Rachael's Restaurant Review - The Mill Northeast

My dear friend Elise and I went to check out The Mill Northeast this week for dinner.  I didn't know what to expect as I hadn't heard of it before, but I was pleasantly surprised! The vibe is upscale hipster, and the food is delicious and generously portioned.  You could easily split an entree or sandwich and be full.  And that, thrifty bits, is always a good thing!

The Mill Northeast-1851 Central Ave NE Minneapolis, MN 55418

Rating - 8 out of 10 
 

I had a cup of mushroom soup which was creamy, savory and had a wonderful depth of flavor to it.  If it's on special when you are there I highly recommend it. 

I followed that up with the Jack Burger (candied bacon, white cheddar, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, onion, and tarragon aioli).  The burger was well cooked, and I love a fried egg on a burger.  I don't have much of a sweet tooth so I think regular bacon would have satisfied my palate better, but for most the combination of sweet and salty will please.

All in all, The Mill Northeast is a welcome addition to Central Ave. and adds a great option for those in the neighborhood who want a slightly more upscale but casual place to grab a drink and a nice meal.

Rachael's Restaurant Reviews - Butcher & The Boar

This is my favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities, and maybe ever.  Andy and I look for any excuse possible to treat ourselves to a Butcher & the Boar meal.   This time around? Well, we've been married for 1 month, so that counts right?! Right! To Butcher & the Boar we go!

Butcher & The Boar -  1121 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55403

Rating- 12 out of 10 (yes it's that good)  

  

   Caramelized Broccoli                        Taleggio Pancetta Mac & Cheese      

 

                                                            Berkshire Pork Spare Ribs                          Bourbon Flight

Butcher & the Boar is a James Beard Award Semi-Finalist so you know they are doing something (everything) right.  Not only is the food incredible but the service is top notch.  Last night I sat on my napkin when I came back from the restroom and was looking around for it, within 20 seconds my server was there asking if he could help me find something.  I told him that I think I must have sat on my napkin and he went and got me another one so I didn't have to stand up! WHAT?! That's just stupid good service. 

As the name suggests Butcher & the Boar is not for the vegetarian minded, this place is for the unabashed meat lover.  And remember that 12 out of 10 rating I gave this place? Well, you are going to pay for it, this place is not cheap (although there are more inexpensive options, it's just, we're celebrating over here okay?). 

I have tried many menu items over a few visits, and I have never been disappointed in anything but these are my "must try" items if you are only going once. These are the menu items that were so good, I kind of wanted to cry a little bit.

Taleggio Pancetta Mac & Cheese

Smoked Beef Long Rib- Tabasco-molasses BBQ 

Red Hot Brussels Sprouts

This meal easily feeds two, in fact I bet you and your dining partner will have leftovers. Lucky!

Berkshire Pork Spare Ribs

  Smoked Beef Long Rib

If you want to try the deliciousness but not spend a ton of money, check out their more casual Beer Garden Menu served outside year round in a cozy heated tent.  I haven't been to that side yet, but if it's even half as good as their main menu, it'll be twice as good as most places. GO NOW!

Rachael's Restaurant Reviews- Hola Arepa

I ate at Hola Arepa's food truck on my birthday last year and was blown away by how good it was.  When I heard they opened a brick and mortar spot, I quickly grabbed some friends to go eat some Arepas pronto!

First, a culinary lesson. What's an Arepa you ask?  Well that varies by country and place. But generally speaking, an Arepa is a thick patty made out of corn maize/corn meal and then either cooked on a griddle, fried or even steamed.  It is most commonly associated with Venezuelan and Columbian cuisine. The patty is then stuffed with braised meat, vegetables, cheeses, eggs, you name it.  Think of it as an incredibly delicious Colombian tortilla.

Hola Arepa- 3501 Nicollet Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN 55408

Rating- 9

The Order:

Shredded Beef & Plantain Arepa- Sweet plantain, black beans, hola sauce, cotija cheese, pickled onion

Delicious. the beef was so wonderfully flavorful and juicy. The cotija cheese added a wonderful bite and creaminess.The plantains were sweet, the pickled onions spicy, and the Arepa was crispy on the outside and hot and perfect on the inside. This is what Friday tastes like.  I added extra Hola Sauce and some homemade salsa to mine because I like things spicy. Ahhh, I want one again right now.

Yuca- with aioli verde or chimi churi sauce (we got both)

These were good Yuca fries.  Very crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside.  I tend to like mine a tad bit thinner, and thought Brasa's version was better. But, overall worth the order for sure. But per usual, I would drink the dipping sauces with a straw if I wasn't guaranteed to get weird looks.

Tortilla Chips-  With 3 salsas

Clearly homemade chips, and the salsas were all incredibly delicious.

Solveig & Hibiscus Tonic Cocktail- Far north gin & house made hibiscus tonic

Wow. Please do not leave Hola Arepa without getting one of their house made cocktails.  Everything about this drink was exactly what I wanted.  It looked incredible, it tasted refreshing and summery, this is happiness in a beautiful small hand corked bottle. 

If I haven't made it clear enough already, GO! The food is fantastic, the atmosphere is great, and the drinks are wonderful.  This spot is clearly popular and when we went on a Friday night at 7pm, we had to wait about an hour for a table. On the plus side, once we were seated the service was fast and food came straight away. If you want to avoid a long wait try a weekday, or come for dinner closer to 8pm when the line started to dwindle.

Rachael's Restaurant Reviews- Kiku Bistro

Sometimes it's so hot you just can't imagine eating anything that is even remotely warm.  Enter Sushi! The perfect summer dinner.  Andy and I have been going to Kiku Bistro for a few years now.  It's close to where we live, you can sit outside, there is always a $10 off coupon floating around somewhere in our "junk mail" pile, and they have a crazy long happy hour.

Kiku Bistro- 2819 Hennepin Ave.S. Minneapolis, MN 55408

Rating- 7.5

Okay you thrifty bits, Kiku Bistro's Happy Hour is insane. The Happy Hour Hours are (drumroll...)

Monday-Thursday: 4:30pm-7:30pm & 9pm-Close

Friday: 3pm-7:30pm & 9pm-Close

Saturday & Sunday: ALL DAY

Do you realize what this means? On most days there is only about an hour and a half when it is NOT Happy Hour. Thank You Kiku Bistro! 

 The Order: 

Caterpillar Roll- Eel – Cucumber – Kanpyo – Avocado

 I love me some Avocado.  Eel isn't my favorite Sushi but it is Andy's so we usually end up with some type of Eel roll. Rice is sticky, sauce is deep and salty. Yumm. 

Lake Calhoun Roll-Tempura Shrimp – Avocado – Spicy Crab - Crunch

I love the crispy bits on top of this.  The special sauce adds a nice spicy, creaminess to the roll and I love the crispy tempura Shrimp combined with the Avocado inside. Very well balanced textures.

Spicy Tuna Roll- Not much to say about this one except that it's Spicy Tuna and I like it.

 

Now, clearly I am a fan of Kiku Bistro.  Mainly because it's pretty good sushi for a good price and I always have a coupon.  Is it the best Sushi in the world? Nope. Is it even the best Sushi in the Twin cities? Probably not. But is it a great deal and a fun place to have a quick happy hour? You betcha. So go. Because I want to make sure it stays open. K? Please?

Rachael's Restaurant Reviews- Brasa

Andy and I found ourselves with a rare night off last night and decided to have an impromptu date night.  I had been wanting to try Brasa for a while now because I consistently hear amazing things about it.  So off we went to North Minneapolis in search of "comfort food inspired by the creole cooking traditions of the Americas and Caribbean."

Brasa: Premium Rotisserie, 600 E Hennepin Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55414

Rating- 7

 Brasa's menu is organized by proteins, sides, bowls, breads and sandwiches.  Most items are designed for sharing (or not).  You can order small, medium and large sizes depending on whether you're trying to feed the table or just yourself. We decided to order one bowl, one protein and two sides. 

The Order: 

Smoked Beef- "Braised & Seasoned with Sweet-Spicy BBQ Sauce"

Here's the thing, I was underwhelmed by this dish but Andy loved it. So perhaps take my review with a grain of salt?  I also admittedly feel like my being underwhelmed is party my own fault.  Braising means you sear the meat and then slow cook it in a cooking liquid of your choice to break down the connective tissue and make the meat very tender.  So, I was expecting juicy beef that had been braised in BBQ sauce. I wanted the sweet and tangy goodness to be infused in every salty rich bite.  Instead I got what was nicely braised beef (meaning it did reach desired tenderness) with a small ladle of BBQ sauce added on top right before they bring it to your table.  To be fair, the description says "seasoned with" BBQ sauce, not "marinated in" BBQ sauce. My fault.  Even still, braising is a method of cooking that can infuse meat with an incredible amount of flavor, and I felt this dish was lacking the intense flavor I was hoping for.

Pork & Over Easy Egg Bowl- "Yellow Rice, Jalapeno Spinach & Red Sauce" 

If you are just ordering for you, and not planning to share, I recommend ordering one of the bowls.  This is a lot of bang for your buck people.  It has rice, spinach, slow roasted pork, egg, crispy onions and sauce all for about 9 bucks.  The rice was a wonderful golden color, flavorful and fluffy. While the spinach was good, I couldn't detect even a hint of Jalapeno. Since I like spicy food, that was disappointing. The slow roasted pork was tender and savory, good marks there. The over easy egg was perfectly cooked and when you broke the yolk it infused the dish with that extra layer of depth you want from good comfort food. Brava Brassa! The red sauce, on the other hand, like the Jalapeno was hard to detect. 

Crispy Yuca with Citrus & Garlic

I'm not always a fan of Yuca. When it's done well, I LOVE it. When it's not crisped correctly, it's terrible.  Brasa's Yuca was fantastic.  Nicely sized slices of Yuca fried up to perfection.  Good and crispy on the outside and fluffy, not dry, on the inside. The citrus garlic dipping sauce they came with? I would drink that with a straw if they had brought me one.  This was probably the best dish we ordered.

Cornbread & Beans

I love cornbread.  It's essentially an excuse to eat butter and honey in heaps.  Everyone likes their cornbread differently. Some like it dense and substantial. Others like it fluffy and more cake like.  Some prefer it served hot, others feel it's better at room temperature or even slightly chilled. I like mine warm, and somewhere in between the dense and fluffy consistency. For me, the cornbread at Brasa was too dense and too cold.  It also lacked any flavor standing on it's own.  It was significantly improved by the butter and honey (but really what food isn't?). The baked red beans were perfectly cooked, but again lacked the intense flavor I'm looking for in Creole inspired cooking.  They didn't have that deep molasses flavor that's balanced by the starchy beans and tang of BBQ sauce. 

I know it might read as if I didn't enjoy my meal at Brasa.  Don't get me wrong, the food was good, I'd venture to say most people who eat there would say it is really really good.  But as someone who has had exceptional creole inspired comfort food, I just wanted to take the flavor nodule on everything and crank it up, up, up!

Rachael's Restaurant Reviews- Blue Door Pub Longfellow

Last night Andy and I were both craving burgers, fries and beer so we headed to The Blue Door Pub's new Minneapolis location in the Longfellow neighborhood.  We like to order two different things and then go half-sies so we can try two different menu items.  Just one of the reasons I love that man.

Blue Door Pub- 3448 42nd Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55406

Rating- 8.5 (Would have ranked higher if they had better fries and a larger tap beer list)

The Order:

The Humpty Burger with Fries- "Ellsworth cheese curds fill the inside, while a slow poached egg and Irish rashers huddle up on top."

 Ok, I had no idea what an "Irish rasher" was when I ordered this.  Turns out it's Irish Bacon which is probably closest to what we'd call country style ham. Great! Now when they serve this to you, they bring an egg still in its shell to your table, they have you lift off the bun and they crack the egg right on to your burger and then smash it with your bun allowing for all the amazing runny yolk to drip into the ham and the burger meat.  To me, this is an extremely soft boiled egg.  Delicious, yes. But not a poached egg. A poached egg is cooked by cracking it into boiling water.  Am I mistaken? Am I being too harsh? Honestly it doesn't matter because the end result is amazing. And if that isn't enough squeeky melty cheese curds ooze out of the center when you take a bite. Sign me up to eat this every day until my heart gives out. The fries were a bit under seasoned, good crispy texture but underwhelming overall.

The Jiffy Burger with Cajun Style Tots- "Crunchy Peanut Butter, a little mayo, pepper jack cheese, pickles and bacon." 

 Ok, stick with me.  You might be thinking Peanut Butter on a Burger?! With Mayo?! As the menu says "You've got to try it to be a believer." We almost ordered it without the Mayo because we were scared. I'm glad the bar tender talked us out of it.  The mayo is so subtle you can't taste it but it really adds to the experience by marinating the burger so that it stays juicy, balanced and the peanut butter doesn't become too sticky in your mouth.  This burger was such a crazy wonderful combination of salty, savory goodness with the bacon and pickles and then the subtle sweetness of the white bun and peanut butter just pushed it over the edge of deliciousness. The Cajun style tots were just what you want out of a tot.  Nicely flavored, good and crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. 

Point is, GO! GO now if you want delicious, unique burger concoctions.  Andy and I decided we want to try every burger on their "Blucys" Menu, maybe you can join us!?

Rachael's Restaurant Reviews - Bone Yard

Hello Lady Bits! The reason I love to cook is mainly because I love to eat delicious food, so naturally I also love to go out and try new restaurants. And I've decided to start reviewing them for you!

Bone Yard: 2841 Hennepin Ave. S. Minneapolis 55408
Rating: 6.5 out of 10 (I'm pretty tough!)

Recently my best friend James and I tried the new Uptown restaurant, Bone Yard http://boneyarduptown.com.  It's a country-style upscale cowboy type atmosphere.  Think plaid western shirts and jeans, exposed wood beams and cast iron skillets on the wall. For you local folk, it's where the Old Chicago used to be. We arrived around 6:40pm on a Monday and were pleasantly surprised to find out they were still on happy hour! 4pm-7pm M-F for you thrifty bits.  So we went a little hog wild and ordered enough for the entire restaurant. We ordered the Fried Chicken Po' Boy with Cottage Fried Potatoes, Beef Brisket Tacos, Fried Mac N Cheese Bites, Crab Hush Puppies, Pit Ham Sliders, and Smoked & Spicy Dry Rub Wings.  When they brought out the food the two hostesses continued to pass by our table with confused looks until James and I spoke up and assured them that "yes all that food is for us. Yes, they did have the correct table number and yes we do plan on eating it all."

 The Brisket Tacos were the highlight.  The brisket was flavorful and juicy, the pickled onions added the right amount of acidic tang and the smoked chile ailoi gave the necessary kick to pull together a nicely balanced taco.  The Pit Ham Sliders were also quite delicious.  Nice thick smoked ham slices on cheddar biscuits with homemade hot pepper jelly.  The salty sweet of the ham combined with the spicy peppers all on top of a  fluffy but still substantial biscuit? Render this diner happy.  The wings were standard, nothing to write home about but certainly satisfying enough to order again.  The Fried Mac N Cheese Bites were disappointing, bland and in need of a sharper cheddar (and double the amount) as well as a dash of cayenne (or any spices really!).  The Crab Hush Puppies were also just so so, as the corn meal was nicely prepared but the crab meat was used so sparingly they might as well not used it at all. But the spicy curry mustard aioli dipping sauce the crab hush puppies were served with? Delightfully delicious. I'd order that stuff on the side forever!  I have to admit I didn't get to try the Po' Boy as my eyes were bigger than my stomach and I was done by this point in the night.  But I will say it was huge for a Happy Hour item. It came with a whole basket full of twice fried potato medallions (cottage fried potatoes) and two big pieces of fried chicken on top of fluffy white bread with lettuce, tomato and jalapenos.  I'm not sure Po' Boy is the right name for it, as it just looked like a fried chicken sandwich. but I guess I'll just have to go back and try it for myself.

All and all I'd say The Bone Yard is worth the trip especially on a Monday night when you feel like eating your weight in country fried food. Which I do, most of the time.