I'm planning on bringing my sister to dinner tomorrow night and she requested BLG. I noticed that the Twins are playing, and was wondering if any of you had eaten in that area during Twins games. I was originally thinking 6:00pm might be OK, but I could probably push it to 7:30 if that would make things easier.

Thanks in advance.

I shot Thursday night league at Jimmy's for about 2 years. The food is a lot better than you'd expect, and there are normally plenty of tables (unfortunately for them) available.

Good burgers, and all the sides (fries, onion rings, even chips) are cut in house.

Black Sheep absolutely deserves a nod. Best pizza in MN, for me. And a nice (though small) tap selection.

5-8 is definitely a neighborhood joint that people tend to over-romanticize. If you look past that, the beef quality is just not good. The fries coming with it aren't any better.

Mayslack's must have changed. By the time I went (5 or so years ago), the beef was just...not good. I normally clean my plate, but this stuff got one bite and no more.

This would be my choice as well. Can be found at most of the local grocery stores. I've gotten it at Cub.

Yes and yes on Mayslack's and 5-8. Both are wildly overrated and must have been better in a bygone era.

The fireplace room at the Happy Gnome comes to mind, but that thing is not cheap at all.

Very much looking forward to trying this.

Anyone been to Parlour? If so, what are your thoughts?

I went last week. Got two tacos (barbacoa and Cochinita) along with the spicy pork (can't remember the specific name) tamale. Loved everything.

Word of advice...they do offer to add sauces for you, but they also have all their sauces, along with crema and a few other things, in the restaurant to add at your own discretion.

Either way, three items plus rice and beans (both forgettable, to be honest) for $7.50 is a great deal.

I just made my first visit to Maya Cuisine. Those tortillas are most definitely hand made. REALLY good barbacoa too.

I'd probably stray toward NE. Brasa needs no introduction.

My other choice would be Obento-Ya - Just outside of Dinkytown, it also gives you a relatively unused route to get to the Barn.

We had the beef cheek too...completely forgot about that. We all had to pick off a portion. It was fine, but not great.

Made a trip to Solera on Saturday night (dinner before 'The Book of Mormon', which was awesome...), first time in a few years. No more tapas bar, where I used to semi-frequent for late night happy hour :(

Anyways, quite a few dishes were ordered between me and my two dining companions:

-Beets - OK, they never really wow me, but these were fine.
-Brussel sprouts - Halved, seared, and served with bacon. Very good.
-Piquillo peppers - Filled with goat cheese and garlic butter. Excellent.

-Mussels - Served in a charred fennel/chorizo broth. The mussels themselves were good, then broth is outstanding. This dish requires its own basket of bread.
-Pulpo (Octopus) - Grilled, served with chickpeas. Outstanding flavor, scant portion.

-Lamb stew - More like braised lamb with a rolled slice of cucumber full of sauce. Again, very good flavors.
-Lomo de Cerdo - Far and away the highlight of the meal. Two ~3/4" slices of pork tenderloin, cooked med/med rare. So good, we ordered it twice. Absolutely worth the visit all on its own.

We also got the 3 sorbet tasting for dessert. I can't remember the first one, but the other flavors on offer were red wine pear, and passion fruit with habanero. This was really great. Started sweet and slightly tart and really built some heat. I love that combination so much...it made me yearn for the days of the Red Hot Passion (Maker's Mark + chili-infused passion fruit syrup) at Chamber's.

Anyways, a pretty nice visit. Fun spot for a group to try a bunch of things for a relatively low price. We were stuffed for ~$30 a head.

The one in Mounds View (Hwy. 10/35W) looks pretty well changed over, but hasn't opened yet. I'll drive by it again tomorrow, so we'll see where it's at.

Made my first trip to B&B on Wednesday.

Bourbon - This was as much of a draw as the food, to be honest. Finding an extensive bourbon list in MSP is difficult, to say the least. B&B has a good list, though I've had most of their offerings. I settled on Baker's, which is a nice (albeit strong) 7 year offering.

Appetizer - Rabbit terrine was my choice. This came served with the standards; toasts (rye), mustard, radish, and frisee. Nothing mind blowing, but a good start.

Meal - I know this is pretty sad, but I went with the footlong and beer battered fries. The fries were outstanding and, for what its worth, the best part of the meal. Nice batter on the outside, crispy with a nice soft interior. I really liked the dill dipping sauce. Small-ish portion, but still quite good. Now, to the dog. In general, I have issue with food that looks pretty at the expense of being possible to eat. The massive pile of chow-chow (interspersed with two types of sauces) made this thing not only impossible to eat, but an incredible mess. I'm not joking when I say I had to wipe off my entire face and my hands after every single bite. That got real old, real fast. Flavorwise, it was just OK. The addition of thai chiles was really nice and added some zing, but the other prominent flavor was sour, which I didn't care for. The bun is outstanding and the dog itself kind of gets lost, to be honest. I can't imagine ordering this one again.

I also split some cornbread with my dining companion. The first flavor I got was that of rancid oil that must have permeated from the pan it was cooked (and served) in. It was so bad, I actually spit out my first bite. The top half of the cornbread was good and the accompanying butter was great, though that also had a dollop of some sort of sourness that I really didn't enjoy.

Overall, an up and down trip. Good bourbon and beer list, love the bar and the overall decor, and the beer tent is probably a great time in the summer. I'll definitely be back for that, along with the long rib and more bourbon.

Food-wise, it really isn't even close. South Minneapolis has probably the best collection of restaurants of any area in MSP. It does depend on which side of 35 you're on, but there are plenty of options on both sides.

Roseville is close to either downtown, but it really doesn't offer much (aside from what Steve noted).

Agreed on both points. Shamrocks/Nook wings are fine. Not bad, but not anything spectacular.

Runyon's, on the other hand, has consistently had the best wings in town for years. It's fine to keep putting them on your lists, people.

In lieu of starting a new thread, what about marrow bones? I'm looking for length wise cut, for roasting. NE burbs preferred.

I'm planning on going to Angus over in Maplewood first, but any other sources are appreciated.

I'm really anxious to go, but the whole smog idea is not particularly appealing. If it actually got to the point of hurting your eyes, that is flat out unacceptable. I have to believe they're working on it, but getting proper ventilation in place should be their #1 priority.

I would stray toward what Kristin is suggesting. Once you get east of St. Paul, things get more than a little spotty. I'd stick with one of the downtown spots.

For whatever reason, I couldn't find a thread on The Strip Club, so this seemed like the most appropriate place to add a review for my dinner from last night.

Started with the 'charcuterie', which turned out to be nothing more than a block of liverwurst with some pickled onions on top, a swath of mustard underneath, and 3 small toast sections to accompany. Everything tasted good, but I expected some variety on the plate. Not a huge deal.

Moving on to main course. I know the obvious specialty here, but I opted for the Tri-tip, which came in at $24. I got the 'Bleu movie' topping, which is bleu cheese and possibly something else (I don't remember). The steak itself was cooked a wonderful medium rare, nice char in some parts, and the bleu cheese was quite good. There was a ton of it and it was quite strong tasting, but I liked it a lot. The carrots that come with were fairly boring, to be honest. It would be nice if they offered other types of sides...maybe that's what the small plates accomplish.

On the cocktail side, I had the Up in Smoke, which consists of bourbon, Averna (Italian liquer), and hickory maple syrup. It was slightly sweet and slightly smoky, but not overpowering on either. Very nice balance.

Side note, I saw Chef Fratzke walking around with a cast on his right wrist and the staff were asking him when they could sign it...so something must have just happened.

Yeah, you have to get off on the exit right after highway 96. It's on the right and takes you up and over the 35W. The old arsenal (potential, never was home of the Vikings stadium) will be on the right as you exit.

Get to the first light, take a right and it will be immediately on your left.

It does get pretty packed on the weekends, but the wait time is normally reasonable.

I really like RJ Riches in Shoreview/Mounds View, right off 35W and little highway 10, across from the Mermaid. Really good, gigantic pancakes (1 of them is basically a meal). Don't expect gourmet here...it's basically a truck stop and the portions match that sentiment.

Seconded on the Sea Salt and Tilia choices.

I'll add:

-Roast beef or Turkey at Bronco's in Anoka.
-Pulled pork (with slaw) at Q Fanatic.
-Roast beef at Maverick's in Roseville.

Sounds outstanding. I really wish I lived closer to this place, but I'm going to have to make the jaunt one of these days for any of the dishes described above.

I can't tell you either way. I assume it's all coming from one place, but I've never been in their kitchens. Either way, it's better (at least at the one location) than the other offerings I can get around here.

I would also add Bear Town Bar in White Bear Lake to this list, though their chicken is also broasted.

I was the one championing Pizza Ranch. And truthfully, the chicken I had at their Carroll, Iowa location is still better than anything I've had in MSP. I've tried the Champlin and Maplewood locations, and neither one stacks up. The bird is still very juicy, but it is also a bit on the bland side. A bit of attention to seasoning would help immensely.

I still need to make a stop in Grandy on my next cabin trip.

First off, great thread idea. It's given me a long list of new places to try that don't include the usual suspects.

My list is full of repeats, but oh well...

Mickey's - Especially during this time of the year. For me, there is some sort of nostalgia involved with going to Mickey's during the winter. On top of that, the omelets never disappoint.

The Nook - Supreme and fries. Done.

Sea Salt - Being here means spring is here and summer is near. Catfish po' boy + a pint of something = pure happiness.

A Baker's Wife - The best plain cake donut I've ever had.

The Flame - I go to the Rice street location in Roseville/Little Canada. Great burgers, great breakfast, great post bar crowd.

Brasa - Either sitting on the patio in the summer or sitting inside in the winter, the food is right for whatever season we're in.

Black Sheep - My favorite pizza in town, combined with a small but nice beer list.

Holy Land - Gyros or the cheese steak previously mentioned. Or the buffet. Or the butcher. Or the fresh baked pita. Or whatever else you want to get.

Q Fanatic - Had some mixed experiences, but when they're on, no one does BBQ better in Minny.

Brits - Not necessarily chow worthy, but a day of football/rugby with a few pints is about as good as it gets.

That is quite the endeavor, if you've seen their list and the associated prices. You're looking at thousands of dollars to get that highly coveted dram, but if you are really dedicated to learning scotch, there aren't many better ways!

Check that...I got bad intel on this one. Central/50th Columbia Heights KFC is still open.