"Don't say anything"

John's mother used to say "if you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all."  He thought that was pretty unique and thoughtful. Obviously many mothers have said this.  The only thing left to debate is whether they said it to their smart-mouthed sons, smart-mouthed daughters, or both.  

Friday evening marked the end of a long week in the cafe and there was still Saturday which starts immediately after Friday's work is done.  We debated food options and agreed that it needed to be close, simple and fast.  Pizza was the conclusion, not a meal that's high on our list.

• Our pizza took 30 minutes to arrive.  Other tables received theirs in 10-15 minutes.
• Other pizzas arrived too hot to eat.  Ours was cold.
• The service blew.

Following John's mother's advice we're just not going to say anything (else).

Move Over Poutine...You've been replaced

Shepard's Pie

Saturday night in Shoreview....oh, no, that ain't is not happenin'.

The proverbial question:  "Where should we go?    Where can we find some actual food?"

After thinking about all kinds of great places to go, we remembered last night's traffic on the way to Uptown.  So, we decided to stay closer to home.  What adventure could we have on short notice?

Success!   We decided to check out Paddy Shack at the Half Time Rec.   What a great way to spend a Saturday night (thanks especially to the St. Paul Jazz Pigs rugby team who was having a party---not for the faint of heart or children [John Comment:  Linda does not understand rugby.  It was a totally appropriate post rugby match socializing.  You get hot playing.  You need to lower your body core with cool beverages and reduce swelling of broken limbs]).

This is a great Irish Pub menu.  It reminds me of a trip to Portland OR with the juvenile justice team from Dakota

Corned Beef & Cabbage Fries

County and the West St. Paul police a few years ago.  After working all day on juvenile justice issues, we'd hop on the light rail and hit some of the fabulous food spots around Portland (the only place I remember being able to have edamame for lunch at the shopping mall).  We hit a great Irish bar there one night...memorable bangers and mash and great brews.

So, here we are at the Paddy Shack in St. Paul....bangers and mash or one of the other fun choices on the menu.  We decided (John will say I decided [John Comment: "The only thing I was allowed to select was my own beverage, a Surly Hell."]) to do an eclectic mix from the whole menu to get the 'flavor' of the place.   That was our second excellent decision of the evening.

We chose:  corned beef and cabbage fries, soup of the day (carrot with tons of ginger), the Cork dog, and shepherd's pie.   This was a flavor tour from first bite to last.

First, move over poutine....you have definitely been replaced.  The corned beef and cabbage fries were creative,

Carrot Soup

crunchy, creamy....delicious.  We didn't really get the horseradish cheddar flavor (we prefer our own sandwiches with the horseradish cheddar where you really get the horseradish kick), but overall the whole concept of corned beef and cabbage fries was fabulous.   These could have been a meal for the two of us.

On to the soup.  As I said, a little too gingery for me, but John loved it.  It was served with very tasty brown bread and, of course, the oh so fatty fatty fatty Kerrygold butter (could I have more please????).  So John ate the soup and .... I don't know what happened to that bread and butter : ) [John Comment: "I only was able to sample the soup because someone else did not care for it.  When I was handed the plate there was no bread or butter in sight."]

Ah, the Cork dog.   A big fat grilled dog with a crispy exterior and great flavor.  This baby was topped with beer mac and cheese, chili pesto, a healthy dose of mustard, and popcorn...served with some crispy kettle chips.   The beer flavor came through if you didn't get a bite of the pesto at the same time.  I loved the beer essence in the mac and cheese--I may have to have a whole serving of that next time.  The pesto was straight peppers!   No foolin' around, no some hot, some not--just clean straight pepper

Cork Hot Dog

flavor.  The perfect bite here was a little bit of everything on your fork at the same time...some dog, some bun, & all of the toppings in one big bite.  The was a little side trip on the whole flavor tour.  Outstanding.

In spite of the fact that we should have stopped eating 20 minutes earlier, we plowed on to the shepherd's pie.  Oh, I wish I could have eaten more than 2 bites.  Deep rich flavor and wonderful spicing.  These guys know their way around the herb and spice world.  Flavor, flavor, and more flavor.  I'm already looking forward to the leftover (and yes, we brought home the Kerrygold for tomorrow).

St. Paul Jazz Pigs Rugby Team

Then, there was the 'ambiance'.   Dive bar....complete with a whole rugby team (some with no shirts, some with
no shirt and a sport coat, some with lederhosen and no shirt, you get theidea....but all with matching hats).  This part of the evening is not appropriate for children.  But it was hard not to enjoy what a great time they were having [John Comment: "It was all fine, nothing inappropriate.  Everyone was wearing pants of some sort.  I go to a lot of restaurants where shirts are optional."].

So, if that wasn't enough of a great evening, our chef came out of the kitchen.  Looked familiar.  We had a nice

Chef Aaron at the Paddy Shack

chat about the great food.  He said he used to work in Vadnais Heights.   It took me a few minutes (hey, I'm old...cut me some slack here) to figure out that the last time I saw this guy, I was complementing him on the fact that he had actually made decent fajita veggies at Chipotle (one of the few things I eat at Chipotle - which would have saved me during the recent salmonella 'event' - I guess I'm smart like that!!!).  They were actually prepared with some knife skills (which I understand, but am sorely lacking in talent for doing myself).  Aaron actually remembered that conversation from 2 years ago...I remember at the time that he said I made his day.  Well, he made our night tonight with the great execution on preparing the great menu options.  Thanks Aaron for putting out wonderful food that we'll be back for (and we saw the spotlessly clean kitchen....one of those things we notice...and don't see very often).

So all in all, a delightful night out.  A dive bar, a crazy rugby team (oxymoron?), and great food prepared by Aaron that was a flavor dance.  Outstanding all around!

Paddy Shack Half Time Rec

Uptown Diner in Minneapolis on a rainy Friday night...

Carnita Benedict

Umm, breakfast for dinner.   That's what we wanted on this rainy Friday night.  So we headed to my old stomping grounds - Uptown Minneapolis.  When I was one of the three partners in Caardvark stores, my favorite location was our Uptown store.  That was back in the day, so when people walked in with Henna hair or piercings or my favorite--the Saturday morning cross-dressers still wearing their Friday night knock-out evening wear (even if their cleavage was a little Robin Williams 'furry'), I knew I wasn't in St. Paul : )   But these were some of the most talented, creative people I've ever met.  What a fun place.   I loved my coworker from my previous gig at elements - around the corner.  She made fashion accessories out of various auto parts.  Tracy Jo - where are you ??????  Tracy showed up at one of our parties wearing only a long t-shirt and seven or eight long v-belts from an auto parts store (John remembers this clearly).

Tonight we decided to try the Uptown Diner.   Good choice. John had the Cajun benedict; I had the carnita benedict.  Mine was better : )

Cajun Benedict

John's meal had great spicy andouille sausage, with a terrific herbie flavor, too.  But my carnita benedict had layers of flavor.  Poached egg with hollandaise topped with pico de gallo atop a bed of spicy black beans and carnitas.   Delicious.  Both meals were served with hash browns--a little greasy but nicely tender in the middle. 

Good service, too.  Our waiter had a great smile and easy-going manner; the food arrived quickly.  What's not to like about that?

All in all, a nice diversion on a rainy evening.  We were starting our gawking tour of the homes around Lake of the Isles when Anne called to say she forgot her key to her old house and people were there to buy furniture.  So we cut short our tour and some more furniture has found a new home.  We'll post photos of the remaining staging furniture items on Facebook so you can see if there's anything that piques your interest.  

We may have to hit some more Uptown spots over the next few weeks.....a little nostalgia tour for me.

Head to the Capital...Mama's Pizza

Small Deluxe Sampler

Small Stuffed Shells

Eight-thirty on a Friday night; it's time to eat.  We run through a list of places we know the food will be just fine.  It's been a long week in the cafe business and time for some comfort food that we don't make ourselves (although today's Banh Mi salad and haricots verts salad were outstanding).

Mama's Pizza on Rice and Front, just north of University Avenue in St. Paul offers absolutely wonderful, traditional pasta dishes and pizza.  We had the Deluxe Sampler comprised of mostaccioli, ravioli, sausage and onions and also the stuffed shells with sausage.  Neither are ever a disappointment and the sausage is lean and remarkably flavorful.  Most dishes come in a small and large version.  Both of ours were the small versions and we left with a 'take home' container for another meal.

The dining room is fairly small, usually full, almost always with repeat customers having a great time.  The wait staff is always attentive and friendly.

Loop in St. Louis Park

Monday evening we had a bit of a family send-off as our son and daughter-in-law move to London.  Following three years in Aarhus, Denmark, a country somewhat narrow in cuisine, they've enjoyed their month here partaking of the Twin Cities Dining options.  

Blackened Chicken, Vegetable & Quinoa Salad

The Loop in St. Louis Park, just off HW 100 & 394, was a convenient location to meet.  As a point of history this was the land occupied by the Lincoln Del and the Cooper Theater.  My wife and I ate at the Lincoln Dell on our first date which must have been in 1974 or 1975.  At that meal we had a pastrami sandwich, a Reuben and shared a very large piece of chocolate whipped cream cake.  As I recall I'd borrowed a sport coat from one of my room mates.  The meal took all the money I had.

So...It was a bit like eating on hallowed ground.  I had the blackened chicken with roasted vegetables quinoa salad.  The chicken was fine and for $11.95 it was more, actually far more food than I anticipated.  It was a bit sparse on roasted vegetables and the quinoa a bit overdone, but overall quite satisfying.

My better half had the flank steak salad which was fine.  

For whatever reason I paid little attention to the future Londoner's meals.  I'm going to miss them

Lisu's Thai Taste...

John:    "Do you want to get a disappointing burger somewhere?"
Linda:   "Sure.  That's OK."
John:    "I have to stop at the hardware store."
Linda:   "What for?"
John:    "Some stuff I need.  Maybe we can find something near the cafe (MK)."
Linda:   "There's nothing near the cafe.  Do you just want to eat there?"
John:    "Maybe.  I'd like some of the Moroccan soup."
Linda:   "Too late.  It's gone.  Do you want to try that Thai place that Shirley                  recommended?"
John:    (sullen) "Sure."

Just north of Rosedale at 2575 North Fairview behind the Play It Again is Lisu's Thai Taste.  We stopped in tonight about 8:15 PM.  They've been here about seven months replacing an Asian restaurant that was totally unremarkable.  Tonight we were pleasantly surprised.  The pork egg rolls were tasty with a nice crusty exterior, the filling a bit sweet and served with a pleasant fish sauce.  We shared #59 (I've forgotten the menu name) which was drunken noodles with vegetables and tofu seasoned "mild" and it was absolutely wonderful.  Unfortunately we ate most of it before considering capturing a photo.  Definitely this was a 4.5 star venture.

Chasing Tacos...we score at El Guadiana

El Guadiana Tacos & Quesadilla

As often-mentioned one problem with having a cafe is that there is nothing to eat at home.  Going out is an option but we usually end up trying to find something late in the evening and if you have two people with somewhat different food interests which often lead to a "discussion" the whole adventure can turn ugly.

Linda said "You pick."  John said "No, you pick...actually you won't want what I want, I'll pick.  I want a taco."  The current favorite spot is the El Chilo taco truck on East 7th ST across from the Holiday Station in downtown St. Paul.  

El Guadiana Tacos & Quesadilla

Given the time of day (8:30 PM on SAT) we headed over to 1248 Arcade at the intersection of Orange and Arcade.  We'd see a taco van there earlier in the parking lot of Morelos Bakery.  Our goal is to try everything once.

El Guadiana Restaurant Movil was not a disappointment.  We had the quesadilla al pastor (marinated pork) and a barbacoa taco and a beef taco.  The tacos were a bit drippy and fell apart and would have benefited from double tortillas.  The quesadilla was outstanding and very large for the price of $6.50.

Food trucks aren't much fun in the winter in MN and the waning days of summer offers an opportunity to try a few more venues.  During the 45 minutes we were there a constant stream of families, all with children, enjoyed the evening.  Our favorite other customers were two three-year old twins, dressed for Saturday night, full of smiles, awaiting their tacos.  We sat at two stools on the Arcade side of the trailer enjoying our food and the sights and more or less pretty thankful for a pleasant evening on the East Side.