Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Minnesota Meals


It has been a long time since I posted, I have been traveling and have not been using my kitchen (my mom did a couple of times but I didn’t help much so they didn’t make it onto the blog).  I went to Minnesota for a week to see my family and watch my college hockey team play in the Frozen Four.  While there I got to have some great meals with some of my very best friends.  Here are some of the food highlights:

Thursday March 21st
Dinner at Restaurant Alma with Kat, Dan and my mom
This was a fabulous dinner, with great wine, amazing friends and delicious food.  It is a more high-end restaurant that serves seasonal, organic and local ingredients.  They have a very large wine list.  It is a set price for a Three Course Tasting meal.  I had the vegetarian option so I got 2 salads: The Bitter Greens and an Arugula Salad with marinated potatoes and mustard vinaigrette.  Then for my “main” course I had Potato Agnolotti with a mushroom ragu.  I am not big on mushrooms but I absolutely loved them in the sauce.  Then for dessert Dan and I each ordered a different option and shared.  We got the Meyer Lemon Curd Tart and the Triple Chocolate Moouse Cake, both were delicious but the Lemon Tart was the tables favorite.  The fabbri cherries on the chocolate cake were AMAZING. 
I would highly recommend Restaurant Alma if you are looking for a great place to go out for a special meal. 

Friday March 22nd
Kat and I got morning coffee at Dunn Brothers (the original location is just blocks away from my house).  This was one of the places that Kat wanted to visit while she was in Minnesota and she was not disappointed in the coffee. 
For lunch we went to Shish.  This is a great little Mediterranean cafĂ©.  The food came out quickly and was delicious.  The produce was very crisp and fresh and really hit the spot. 
Spent the afternoon and evening at the hockey arena cheering the Terriers on. 

Saturday March 23rd
We wanted to watch the BU Men’s hockey team play so we had to find a sports bar to watch at (even in Minnesota it can be difficult to find a bar to put hockey on during March Madness).  We ended up at Joe Sensors and I was pleasantly surprised with the food (this was the feeling from the entire table).  The menu is pretty big with a lot of options, and not only classic sports bar food.  I had BBQ Chicken Burger topped with an onion ring. The Sweet Potato Fries with Maple Dipping Sauce are to die for! I love sweet potato fries and have had them at a lot of different restaurants but the maple dipping sauce is something special.  I wish I could have taken a bottle home.  My team did not win the game but it was a great casual meal with some of my hockey watching friends (and my mom). 

Sunday March 24th
National Championship Day
My mom and I went out to breakfast with an old friend (both in age and how long we have known him).  After breakfast I was so nervous I didn’t eat much throughout the day.  Again my team didn’t end up winning the game but it was great to get to see my coach and teammates again.  After the game I got to go visit with them and have a couple of glasses of wine before they flew back to Boston.  Then I went and had “dinner” with my best friend Kat at her hotel bar.  Again I was pleasantly surprised by the food.  This time it was at Beacon PubHouse.  We shared a couple of different pub grub options that we all really good.  They had a special of mini chicken tacos with fresh salsa.  Then we had Crispy Chicken Wings and Thick Cut Truffle Fries.  The chicken fingers were so good I ordered a second batch! 

Monday March 25th
My mom and I went to one of my childhood favorites Big Bowl.  I had their homemade ginger ale that is spicy and sweet and delicious.  Then we shared chicken satay as an appetizer.  My main course was my favorite Orange Chicken.  I love the Orange Chicken at Big Bowl because the chicken is crispy and they put orange rind in that adds just a touch of sweetness.    


Tuesday March 26th
We had to take a break from eating out so we invited some friends over for lasagna.

Wednesday March 27th
After working all day (and into the evening) to get a house sold with my mom and her business partner we decided to go Brasa for some comfort food.  The idea of the restaurant is that they have different sizes for all of the food that you share.  Even though it was only about 35 degrees outside we decided to start with a glass of sangria, which is one of my summer favorites.  We started by sharing some chips and guacamole (I guess it fits with the Sangria).  Then we shared 4 pieces of chicken, an order of Pulled Chicken, Candied Yams, and Crispy Yuca.  I also had a piece of corn bread.  Everything was delicious; I really liked the candied yams and the pulled chicken, which is simmered in light cream and peppered gravy.  After using my slow cooker so much this winter I am very tempted to try to make the pulled chicken in the slow cooker. 

My trip home was a ton of fun and I had some great food but I was glad to get back home to my “kitchen”.               
       

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