Boiler Room Coffee

On the morning ride to Uptown

I had done some work over in the Stevens Square neighborhood a couple weeks ago, and had seen the sign for Boiler Room Coffee. I also love checking out coffee shops, and since I needed to run some errands over in Uptown,  I called my sister to meet up for coffee afterwords.

The Boiler Room is in a basement location, which in itself is very unique. The space is bright, open, and relaxing, and not what I originally expected when seeing it from the outside. We both got the el jefe dark roast coffee and some muffins. Both of them were very good.

However, even better than the atmosphere or the coffee was the service. I can't say enough how refreshing it is to go to a place and actually have service that is SO good that you want to tell other people about it. Michael, who I found out was the owner, was very friendly, professional and helpful, and I look forward to going back. This type of service is the kind that you wish for when you go to different places, and after experiencing mediocre to poor service at many other establishments throughout the cities, I was pleasantly surprised to have such exceptional service. I will most definately be going back, even though there are many closer and more convenient coffee shops to where I live. Nice job Michael.

Burger Break

It had been a fairly hectic week, and an even busier friday. We needed to run a couple quick errands, as well as make dinner. Being short on time and low on groceries, what better way to accomplish both than to run the errands and stop in at the Bulldog in NE. Having been to the Bulldog in Uptown several times, we figured this one would be very similar. To be honest, the Bulldog in NE is much nicer and more welcoming than the uptown location.

It is very bright and open, and their Rooster Burger (with Sriracha glaze, housemade sweet pickles, roasted garlic aioli, pepperjack cheese) is seriously the best burger I have had this summer. I make it a point to try out new burgers at different places, and this one was fantastic! We will definately be going back.

Dutch Oven Enchiladas

Since we have a pretty busy week scheduled out, we wanted to make some good food that would last for days. We have had great luck with these enchiladas since first making them about a year ago.

There is a heck of a lot of food, that is also great for leftovers. They are multi-layered with four types of peppers, red onions, hamburger, black beans, tomatoes with green chiles, enchilada sauce, and lots of cheese. All of this is surrounded and layered between small corn tortillas, which is then cooked in a deep cast iron dutch oven.

Supper for the week

Monday on Grand Ave

With both of us getting Labor Day off, and with no prior plans, we figured a relaxed lunch-time stroll on Grand would be nice. Plus, this always allows us to peruse the shops and restaurants to find the best fit for our current cravings. Today our cravings led us to Punch Pizza, which serves traditional Neapolitan pizza.

It is unique to many of the pizza spots we have been to, in that you order at the counter, wait five minutes max, and have a super fresh pizza brought to your table. They cook the pizzas in a wood fired oven at 800 degrees, and they only take 90 seconds.

We ordered a margherita extra, which has fresh mozzarella di bufala, crushed San Marzano tomatoes and Mount Vesuvio tomatoes, as well as the bruni, which is made with sausage, spiced salami, onions and oregano.

the bruni

margherita extra

Both pizzas tasted super fresh and very light, with a very thin, charred-bubbly crust. Since we were close, and could use the excuse that we were technically "exercising" by walking all up and down Grand, we decided to swing by Grand Ole Creamery. We ordered two waffle cones, one with smores ice cream, and another with mocha chip. Both were great, as usual.

Grand Ave was shockingly empty, and we had a  relaxing time walking around, enjoying the beautiful weather. Can't wait to check out more new spots this fall!

Aster Cafe

We have a soft spot for St. Anthony main, so when a friend and her out-of-town relatives were in town, we decided to meet up for dinner, drinks, and dessert at Aster Cafe. We have been here a few times, and the ambiance is super cool. The location is amazing, and with cool fall weather and the mpls skyline to view across the river, it is a really great place to relax and enjoy the seasons. They also have an exceptional patio with great views that is perfect for this time of year.

We have only had dessert and drinks here before, so we were excited to try some of their other food as well. We ordered some Fulton loney blonde,the curried egg salad sandwich with greens on whole wheat, and the pork tacos with pico de gallo and queso fresco. We also had the white bean and bacon soup (which was fantastic!) All of the food is really reasonably priced ($8-12), and was quite good.

My only complaint was that there could have been a bit more of the actual egg salad on the sandwhich, as the greens and bread was more than ideal, but it was still good. The soup was really good. Highly recommended.
We decided to get some mochas before our friends arrived, and having had them before, we knew they would be good.

Interior is very cool, with lots of exposed brick, timber, and an all-around relaxed vibe.



We decided to switch to pbr in coozies (which you get to keep), and moved to a bigger table. We also ordered the Sebastian Joe's salted caramel ice cream, and the salted caramel and peanut butter ice cream sandwich, which were both really good.

We had a great time with our friends, and thoroughly enjoyed everything about Aster Cafe. It is a great little restaurant in an even greater location that is well worth checking out.

A few swigs at Sweeney's

What better way to kick off a friday night than with good food, good drinks, and good company on one of our favorite patios in the Twin Cities!

Since we both got off at a reasonble time, we figured that we could get to Sweeney's patio before things got too busy. It's always surprising how busy the patio is, even early on in the night. We lucked out in getting a spot right in front of the outdoor fireplace, and even though it was busy, our server got our orders in right away. If you have never been to Sweeney's patio, it really is a must. The patio is fully enclosed, with a lower and upper level, an outdoor bar and wood fireplace, hanging heaters for later on in the fall, and colorful murals shaded by beautiful honeylocust. It has a very welcoming and festive atmosphere, and is one of our top patios to visit.

Dan, you need to order them!

We got a bacardi and coke and a paulaner hefe ordered, as well as the not so asian egg rolls, which are a unique spin on a traditional egg roll, with spiced chicken, cheddar cheese, caramelized onion and cilantro, with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. The only similarity to a traditional egg roll is the shape, but they are amazing. Definately in my top five of all time favorite appetizers.

Sweeny's also has some great daily and late night happy hour specials, and one that we enjoy getting is the .50 cent tacos. Nothing too crazy, but they sure hit the spot. You can check out their website to view some of the specials, as well as dates for their movies on the patio. It had been a couple months since we had been to Sweeney's, and going back just makes us want to go more often. It has a great atmosphere inside and out, excellent food, a wide selection of drinks and good service. You just can't go wrong heading over to Sweeney's. 

Cleveland Wok

What started off as an attempt to try a new burger joint (another attempt will be made soon), ended up  landing us across the street from the Highland Theatre, at the Cleveland Wok.

While my fiance has been here before, and has been pestering, uh....., I mean, requesting, that we go here, I had yet to try it out. The interior is nothing to speak of, and the buffet is a relatively small affair along one end of the dining area. However, anything that says "all you can eat" has a way of drawing me in, and at $8.25 a person, I was pleasantly surprised with the food. We tried a bit of everything, and it was well worth the stop.

I especially liked the potstickers, and got them with each plateful of food. The hot and spicy chicken with fried rice and the mushrooms in oyster sauce added on top was a very flavorful dish. We also had the green beans in the garlic or black bean sauce nearly every time.

The food isn't necessarily the freshest you'll find, or of the widest selection, but it was quite good, and we really appreciated how each dish was distinctly different than the others. At several of the chinese buffets we have been to, many of the meat dishes end up tasting just like the meat dish next to it. Not so here, with each of the meat-based dishes having different flavors that were specific to that dish.

Watermelon: so simple, yet so refreshing

Overall, we both left feeling full and satisfied, and it was a nice change of pace to go to an area that we don't always get around to.