First time to Valley Tap House

I had heard some good things from friends about the Valley Tap House in Apple Valley, MN, but was late to the game.  I finally made an excuse to get me and the family out to dinner.  I took the kids early to get started on the 1/2 price apps and washed it down with BOGO happy hour drafts.  This place hangs their hat on their Pit beef and pork sandwiches.

I picked two apps, one I thought would appease my young kids and the other for me.  So I chose the Hot Salty Pretzels and the Buffalo Chicken Wings.  The hot salty pretzels were a little bland for me, not my thing, I would pass on these in the future.  They cam with a couple of interesting dipping sauces, but still didn't hit home.

 On the other hand, the wings had good texture and flavor on full sized un-trimmed wings, just the way I like them.  Plus they came with two different dipping options, one a savory sauce and the other Bleu Cheese.  I would definitely order these again.

The kids entrees were well received for by the kids, I think they both got Mini Corn Dogs.  My wife got a Cuban smoked pork, she did not love it, but I ate her other half for lunch the next day and I thought it was solid.

I instantly gravitated to the Thai Dragon, which is a Pit Pork sandwich with chili sauce, peanut sauce, Red Onions and bacon.  The sandwich had great flavor and a spice level higher then expected, but I am in to that kind of thing.  I liked the state fair style fries as well. Once I make my way through a few other items that I want to try on future visits, the Thai Dragon will be in the rotation.

Thai Dragon Pit Pork an instant winner!

Since my first visit, there was a Groupon special that I grabbed a couple of, so I look forward to future visits!

Teresa's Molcajetes

Lets just start off by saying, if you like Mexican American food, check out Teresa's in Lakeville, MN among the other handful of locations.  My family have dined here and gotten taken out too many times to count.  Good affordable that always comes out fast and piping hot.

One of my favorites are their Molcajetes!  Molcajetes are served in a traditional stone grinding bowl made from a lava stone.  The food comes out in a flaming hot bowl that adds great flavor to your food and keeps your meal hot to enjoy throughout your meal.

Teresa's Molcajete

They have several different flavors and options with different combinations of steak, seafood, chicken, pork and chorizo.  Pick one that sounds good to you, fill your warm tortillas and make your own taco/fajitas. 

Last tip, don't fill up on the free chips and salsa before your dinner comes!

Last night in Dublin

After two weeks on the road in Ireland, we were just about spent as a team.  We spent our last night in Clontarf Castle Hotel, there was a graduation at the castle and waits to eat there were way longer then what we could tolerate.  So we asked concierge for a recommendation, and helped us make some reservations at Hemmingways which was a 5 minute walk from the castle.

 We got there pretty early by Dublin standards as we were road weary and hungry, plus wanted to get a good night's rest before travels back to the USA.

 I sampled the wings, very unique flavor, but also very tasty, I could have used a little more of the sweet chili sauce that came on the side, but they hit the spot.

 A twist on your traditional caprese salad was enjoyed by the ladies. Was called Capri Salad, grilled tomato & mozzarella slices topped with seasoned olive oil and basil peso jus.

I had this spicy shrimp dish (Pil Pil Prawns) that was extremely flavorful (chili, win & garlic sauce) to the point I tried to sop up as much of the sauce with my toasted bread as I could.  Pictured below a similar shrimp dish that my wife enjoyed with a more traditional garlic/cream type sauce.

Probably one of the best meals we had in Dublin area, if you are in Clontarf area, this is a restaurant to check out!  





In near future I intend to catch up on my domestic dining, but I am also taking a trip to Puerto Rico in January, so keep an eye out for those upcoming posts!

Ultimate Guinness Experience

On our last day in Ireland, we returned to Dublin where our trip began.  As part of the last day's activities we toured the Guinness Storehouse.  All in all it is a pretty cool tour and very informational, being a packaging engineer, the info about early barrel making was the most intriguing.

The Perfect Pint!

 Don't be lured into using your free pint coupon any of the other tasting bars on the way the top, not worth it unless you are afraid of heights!

One of the many great views from Gravity bar

But the free pint and the views you can get at the top of the Gravity Bar are worth the tour.  The Gravity Bar is a 360 degree fully round bar lined with glass windows that gives amazing views of Dublin and the surrounding areas, plus you can sample the finest and freshest pint of Guinness you'll ever taste!
Cheers & Merry Christmas!

BK has a winner with Gingerbread Shake!

I heard the my local sports morning radio talking about how much the loved the new Gingerbread Shake from Burger King, so like a lamb, I too my kids for happy meals & I got a small shake.

New Gingerbread Cookie Shake from BK - Worth the Hype!

Wow, the first few sips are beyond delicious and too be honest it was delicious all the way through, but I am not sure how anybody could actually drink something larger then the small.  The sweetness almost overpowered me by the time I was done.

As a guy that loves the seasonal shakes, early returns have this rated higher then the Shamrock or Egg Nog shakes from McDonalds!  To be fair, I really do like Ginger Snap cookies, so if you are not a fan, you probably would not be a fan of this shake!  If you are, make a bee line to the nearest BK drive thru!

Limerick Lunch Spot

On our travels from Dingle to Galway, we needed a lunch spot, so we stopped in the town of Limerick.  If you make this same journey, it makes a great stopping point, it is a nice little town with a very nice visitor center, a fair amount of shops and places to eat.

We actually thought is was a nice looking town that we wish we had more time to explore, maybe next time.

On a recommendation from the visitor area, we made a short walk to Delish Cafe for lunch.  I believe we all had sandwiches for lunch.  I had a warm toasted Panini style sandwich, filled with Italian style salami and meats, with some peppers and cheese.  It was quite good and the pasta salad was just right to go with it.

They had some great looking baked goods that we could not find room for in our stomachs.  All in all, a solid place to stop for lunch, dessert or a coffee.

St. Louis Style Pizza?

I had heard of St. Louis BBQ, but not pizza, but on a referral, a co-worker and I tried out St. Louis based Imo's Pizza.  You can read Imo's story here, but their signatures include Provel cheese, thin crust, and square slices, and lastly fresh, never frozen ingredients piled edge to edge, with  their homemade sauce.

Buffalo Chicken & Deluxe Pizzas from Imo's

 We got two lunch size pizzas to share, we opted for the Deluxe and a Buffalo Chicken pizza, plus the lunch specials came with some nice fresh starter salads and a fountain drink.  They were both quite good, topping to crust ratio was spot on, we both left full and satisfied, pretty good bang for your buck as well!

If you like thin crust pizza and find yourself in Missouri, check out Imo's!

An Canteen is On Point!

My turn to pick a dinner spot came around again, I spent some time on my phone doing some research on Dingle restaurants.  Based on what I read, An Canteen fit the bill for type of food and a little easier on our budget.

 The actual restaurant is pretty small, so either go early or make a reservation!

Our two selected local Micro Brews!

  We started off with a couple micro-brews, the only brews you can get here, very good bears, nice change of pace.  As usual I cannot remember, what my vegetarian sister-in-law had for dinner, but it was seafood and she liked it.  My wife raved about here starter salad and I had a great Seafood chowder, best of the trip and I had it like 5 different times.

Best Seafood Chowder of my Trip!

I do recall, they were out of one thing I wanted to eat, so been gone from home so long I got the wings, they did an awesome job knocking off an American Classic!  Chips/fries were done well and the side salad was very tasty.

Great Buffalo Wings

The two others got a chicken dish that they both devoured and raved about it afterwards.

Chicken Dish

We did not spend a ton of time hanging out, as we went to a local folk music at a nearby church.  I would for sure be back to this restaurant if I ever return to Dingle!