Camacho Watcho

I headed to St. Paul on Saturday afternoon to get some Nookie…(get your mind out of the gutter, I was after a burger from The Nook). Unfortunately, The Nook was extremely busy so we decided to go a few miles away to the Shamrock Grill on West 7th, where they have The Nook burgers on their menu. It wasn’t my first choice, but I was willing to try it out.

In contrast to The Nook, which is a small, cozy bar, the Shamrock Grill is a large space with both bar and high-top seating, as well as several booths and other tables in the main dining area. Although it was also busy (we were there during the Gopher game), there was immediate seating for us in the dining area. With only a glance at the menu, we put in our order…cheese curds, two Juicy Lucys and two diet cokes. If you’re not familiar with the Juicy Lucy, it is a cheeseburger but with the cheese inside the burger. This ensures that the cheese is still hot and melted when it arrives at your table. But be warned, while melted cheese is always a good thing, you do have to be careful not to burn yourself on it. For more on Juicy Lucy’s and a map of where to find them in the Twin Cities click here.

Back to the Shamrock - I had high expectations for this meal, as The Nook’s Juicy Lucy is my favorite in town. Note: I haven’t tried all the Juicy Lucy’s out there, but it’s my favorite of those I have tried. Our Lucys arrived and I was a little surprised, to be honest. Although it’s controversial, I think the bun is a crucial part of the burger experience. So it was a bit concerning to me that the Shamrock’s bun was not as soft as The Nook’s bun. Despite this difference, however, the burger and cheese were the same and they were oh, so good…so I couldn’t really complain. Overall, it was a good experience, and if they would switch up their bun, the Shamrock Grill would be a major contender in the realm of Juicy Lucys.

Shamrock Grill
995 7th St. W.
St. Paul, MN
651.228.9925

Saturday night Kyle and I had dinner plans with my in-laws. We wanted to take them somewhere fun with good food, so we decided on El Mesón, a Spanish-Caribbean restaurant in south Minneapolis. We had been there a few times before and had always loved it. Unfortunately, this visit did not live up to our previous experiences.

I love the atmosphere inside El Mesón. It is very cozy and it has a fun vibe. The decor is interesting as well. With rooftops structures at the top of the walls and archways with booths housed inside, it makes you feel like you are eating in a dimly lit courtyard in someone’s backyard. I just love that feeling!

We were seated and then greeted by our server right away. Drinks were the first order of business. It was a bit surprising to find out that they don’t serve any beer. I know they used to sell beer, so I’m not quite sure why they have taken off their menu. Their only alcoholic drinks are sangria or wine. With those as our options, we decided to go with the sangria. Now, I’m not usually a picky drinker, but I was a bit disappointed with the sangria. To be more specific, it tasted very watered down. Sangria is usually such a fun drink to enjoy. It’s so colorful and festive, not to mention yummy, with the dry wine mixed with sugar and fruit. But this sangria was none of the above. The wine was weak and it had no sweetness to it, and the only fruit that was added were tiny, diced apples. Yes, apples are delicious, but it could have used more variety.

Our food experience was a little better. The menu features many rice dishes, lots of seafood, and several beef and pork dishes. Everything sounded so good; it was definitely hard to choose. We started with calamari with an artichoke lemon aioli. This definitely was up to par. The calamari was tender and the aioli was tart and perfect. For my entree I ordered one of the specials - sea bass. The sea bass, tomatoes and red onion were cooked in a banana leaf and served with a side of rice and an heirloom tomato and avocado salad. The flavors were really good, but unfortunately my sea bass was not prepared well. It was a little rubbery and not all that enjoyable. However, the tomatoes, onion and sauce that it was cooked with were very flavorful and I really enjoyed the rice and salad as well. Kyle ordered the asado, as it was promised to be the best pork dish served in the Twin Cities. He did seem to enjoy it quite a bit and he finished every last morsel on his plate.

Overall, I have mixed reviews for this visit to El Mesón. Since I have been there a few times before, I know that this is not the typical experience, or at least I hope that the quality has not declined as of recent. Is it still a fun place to go? Yes. Is it a great restaurant with high-quality food and drink? The jury is still out on that one.

El Mesón
3450 Lyndale Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
612.822.8062