Pintres

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Boneyard - UPDATE now closed!

This is the second review I'm doing for The Boneyard in Uptown Minneapolis.
Usually I would only do one review for the restaurants I visit but, I have new pictures I had to share!
My family and I went to Boneyard over Memorial Day weekend.
I tell you Memorial Day weekend is a great time to get right into a restaurant!

Ok so here are some of the delicious items we ordered.

Deviled Eggs

Fried Green Tomato Appetizer

Watermelon, Feta, Jalapeno Salad

 Mac and Cheese


All of these dishes were well liked!
So once again Boneyard gets a great review from me and my family!







Monday, May 19, 2014

Stillwater Minnesota Eats

Stillwater Minnesota is an excellent small town vacation spot.
A beautiful strip of quaint antique and gift shops and plenty of places to choose from when you want a bite to eat.
Not to leave out the beautiful views!
This past weekend we went to Stillwater for a few days did a lot of walking and eating.

Our first lunch was at Nacho Mamas, can you stand the name!?!
I have had on my list of things to make, Mexican corn and you know what was on their menu??
You know it Mexican corn, oh my Lord that was good!!!


Another place we stopped a couple times for an afternoon pick me up would be a cute little coffee shop right off the river called The Daily Grind, pun intended :)
While making small talk with the cashier I mentioned to her that the coffee mugs hanging above the counter were really fun.
She tells me that they are the regulars mugs. The one that stuck out to me the most was the one with the shiny silver brass knuckles as a handle, she imagines to be a little old ladies coffee mug because she has never seen the owner of that mug.
I would love to see that!


Another day we decided to have a light lunch.
We stumbled upon a wine/cheese bar, enough said.
The Wedge & Wheel is so beautiful made me feel like I was just transported to France.
We went with the Cheese Mongers choice that was a trio of cheeses one from France, Italy and lastly Spain my favorite, I wish I could remember the name!
Our cheese was accompanied by a plate of vibrant green olives, figs and warm nuts.  Oh and bread.


One my my favorite new beers is the Liftbridge Farm Girl, that is brewed right here in Stillwater, MN!
I was surprised how small their operation is compared to how large their distribution is.
They hand pour every bottle, insane!  
We went there on a Friday and there are not tours that day but they have a fun bar in the front of the house.  
Hubbie and I shared a flight of beers and munched on some free popcorn while listening to the jukebox.

Now to jump back to light lunch day ( forgot another stop) 
We were still a bit hungry after that delicious cheese so we crossed the street to The Freight House, it's a fun place to party in the evening (fyi) we sat and enjoyed the warm sunshine and snacked on a basket of delicious calamari pared with a sour cream chipotle and tarter sauce for dipping.   



I'm getting full just writing this!!!
Are you still with me??  Ok almost done I have two dinners to cover.
Our first dinner was at Smalley's Caribbean Barbecue, I wanted to try this place out after I saw Guy try it out on Diners Drive Ins and Dives.
I took pictures but they did not turn out it was to dark.
I had a burger and the husband had a jerk pulled pork sandwich, he said was super spicy.  Just they way he likes it!  

Last dinner was to celebrate 13 years of marriage we choice a nice place called The Green Room.
Lovely place for any occasion, cool interior high ceilings with brick walls.
They buy ingredients from local farmers when possible.
We started with a delicious crab cake, followed by a Caesar salad.

For my main course I had Gnocchi and mushrooms, OMG that was so good!
Hubbie ordered the walleye special, again a fantastic meal.
They serve your meal with what I think is their variation of bruschetta, very fresh.


I think I was so busy eating I stopped taking pictures at the main course.  

Now that is only a few of many places to eat in the wonderful town of Stillwater!!













Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Uptown Cafeteria - UPDATE this is now closed!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

This past weekend some of my ladies brought me out to dinner for my birthday.
It was up to me where to go, my daughter has been telling me to check out Uptown Cafeteria and Support Group, so I thought we would check it out.
Now about the name, I really don't know what the story is with "support group" , on the web site they say that support groups meet at their bars so I'm guess it's not AA :)
There is much more to the restaurant then I was able to see that day due to the rain.
I hear they have a roof top area!
Always a plus in the summer!
You can get your meal served to you on an old cafeteria tray, how cute right?
The menu is not very large but everything we ordered was delicious.

Mom ordered


Here's the Grilled Cheese I ordered

For desert you get Cotton Candy if it's your Birthday, I had to share made us feel like kids!



I did not get pictures of the other dishes our table ordered.
And that would be HUGE Jalapeno Poppers, House Made Tortilla Chips with a trio of dips for starters.
Rosemary Roasted Garlic Chicken, that smelled amazing!
Finally the Turkey Burger.
Everyone really enjoyed their food and I am looking forward to go back here in the summer to check out the roof top!

*can you tell I got a new photo editor ;)

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Queso Fundido

Another Pioneer Woman recipe, but a little spiced up.
I tell you what, I am using the heck out of that skillet the husband got me last year!
 Pioneer Woman's website explains that Queso Fundido translates into molten cheese or melted cheese.
Can't go wrong with cheese, that's one of my main food groups!

After I made this dip and tasted it,  I found it to be bland so I added jalapeno peppers.
I think what happened is when I used hamburger and her original recipe calls for a spicy sausage, my dip needed that extra kick of the peppers.
I'll leave it up to you if you want to use spicy sausage or hamburger.
I just don't care to much for sausage.

What you will need is:
An awesome red skillet, kidding!  Any baking dish you have will work.
1/2 pound hot breakfast sausage (or hamburger)
1 whole medium onion, chopped
2 small bell peppers chopped, any color or colors you like
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded. Or any melting cheese you like. ( I think I will try a different cheese time).
Sprinkle of chili powder
1/2 cup sliced grape tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 Cup Chopped jalapenos
A dollop of sour cream
Tortilla Chips for serving

How to make the dip:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
In a skillet, cook your sausage or hamburger
Remove the meat from the skillet and drain on a paper towel
Cook your peppers and onion in the same skillet, until softened, about 8 minutes


Put 1/3 of the cheese in the bottom of your baking dish or skillet and start layering
Cheese, beef, vegi mix then repeat until your last layer is cheese.
Sprinkle with chili powder
Top with diced jalapenos and cilantro

Serve with tortilla chips and sliced tomatos!

Happy belated Cinco de Mayo!