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!

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.

HOLA Arepa Food Truck = Yum!

Not too long ago, some co-workers and I hit up the Tap Room after work at the Fulton Brewery.  For most Twin's home games they have a rotation of food trucks in their parking lot.  So you have the option to grab a bite and bring it in to the Tap Room and enjoy it with a great pint or get a Growler to go.

HOLA AREPA Food Truck

The night we went, it was the HOLA AREPA truck specializing in Latin Street Food, mainly Arepas which are ground corn bread pockets that are filled with savory Latin ingredients. 

Chorizo & Peppers Arepa

I went for the Chorizo & Peppers Arepa, it was over flowing with  Peppers, onions, Argentinian style Chorizo, cheese, pickled cabbage and much more.  They had several choices of salsa to pair with the Arepa as well.  It was super tasty!  Check out Hola Arepa out on Twitter, make sure to check them out next time you are hunting Minneapolis or St. Paul food trucks!

Rye High

A coworker mentioned he check out this deli / bar not too far from work that had delicious smoked meats, he did mention that sandwiches were a little pricey, but did not think much of it.  A few weeks later, a couple engineers from the office ventured over to Rye off of Hennepin in Uptown Minneapolis.

  First thing that caught our attention was the cost of sandwiches, most everything was $11-14 for a sandwich that came with a couple pickle slices and small cole slaw on the side.  Everything looked and sounded pretty good, but one engineer opted to just watch rather then eat based on price.


I got their Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich (Pastrami).  The sandwich came out on the plate, not overly substantial in size, nor did it have much for curb appeal on the plate, pretty simple and drab looking for the price.  The quality of the meat was very high and very tasty, but the rest of the sandwich did not knock me off my feet.  The pickles were obviously homemade and pretty tasty, but the cole slaw was very oily, not my cup of tea.  Overall, pretty good sandwich, I give it a three, maybe higher (3.5) if it didn't cost so much or I got a bigger portion.

Original Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich

One co-worker got a sandwich called the Jubano, looked much tastier and fancier then what I got, little more bang for the buck.  I did not try it, but he said it was great.  Some day in the future, I'll likely get the Jubano on someone else's dime ;)

Jubano with some Impact on the Plate

Diet Dr. Brown's Black Cherry was Delicious!

Solid Tortellini Alfredo from Casa Nostra

I am not big in to Italian food, but my wife is, so when there was a $25 for $50 deal for Casa Nostra in Lakeville I picked a couple up because I knew my wife would like to try it and I can stomach just about anything at half off.

I have had their Tortellini Alfredo with added sausage now on two occasions and enjoyed it very much.  The sausage adds a nice spice and flavor to the dish, while the Alfredo is not overly creamy and the cheese in the tortellini was very tasty. I give the dish a very respectful rating of three.

The picture is actually a half serving that was on the special one night, made for a perfect portion before heading out to a movie afterwards.

Other notes, kids spaghetti was very good.  My wife has enjoyed several other pasta dishes, but I'd strongly recommend against the Beef Panini (dry and not flavorful).  They have a nice looking bar as well.

Tasty Tuna at French Meadow Bakery

Due to my work life, I get to eat my share of meals while moving through MSP (Minneapolis-St. Paul) airport.  The airport did just go through a big makeover, getting rid of some staples like McDonald's and Burrito 360.

Trying to eat a bit healthier, I swung in and got a Grilled Tuna Sandwich to go from French Meadow Bakery in the main terminal (they do have other smaller store fronts in the airport).  I very much enjoyed it, it was light and flavorful and the side salad was very good.  Although not cheap or super fast, really good food.  I'd give this sandwich a solid rating of 3 and would get it again when in the mood.

I've also had their breakfast sandwiches in the morning, good stuff!  If you are a vegetarian, which I do not condone, they have lots of options!  If you are looking for something reasonably healthy, check out French Meadow at MSP.  Good place to grab a Naked Juice as well.

McDud

Just to prove its not all Duckys & Bunnies here, I will be critical of things I don't care for. Took the kids to the park after work today and got some exercise. Wife was out and about tonight, didn't feel like cooking, swung by the McDonald's drive through. Kids love them some McNuggets, hey I do too. Plus miniature My Little Ponies are too much to resist for my two young girls.

Trying to be "Less UnHealthy" I went Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT. In the past, I have enjoyed their select Crispy Chicken sandwiches. Not so much this time, the highlight of the sandwich was the very fresh lettuce and tomato. Definitely went down hill from there. Chicken was nothing special, near zero flavor, and kind of dry. I guess the bun was decent.... Although, the biggest disappointment was the Bacon, I love bacon, how do you mess that up?

Even their french fries were subpar on this visit, but their Diet Coke was excellent as always, I swear McD's diet coke tastes better then every where else. I don't even like Diet Coke that much.

So this gets a rating of one, won't get this again, stick to the Crispy Chicken, it has to be worth the extra calories and fat!

Bomb Braised Beef @ The Lowry

This will be the first real time blog entry, as I go forward, the plan is to keep current with recent dining experiences and fill the lulls with some of my past experiences and all time favorites.

Today's work lunch brought me to The Lowry, which touts itself as an urban diner. The Lowry is obviously a little more upscale then your average diner. How many diners do you know serve fresh oysters and have a large bar with about 30 beers on tap?

Most of the table opted for the Lowry Burger and all gave it a thumbs up, might have to try that on a return trip. For some reason, I was not all about a burger today, so after much contemplating, I decided the Braised Beef Sandwich would be my selection.

For starters, my sandwich was stuffed with beef, good problem for this guy. The beef itself was moist without being sloppy with a very smooth flavor. The spicy peppers and horseradish added a nice smooth heat to the sandwich and still delivered a layered flavor, finished off with just a little lettuce and a few fries under the beef for good measure! The ciabatta roll held up to the sandwich without being bready. The sandwich comes with cole slaw, but I opted for fries. The fries were thin, tasty and cooked perfectly. This sandwich gets a solid 4 rating!


Overall I like The Lowry more than I initially thought I would, this will definitely be in the rotation for future work luncheons.