Nothing Bundt Cakes, Omaha, NE

Could not have gotten free mini-bundt coupons to a better place. We sampled small bundt cakes of lemon, red velvet, and carrot. I think my fave was red velvet. I wished the carrot had some texture in it (carrot bits, nuts?) rather than just smooth batter. The lemon was solid. We all agreed we made a huge mistake by not trying something in the chocolate family, but not to worry, we'll be back. 

Iowa sunrises rarely disappoint.

License Plate Shenanigans

Seems like a perfectly normal plate to take a pic of if your initials are "mk"...

I don't know what the "Thanx" is for, but the rest made sense upon closer inspection...

Ah well. Maybe not so appropriate for my initials after all. 

Dixie Quicks, Council Bluffs, IA

High time I visited this well-regarded, funky place, and it did not disappoint. Very busy place, but seating time with reservation and service was good.

The menu is a little unique/goofy as there are no menus, just a big chalkboard. Side step social norms? Ok, I'll play along. I found what I wanted pretty quick anyways. 

The Bloody Mary was easy to find and spicy enough to satisfy any edible heat seekers. 

The Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs hit the spot. The grits were a bit watery and flavorless, but that's kind of how grits are. Other than that small hiccup, the trip was worth the wait and I would go back at any time. 

Omaha Firsts

When in Rome...

Never had a lime version, it's alright...more flavor than the original I spose. 

UNO Hockey at the Century Link in Omaha. 

This made up for the can of lime-flavored beer. Great taps and bottles from beer all over the world, nice people too. 

I guess everything comes in 25oz. "American" cans now...even Japanese beers. 

Did not disappoint. 

Damn good cakes...and who doesn't like a business name with a pun?

Contender for America's Best Sandwich

The Pork Tenderloin at Barrett's in Omaha, NE. 

It's better than it looks. 

All aboard!!! Choo Choo Restaurant, Loretto, MN

If you want a taste of Americana in the heart of not-so-far-from-the-city rural Minnesota, think about heading out to the Choo Choo. It seems like it's an institution and been there forever, probably because even their wings are 45yrs old. They have a good bar and full bar food menu. They're famous for wings and after having a half-dozen, I agree...thought I would get one or more sauces next time. 

This place pulls in the range of people from the towns nearby, old dudes, families, and folks like yours truly, which gives plenty of people watching, like any good bar should have. 

Unique place, nice service, and solid evening out in rural America. 

Derby Night Done Right

Tanpopo Noodle Shop, St. Paul, MN

Wow, what a cool, hidden gem. And that's not to say it's hidden from everyone, but I'd bet from the majority. Reason being, if the majority knew about this very modest space, shared in a building with artist spaces and a coffee house, it'd be way bigger and way busier. Frankly though, part of the charm is being an out-of-the-way place (for quisine in MN) in an out-of-the-way location. 

Although on inspection they are a Japanese restaurant serving all kinds of foods, like sushi, sashimi, tempura, etc. , the word "noodle" is in their name and that's what drew me in. A quick web check has them listing two famous noodle varieties, if a noodle can be famous:

Soba (buckwheat flour)

and Udon (wheat flour)

They have daily specials

But on a chilly winter into spring evening, I wanted a bowl of boiling hot broth and fresh noodles. Dining solo, I had plenty of time to choose a beer 

from a brewery I'd never heard of, Hitachino... Japanese no less, and was delicious too. 

I could take my time on the menu, finding and settling on kimchi nabe, which I recognize as having a Korean influence, though maybe kimchi is more universal than I think?

They also did me a solid with my order and wouldn't let me, or strongly suggested not to, order soba noodles with the dish. They said the soba would disintegrate in the hot broth. So, I chose udon in the broth and had a side of soba just to get a taste. Both were awesome noodles. The fixins in the broth were also very well done. All in all, I had a great meal and left feeling like I found a hidden gem. That's a good feeling...plus the full tummy feeling too. 

Grand Ole Creamery & Pizza, St. Paul, MN

Though I'd been in to this ice cream shop before, I don't think I've done a post. 

This is a great old-school ice cream shop, including water in the back and old-timey stuff on the walls. 

Even after inhaling a Juicy Lucy and fries, I couldn't say no to Marshmallow Man and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. Wow, delicious. Go, go now. 

Shamrocks/The Nook, St. Paul, MN

This post could also run with either of these two subtitles:

- OH MY GOD THIS IS SO FRIGGIN' GOOD!!!

or

- FINALLY. WHY DID THIS TAKE SO LONG?!?!

After an epic fail to have my first juicy Lucy burger at St. Paul's Blue Door Pub (100% their fault), just last night I was able to have a no-chance-of-fail attempt at Shamrocks Pub, which is owned by and serves the menu from The Nook. 

I can confidently say that this burger, their Juicy Nookie, was well worth the wait, even after five years. The only regret is not having gone here sooner. That's my own fault. 

I had an expert Lucy eater with me and he steered me in the right direction for ordering, side choice (get the sweet potato fries - like crack!), and even eating technique. 

In spite of the advice, the Juicy Lucy got all over the bun, plate and my hands. But, I did avoid scalding my mouth with liquid hot magma cheese. 

It tastes even better than it looks. If I'd ordered two at once, I would have gladly eaten both in one sitting. 

It truly is friggin' awesome. If you never had one, go now. If you've already had one, go get another...it's been a long winter. 

Note: Shamrocks was a cool, broken in Irish pub. A definite contender for any St. Pat's Day shenanigans you might be getting into. 

Bike (Re)Build, Salsa El Mariachi Ti

What's missing?

Just Takin my Svenska Quiz

Red Wing Brewery, Red Wing, MN

A small adventure day requires a place to take a load off, decompress, and have a good beer (root or otherwise). We found this 15 month old resurrected brewery name down near the water of the mighty Mississippi. 

This new brew place has a max capacity capacity of 49 people, so it should never feel too packed, but the compact, light industrial space is filled with all manner of Red Wing brewing history. This artwork and history makes the space. 

The beer and pizza menus finish off the place. Be prepared to wait a bit for your pizza, perhaps filling the wait time with more beer? You can also get to-go growlers of anything on tap, including their very good rootbeer. We had that "beer" plus their fully leaded porter and stout. All of them were delicious, esp after an ambitious and somewhat white-knuckle drive on twisty snowy WI side roads...you got me this time Google Maps.

Two suggestions for upping their game or watch out for if you go - 

1. Watch the ingredient mix on the calzones. Ours had way too much ricotta and not enough of the ingredients we'd chosen. The crust and side of marinara were great though.

2. Service norms - while the crew is very friendly and helpful, they are missing some speed in the kitchen and what now seems like a ubiquitous POS system. They hand write checks then tally totals and taxes on a calculator. iPads aren't that pricey and a plug-in credit card reader can be bought at Target for $10 (like one from Square). 

Guest Pic, Hager City, WI

Found this gem of a small town bridge going from Hager City, WI to Red Wing, MN. Kinda sketchy roads this trip, but we could clearly see it could be a cool day-trip in the summer.