Camacho Watcho

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

I’m crossing my fingers that this is my last day of being sick, so hopefully I’ll actually write tomorrow. Until then, I’ve included some pictures from our visit to the Walker Sculpture Gardens this past weekend. Enjoy!

To view more photos, click here.

I am recovering from a cold and, therefore, am not much up for writing. Instead, I thought I would share some pictures that I took last week at the St. Paul Farmer’s Market. We picked up some late summer vegetables, which I then took home and made raspberry jam, tomato jam and pickled red peppers. It was my first time to try canning too, which I thought was a lot of fun! Enjoy!

For more pictures, click here.

…and it is lovely! Leaves turning, apple picking…I love this time of year!

It was Sunday and breakfast was the main priority. I didn’t care where we went, as long as there would be eggs. At the precise moment when Kyle made a suggestion of where we should go, we received a text from our friend The Freets. He and his lovely wife Sue were headed to Day by Day Cafe. Perfect!

We should have thought of Day by Day Cafe to go to, as it was the last day of summer and Day by Day has an amazing back patio (with a pond and everything!). We headed out and were there in no time. The Freets and Sue were already seated outside when we arrived (thank goodness, as the lines for Day by Day can be murder on a Sunday). We joined them and immediately did some damage to the carafe of coffee sitting at the table. I love it when restaurants give you your own carafe!

Pondering the menu, I was trying to figure out if I wanted to go all out with the breakfast burrito (always a solid choice) or the special of egg casserole (minus the hollandaise). Again, just as long as there were eggs. The waitress came to take our order and, of course, I panicked. Searching the menu for the answer, I ignored the orders of my dining companions and just stared at the selections. It was finally my turn to order. I defaulted…two eggs over medium, sausage patty (mixing things up from my usual crispy bacon order) and whole grain toast. Whew! That was tough! Then I turned to Kyle to ask what he had just ordered. The waitress answered, with a straight face…”the exact same as you.” Oops. Okay, so maybe I’m not that original sometimes.

Our food came very fast - first the caramel pecan roll that we ordered as an appetizer and then our full breakfasts. Eggs perfectly cooked, toast crispy and lightly buttered…yum! Day by Day Cafe can always be counted on for a great breakfast and it’s even better in the summer. With a carafe of coffee and the sun shining down on you, what a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning.

Day by Day Cafe
477 W. 7th St.
St. Paul, MN
651.227.0654

I know this is old hat to many of you, but I just wanted to share my excitement that Maxwell’s is back! It seems unbelieveable that just seven months ago, Maxwell’s was shut down due to a fire that started on the third floor in a storage area (as reported by Ed here), where there were a few apartments as well. It saddened so many regulars who loved Maxwell’s and even prompted a facebook group to be started “Mourning Maxwell’s Pub - We Must Rebuild!”

I’ve read some great reviews on Maxwell’s re-opening including this one from We Got Served, but I had to go myself to see what the new Maxwell’s was all about. It was lovely to see the sign lit up again and walking through the door was just like old times. Everything looks the same, with the exception of the two new pictures above the bar and the new (and improved) bathrooms.

We ordered pints of Summit and then just sat and relaxed. I’m looking forward to more Thursday nights at Maxwell’s. It is so good to be back!

Living in a large(r) city like Minneapolis has made me take coffee shops for granted. There is a Caribou on almost every corner, and where there isn’t a Caribou I’m sure Starbucks or Dunn Bros. is near. In addition to these larger chains there are also smaller coffee shops that survive in the busy, on-the-go coffee take-out world that we live in.

Morton, on the other hand, is a small town and home to 15,000 people. Four years ago the only decent place to get a cup of coffee was either McDonald’s or the gas station. Enter Katie Vandenberg. She recognized a need for caffeine in a cozy environment and she pounced on it. She bought an old Victorian house near the library and opened a coffee shop in February 2005. It turned out that this is exactly what this small town needed - a place with character and a warm environment to chat with friends while kids play in the yard. A place to bring your laptop and or book and relax with a cup of coffee. She’s also added great food like homemade buttery scones (my favorite are the cranberry - yum!) and granola to complement the Fair Trade Coffee that is served. Eli’s is a great addition to Morton and I enjoy going there when I’m in town.


Places like Eli’s make me think about my community a bit more. More specifically, the small businesses that add character to our community. I don’t think that we need to completely give up going Caribou and Dunn Bros. (note: I’m not a fan of Starbucks), but I will try to look for smaller coffee shops and frequent them more often. For example, the one pictured above on Lake Street in South Minneapolis - Blue Moon Coffee Cafe. It’s a great, casual atmosphere for reading and relaxing. So next time you need a cup of joe, consider driving past that chain cafe and stop in a coffee shop with character.

Eli’s Coffee
205 W. Jefferson Street
Morton, IL
309.263.0507

Blue Moon Coffee Cafe
3822 E. Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN
612.721.9230

Located on the banks of the Illinois River in East Peoria, Illinois is the Burger Barge restaurant. No, it’s not an actual barge, but it certainly looks as though a barge or boat of some type ran ashore and then took off again, leaving behind remnants such as weathered anchors, ropes, and other nautical items. Unfortunately it was a rainy day when I went to lunch at the Burger Barge, so I didn’t stay outside long to inspect the outside, but rather ran right inside to get eating.

The inside is just as nautical with nets hanging from the ceiling and boating gear everywhere. As I took my seat at a table near the door, I noticed a very large (maybe 3 feet tall) parrot perched just behind me on an oversized bird swing. I knew I was definitely somewhere different and I hoped I was in for a treat. The Burger Barge claims that they serve the “best burger this side of paradise.” Of course playing on a few thoughts here. The first is that the Burger Barge is located right next to the Par-a-dice casino, which is a gaming boat parked on the shores of the Illinois River. And the second is the thought of East Peoria being paradise…I’ll just leave it at that. Regardless of the play on words, they claim to have a fantastic burger.

I was impressed with the menu, featuring fifteen different burgers and also a variety of barges (other hot sandwiches from what I could tell). I decided to go simple and ordered a plain cheeseburger and fries. My brother, on the other hand went all out and got the Ship, Captain and Crew Burger (a cheeseburger with the works including coleslaw and fries between the bun) and my mom also got a cheeseburger but with the works, which included their dock sauce.

Our food arrived and I was immediately drawn to my brother’s burger. It looked so good with the creamy, sweet coleslaw and french fries. My mom’s looked tasty as well, especially the tangy dock sauce that dripped from the side. My burger definitely lost in the “looks” category, being that it was very plain and had shredded, unmelted cheese. The Ship, Captain and Crew Burger was definitely the winner. The verdict? The Burger Barge is a really good burger. It’s not greasy and it’s served on a great bun. The next time I’m shipwrecked that side of paradise, I will definitely be back.

The Burger Barge
1401 N. Main St.
East Peoria, IL
309.694.9191

I was visiting home last week in the lovely town of Morton, Illinois. I had a great time with friends and family and arrived back to Minneapolis exhausted! I did visit a few restaurants and, of course, the Pumpkin Festival…all of which I will write about soon. However, for today I thought I would just share a few highlight pictures of my trip home.

Good homecooked eats by my parents…

A fantastic chocolate cream pie from my Grandma…

Lots of fun babysitting and playing with my nephews…

Especially this rousing game of hide and go seek…(he was so hard to find!)

As a note, you’ve got to try the tomato and watermelon salad in the top picture. A link to the recipe is here…I love the mix of the tomato with the sweet watermelon (in yellow), but the star of the salad is the tarragon. Yum!

I’ll be back soon with more from my trip home…

One of my favorite lunch spots is Cecil’s Deli in Highland Park, St. Paul. I love this place! We happened upon Cecil’s several years ago after my dad (who lives out of state) got a recommendation from someone about a restaurant that serves the BEST rueben in the Twin Cites. Although he wasn’t sure of any other details, he came to visit us with his mission…to find that rueben. Since that time, we have eaten there many times and we have taken many friends and family to Cecil’s. And let me tell you…it never disappoints.

Although Cecil’s is not much to look at (it is located in the back grocery/deli) and the service is nothing short of interesting (there is one main guy who runs the show and then just has a bunch of runners to help him), the food is just too good to miss. My favorites are the veggie rueben, turkey rueben and their Philadelphia beef and cheese. I do need to try their breakfast sometime, but I just crave their sandwiches so much that I haven’t gotten around to it. I know, it amazing to think that I would give up a chance to eat eggs in order to eat their sandwiches. That must tell you something!

This past Sunday was a Cecil’s kind of day. It was rainy and cold and we were really hungry. We hit Cecil’s and it was packed! Luckily we only had a short wait before we got a table. A hot cup of mushroom, barley and beef soup and a turkey rueben later and, suddenly, all was right with the world again. Such a perfect way to warm up on a cold, rainy day.

Cecil’s Deli
651 South Cleveland
St. Paul, MN
651.698.0334