Camacho Watcho

Restaurant Week 2009 came and went with minor fanfare for me. I had hoped to make it to three new places last week (I loved my two visits last year), but managed one – Barrio Tequila Bar. Although it was only one place, the tasting menu for $30 was exactly what I had hoped for.

But before I get to the food, I need to take a step back. You can’t go to a tequila bar and not drink a little tequila (or, maybe that’s just me). And my choice? Of course, I immediately ordered the Macho Camacho margarita. Up until l I changed my last name, I was asked on a frequent basis if I am related to Hector Macho Camacho. But, no, I’m not related to Hector or any other boxers (unless you count my dad who did a little boxing in college). Regardless, I was excited to try this margarita that shares my maiden name. And this drink did not disappoint – a citrusy blood-orange beverage that came just shy of a puckery knock-out.

Once our thirsts had been quenched, we could concentrate on the food. The tasting menu was actually a great value. We started with housemade guacamole, a trio of salsas (ancho chile, salsa verde and habanero) and queso fundido with crab. The best of these were the salsas, especially the salsa verde (I just love tomatillos!). I liked the guacamole but it could have used a kick and the queso fundido was good but I didn’t think it really needed the crab. These were all served with the tastiest of tortilla chips – honestly, so good…we went through three baskets and could have taken down more.

The next course was the pork posole – their version of this brothy soup consisted of a piece of tender pork shoulder served with lettuce, radishes and jalapenos. After stirring in a spoonful of their salsa verde, it was my favorite dish of the evening. Last, we were served a trio of tacos – steak, fish and pork. Again the pork reigned as the best of the bunch, as the steak taco was served on a fried tortilla shell and the sauce for the fish was a mask of mayo.

The downfall of the evening, however, was the service which can be only be described as unprofessional and uncoordinated. Do they really think it’s okay to hold a beer next to my face while I’m taking a bite – trying to get my attention to hand a fresh beer to my dining companion sitting kitty-corner to me? No – walk around the table and hand it to him yourself. And did they really think it was acceptable to bring my friend’s entree (who did not order the tasting menu) as she was eating her salad and while we were still on our first course (of a four course meal)? Absolutely not – we sent it back and had them remake it 45 minutes later when we were done with salads and appetizers and the entire table was ready for entrees. These incidents were singular events among numerous occasions of being asked by servers to hand them a dirty plate from across the table or having them try to take dishes away before they were finished. It’s unfortunate that these incidents happened, but it’s even more unfortunate that this doesn’t seem to be a one-off experience, as others have relayed similar experiences to mine.

Despite the service, Barrio is a great addition to the downtown scene with its sleek yet western throw-back vibe. And although it’s not my first choice for a casual neighborhood spot, I have a feeling that an ice-cold Macho Camacho and chips with salsa verde are in my very near future.

Barrio Tequila Bar
925 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN

Last Sunday I was craving a burger, but of course, not just any burger…I wanted a jucy lucy. My first inclination was to head on over to The Nook or Matt’s, as I know how much I love their lucy’s. Instead, in the spirit of trying new things, I decided to hit up Adrian’s instead.

To be honest, I had never heard of Adrian’s. I had even eaten in that neighborhood at Pepito’s and Cafe Levain a few times and had never even noticed the sign before. Given that it isn’t spoken of much in jucy lucy circles, I should have been prepared. But I went in with high hopes…just looking for a grease fix.

We arrived right at noon (opening time), so of course we took them by surprise by immediately ordering up some beer, burgers and fries. We were told we’d have to wait on the burgers, as they were just getting going for the day but that the beer and fries would be right out. No problem. I didn’t mind the wait – the beer was cold and the fries were crinkle-cut and crisp. With the addition of a little salt and my mustard-ketchup mix, I was appeased for the time being.

My jucy lucy was served a short time later with the standard warning to wait before eating, for danger of being burned by the cheese. I used the time to size up the enormity of this burger. The largest jucy lucy I’d ever been served, this was two massive patties of beef, a tall bun and cheese melted on top (not standard issue in the lucy world). At this point I figured I had waited long enough so I tentatively dug in.

Let’s start with the bun which was dry and dense and really didn’t complement the juicy burger in the least. One of my biggest complaints about burgers is the bun, and for good reason…it’s rarely done right. As for the patties? They were cooked perfectly – medium – but unfortunately there was just too much burger and they were packed so dense (maybe needed a higher fat content in the beef?) that, while the cheese was plentiful, the balance was totally off. This did explain the extra slice of cheese melted on top, an attempt to balance out the cheese to meat ratio, but it just didn’t make up for the overload of beef contained in the sandwich.

Overall, I was not impressed with Adrian’s jucy lucy. In the future I’ll be taking my jucy lucy cravings elsewhere.

Adrian’s Bar and Grill
48th and Chicago Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN

Girls’ night last week led us to Sen Yai Sen Lek in NE Minneapolis. Thai food is always an easy sell for me (yum…curry!) and I was excited to try Sen Yai Sen Lek, as it’s been on my (ever-growing) list of restaurants to try since Twin Cities Eats wrote about it.

The main dining room of Sen Yai Sen Lek is brightly painted in reds, blues and purples and is offset by light colored wooden tables and booths. There is also separate bar area with a lounge with couches and tables. I’m not sure that I would ever lounge there but it gave the place a nice, casual atmosphere. We were seated at a booth in the dining area and given menus to peruse.

A bottle of Prosecco for the table was quickly ordered (remember, it was girls’ night), along with a couple of appetizers. The Po Pia Tod (crispy spring rolls) were fresh, tasty and had not even a hint of greasiness. The lettuce wraps (Miang Kam), served DIY style with a variety of filling options from dried shrimp to toasted coconut, were interesting, but I can’t say they were my favorites.

Our food arrived shortly after. I had ordered the chicken curry special which was served with a side of vegetables and a thai omelet. To be honest, my order was driven from a love of curry (swoon) and my curiosity getting the better of me about the omelet. I love Thai food, but I don’t know a lot about it…is a Thai omelet a pretty normal thing? Regardless, the omelet turned out to be tasty – light, fluffy and filled with veggies. I’m not sure that I needed it alongside my curry dish, but I definitely enjoyed it. The other entrees that we tried were also very tasty – fresh ingredients, good sauces and steaming hot.

My curry special was much larger than the other portions and I was able to take the rest of my meal home to eat as two lunches. Bonus! But then, of course, Kyle tried a bite of my leftovers and started craving Thai food, so we ordered takeout on Monday night and tried two more dishes. This time we went with chicken Pad Thai and Pad Prik Khing with beef instead of pork. The Pad Thai was tasty, the Pad Prik Khing was just ‘okay’. If the beef had been more tender (which could be because of the substitution) and the dish had been spicier and saucier, I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Overall I enjoyed Sen Yai Sen Lek, both as a restaurant to sit down and dine and as a to-go option. It’s not my new favorite Thai restaurant in the downtown area – The King and I is just SO good and Kindee Thai is tasty and right by my house – but I liked it and would return.

Sen Yai Sen Lek
2422 Central Ave. NE
Minneapolis, MN
612.781.3046

It’s been a busy couple weeks and I haven’t had a chance to share everything that I’ve been up to, so I thought I would do a quick roundup.

I had the pleasure of trying a few new restaurants; the Sanctuary on Washington Avenue near the Guthrie and Bradstreet Crafthouse Restaurant at the Graves Hotel. The Sanctuary food was simply delicious. Honestly…if you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it. You can see that I would have licked my ice cream bowl clean, but that just wouldn’t have been polite. For more photos and to read the full review, click here.

The Bradstreet Crafthouse Restaurant was a solid experience, but the cocktails elevated it to a higher recommendation. Have a seat at the bar and get ready to experience some high quality cocktails. For more photos and to read the full review, click here.

I also made a few dishes at home. One was a hit, my favorite pork tenderloin with tomato jam (that I made this summer and froze so I could enjoy the taste of summer in the depths of winter) but the other two dishes, curried root vegetable soup and shrimp coconut curry still need a little work. They were tasty, but they didn’t blow me away.

Oh, that’s right…you were wondering about the burlesque part…I know how your mind works. Since you asked…I also had the opportunity to photograph The Underpants Show on Friday night at Bryant Lake Bowl. A hilarious variety and burlesque show featuring all types of talents. The show is monthly and is definitely worth checking out. More photos and review is linked here.

Kyle’s birthday was last week so to celebrate, we decided to keep it low-key, grabbing a drink and a burger at The Herkimer. A brewpub with an extensive food menu is always intriguing to me.

A large space with several cozy booths and shuffle board along one wall, I can envision going back for a beer on a frequent occasion. The food, however, was a little lacking. It wasn’t bad, but considering that we ordered items that were supposed to be spiced up a bit, the food was a bit bland.

Kyle got the Puerco sandwich, “Cuban braised pork, peppers, onions, pepperjack cheese, and chipotle mayo”. There was definitely shredded pork on the sandwich….but the rest? It didn’t strike me enough to remember.

I ordered the Cajun burger, “ground beef seared in Cajun spices, pepperjack cheese, with a side of bleu cheese dressing”. Again, there was ground beef and a bun, but no spice came through at all for me. Both orders were served with their award winning sweet potato fries, which were crispy and, yes, tasty.

In short, I wouldn’t call the Herkimer a food destination. I may have to go back just to try their after 10pm Happy Hour special of 5 mini burgers, sweet potato fries and a pint of beer for $10 (come on….it sounds like a good deal!), but otherwise I’d just go to enjoy the casual atmosphere and brewpub beer.

Oh, and I apologize for the photography (I was lazy and just had my little point and shoot camera)…and for my obsession with trying to take this shot of me drinking my beer. I never quite got it right, but this is my best attempt. Thankfully, no beer was spilled in the photographing of this shot.

Last Saturday was the St. Paul Winter Carnival’s Securian Frozen 5K and Half Marathon. Given the -26 degree (with wind chill) temperature at the race start, the race organizers decided to cut the half marathon in half…I guess making it a quarter marathon? Anyway, you might be wondering why I speak of this, since I am not a runner. Definitely not a runner.

I mention this because my husband was one of the dedicated, Minnesotan runners who did brave the cold temps to run the race. He’s run it several times before and each year I do the same thing. I go to the race start with him then sit in Caribou to read a book or surf the internet until he’s done running. Does that make me a bad person? I mean, I actually get up early and am there to support him, right? I usually do watch him finish and take pictures, but this year…not a chance. I stayed in my warm, cozy spot until he came by to tell me it was all over.

This year, when the race was over, that was when the morning really got started. At that point, Kyle was in desperate need for calories and I was desperate for coffee and eggs. We considered several breakfast places and finally decided to try a nearby place where we had never been – Bon Vie. Located on Selby Avenue in St. Paul, Bon Vie is just as charming as you might expect from a business in this area. Although not a large dining area, it is well laid out to accommodate many diners. When we arrived there was standing room only, but a high top table near the window opened in just 10 or so short minutes. The wait gave us time to look around the place, taking in its Parisian bistro theme, complete with several prints of Paris decorating the walls.

Once we were seated, we explored the menu. Several standard menu items were present, such as eggs, bacon, and french toast, along with several specialties like eggs Benedict. The surprising menu items for me were the Mexican omelet and the Mexican Migas. Of course I immediately gravitated toward these items, while Kyle gravitated toward the french toast. Upon ordering, I asked the waitress about these seemingly out of place items on a French bistro menu, and although she lacked any good explanation besides “we used to have a Mexican cook”, she assured me that they were good. I took her word for it and ordered the migas.

Although we didn’t have to wait long for our food, I quickly drained my cup of coffee, so that when the food arrived I, of course, asked for a refill. Now, hold that coffee thought as I describe the food. The french toast was good, as were the sausage links that came with it. Kyle’s only comment was that he wanted more (he ate a snack when we got home, but probably attributed to his morning run).

My migas were really tasty and actually quite interesting. Traditional breakfast migas are fried tortilla strips (originated to use leftover tortillas) scrambled with eggs, tomatoes, onions, beans, cheese and chiles. While the eggs, tomatoes, etc. were all present in these migas (including chorizo, which I love), they were served instead on a bed of tortilla chips, giving them more of a breakfast nacho personality instead. Interesting concept…and it works.

Now, back to coffee situation…As I said, I finished my cup of coffee quickly and, as breakfast was served, I asked for a refill. Which I never received. After I finished my migas, I caught the waitress’s eye, and she mouthed ‘coffee?’ to me, which I nodded yes. I still did not receive any coffee, but the waitress did proceed to walk around and take orders at several other tables near me. About five minutes later, another waitress came around with coffee. She filled my cup, and as Kyle held his up for a refill, she turned her back and walked away. We did flag her down to get him a refill, but that was really odd.

Overall, I would say that Bon Vie is a quaint breakfast place with good food and flaky service. If you haven’t been, I’d say it’s worth a try even though I wouldn’t give it a high recommendation due to the service. There are just too many other great breakfast places nearby with endless and frequent coffee service.

Bon Vie
518 Selby Ave.
St. Paul, MN
651.287.0112

Breakfast is a true treat for me. I love the eggs; I love the coffee; I love the experience. I don’t require anything too fancy, just a cozy atmosphere and good food. A few years ago we decided to try Moose & Sadie’s. It had just been redone and they were excited to welcome a former Birchwood Cafe chef to their staff. On a whole I was underwhelmed by the experience. In fact, I was pretty set to never return there again.

Last week, however, I broke that resolution. I had breakfast plans with my friend Grant (who I’ve now nicknamed my “ham and cheese” friend). We had plans to go a different restaurant, but were disappointed when we pulled upfront to the NE cafe only to find it wasn’t open for breakfast on that particular day. It was 9am and I had not had my first cup of coffee, so we had to think fast and redirect our stomachs. I directed us to a place nearby in the Warehouse District…Moose & Sadie’s.

I will admit that since the last time I was at Moose & Sadie’s, the interior seemed much cozier. In fact, I really like the large windows in the front that let in natural light and the light wood furniture and the colorful walls make for a cheery atmosphere. It probably also helped that there were many more people in the restaurant than the last time I visited, which is always pleasing. My spirits began to lift.

After a review of the menu, I decided on the huevos rancheros and a large coffee and Grant ordered the ham and cheese quiche and a coffee. As with many of the breakfast places I enjoy, we were assigned a table number, served our coffee and then allowed to sit to wait for our food. It didn’t take long for our food to arrive. Grant’s quiche was light and fluffy, and it was actually pretty tasty. But it did look pretty lonely there on the plate with only a couple orange slices for company.

My huevos rancheros were, well, below expectations. The eggs were cooked well, which is definitely a plus. And my portion was definitely more filling than the quiche. But, overall, it lacked personality. The menu read “two soft-fried corn tortillas, roasted tomato salsa, two eggs over easy, refried beans, dry jack cheese, sour cream and avocado.” Tortillas, eggs, beans, sour cream and avocado…check. Dry jack cheese…um, there was cheese, but I wouldn’t say it was very dry or particularly flavorful. That’s okay, but just call it what it is…just cheese. And then there was the roasted tomato salsa…if those tomatoes were roasted, you certainly couldn’t taste it and there was absolutely no flavor beyond just tomato. Now, I know that the overall meaning of ‘salsa’ is just ‘sauce’, but when I order huevos rancheros, a Latin dish, I expect there to be at least a little spice or at least some depth to the flavor…garlic, onion, chiles…anything. The salsa, as they called it, was just tomato sauce.

I ate my huevos rancheros that day (come on, I was hungry!), but a lesson was definitely learned from the experience. Either do the work ahead of time to make sure your breakfast plans include an open establishment or always have a Plan B. Lack of caffeine can lead to poor judgment.

Moose & Sadie’s
212 N. 3rd Ave.
Minneapolis, MN
612.371.0464

I started the first few days of the New Year off with two events…a push up challenge and a Twin Cities fry crawl (aka: fry-day). It’s funny that these two events happened within days of each other given that their intentions are completely at odds. One is a physical challenge that requires discipline and training and the other is a physical challenge that requires complete indulgence and an iron stomach. And so it goes.

Push Up Challenge
The push up challenge was part of a training program that my friend Carly had heard about and recruited sixteen others to do with her. The program consists of an initial push-up test to determine your starting skill level and then six weeks of training with periodic tests to monitor your progress. The goal at the end of the training is to complete the challenge…one hundred good form push-ups…consecutively.

So, you’re probably wondering how the challenge went. I did complete one hundred push-ups consecutively, but only the first 50 were on my toes, the rest were a combination of knee push-ups and some back up on my toes. Fifty consecutive was a new record for me so I was very pleased…but even more than that, I was pleased with the brunch the followed after. We all climbed the stairs from the basement, arms too weak to even grip the banister, and ate a large brunch. I made a new breakfast casserole – sausage and leek – which my mom introduced me to on Christmas Day. It is a fantastic recipe – highly recommended (couple of recommended recipe changes: 1/2 the sausage, can use Monterrey jack instead of pepper jack).

Fry-Day

The conception of Fry-Day was born from the New Years resolution that Kyle and Carly made in 2008…no french fries. Another friend, The Freets, also gave up fries for the last four months of the year. Because of this, Kyle decided that we needed a monumental event to celebrate the eating of the fries in 2009. (I did not give up fries in 2008, but I was not going to miss a day of eating fries.) Similar to the event he does with some friends in the Spring (aka: Greatest Day Ever), where they bike to all the brew-pubs around the Twin Cities, they decided to bike to several places known for the fries to try them all. At this point you might be wondering about the weather. Yes, this is Minnesota. Yes, there was snow on the ground and freezing temperatures. And yes, it did snow/sleet during their adventures. But, no, none of these factors were going to ruin Fry-Day. (I took the easy way out and drove to the places to meet them…cheating? Yes. Do I regret cheating? No).

The day started out at the Longfellow grill, known for their sweet potato fries. Honestly, you just can’t beat these fries. Large wedges of sweet potatoes, fried until just crisp but still sweet and soft in the inside and served with chipotle mayonnaise. I could marry these fries.

The second stop was The Nook, where we ate their hand cut fries. Again, these are perfectly made, skins still on the potatoes, fried to a perfect crisp, and finished with plenty of seasonings. Alongside a Nook burger, I was in heaven.

The next stop (the last that I made with them) was to the Bulldog Lowertown in St. Paul. We sampled both their cajun fries and their cajun tater tots. Verdict? The fries were blah (which seems impossible…they look so tasty above!) but the tots were very tasty and spicy (note: I’ve also had their chipotle tots and their cheese tots…neither of those are recommended). I then left the bikers but they made their way to Maxwell’s in downtown Minneapolis. Maxwell’s serves tasty waffle fries with seasoned sour cream. Always a favorite of mine. All in all, Fry-Day was a success, some great fries eaten and a celebratory way to bring in 2009!

For more stories about Fry-Day from the bikers, you can read about it on The Deets and from Shek.

Before the holidays, we planned a night out with some friends. We would grab some dinner and then go to the British Ad Awards showing at the Walker Art Center. I had never been to the British Ad Awards so I was looking forward to an edgy, (maybe a little racey), humorous evening. Although some of the ads were so long (in my opinion), there were several that were my favorites including this amazingly wonderful Walkman Project ad, the always amazing Skoda car/cake ad, this provocative Levi’s ad, this beautiful Nike ad, and this hilarious VW commercial (watch out for language if you’re at work). There were many great ads and I can appreciate the ad that did win, but I don’t know that it was my favorite. Here it is, the Gorilla ad. Anyway, the British Ad awards were a good time and I’ll have to go again next year.

Before the Walker, however, we grabbed some dinner at the Common Roots Cafe. We had heard a lot of great things about this place, including a comparison to the Birchwood (which is high standards for me). I was also excited to go to Common Roots because of its dedication to local ingredients. In fact their website has a great map of all their suppliers, showing all Minnesota and Wisconsin suppliers.

The inside of Common Roots is open and airy with floor to ceiling windows in the front, light colored wood floors, tables and chairs, and two seating areas. The style is very much like Birchwood with a deli counter for salads and a menu with choices of hot food items. I had heard great things about the Rootsy Lucy (their version of the Jucy Lucy), but it wasn’t a special that day, so I went with the 100% grass fed burger and a Surly on tap. I also ordered a salad for the table to share before our food came out (I was pretty hungry and couldn’t wait). We took our number stand to our table and sat down to enjoy.

The salad, which was sweet potato and curry, was out of this world fantastic! The flavors were sweet and just strong enough and the vegetables were tender but not falling apart. In hindsight I wish I had just ordered a huge serving of it for my meal…it was that good.

Our burgers arrived, looking beautiful with the array of colors in the roasted red peppers and lettuce greens. Unfortunately the first thing I noticed was that the bun was on the harder side (I love a soft, doughy bun) and that the bun bottom was soggy from the burger grease. And although I did enjoy the taste of my meal, the greasiness just didn’t set well with me. I tried to make a few excuses for it, but ended up just realizing that it was too greasy (running down my hand greasy). Perhaps it needed to sit just a bit longer after cooking before serving. I’m a little torn on my Common Roots Cafe experience…On one hand is its atmosphere, dedication to local ingredients and the salad were fantastic. On the other hand is its bun and greasy burger. Not a complete loss, but I was disappointed. I will definitely need to return to Common Roots to give it another go.

Common Roots Cafe
2558 Lyndale Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN
612.871.2360

After the British Ad Awards, I went to First Ave. to photograph the Soul Asylum concert for Metromix. A couple pictures are below, but for more photos of the concert, click here. All in all it was a fun, busy evening. Lots of laughs, some great curry and a little music. Not a bad way to start off the holidays.

Well, Friday turned out to be interesting indeed. It started out just fine, a typical caffeinated morning. But then at noon, things started to go wrong. Going out to my garage, I quickly realized something was wrong. The lights were on, the garage door was up…and three bikes were missing. We had been robbed. More than just annoying, it feels terrible to know that someone was on your private property, going through your things. Yuck! I called the police and they arrived a short time after. They were very nice, helpful and I really appreciate their attention and kindness through this.

It was safe to say that my afternoon errands just weren’t going to happen after that…I had the thieves on my mind. Later that night I photographed the Seven Pounds movie premiere at Southdale, where Will Smith was in attendance. It was cold, but it was also very inspiring to be there and hear him talk about responsibility. He seemed like a really cool guy…he LOVED his fans and spent a lot of time taking pictures, hugging and talking with them. Very cool.

But, I was freezing when I got home and emotionally exhausted. I wanted to go somewhere cozy with good food and drinks. So we headed to Psycho Suzi’s. I love this place, both in the summer for their huge outdoor patio and in the winter when you can cozy up in the dark booths. Their food is fantastic – you just can’t beat a place that serves pot-luck pickle roll-ups and deviled eggs. I’ve never ordered a tiki drink when there, but on that cold night I decided to go for. I went with a “medium” strength drink called the Coconaut. The description says it’s a cross between a white russian and a pina colada. Neither of which I’m particular fond, but I loved the Coconaut. It was creamy and chocolately…delicious! An order of tater tots, a deep dish four barrel pizza and a Coconaut later and I was full and satisfied.

No dreams were broken on Friday, but the food and beverage certainly did help take away the thoughts of the burglary and the freezing cold.

Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge
2519 Marshall St. NE
Minneapolis, MN
612.788.9069