Delicious dinner and I can't wait to go back and try the other Induritos (which also come in bowl form, if that makes you feel any better). Wonderful little shop in the Midtown Global Market (and also operates a food truck around the cities).

Top 5 things about Hot Indian Foods
1. Indo-Frites
2. Vegan Channa Indurito
3. Curry Lamb Indurito
4. Amazingly friendly and helpful staff
5. The mobile food trucks comes to YOU

Bottom 5 things
1. Nothing I can think of...

www.hotindianfoods.com

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Lake & Irving – Minneapolis, MN

D.Rough and I set up a double date with two of our favorite people, LowVee and Kevin, at Lake & Irving in Minneapolis. They had some interesting things on the menu that I was looking forward to trying.

We grabbed some drinks and some ciders before ordering and then set out to find the best things L&I had to offer. We ordered some homemade corn nuts (duh) and some pork aranchini bites. D.Rough wanted the Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich with Duroc bacon, pepperjack, and served on sourdough. I had been dying to try the L&I Half Smokes – chili dogs with Duroc pork and beef sausage and chuck chili.

The corn nuts come in a small paper bag with an appropriate amount of grease residue on the outside of the bag. The little nuggets were super tasty and fried well – I’m not even sure how these things are made (probably wizardry), but I’m glad someone figured them out. We probably should have gotten two orders of these…

The aranchini bites were decent. Not fantastic, but just good. They were a little small, but they’re BITES, after all. They didn’t have a ton of flavor, but they kept our mouths full until the meals arrived. Again, not terrible or anything, but fell a little short (mainly because we’ve eaten these things in Italy and it’s hard to compare them to the US versions).

D.Rough’s Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich looked better than it tasted (despite the poor quality of the photo due to dim lighting). The chicken was fried well, but didn’t end up being as juicy as she had hoped. The pepperjack flavor didn’t come through but the sauce drizzled on it was pretty good. She had to look for the bacon pieces, so obviously there wasn’t a lot of bacon flavor in the sandwich, either. She was fine with the sandwich, but she’d order something else the next time we go back.

The Half Smokes I had high hopes for, since they had been written up in Citipages or some other food-related publication. The dogs were cooked well and had good flavor, but I was really surprised at the minimal flavor of the chili that was on top when I tasted it alone. I couldn’t tell where the pork stopped and chili began – but there was a lot of it piled on the dog. It tasted fine, but I really thought it would be a big bold meat flavor and it wasn’t. It could probably be compared to a decent chili dog, but when you get them at a nicer restaurant, you expect something to pop or stand out. These were just alright, I’m sorry to say. Even the fries were just about average.

I’m not saying it was a terrible meal. I’m just saying I’d order something different the next time we go there. We’ll likely be back, but we’ve got a few other places in Uptown to hit up before then. That being said, our next double date with LowVee and Kevin is going to be something crazy. I’m sure of it.

Top 5 things about Lake & Irving
1. Corn Nuts – homemade!
2. Full bar, so good drink selection
3. Open late with limited food offerings
4. They do have a parking lot in back
5. The brunch menu looks pretty fantastic

Bottom 5 things
1. Half Smokes/Chili Dogs
2. Aranchini Bites
3. Average fries
4. Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich
5. It’s fairly pricey for the quality of the food we got that evening

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112 Eatery – Minneapolis, MN

D.Rough and I were headed to a semi-professional wrestling event downtown, so we thought we’d grab a bite to eat ahead of time. 112 Eatery had been on our list for a while and I had stumbled across an article naming them one of the best burgers in the Twin Cities. We thought we’d check it out and see what else they had to offer.

112 Eatery is a little bit upscale, but not snooty-upscale. There were people in jeans there and people were enjoying sitting at the bar having appetizers and cocktails. (I, for example, was wearing a black band t-shirt and jeans, and didn't feel like I was being judged or anything.) It’s a multi-story building, but you still check in with the hostess on the first floor for a table.

Once seated, we got a plate of olives and some candied nuts to tide us over while perusing the menu. The menu is very manageable and doesn’t have TOO many things on , like some places. It’s got the right amount on it. Some small plates, some salads, a handful of side dishes, some entrees, and some desserts. It’s very manageable. (They also serve food up until close – midnight through the week and 1am on weekends – bonus!)

We knew we were going to get the 112 Burger, but we also needed some other fun things. We got some cauliflower fritters, some tagliatelle with foie gras meatballs. And, since we ended something green, we got the duck and radicchio salad. And a couple of drinks to unwind after the long work day.

They brought us a REALLY nice basket of bread to snack on before our food came out. A nice baguette and one of the best focaccias I’ve ever had. Sooo buttery and tasty. We should have asked for more, but we knew we were going to eat a lot, as it was. Next time!

The duck and radicchio salad came out first and they had split it into two small plates for us. We laughed because we ordered the salad for something green, and the cabbage was purple. Ha! But this salad was top-notch. The egg on top (possibly a duck egg?) was perfectly hard boiled and there were little pieces of duck throughout the salad. It was also drizzled with some gingery sauce which we loved. Seriously, this is an awesome way to start this meal.

They brought us the cauliflower fritters next. D.Rough is convinced they roasted the cauliflower first with some seasonings and then lightly batter and fry the florets. It didn’t matter It was amazing. They covered the whole plate with some parmesan and parsley and we absolutely fought over this dish. This, frankly was my favorite part of the meal – I’ve been on a cauliflower kick recently, so I’m a little biased.

The tagliatelle was good. Not amazing, but good. 112 Eatery recently got written up for its foie gras meatballs, so I had some high hopes for it, but I just felt they were good. Not mind blowing. I love foie gras, so it wasn’t that. I just thought everything would have a little more pop than it did. I wouldn’t complain at all about the tagliatelle, but it wasn’t my favorite thing on the table this evening. The generous layer of cheese covering this thing DID help, however!

The 112 Burger was pretty impressive. It’s an incredibly well seasoned burger patty served on an English muffin and has brie cheese on it. It got all melty and delicious as it warmed on the burger patty. Very few places take special care of the meet they put into a cheeseburger, but this place does. It’s definitely got butter IN the meat, but some simple seasonings made it stand out more than a simple appetizer burger. The whole thing is simple, but incredibly well done (I mean well executed, since we ordered ours medium rare). No wonder people rave about this burger. It comes with a small ramekin of pickles and ginger, but you honestly don’t need any additional flavors. The thing speaks for itself.

A fantastic meal, served by really nice (if not a little reserved) staff. We were happy with everything they brought to our table. We will happily head back to 112 Eatery again, especially since D.Rough and I were just discussing which places were open late downtown. Now that we know they serve food until 1am, we’ve got a new favorite late-night destination!

Top 5 things about 112 Eatery
1. Cauliflower fritters
2. 112 Burger
3. Right-sized menu (with awesome selections)
4. Duck and radicchio salad
5. Open until midnight during the week and 1am on weekends!

Bottom 5 things
1. Nothing was technically BAD, but I was slightly disappointed with the foie gras meatballs
2. The hostess stand is past the bar on the first floor and then you are advised to go up the elevator – just a little odd
3. The parking ramp I parked in closed at 8pm Friday until the following Monday. D.Rough made a few calls and got the security desk to let me into the parking ramp the following day. Bitter.
4. I’m bummed we didn’t ask for more of the bread basket
5. Nothing else negative happened, I promise!!!

www.112eatery.com

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Koz’s Mini-Bowl – Milwaukee, WI

D.Rough and I were in Milwaukee (one of my favorite cities in the US) for the 2013 World Championships of Roller Derby. Our friends CorpseKitten and TheLatvian from Kalamazoo, Michigan, also met us in Milwaukee for a weekend hangout and we had a great weekend. I had heard about this “mini bowling” alley from a few websites and thought we’d make a double date out of it. I had a very rough idea of what was going to happen in this particular bar on the South side of Minneapolis, but the other three were going in blindly, and only trusting me a little bit on this one. Probably smart on their part.

As we drove past what the GPS told us was the address, D.Rough sounded dubious – “this looks like someone’s house…” I retorted, “But there’s a beer sign in the window!” TheLatvian replied, “This is Wisconsin. Everyone has a beer sign in their window.” Fair enough. But, we went in anyway.

I’m soooooo glad we did. The place is dimly let, but in a home-y way, not a seedy scary way. And it IS NOT a house – it’s an actual bar. There’s a full bar, a pool table, a juke box in the front room. And in the back room is the bowling. Duckpin bowling to be precise.

My father taught me about duckpin and candlepin bowling when I was a kid – my family has a pretty serious bowling legacy (I’m not kidding). If it helps you visualize it, take a standard bowling pin and squash it down about half way, so it’s short and fat. Duckpin bowling is traditionally a west coast thing, but they’re also in Milwaukee and Indianapolis. You throw a small bowling ball with no finger holes (about like a softball or bocce ball) and it’s an extra short lane – about 20 feet.

Picture skee-ball, but with pins.

The guy behind the bar was super nice, which we appreciated as first-timers. He told us a lane was actually open and ready to rock. He grabbed us a score sheet, told us how much the games were each, and reminded us to tip the pinsetters. There are actual human pin setters that kick the pins out of the way after each frame or reset up the pins in a triangle format. Manually. None of this automated machinery stuff. Then, the bartender recommended some drinks. I knew I liked this guy.

Two bonuses at Koz’s: they don’t have low ball glasses. Mixed drinks are in a pint glass, the way I make them at home. Also, the mug of beer I ordered was $1.50. Thank you, Wisconsin!!!

I’d love to tell you how awesome this evening was, but it’s difficult. It’s super fast paced and there’s lots of mocking and high-fives. Plus the awesome juke box kept getting stocked with awesome 80’s and 90’s music. You can ask the bartender what the standard tip is for the pinsetters, since these guys are dodging balls and pins flying around behind their protective shield. Dangerous and back-breaking work, for sure. But waaaay more fun than standard bowling, in my opinion.

And did I mention this place has a taxidermy lion and other creepy taxidermy??? BAM!

You really need to check this place out. They are open until bar close so around 2am, which is even better. I think you can call ahead and reserve a lane if you want, but we rolled right in on a Saturday night and got an open lane. Perfect night.

[Note: I found out we were supposed to be throwing three balls per frame, but we only threw two like standard bowling. Bummer for me, since I would have bowled higher than the 238 I bowled!]

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Pig Ate My Pizza – Robbinsdale, MN

D.Rough and I kept hearing about this amazing restaurant in Robbinsdale and just couldn’t find the time to go. We knew it was established by the guys who ran Travail – a fancy restaurant we kept hearing about, due to their wicked gastronomy experiments and appreciation of fine food. We were almost in the neighborhood and decided we needed to check it out.

You enter the restaurant through the back and go to the bar to put your name on the list. I’m not sure how they keep track of who gets to sit when, but I will tell you that smaller groups get to sit first, so consider that. The inside is arranged with long communal tables and one elevated booth referred to as “the hot tub” (the hot tub has furry walls and an extremely narrow walkway to get into the tub – but looks like fun).

We got called quickly, since we were only two people and got a seat at the bar – which was crazy fun to watch it all unfold. We had a great view of the kitchen, which was also really fun. The people working all seemed to be having a good time at their jobs – singing along with the music and yelling “WE GOT A BENDER HERE!” every time someone ordered a Surly Bender. Really fun place to experience the atmosphere at Pig Ate My Pizza. It’s got a loud energy, which isn’t going to resonate with some people who like quiet dining. We also got pink cloth napkins. So it’s upscale, but with a smirk.

All the menu items, including appetizers, beers, and wines , are on the chalkboard walls of the place, so you'll have to look around to decide what you want. thankfully, they're repeated in at least three different locations, so you shiould always have some sort of vantage to see at least one of them. Or you can stare at them while you're standing in line - you may be there a while. So grab a drinnk at the bar and maybe some appetizers while you're waiting. They'll bring them right out to you.
We asked the server a few questions about the different options and she suggested we go with the Tasting Menu. You get three appetizers of the chef’s choosing, two different pizzas of your own choosing, and then dessert. This all sounded great to us. Choosing a pizza sounds like an easy task, but it really isn’t. These guys like odddddd combinations. It isn’t a typical pizza place. In fact, it’s probably best referred to as advanced culinary cuisine. We decided on the Piggy Pizza – pepperoni, house-made sausage, bacon, in a deep dish brioche crust – and the Big Ginger – Korean BBQ, kimchi, soft eggs. Some of the other options include chevre, prosciutto, gazpacho, cured salmon, potato salad, mini tacos, beets, zucchini, speck, and other random things. I told you this stuff was advanced.

The appetizer course came out and the server explained it all to us. There was a generous-sized microgreen salad with some croutons and nice Caesar parmesan dressing. There was a meat plate with duck liver pate, two house-made hams (one cubed and one shaved thin like prosciutto), and rabbit terrine. It also had three of four different mustards, a dollop or three of hot chili oil, some brandied cherries, cornichons, crostini and focaccia. And a bowl of soup, which was presented in a very classy manner. The bowl is presented with some herbs, green oil, and pumpkin seeds and almonds in the bottom. And a tiny grilled cheese sandwich in the bottom of the bowl. Then the server poured the tomato bisque into the bowl to cover the ingredients – very classy. We asked the server what his favorite was and without hesitation, he said the meat plate, specifically the duck liver pate.

The salad was good and had some sardines, and parmesan croutons, and the caesar parmesan dressing helped jazz it up a smidge. I liked it and D.Rough liked it. The meat plate was really quite good. The duck liver pate was covered with a little black pepper. Very smooth and creamy, especially paired with some of the crostini. Delicious. The hams were quite good and we only fought over them a little bit. The rabbit terrine was really good. I wish it had a more substantial meaty flavor, but this is rabbit, not beef or pork. It was good, but I agree with the server and think the duck liver pate was the champion.

The tomato bisque was awesome. Really stand-out awesome. We wished there were a few more grilled cheese bites in the bottom, but if the idea of an appetizer is to make you want more, then this nailed it. The pumpkin seeds/almonds in the bottom were delicious and the green oil had a nice flavor with it. And combined with how they presented it, this was fantastic.

The pizzas we ordered arrived. The piggy pizza was fantastic. Large pieces of pepperoni and thin slices of bacon that was almost lardon. The house-made sausage was spicy and delicious as well. There was only a small amount of cheese on this pizza to hold it all together, so if you’re a cheese person, be prepared. The meat flavor was not the watered down kind of stuff from pizza chains – it was really quality stuff. The crust was the best part of this pizza, and this is coming from a toppings guy. Almost a muffin or biscuit-like crust. A game-changing crust. Delicious, from start to finish.

The Big Ginger pizza was not like any pizza I’ve ever had before. The small meatballs had an incredible Asian glaze on them that was wonderful. Then the kimchi (mostly pickled carrots) added some spicy zing to it. And the eggs were even better than we expected. We knew this was one of those pizzas that wouldn’t likely reheat well, so we made sure we ate all of this one first. Really, a quality pizza.

We were expecting dessert next, but the server came out with a pre-dessert. The idea with a pre-dessert (or so D.Rough says) is that it’s supposed to shock your taste buds a little bit and move you mentally past the entrée portion into dessert mode. This makes sense, especially after I describe what they brought to us. It was two tiny cubes of awesomeness. The server laughed when I asked him if it was a “one-biter” or a “three-biter”. He assured me it was a one-biter. The bottom of the cube was a black pepper crust. On top of that was a cantaloupe curd and covered with a dill crème. Sounds odd, doesn’t’ it? It was. It was also mind-blowingly delicious. I guarantee I’d never put any of these things together on my own, let alone know how to make cantaloupe curd, but whoever came up with this idea was a mad genius. Thank you.

Then the actual dessert came out and presented uniquely. And it was fun. It was a frozen mason jar with honey mascarpone in the bottom along with orange crème en glaze, and salted caramel. Then the server squirted some banana cake into the jar. Finally, he pours some liquid nitrogen into the jar that freezes it all solid. A+ for presentation and also A+ for flavor. This was one of the better desserts I’ve ever had. Tons of different flavors and just the right amount not to be heavy.

Here is the Vine video that D.Rough made at the restaurant. This should give you a 7-second version of how much fun we had at this restaurant. https://vine.co/v/h653aVMILDP/embed

Top 5 things about Pig Ate My Pizza
1. Big Ginger pizza
2. Salted caramel dessert
3. Meat plate
4. Piggy Pizza
5. Atmosphere all around, including awesomeness of staff

Bottom 5 things
1. You will wait in line, especially if you have more than two people (it’s worth it, though)
2. You may not be seated at a table with just your friends, just a heads up
3. It’s going to be louder than some people will enjoy, but think of it as energy, not noise
4. Doesn’t take reservations
5. Make sure your name doesn’t get passed up on the chalkboard of names next to the beer taps at the bar

www.facebook.com/PigAteMyPizza

And, D.Rough had a meat grinder next to her at the bar.

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Happy 489th Day Anniversary!!!

D.Rough is the best.

Friday, when she came home from work, she told me to pack my bag with a swimsuit, nice clothes, and a toothbrush. No questions. I had no idea what to expect. …Thankfully, her surprises are usually awesome!

She took us to a fancy hotel in downtown St. Paul (our second choice for a wedding venue), took me to a fancy dinner, we drank some fancy drinks, walked downtown for a bit, and we slept in extra late.

Thank you for always reminding me why I chose you. I don’t deserve how well you treat me, but I hope I can repay it over our next hundred years together.

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Red Cow – Edina, MN

D.Rough and I needed a date night and we had heard good things about Red Cow – a new fancy burger place in Edina. And I read that the parking lot for Wuollet Bakery next door is available in the evenings, which is awesome and helpful since it gets busy here. We knew there would be a wait, so we rolled in with our patience at a pretty high level. We put our name in for a table and headed to the bar. The bar is fully stocked and has tons of wine and beer. The wine is in those fancy sealed refrigerators with built in taps to keep it fresh, so you can get a lot of different wines by the glass. Very smart.

A couple got up and left that we were standing near, so we grabbed their barstools and ordered some drinks and an appetizer. I got a New Belgium Shift and D.Rough got a Domaine S. Michelle Blanc de Blanc (basically a champagne because she’s baller like that). And D.Rough had been fantasizing about caramel-bacon Puffcorn all day at work, so we had to get that.

Drinks were up right away and the puffcorn showed up right after that. Then, instead of our 45 minute wait, we were being seated after about 15 minutes. Fantastic! We brought our drinks and corn to the table and dug in. I’m not a fan of puffcorn, so I honestly was expecting to eat just a couple of bites and move to the next thing. But I was soooo wrong. These things were delicious. The perfect amount of caramel and just a sprinkling of bacon on these made them a really nice version of sweet-gummy delicious. I’m a new convert of this, apparently. Who knew?

The server was really patient with us as we debated and argued over which appetizer we would get next and which burgers we wanted. They all sounded amazing, honestly. We asked the server for her opinions and looked at what other people around us were eating and eventually decided on the Scotch Eggs (I’m a major fan of these crazy things), and for burgers, D.Rough went with the Royale and I got the Barcelona – I’ll explain these in a second. Instead of fries, we had to decide between truffle-parmesan fries or sweet potato crinkle planks: Sweet potato!!!!! Duh.

The scotch eggs arrived and were presented much classier than any scotch eggs I've had. There’s something about eating one on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair that plucks my heart strings, but I didn’t need it this time. The scotch eggs at Red Cow were the best I’ve ever had – including in England. The sausage was fully cooked, and didn’t have a thick greasy aftertaste – that’s key. I really don’t like mustard at all, but the beer mustard dipping sauce that was on the plate was really quite good. I only had one bite without it and then once I tried it, I was hooked. Well played, Red Cow.

Another glass of wine for D. These are fancy glasses. They’re large, but sadly, they don’t fill them up all the way. Hahaha. (I also got a Delirium, so you don't think D was drinking alone.)

The burgers arrived and looked serious. They don’t skimp here. There was a significant pile of prosciutto on the Barcelona burger and after sampling a bit of it on its own, I gave it the thumbs up. The burger itself had the best flavor of any burger I can recall right now. Seriously juicy without giving you the dreaded grease-throat. The manchego cheese was the perfect match for this and the bright flavor of the piquillo pepper added a nice pop. The smoked aioli was a nice finishing flavor in my mouth at the end of every bite. And the bun itself was supremely moist and sift, even with a tiny bit of grill char on the inside. Loved it. This, my friends, is how all other burgers should be judged. I’m going to rave about this for a LONG time.

The sweet potato planks were even better than I expected. A dusting of parmesan and fried just-to-crispy. Perfect. The dip, smoked pepper aioli, was the perfect accompaniment to these fries and my complements go to the chef for pairing these.

D.Rough’s Royale burger was also delicious in a completely different way. Wildly different flavors. Still the same perfectly cook generous angus beef patty, but they put slices of pork belly on top and covered that with brie, arugula, and a tomato jam. The flavor combination is quite good and worked better than you can even imagine. I was surprised at the arugula flavor coming through in this, but it worked really well. This place nails it. All of it.

I’m already trying to figure out how we can go back here right away. There are a ton of other things on the menu that I want to try. Burgers, sandwiches, and even a ton of appetizers. Their happy hour has a handful of appetizers at a discount and some discounts on wine and beer. But frankly, after you take a bite of the food here, you aren’t going to complain about paying full price. Sure, it’s a “fancy” burger with fancy burger prices, but you’re paying some culinary mad scientist to create magic in your mouth. Think about that, cheap-o complainers.

D.Rough and I were completely unable to finish our burgers. And I can eat a LOT. Keep that in mind and consider sharing or scaling back the appetizers when you go here. That simply means I got to eat these burgers TWICE – once again at lunch the next day. And for the record, the Barcelona reheated better, mainly because of the pork belly on the Royale got a little limp. Both were fantastic to eat again, though.

And, because I talked to D.Rough about it being in my Top 5 of all time, I thought I’d better actually create a Top 5 list for that…

Top burger places (mostly not in any order, but maybe a little bit):
1. Red Cow (Edina, MN))
2. American Burger Bar (St. Paul)
3. Kuma’s Corner (Chicago)
4. Bar Lurcat sliders (Minneapolis)
5. Newt’s (Rochester, MN)

Other noteables
6. Joe Rouer’s (Green Bay)
7. Blue Door Pub (St. Paul)
8. Anchor Fish and Chips (Minneapolis)
9. Red Mill (Seattle)
10. Eli’s Donut Burger (Food Truck in Minneapolis)
11. Zombie Burger & Drink Lab (Des Moines, IA)
12. Burger Jones (Minneapolis)


Top 5 things about Red Cow
1. Barcelona Burger
2. Caramel Bacon Puffcorn
3. Royale Burger
4. Large selection of wines and beers
5. Scotch Eggs
(6. Really fantastic staff – thank you, Forough!)

Bottom 5 things
1. It isn’t cheap, but it’s ok, I promise
2. You will likely have to wait
3. They had some awesome sounding chorizo soup (special of the day) that I didn’t have room to try
4. They don’t have their own dessert chef – but they DO use Wuollet Bakery – but don’t worry, there won’t be room for dessert
5. Some people will complain about the noise there – I call it energy

www.redcowmn.com
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