Lady Elegant's in Como in St. Paul...I've never been but passed by it a few times visiting a bridal shop that is no longer in business (Milton's).

http://www.ladyelegantstea.com/

Actually,I think Sea Salt in the summer is very kid-friendly. You have the whole park to wander around in while waiting for food and sitting outdoors lessens the impact when, say, your two year old decides to shriek at the top of his lungs.

I went to Ward 6 this weekend for brunch. I had the bloody Mary, the Welsh Rabbit and the table split the beignets. I liked the bloody Mary. They infuse the vodka with garlic, horseradish and black pepper, so it had a nice kick, which I like. The garnishes were nothing special, however, especially when compared to a place like the Bulldog NE with Kramarcuk's beef sticks.

I have never been to New Orleans but I really enjoyed the beignets. They came still warm and three were enough for our table of four to share.

The Welsh Rabbit was two pieces of wheat toast, broiled tomato, fried egg and cheese sauce. I have never had this dish before so I have no basis for comparison. The fried egg seemed more like it was scrambled and it got really soggy in the cheese sauce. I liked the cheese sauce alot and wished I had some hashbrowns or fries to sop it up.

The portions were smaller, both from what I had and what I observed. I liked not having a big greasy brunch plate. I also thought the prices seemed in line with portions. This was just for brunch, mind you, and they did not have any other menus available at the time.

I don't think I would necessarily make a special trip to Ward 6 but would consider it for a drink and a bite if I needed a place to meet on the East side.

I had the pork belly ramen at Masu last week. This was my first experience with ramen that wasn't of the 25 cents per package variety. So, I am not really sure what I should have been expecting.

I really liked the noodles, nice and chewy but not gummy or soft. I also liked the greens.

The pork belly and shoulder were both fine, nothing out of the ordinary.

I was diappointed with the broth. It did not have as much flavor as I would have liked, in fact, I thought it was rather bland on its own. Maybe the broth is supposed to be as such but I would have preferred a deeper flavor, something more savory that you could consume on its own.

While the ramen was fine, I would try other ramen before returning to this one.

+1 for Cleveland Wok for American Chinese delivery.

Sea Salt for calamari and a pitcher of Surly
Shamrocks/The Nook for burgers
Broders for the taglairini di Locando del Lupo
NE Bulldog for the Venezuelan Hot Dog (me) and the Truffle Burger (husband)

I gave coffee from local roasters one year that went over well. Especially popular - not for the politics but for the flavor - was the Obama Blend (half Kona, half Kenyan) from J&S Bean Factory in St. Paul.

Also, I just found out that Legacy Chocolate (used to be open on Marshall Avenue in St. Paul) is now back with some items at the Haskell's in Highland Park. I recall they had a good hot cocoa mix and this liquid chocolate stuff that was awesome.

I went to Fat Nat's Eggs in New Brighton. I ordered the Fat Nat's Supremo Omelette: 3 eggs, chorizo, cheese, onions, tomato covered in Hatch green chili, served over home fries. I don't know if I had already had too much coffee so my tastebuds were dulled, but I was expecting more spicyness. It was fine, just nothing special.

However, I only ate half of the omelette and brought the rest home. Two days later, it was much better. I think the flavors had time to meld. I tasted more chorizo spice and the cheese was nice and gooey. The hatch green chili sauce had a nice smoky flavor.

Overall, I would go to Fat Nat's again but would probably try a different omelette...perhaps the Emily or the Jacob.

Also, here is a thread about baby and toddler friendly places. Its more focused on Minneapolis/St. Paul but you mentioned you are okay with a 20 minute drive or so.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/812910

Its not mindblowing in terms of food (in fact, some CH'ers do not like it all all), but Chatterbox in Highland Park in Saint Paul has worked well for us with almost two year old.

Also, there is seating at the Buon Giorno Italian Market in Lilydale. The food was okay when we went a few years ago (pre-toddler), but I have often seen families there when we go to to I Nonni next door (without the kiddo, of course). Its cafeteria style, if that makes a difference.

I arrived at around 4:00 and had about a 15 minute wait for oysters. By the time we got out of the 5:00 oyster class, there was almost no wait. Hog Island did run out of oysters, though.

Despite the lines, we would go back. This is the kind of event I definitely want to support.

Star Prairie is also at the St. Paul Farmer's Market on Saturdays, both the main location in Lowertown and the Highland Village location.

Summit in St. Paul has brewery tours on Saturdays. Surly has tours on Fridays from 6 to 8, I believe, but they always seemed to be booked. You will probably want to call for reservations at either spot.

I have co-workers who swear by Joseph's in Stillwater. I haven't tried their pies, so I can't vouch for that opinion.

I also went to Black Sheep last night, but a first time trip for me. I went with my in-laws and husband. Husband was pleased to see Fulton on tap. We ordered the meatball, ricotta and garlic and the tomato, green pepper and kalamata olive pizzas. Overall, we all really enjoyed the pizza. Great thin crispy crust and nice fresh ingredients. All of the staff were exceptionally nice; even the employee mopping the floor by the bathroom! We will definitely go back, as this is a spot I want to support.

I was also there on Saturday night with my husband. We were both very impressed with our tasting menu choices. The highlights for me were the swiss chard souffle and the lemon orzo pasta. My husband found the duck confit dish to be outstanding.

We will definitely be back.

Another farmer's market also just started in Highland Village behind the Starbucks/Barnes and Noble building. Its on Saturday mornings from 7:30 to 11:00, I think.

Sweeney's (food isn't great, though)
Black Forest Inn

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Black Forest Inn
1 E 26th St, Minneapolis, MN 55404

I came across this chef at a CSA fair. I don't know her prices or have any reviews, however.

http://www.farmtofork.net/

I am likely going to Duplex for the first time this weekend. From my search of the board, Duplex seems to be regarded well, but I could not find any specific reviews or discussion of their food. Any suggestions on dishes I should try or dishes to skip?

Psycho Suzi's has a nice deck/patio area. Also, the restaurants (Pracna, Vic's, Tuggs)along the river at St. Anthony Main are a great location, although the food, in my opinion, is average at best.

If I recall, there were two other branches of Blu Sushi but I don't remember where. We just chose the one closest to our hotel. It was kind of hidden behind The Prawnbroker, I think, but again, we really liked it.

Prairie Pride farms has spectacular cheddarwurst, and their other brats are good, too. Not fresh, though. They are at the St. Paul Farmer's Market, and I think they are also at some of the local co-ops.

I'm a newbie as well. Many of my top favorites have been mentioned, but I'll throw in Sea Salt Eatery, especially on a nice summer evening with a pitcher of Surly and some calamari to start.

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Sea Salt Eatery
4801 Minnehaha Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55417

Continued reviews from a week in Fort Myers...

Doc Ford's Fort Myers Beach Rum Bar and Grille - we wanted to watch college basketball while eating, so we chose this place. Atmosphere was very touristy, which is to be expected, but it was still somewhat overwhelming. The food was decent. I had the banana leaf snapper. I enjoyed the masa coating and the sauce had a nice lime zip to it. Husband had the cuban sandwich, declared that it was okay, nothing special. I doubt we would go back during another visit.

Blu Sushi on McGregor - We decided this was our best meal of the trip. We went on a Sunday, so it was not very crowed. We split edamame and four rolls: the Bahama, Yellowtail, Lava Drops and Fire Dragon. The Bahama had conch in it, but I couldn't make out a distinct flavor. The yellowtail roll tasted very fresh and seemed to have lime or cilantro added to it. The Lava Drops were sections of a roll with cream cheese, crab, spicy mayo and rice that were then deep-fried and sprinkled with eel sauce. My least favorite roll, as it was warm and mushy on the inside. The Fire Dragon was spicy tuna wrapped in snapper and avocado; this was really good. I had hoped for more rolls or options incorporating local seafood but other than conch, shrimp and crab, there didn't seem to be much.

Fresh Market, Bell Tower Shops, Fort Myers - This is actually a grocery store, more upscale than Publix. We ate here before a movie on one of the cloudy, rainy days. Just outside the entrance, they had a grill set up offering either a grilled steak or fried cod sandwich, with a drink and salad for $7. We observed a large number of people partake in one of these lunch specials. Husband had the grilled steak, which he really enjoyed, and he is a connosieur of steak sandwiches. I got food from the deli, one of their bistro express meals. Turkey meatloaf, potatoes and broccoli slaw. The rotissiere options looked enticing as well. This would be a good spot to pick up to-go meals if you didn't feel like cooking and didn't really want to go out.

Sun Harvest Citrus - we stopped after a baseball game. Sampled some great juice and split a smoothie, all excellent.

Places we didn't get to but had on the list: Skip One Seafood, La Casita, Sasse's, Bert's Bar, Sunshine Seafood Cafe. We also ate plenty of ballpark food.

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La Casita
101 W Shell Point Rd, Ruskin, FL 33570

I just returned from a week in Fort Myers with the husband. Since I used Chowhound to find suggestions before the trip, I decided to post my own findings.

The first find was Yuengling beer. Us midwesterners had never had it before, and we loved it!

Pincher's Crab Shack Waterfront, North Fort Myers - we chose this location based on a board posting and for the location, right on the river. This location was much more scenic than the strip mall option closer to our hotel. Hubby and I split the stone crab claw appetizer and then split peel and eat shrimp with green beans and french fries as sides. The food was decent, made much better by the location.

Yabo - Split the calamari in marinara appetizer. The calamari was sauteed, not breaded, and it had a good texture, not rubbery. I had a nightly special of duck breast with a raspberry-chipotle glaze, spinach and potatoes. I enjoyed the duck quite a bit. Husband had the penne vodka with chicken, which was also good but not mind-blowing. Not impressed with our wine selections.

Lazy Flamingo, Sanibel-Captiva location - I started out with a half dozen oysters and a Yuengling. The oysters were superb; cold, good texture, just the right amount of brine. I then had the mesquite grouper caesar salad. I couldn't really taste the grouper because of the seasoning. The garlic bread was good, though. Husband had the fried shrimp basket; he felt it was okay and the fries were better than Pincher's. Split the conch fritters, couldn't really taste any conch. Husband thought they tasted like egg rolls.

Beach Seafood Market - We each had the lunch buffet. For $14.95, we got all-you-can-eat stone crab claws, rock shrimp, steamed head-on shrimp, grilled and fried fish, grilled and fried shrimp, seafood salad, and clam chowder. There were not non-seafood items that we passed over. The food was good, and the price was great, considering we spent the same amount on an appetizer of stone crab claws at Pincher's. The restaurant is really a back room of a market. It's no frills and offers you a view of the processing room. Be prepared to smell fishy for the rest of the day.

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Pincher's Crab Shack
10029 Gulf Center Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33913

Lazy Flamingo
6520 Pine Ave Ste C, Sanibel, FL 33957

Yabo
16681 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33908

Beach Market Seafood
1100 Shrimp Boat Ln, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931