Minnesota State Fair: It's what's for dinner

So, being the bright minds that we are, we chose to save our going to the fair night for a weeknight, in an attempt to avoid the crowds and to have faster access to the food. Our plan worked out quite well, and we had a great couple hours milling around and checking out the fair, as well as eating some old favorites, and a few really good new ones.

Always a must have.



This is for you, Emily

We heard a lot of great things about the crepes. We chose to get the nutella and marshmallow crepe, and it was good. Now if only they had some graham crackers in it.

We had really good luck last year trying out foods at the international market, so we made it a point to get over to that end of the fair. We got bourbon chicken on a stick, and chinese dumplings. They were both very good, and we were especially pleased with how much chicken was actually on the stick.

Two new things that we tried were both from Axels, over near the Leinie's Lodge. The first was the deep fried slider, which was a battered cheeseburger that was deep fried. It was excellent. The deep fried batter itself was very good. It was a nice balance of meat and cheese and batter. Almost like a juicy lucy/blucy burger, that was then encompassed by the deep fried batter "bun." Highly recommended, and it was only $3 or 4, so it's a really good deal. The other was the breakfast lollypop, which was a sausage patty dipped in corn muffin batter, deep-fried and drizzled with maple syrup. This was really good, and it just worked well together. Spot on.

As if we hadn't had enough already, we had to stop and get some sweet martha's cookies. A pail, of course. Couldn't even eat enough of them to get the lid on for the drive home.

Of course, I needed a few more pre-bedtime cookies, but this was only so I could put the lid on the pail.

Can't sit still.

Our lazy Sunday was starting to be too lazy, so we headed out with my 'sis for a caffiene kick. Knowing the girls, the best bet for coffee would be located near shopping, so we headed to Captain Cosmic's Coffee in STP. Having a good cup of joe here before, I new it would be good. Plus free popcorn, arcade games, a great back patio and a chill atmosphere were are fitting. Their tuscan mocha (mocha + vanilla) is very good, but my sister's "dirty chai" (powder-based spiced chai with a shot of espresso) was excellent, with a nutty flavor and a good level of espresso in it. 

Always a plus.

After some shopping, where believe it or not, we bought another cook book, we decided we would need to refuel. Since we were driving my sister back to uptown, we chose to check out a new spot that offers some good pho (Vietnamese noodle soup). We headed over to eat street to hit up Pho 79, Vietnamese Noodle House. (Leah has been dying to try pho ever since we heard about it on the food network). It looks like your typical, economical vietnamese restaurant inside, but the lack of decor and atmosphere is quickly overcome by the amount and flavor of the food itself.

Our group order consisted of crispy sesame chicken with fried rice, curry chicken with fried rice, and a huge bowl of pho tai with the rare lean beef. We also placed an order for the cream cheese wontons (10 for $2.99!), which rounded out our order quite well. The menu is quite large and diverse, with several rice-based combination dishes, many different types of pho (beef noodle soups), and hu tieu mi's (noodle soups). Both the sesame and curry chicken dishes were good, with an excellent, slightly crispy exterior to the sesame chicken. The pho was quite good, with a very hearty broth, and sides of bean sprouts, basil leaves, lime, white and green onions, and jalepenos to add into the rice noodle dish. For a grand total of less than $26, we had three substantial meals, plus the wontons, and had enough leftover for at least two more meals.

Sides for the pho tai

Pho tai and sides. Yes, it is that big.

Crispy sesame chicken and fried rice

Curry chicken and fried rice

Overall, a great end to a great weekend. Lots of good food and drinks, lots of time with friends, and great weather. We would definately recommend either of these locations for a lazy Sunday, or really anyday.

Guacamole Attempt #2

Leah's hangover cure. Guess we are getting older, with two back-to-back weekends of multiple nights past midnight  finds us searching for "recovery" food to kickstart a lazy sunday. Simple recipe from the food network website, minus the tomatoes.

Cornbeef and Coffee

A perfect start to a sunday.

Peace Coffee and Kramarczuk's cornbeef on rye.

First Impressions: Bonnie's Cafe

 Living close to the current light-rail construction, we are well aware of the effects of the construction on local businesses. We feel a strong desire to support these businesses, and often go out of our way to go to the ones that we like in order to be supportive and help to ensure that they will stay in business well after the construction is completed. After driving by and seeing Bonnie's Cafe countless times, we finally decided it was time to go.

We have read and heard a lot of great things about Bonnie's, and went there with empty stomachs and high expectations. Entering Bonnie's is like a slight time-warp, with a genuine, old-school diner atmopshere, which we found charming. Some may call it dated, but it holds a certain appeal, and it definately fits the bill of a classic, "small town" feeling diner. They have a very diverse menu, with a wide selection of breakfast items, and even  lunch itmes, such as burgers and steaks. We ordered the biscuit and gravy special, a blueberry pancake, and a side order of bacon and a side order of sausage.

For starters, as many other reviews have stated, the food was very good. The gravy was thick and hearty, with large chunks of meat, but the biscuits themselves were small, and the overall dish was smaller than most other biscuit and gravy orders from other cafes. It came with a side of hash browns and two eggs, both done just as ordered. The pancake was light but fluffy, with great flavor. The sides of sausage and bacon were also good, but at $3+ dollars per side, and only 3 pieces of bacon and 3 pieces of sausage a piece, they were fairly pricey.

Overall, the food was quite good, but for the price, it wasn't much food. We both left still feeling hungry, even after a $21+ dollar breakfast. I would gladly overlook the smaller food portions, however, the  customer service wasn't nearly as good as the food. For a business that is trying to maintain and increase their customer base, and openly advertises their desire for new patrons with the light rail construction taking place, they did little to make us feel welcome. It was obvious that many of the diners eating here were regulars, and overhearing the conversations taking place, the staff definately has lasting friendships with many of these customers. But for us newcomers, the staff wasn't overly friendly or cordial, and didn't reflect the customer service or friendliness that I would expect from a business. It's really too bad, as we went to Bonnie's with excitement, considering it as a new breakfast spot that we could frequent often, and left feeling disappointed.

 Personally, there are restaurants that I continue to support not because they have the greatest food or atmosphere that I have ever experienced, (but many of them do have really good food and a cool atmosphere) but they continue to have excellent customer service. Overall, Bonnie's has a very traditional diner atmopshere with good food, but we both felt that it was lacking in the service. Also, they do not take cards, which is fine as long as you know this in advance. We may give Bonnie's another try, but with similar cafes close by that have equal or better food, in larger amounts for the same price, plus great customer service, it's hard to recommend Bonnie's Cafe as a first choice.

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