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Soup ‘n Wraps – Eden Prairie, MN

I’ve heard (from people I trust) that there’s this new amazing Indian fusion restaurant. But it’s filled with wraps and bowls. Yes, my intrigue-level was ramped up very quickly. I finally got a chance to sneak there (despite missing out on multiple invites I’m now kicking myself for). When Fire Wally told me this place is in a strip mall, I knew it was going to be good.

When I walked in, the woman asked if she could help me, and I confessed I hadn’t been here. I recommend doing this, frankly, so you get the full treatment and don’t miss out on something amazing. She explained all of the options. I could get a bowl - which I’m pretty sure is a Styrofoam to-go container with two entrees and rice; you can get a “business lunch” – which is kind of a sampler platter; or you can get two wraps with any ingredients inside. The very patient and kind woman explained the vegetarian options and also the meat options. They’ve got palak paneer, various dals (lentils), aloo gobi, butter chicken, chicken reshmi, tikka masala, lamb curry, and chicken 65. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but chicken 65 is my favorite of all the numbered chickens. I needed some chicken 65.

They also had samosas, which I almost got. And a samosa wrap – I can’t even picture what that would be!. And chai. And Mango Lassi. They apparently have everything (except kheer). This place is wonderful.

I decided to go with two wraps. Each one with different fillings. These aren’t small wraps, either. They’re 8 inch crosses between naan and tortillas. I don’t know what they’re called, but they’re plenty big and hearty. I got one with chicken 65 and one with lamb curry. They asked if I wanted cabbage – yes, I did. They asked if I wanted sauce – yes, I did. One was a chili paste, one was a chimichurri, and one was an unnamed dark brown sauce. They warned me the chicken 65 was medium hot, but I had them add the chili paste anyway. They wrap it right in front of you, so you can see what you’re getting. Then they give you a small side dish of yogurt in case you need to dip your wrap into something cooling. The whole thing came to $7.50. That’s amazing.

The lamb curry wrap was really quite good. The wrap didn’t get soggy and held up, even with my erratic dipping into the yogurt sauce. No bones, a touch of cinnamon, and some heat from the chili paste. Wonderful!

The chicken 65 wrap was even better!!! Wonderfully flavorful chicken bites with no gristle at all. It had some pretty solid heat, so if you’re not a heat person, don’t get the chili paste. I loved every bit of this thing. I even considered getting another pair of chicken 65 wraps. It was a tough call, frankly. When I got up to clear my tray into the garbage, I warned the staff (the chef had come out to chat) that I would for sure be back. I can’t wait to tell everyone about this place. And, they extended their hours so they’re open for dinner most nights, as well. I’m not sure what the fusion part of this place is (maybe wraps), but this is one of the best lunches I’ve had in a really long time. Hit this place up as soon as you can.

6403 City West Parkway
Eden Prairie, MN 55344






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Panino Brothers – Eden Prairie, MN

We had a “new girl” starting at the office this week (it’s Trash, so she’s not really a new girl, but I do love to haze), so our team decided to go to lunch together to welcome her back to the flock. I was told to pick the place, so I went with a place close to work and someplace I hadn’t been before. I hadn’t’ ever heard anyone talk about this place, but I figured it was worth a shot.

First off, it’s difficult to tell where the entrance to this restaurant is. The restaurant itself is on the backside of a small business (restaurants and gyms) office/strip mall, so it isn’t readily viewable from the main road, and there’s no indication which door to go through once you find their part of the parking lot. No signage, no awning, no carpet out front. A little confusing. Once we got inside, there was a sort of roll-able counter top (maybe a host(ess) stand pushed back against the wall. Was this place even open? One of my co-workers (M.Giant)(yes, it’s a close-knit company consisting of only my closest friends), asked me if I had reserved the entire restaurant. So much for beating the lunch rush. Obviously, we got seated right away by a really cheerful and helpful server. She was fantastic the whole time we were there.

The menu has some burgers, salads, pizzas, sandwiches, and appetizers that you’ll likely recognize as “nicer” bar food. But I wanted the reason for their namesake – a panino. I had no idea what that was, even after reading the description on the menu. It sort of sounds like a calzone, but is more like a flatbread wrap than a calzone, as it turns out. They have a ton of kinds of paninos, or you can build your own with any of their ingredients. They also get bonus points for having both Pepsi and Coke products, including Diet Dew.

I’ve been watching old episodes of The Sopranos recently, so I went with the 3-Meat Gambino Panino. It makes me laugh just to say it, but it had everything I wanted for lunch that day. Roast beef, chicken, ham, swiss cheese, mozzarella cheese, and BBQ sauce. It sounded awesome.

I didn’t think the food took that long to come out, which is good, so you won’t have to wait long if you’re in a lunch rush – maybe because the place wasn’t that busy. The Panino is a large wrap. SERIOUSLY large. No one even came close to finishing theirs (except for me, but I am a big eater). Two people could have split this thing, so really consider ordering their smaller size panino – you’ll be glad you did. The meat was pretty thick cut, which I thought was awesome. There was a lot of cheese on here, and the BBQ sauce was plentiful. It was a little drippy, but the whole thing held its structure pretty well. Nothing slid out and I didn’t end up with any on my shirt. All in all, the wrap was pretty delicious and ULTRA filling. Be forewarned.

The waffle fries were pretty average, but the seasoned sour cream dipping sauce that came with it was fantastic. I really liked the combo, and I’m usually a ketchup guy.

Like I said, everyone went home with take-out boxes and were still stuffed. I saw the biggest plate of cheese fries I’ve ever seen, and a mega massive chef salad. Everyone seemed to be pretty happy with the taste of their food and I’m pretty sure people were happy with the size of their meals.

Overall, Panino Brothers is better than fast food, and more affordable than a fancy restaurant. They’ve got a bunch of beer specials (since it’s sort of a sport bar sometimes, and they have bands, so there’s definitely reasons to come back. It’s worth a visit if you’re in this neck of the woods, or if you’re at the Eden Prairie Mall for shopping or a movie. You might fall asleep in the movie because you’re too full, but at least the food is good. I just wish the outside of the place was more inviting.

Top 5 things about Panino Brothers
1. 3-Meat Gambino Panino
2. Seasoned sour cream dipping sauce for fries
3. Pepsi and Coke products
4. Really nice server
5. Pretty quick for lunch

Bottom 5 things
1. Confusing and uninviting entrance
2. It’s pretty dead inside, even during the lunch rush
3. TONS of different paninos to choose from
4. Maybe a photo of a panino on the menu would help
5. Just a little bit too hidden for easy finding

www.paninobrothers.com

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Gyropolis – Minneapolis, MN

This place had continuously popped up on my radar when searching for food place and I was finally in the neighborhood to check it out. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but when I pulled into the parking lot, it was packed. When I tried to get in the front door, it also was packed. This place does phenomenal business during the lunch hour.

Thankfully, standing in line gave me ample time to check out the menu thoroughly and make up my mind. …which I changed right at the exact moment I was ordering. Hahaha.

I went with the spicy gyro sandwich. It was enough of the basics to be able to compare it to other places, and then with enough zing to make sure it was going to have some flavor. I also upped it to the meal deal they had and got some seasoned fries and a drink (can or fountain pop).

There wasn’t any place to sit, so I got it to go and headed back to work to eat in the parking lot sunshine and listen to music. I apologize for the photo looking green – it is the sun tinting at the top of the windshield that I didn’t notice until after I had wolfed down the sandwich and looked at the photo with tzatziki-covered fingers.

The gyro itself was really good. The meat was fantastic and had some crunchy bits on it – my favorite. There were some red and green peppers on it, as well, which I love. The pitas are fried a bit on the flat top, so they have some more flavor. But the real gem of this was the spicy tzatziki sauce. I thought it was going to be like sri-racha mayo or something, but it isn’t. It actually has some heat and amazing flavor! Best spicy tzatziki I’ve ever had. I really enjoyed this gyro and will now try to find a reason to trick A-Wow or M.Giant or FlameRetarded into going there with me.

The seasoned fries were good. Not great, but just good. The seasoning was a little sparse and they needed some ketchup. But they were still good to have with the sandwich. I’m really happy with this place and look forward to heading back!

Good showing, Gyropolis!

2325 W. 90th St.
Minneapolis, MN 55431

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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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Quesarito from Taco Bell – Eden Prairie, MN

Taco Bell’s newest creation is the Quesarito. It’s a burrito and a quesadilla rolled into one – literally. I had to check this thing out.

It’s got your choice of beef, chicken, or steak, and then Latin rice (which just has some green flecks in it), chipotle sauce, reduced-fat sour cream (which is handy, since you’d hate for this thing to push past 10,000 calories), and wrapped in grilled quesadilla with melted cheese. The cheese is there to make everything stick together.


I hate showing people the insides of the concoctions that Taco Bell creates, mainly, because they all look like a dirty diaper. That being said, you really need to unfold it to see what’s going on here. It’s a quesadilla wrapped in a burrito tortilla. There really isn’t any bad – unless you can’t do carbs or gluten (then there’s a bad).

Frankly, it’s delicious and very filling – thanks to two tortillas and Latin rice. There’s lots of cheese packed into here, though. Enough to kill a small child, certainly. So cut it into bites for said small child. Overall, the thing isn't as large as it looks in television commercials, but it's still a solid menu item. Again, as per usual, nothing mind blowing, but I feel like the test kitchens are really working for filling and palatable, rather than mind-blowing and appetizer-y. I’m not complaining, I assure you.

Nice work, Taco Bell test kitchen.

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Taco Bell Breakfast Items – Golden Valley, MN

There aren’t a lot of things that will get me out of bed in the morning earlier than I usually overslee... I mean, wake up for work. The new launch of Taco Bell’s breakfast menu items Is, in fact, one of those thing (8 am Happy Hour at Steve-O’s is another one of those things, in case you’re wondering). TheDoctor and I made arrangements to meet up at the exact time Taco Bell opened to be the first in the non-existent line for these items. And yes, we were both also late.

And, there wasn’t a line, either.

The first thing I noticed about this Taco Bell environment is the lights are dimmed down to a hangover-friendly level. Seriously, it’s a breakfast-appropriate level of light, and I’m guessing they hit the regular lights at 10:30 or 11:00 just to make sure there is an obvious ambience shift. Classy, Taco Bell, I like it. There are 13 new breakfast menu items – as you can guess, many of them are tortilla based.

As you can see, a couple of wrap things, a hashbrown patty, some Cinnabon bites, and even orange juice. The thing everyone has been pushing the past few weeks is the Waffle Taco and the AM Crunchwrap. I decided to go for BOTH. I’ll wait until later to pick favorites. The woman behind the counter regretfully informed us someone had just come through the drive thru and gotten $40 worth of Waffle Tacos so there weren’t any sausage patties left. MAJOR BUMMER. So TheDoctor and I both ended up with the same thing – a Waffle Taco with bacon and an AM Crunchwrap with steak. I also got a hashbrown patty to makes sure I could compare it with other breakfast fast food offerings.

Oddly enough, it’s difficult to decide what to drink at a Taco Bell for breakfast. I guess I never thought about it. Also, you have to figure out what sauce you’re going to squirt all over your taco – yes that was written intentionally. Do you go with their traditional hot or fire sauce or since there’s eggs and hashbrowns, do you go with ketchup? Tough calls this early in the morning might be the downfall of Taco Bell’s breakfast menu.

The Waffle Taco was surprisingly good. For this menu item, they make the condiment decision easy for you – they give you a small container of syrup, which is the right option.

I’ll say it’s one of the greasiest breakfast items I’ve had, but only because whatever was on the outside of the waffle basically covered my hands and needed multiple napkins to remove. I’ll pretend it’s butter and give it a greasy thumbs up. I’m guessing the sausage version of this would taste even better than the bacon version, but the bacon version was pretty darn good. Good balance of toppings so not one thing overwhelmed another. The eggs tasted real and the waffle itself had a good flavor. Great work on this new menu item. I’ll get it again.

I tried the hashbrown next. It’s pretty close to the McDonald’s hashbrown, so there’s that. If you like them there, you’ll like them at Taco Bell. I can honestly say I was bummed there wasn’t any magic dust on it like the potato ole’s at Taco John’s. Missed opportunity perhaps, but the things still tasted fine, if a bit plain. Add some ketchup or green salsa for this one.

The AM Crunchwrap is where it’s at though. Lots of ingredients (including a hashbrown patty inside) to make this thing pretty substantial. The steak flavor is what you’d expect at Taco Bell – good, but not a date-night steak or anything. There was a lot of cheese in this as well, so I was thrilled. I covered half of the inside with green salsa and the other half with fire sauce. The smokiness of the fire sauce won the day over the green, so I’ll go with that next time. Also, I forgot how difficult it is to refold a crunchwrap – and multiply it by 10 for breakfast sleepy finger dexterity issues. For your money, this is the menu item that will fill you up all day. It’s pretty damn good. TheDoctor agrees with me on this one, and he only lies on Mondays and Tuesdays.

And there you have a much-longer-than-any-Taco-Bell-review-should-be review of three of the new Taco Bell breakfast items.

[Additional editor's note: Jesse found the coffee to be "drinkable" at Taco Bell, for those of you interested.]

You’re welcome.

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Taco Bell Triple Steak Stack – Eden Prairie, MN

I enjoy trying the new products that Taco Bell test kitchens launch to the general public. Most of the time, I’m pretty pleased with them, and I’ll stand behind the fact that these guys are one of the most regular new product champions in the fast food industry. The Triple Steak Stack is something they launched back in 2011 and apparently have brought back.

First off, this thing isn’t cheap – it’s $4.99, but I figured since the commercials make the thing look like it is the size of a baby, it might be worth it. It is, in fact, smaller than a baby and even smaller than the marketing advertises. That isn’t to say it’s small – it isn’t. It’s close-to-a-foot-long flat bread filled with lots of steak. Not as full as the commercials let on, but it IS full. I can’t remember that far back, but I feel like this Triple Steak Stack is longer than the one they rolled out a few years back. Maybe I’m making that up in my head.

Aside from cheese, there isn’t anything else in this thing. Just steak and cheese. I’m not complaining, but most of Taco Bell’s inventions have some sort of sauce or sour cream in them. This has none. I’m glad I got a couple packets of fire sauce to jazz it up. The steak in Taco Bell’s products always surprises me. I expect gristly and overcooked pieces of pseudo-meat and I have always gotten flavorful thinly sliced restaurant quality steak. I really don’t want to like the steak at Taco Bell, but I do, I’m sorry. There is also a lot of cheese on this thing. Maybe they figured the melty cheese could replace the sauce.

I’ll be honest, this sandwich is better than I expected it to be. I’d recommend biting both ends off first, to ensure you’re getting a consistent level of meat throughout. And make sure you put some sort of sauce on it for another flavor component. The flatbread isn’t my preferred method of holding ingredients to push into my face, especially at a Mexican place, but it works in this case. It isn’t messy and it holds up just fine (better than some of their taco shells, honestly).

Yeah, I’d recommend this Triple Steak Stack. But be warned, some people will get bored eating it about halfway through. It’s kind of a one note pony without any sauce or lettuce or tomato or anything. So try this – put one flavor of sauce on one half and then another flavor of sauce on the other half, then you’ll feel like you’re getting two different sandwiches. Trick yourself into not getting bored.

I tried to look at its price and compare it to things I usually get. Would this same $5 sandwich fill me up like five items on the value menu? In this case, I would say it’s pretty close. I generally don’t eat FIVE of anything at Taco Bell, but I was as full at the end of this sandwich as I usually am when I get multiple things. I’m going to say the price is worth it for the size and quality of the sandwich. Again, just my opinion.

Not Taco Bell’s best showing (it doesn’t have any bacon – dur), but it’s a solid performer and something I’d get to fill my guts.

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Spicy Buffalo Chicken Loaded Griller at Taco Bell – Minneapolis, MN

I needed a quick bite before heading over to a friend’s house for serious ping pong action. I had heard about these new loaded grillers at Taco Bell – basically appetizers wrapped in a tortilla, for lack of a better explanation. I figured I’d better try one.

I got the buffalo chicken one, which is supposed to taste like chicken wings. And at $.99, I thought about picking up one of each (probably Taco Bell’s strategy, in all honesty). That’s a pretty good deal, even for a newly launched menu item.

I was going to take a photo of the outside, but frankly, it just looks like a burrito or a roll-up, so there isn’t any point. It’s about the size of a normal burrito at Taco Bell, for comparison. It’s thicker and has more ingredients than a cheese roll-up, so don’t feel like you’re getting ripped off for $.99 or anything. It’s a healthy portion for an appetizer.

The insides were a gooey molten cheesy delicious mess. It has chunks of chicken and buffalo sauce, maybe even too much cheese/sauce. It did come squirting out from anywhere it could. I was hoping maybe the creamy white sauce was going to be some sort of amazing blue cheese sauce, but it’s simply sour cream. It’s messy, but I’d probably eat another one of these sometime.

It isn’t going to be the mind blowing things that Taco Bell has put out in the past, but it’s above average, and for the price, hard to beat. I was glad I got one, but I’m curious to try all the other ones. If you’ve got any experience with the other loaded grillers, chime in, folks.

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Pannekoeken Huis – Minneapolis, MN

Trash wanted to meet me for lunch to discuss some work things, and what she really wanted was breakfast-type food. She hadn’t been to Pannekoeken Huis in some time and it had been maybe 5 years since I had been there. Sure, why not?

For those not familiar, Pannekoeken Huis is Dutch for pancake house. Yes, they do specialize in these sweet pastry-like pancakes called Pannekoeken, but it’s sort of a Dutch version of Denny’s. I think there’s only one left in the Twin City area, but I might be mistaken about that.

Trash ordered a mushroom and cheese omelet with hasbrowns, which comes with toast or a cinnamon roll. She went with the cinnamon roll. Then she tried to talk me into getting a Pannekoeken, but I wasn’t feeling it. I got an avocado chicken wrap instead with some home fries.

The cinnamon roll arrived quickly and looked pretty good.

It was oooooozing sugary frosting. I’m not sure from where, but you can see in this video, it is quite definitely oozing out of the roll onto the plate near the giant scoop of butter. It was a little intimidating.

Trash offered me a bite, but I wasn’t really in the mood for something that sickeningly sweet. Neither was she. She gave up after two or three bites – it was too sugary. I tried a bite of it and agreed 100%. Waaay too much sugar, and I’m not even sure the sugar was mixed in well with the frosting since it actually had a crystalline feel to it. Not my thing, to be honest.

The meals came out a short while later. Trash’s omelet was pretty straight forward. Nothing flashy, not even any salt or pepper – just sort of bland (especially since mushrooms are flavorless). I had a bite of hers just to see, and yup, it was bland and boring. Large, but bland and boring. Even the cheese didn’t help that much The hashbrowns looked plenty crispy on top (like I like them) and had serious cheese melted on top of them, but again, they weren’t seasoned with anything at all. We didn’t have any salt and pepper on our table, or we might have been able to dress these up enough to make it through them. Trash ended up finishing maybe half of her omelet and half of her hashbrowns.

My wrap looked just fine. I had a couple of bites before I realized I didn’t have any avocado in the wrap at all. Lots of olives and chicken and lettuce, but not any avocados. I was a little disappointed with this, especially the lack of flavor in the chicken. Again, no seasoning that I noticed. I only ate half of my wrap – which, if you read this blog at all, you know is unusual. The home fries were basically baked potatoes with some Lawry’s salt (see, I know they had SOME seasoning back in the kitchen), cut up into bite-sized cubes. I ate less than half of those, as well.

Overall, we were pretty disappointed with the meal there. It seemed like it was made for old people who live in Minnesota – nothing too hot or seasoned. The waitress was really nice, so there’s no complaints about service, but I don’t think I’d bring anyone here under the age of 70. Trash commented that we lowered the median age of the customers there by half when we walked through the door.

Top 5 things about Pannekoeken Huis
1. Staff
2. Pretty expansive menu, especially for breakfast foods
3. They yell “Pannekoeken!!!” when they bring one of those things out of the kitchen
4. Inexpensive
5. Really fast service

Bottom 5 things
1. Lack of seasonings
2. Sickeningly sweet cinnamon roll
3. House fries were dry
4. Fake and dusty flowers on the table
5. Close at 4pm, so breakfast and lunch only

www.pannekoeken-mn.com
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