Epic Sandwich: The Muddy Pig's Cubano

If you haven't been to the Muddy Pig in St. Paul yet, then you need to check it out. They've got great bar food, a stellar beer list, and the best Cubano in town - in my opinion. It's an awesomely huge sandwich with tons of unique flavors. Full review here.

Mancini's Char House

Every month a couple of friends and I gather to grab a meal, catch up and essentially make fun of each other. It's always nice to know that I have a solid group of guys to turn to incase my self-esteem starts to reach an acceptable level. All kidding aside, it presents a great opportunity for some of my best friends to get together and share a good meal - and maybe even a few too many drinks if I'm not driving.

This last "mandate" took place at Mancini's Char House in St. Paul. This place is about as old-school as it gets and even though we were the youngest folks in there by a long shot, we still had a great time. Mancini's still actually has live entertainment in an actual lounge - one of the few places you could likely still find this type of set up outside of a gentleman's club.

On to the food. Mancini's can pretty much make you anything you want... as long as it's chicken, lobster and most importantly, steak. The menu may be a little limited for most folks, but this place is old-school (vinyl seating?) and knows to stay within their sweet spot. I gave the menu about a 3o second glance and settled on the petite, as in 8 oz. petite, sirloin. I don't eat a ton of corn-fed beef (not exactly a hot spot of locavores...), but sometimes if I'm going to break from my ideals, I might as well do it at a place where I know I'm going to get one prepared with serious knowledge and a lot of care.

After we ordered, our waitress brought us out a relish plate (again, old school) and a huge basket of bread. The relish plate was overflowing with cherry-bomb-like hot peppers, marinated tomatoes and pickles. Nothing was worth acclaim, but the huge piles of oily, greasy, garlicky bread created the perfect vehicle for soaking up all the vinegar and spices t these little snacks had been resting in. The bread, although completely detrimental to any sort of healthy eating, was quite good benefiting from a grilling session that emitted a char-based flavor evoked from the ghosts of thousands of perfectly cooked steaks.

A few moments later I found the waitress placing the classic steakhouse salad in front of me. I could see the bus boy in the back with a bag of iceberg twice his size and a pair of plastic gloves as he dished out plate after plate of salads to be dressed. The salad and the ambiance served as nice distractions as I patiently awaited my steak, which turned out to be well worth the drive from SW.

When the beauty arrived I had to take a second to appreciate it before tearing in with my Ramboesque knife. The grill marks were artful and a nice pool of juice started to gather as the everything distributed. Waiting seemed inconceivable and I cut off a nice hunk of the perfectly juicy, medium-rare meat. The steak was pure velvet, beef and butter - simple, unadorned and fabulous. It was a steak in its most virgin form, no demi, no gorgonzola air, no beet and Maytag crumbles - just pure satisfying beef.

It wasn't a meal for the ages, but the steak was quite good and took me back to all those meals I enjoyed in the local steakhouses when I was growing up with my parents. It's funny to think about how simplistically I viewed food back then (scarf and then get me home to watch cartoons!) and how much I appreciate it now. Mancini's may not be the picture-perfect ideal of my current food philosophy, but some nights you have to sit back, relax, enjoy good drink, good company, a good steak and forget about all those convictions if only for a small window of time.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

Epic Sandwich: St. Paul Cheese Shop

I've been waiting in eager anticipation to get over to the St. Paul Cheese Shop to try a sandwich constructed with one of their elegant cheeses. When I arrived I was pleasantly surprised at the level of variety they had on their sandwich menu and the friendliness of their staff. Oh, and I also enjoyed a pretty darn good sandwich, too! Full review here.

Epic Sandwich: W.A. Frost's Old-School Cheeseburger

No truffle oil, no foie gras and no Kobe beef anywhere to be found. Some of these ingredients can be found on W.A. Frost and Company's menu over the course of the year, but you won't find them on their classic cheeseburger - thank goodness. It seems that many restaurants and gastropubs are putting an emphasis on dressing up the American classic, but sometimes I need to kick inventiveness to the curb and just enjoy a good old-school cheeseburger, and that is exactly what you get when you order the cheeseburger off the bar menu on Frost's perfect Patio.

The burger equation at Frost is quite simple. Straight up Angus is grilled to order and topped with your favorite cheese. They stack a ripe tomato, crisp lettuce and a round of snappy red onion on top the the juicy burger and shove it all between an artfully toasted bun. The freshness of the vegetables and the purity of the beef brings back memories of the days when a burger was the picture of savory simplicity.

Sandwich Rating: Tasty. I'll admit I still love a nice creative burger, but on a hot night, there may be nothing better than the grilled classic, a cold beer and the perfect companion.

Need more to get your sandwich fix? Check out my full review of Frost's sirloin sandwich here.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

A very odd night at The Strip Club

It's not what you think. I'm talking about the steak house in St. Paul, not the meat market you all are thinking about. Last week a few chums and I decided to catch up over dinner and a steakhouse seemed to fit the bill. We decided to hit the Strip Club because we had all heard good things from many sources and were excited to try it. I've always wanted to try JD Fratzke's food, and the fact that they serve grass-fed beef from Thousand Hills sealed the deal.

The place sports an old-school speakeasy decorum with lots of dark woods and a cool spiral staircase leading up to elevated seating. We had the big table right in front of the "fireplace" that also serves as the office door. I settled down with a FINNEGANS while my comrades ordered their Manhattans and thought to myself, "I'm going to like this place."

Turns out I was actually kind of wrong. As noted above, the high expectations were based on the names and all the strong recommendations, but the whole night was just really odd. The drinks were in and we were asked if we wanted to order some small plates. We said we needed just a moment, but were ignored for what seemed like an overtly long time (refuse to assign minutes because -they get blown out of proportion). When our waiter made it back over we ordered a couple of small plates and another round to fill our long-since-empty glasses. Again, the wait seemed long, but the largest offense was the staggered service. The lads who ordered bread received their items first. Then a few minutes later the grilled romaine salads came out. Quite some time after that, the shrimp boil and duck prosciutto arrived. I sat there, still waiting for my salad (a cold salad, mind you) for another few moments after the last small plates arrived. The waiter was kind enough to bring a free round of deviled eggs for our troubles, so at that point I told him to "cancel the salad." He claimed they had just plated it, which I took as code for "oh shit, I forgot" and it arrived a few minutes later - right before my entree showed up which is about the worst service blunder imaginable. The starters all arrived at different times and of course mine showed last, with my entree the first out in hot (soon to be cold) pursuit.

Again, the entree delivery was staggared, so I waited patiently for everyone to get their food. Eventually our friends told us to get started as they were now sharing our frustrations. Then it hit me...I ordered a pork dish (on a tip I received from a very credible source, plus I grill grass-fed steaks at home all the time) served with a cherry, bacon BBQ sauce. The dish that sat before me, now cold from the wait (stupid manners) had micro greens on it. Cherry bacon BBQ sauce and micro greens just don't seem to go together. I took a bite and quickly realized this was pork, but not the preparation I ordered. Well sometimes, you just say "screw it" and shut up and eat.

By then I was so hungry, I was just happy to have food (by the by, the pork was served with a citrus and chili-like sauce that would have been really good had the pork still been warm. I thought the comedy of errors was over for the night, but then our check showed and I realized I was over charged for the dish I had originally ordered - thankfully this was a mistake we could have corrected. I tipped back the rest of my beer and began to ponder how this could have gone so wrong? Still, at the end of the day I still had a great night out with the guys in a cool spot. I just wish I hadn't bothered with the food (note - most people did enjoy their food) and just had a few more cocktails for my dinner.

I doubt I'll be back, but have to believe all those reputable sources I heard rave about the place must have known what they were talking about, and hope that this was an isolated incident (I honestly thought I'd freakin' love this place). Regardless, I don't think there is any reason for me to head back given my particular experience.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

Mississippi Market - shopping co-op on a budget

I am making more of an effort to shop exclusively at co-ops or farmer's markets. Now, I could run off a whole list of reasons why I've recently made this switch, but rather than bore you to death, I'll just give you my favorite one - I like keeping my money closer to home. Most of the products I buy at Co-ops and everything I buy from the farmers is domestically sourced and much of it comes from very close to home if I pay close attention to seasonality. I like keeping the money as close to my community as possible, and I like that it gives me the ability to learn more about my sources, how they raise their products and keeps me more in tune with the local food scene.

Now, shopping at a co-op CAN be expensive. Goods are usually organic or sustainably raised, which usually leads to healthier and better product in MY opinion, but it also makes it more expensive to produce, which in turn makes the goods more expensive to purchase. Thankfully our friends at the Mississippi Market in St. Paul has pieced together a course to help educate folks on how to make co-op shopping as affordable as possible. The class I attended a few weeks ago was both well attended and insightful. I already knew about several of the strategies they taught us, but I also learned a great deal more. I've listed a couple of good take-aways in no particular order:

1.) Arrive organized. OK, so most people are thoughtful enough to whip up a grocery list when they go shopping - no big deal. I'm talking about about putting together an Excel sheet that lists out all the major categories and each item that I typically need in them. It helps me stay focused and I can even type in the bulk item numbers on the sheet so I can be quick at the store. If it didn't make the list, it doesn't go in the cart. If you want to update frequently you can even keep track of pricing. I've found so far that I have less waste than usual using this method. I think the best way to do this is to create one sheet and put it in a transparent sleeve or have it laminated. Instead of writing a list every week you simply mark it up with a dry erase marker and erase when you are done.

2.) Always take inventory. I'm amazed at how many times I've gone to the store and purchased a number of goods only to come home and realize that I still had more than enough, or that I missed something I needed. Taking a solid inventory beforehand can not only save you money in duplicate purchases, but it can also save you time from running back to the store. I always try and build a stock of things I use all the time to eliminate confusion, but taking inventory is simply the best way to help build your list.

3.) Plan meals. Sit down before you go to the store and look at your week. How many meals do you need to plan? Once you've got that nailed down figure out what you want to make. Crack a cook book or hit Epicurious to plan out your meals - the ingredient list becomes your grocery list. I find that if I have my plan ahead of time I end up getting exactly what I need and skip on the non-essentials which are typically more expensive. Make sure your plan is built around perishables and always take leftovers into consideration - nothing is worse then spending money on food right after you've thrown out a perfectly good meal that you left in the fridge too long.

4.) 3 Days 3 ways. Head to Mississippi Market's site to check out their 3 days 3 ways program. Essentially they give you the blue print for stretching a few items across several meals - in the winter I roast a chicken on Sunday and it gives me a solid dinner that night, with leftover meat for sandwiches, salads and another dinner or two later in the week.

4.) Easy on the coupons. You don't really save anything if the coupon persuades you to buy something you don't need. They're designed by the manufacturer to try and get you to buy. Now if it's something you need, stock up. If you don't need it don't buy it.

5.) Hit the bulk section. This seems like a no-brainer, but I mean really study it. I always blew past it or only stopped to get almonds. Once I past it I would go buy packaged whole wheat flower, cous-cous, beans and rolled oats. Then I attended this class and realized I could buy all that in bulk for much cheaper while utilizing less packaging materials. If you haven't stopped by your co-op's bulk section recently, then check it out. You'll be surprised at everything you can get.

Now this isn't a holistic view of all the strategies (shopping seasonally may be the best), but they are simply things I heard for the first time or things I was already doing that I could easily expand upon. I find my total bills are much less then they used to be and I'm eating much better and more creativly then ever before. I strongly encourage you to take up these practices or to keep them up and help support our local producers. I think you'll find the journey most enjoyable.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

The Strip Club

A few buddies and I are planning on hitting the Strip Club in the next few weeks - full review to come. I've wanted to go here for quite a while now (I love a good grass-fed steak!) as I've heard quite a bit of good buzz. I was checking out their site and discovered a really cool film on their landing page. It talks about what is inspiring their spring menu and gives you a good feel for what drives the place. I dig the kitchen footage too. Check it out here. Hopefully more eateries will follow suit, although I'm sure it was no cheap endeavor!

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

Summit Brewery Tour

If you are a beer lover, and you haven't done it yet, I highly suggest you attend the Summit Brewery tour (est. 1986). They give tours on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at various times, and I suggest you call ahead as our tour was full, and had been for several weeks.

The brewery is located just off West 7th in St. Paul and is pretty accessible from just about anywhere in the Twin Cities. The tour itself only took about 25-30 minutes, so it isn't super heavy on information, but the staff and tour guides are fun and entertaining. They essentially take you through the whole process including the fermentation room as the bottling facility and give you a quick view into what happens at each step in the brewing process. I found this interesting as I have jumped on the pairing beer with food bandwagon. Seems like special wine dinners have been in on area menus and event calendars for quite some time, but I've also noticed that beer dinners are starting to pick up in popularity - seems fitting given the diversity and bold flavors the beverages offer.

The best part about the tour is the fact that they let you sample a generous amount of product. Each participant gets 3 coins good for a glass of beer and they had anywhere from 10-12 brews on tap including some seasonal items for you to sample. I went with a group of 15 friends (highly recommend this for groups if you can call far enough in advance) and we had a great time.

I sampled the Heffe Weizen, Winter Ale, Oatmeal Stout and the Maibock. I arranged the outing so the ladies who didn't want to drink too much (1 p.m. is a bit early for some people to knock back 3 beers) and the drivers were giving their extra beer coins out freely, so I was able to enjoy quite a few. I'm a fan of dark beers, but also appreciate the lighter offerings as well so I was happy with the diversity they were pouring. I enjoyed Summit's Hefe Weizen (not a huge fan of wheat beers) and was trying it for the first time so I felt like I picked up something new. I left with a good piece of knowledge of brewing, and a pretty nice buzz (thanks to my roommate for driving) so all in all I say it was a great time and a nice way to catch up with friends over some good beer.

Happy (safe) Drinking,

-Teddy

Golden Fig - Grand Ave. St. Paul

My parents gave me a great little book called eat.shop twin cities for Christmas and I've found that it has proven itself most useful. I already have a lengthy list of new places I want to eat at, and a few shops I want to try and hit as well. One of the places featured in the great little book spans the gap between eating and shopping. It's called The Golden Fig and it's comfortably nestled on Grand Avenue near Grotto and Avalon.

The store is filled with a wide range of culinary goodies ranging from artisan salad dressings to dips, spreads, vinegars, craft cheeses and sustainably raised meats. They really do have a tremendous selection and there are samples everywhere! You could skip lunch if you plan your trip well, or should stop in if you are looking to buy something new and wouldn't mind a nice snack! I fell victim to the East Shore dipping mustard spiked with chipotle (they wrap things son nicely!). I know it's primary use is for dipping, but I spread it on bread to give sandwiches a good wallop of flavor.
They were sampling a carrot ginger soup that was divine and also sell a few other homemade goodies including take-and-bake mac and cheese! Pair the soup with a nice bubbly mac and cheese and you have the perfect cold busting lunch. Add a nice green salad with one of the many salad dressings they sell and you've got a robust, decadent and flavorful dinner. I recommend you check it out ASAP!

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

Ngon Bistro

I originally heard about Ngon Bistro from one of my favorite blogs. The review seemed favorable and I love Vietnamese food and trying new things. I jumped in my car with my favorite dining partner in shotgun and headed over to St. Paul. I had pretty high hopes based on the menu and what I'd heard from people I view as credible sources. The dining room was full for a Tuesday, but we managed to get a table with no reservation. I perused the drink list and instantly saw they had Kayak Kolsch. My eyebrows raised and my liver giggled. I ordered the beer and put in an order for their pork lettuce wraps (we were aggressively hungry) and started perusing the rest of their menu.

The service was friendly, but odd. At times we had up to 3 people all over us and at other times it felt like we were completely ignored. Regardless our appetizer was out before we even ordered our entrees, so the kitchen is a speedy one. The menu is intriguing and inventive. It's laced with local and sustainable ingredients (Thousand Hills beef and Kadejan chicken) and features both traditional Vietnamese favorites as well as some new and complex dishes. I'm a huge fan of Pho so I ordered a bowl of the chicken Pho and Jess settled on a broken rice with three kinds of pork dish as it came highly recommended from one of our various servers.

When the lettuce wraps came out we had the plate for the wraps, our appetizer plates, 2 drinks, 2 waters a condiment rack and all 3 of our menus on the table. It was hard to fit everything on and it became difficult to eat anything. It would have been nice for them to take our order so we could get rid of everything, but we were almost too hungry to care. We tore into the delicious looking wraps, and noticed instantly that something was completely wrong. The skewered strips of pork were essentially all fat. The crisp veggies and rich peanut sauce were totally lost because of the mushy, chewy strips of fat. We basically had a mouthful of salt and nasty. I am the founder and President of the Clean Plate Club, and we were so grossed out by the pork that we just sort of picked at everything else and left half the items on the plate. It was seriously disappointing.

Our Pho and broken rice dishes came out soon after they cleared the appetizers, and we dove right in hoping to find satisfaction in our entrees. I will say that my Pho was huge, packed with chicken and very good. It was very flavorful and hearty and the crunchy jalapenos and bean sprouts offered an explosion of freshness to contrast the comforting soulfulness of the soup. It was just what I was looking for.

Jess' dish was just OK. The pork loin, egg and rice all worked well together. I though the cucumber and tomato offered a nice twist of freshness similar to my Pho, but Jess didn't care for it - I think it's sort of an acquired thing. The other pork items were BBQ'd pork and pork skin, and I have to say the mixture was pretty garlicky and actually kind of cold which I thought was really odd. It was just sort of an odd dish that came highly recommended from our server and it was a bit disappointing.

I wouldn't go back to Ngon Bistro. The people were nice, but the food was hit or miss. Lettuce wraps were the biggest layup in terms of complexity on the menu and they were awful. If the ingredients don't look good, they shouldn't go out, and I highly doubt sending us 4 strips of gristle was an oversight.

Between the fresh Vietnamese flavors and all the sustainable ingredients, I had set high expectations and they just came short. The Pho was great, but there are plenty of great places on Eat Street where I can go to get a good bowl of this pleasant dish that are closer to home and will scratch my itch for something a little different.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

W.A. After the Frost

This past Tuesday, with the sun out and the weather warm I decided I would enjoy my usual Tuesday night dinner with my girlfriend at W.A. Frost http://www.wafrost.com/home.html. The biggest reason I decided to cross the river was Frost's A+ Patio which is best enjoyed once the weather becomes tolerable. It is simply the perfect outdoor dining experience and since it was the first truly nice day I had seen in quite some time, I jumped on the opportunity. The air became a bit chill as the night grew on but a perfect spot next to the charmingly warm fire took care of the bite in the air. Frost has a truly compelling bar menu as it relates to both food and cocktails. I rolled the dice on a Modelo with Tabasco, lime and worcestershire. I think if you would have lost the worcestershire I would have been fine, but it was a bit too much. A quick change to a simple micro brew EPA from Portland was a great fix. Jessica and I decided to order the Duck and Pork bratwurst and the BLT and split the two. We had the fries to accompany the brat and I had the mixed greens with the BLT. First of all the fries were outrageous, meaty and crispy, to put it simple: Perfect. The Brat was totally out of the park - the duck raised the big brat flavor to a new level and the sweet pork stood up well to the flavorful duck . It was accompanied with pickled onions, a Guinness reduction ans a nice roasted corn salsa. It was a big flavor that mingles well with a smooth EPA. The BLT was good, but not great. I loved the Bib lettuce accompaniment, I'm always a huge fan of fried eggs on just about any sandwich, and the Sriracha mayo provided an much needed bite to the profile. The biggest short falling was the bread, which was a simple toasted white variety akin to Wonder - we all know the bread is the foundation of a good sandwich and it just fell short. That being said there were about five other items on their bar menu that I would have ordered on any other night and my allegiance to a BLT just won through. I'll have to find a good night to go back, but as I look outside at the snow on April 26th, I realize that may be a few days away.

The best part about Frost is their patio. They pour great cocktails, have exceptional service and the environment is second to none in the state. I highly recommend heading over to enjoy this little slice of serenity whenever possible. Just call ahead for outdoor reservations on the traditional dining nights. I promise it will be well worth it.

I'm off to tear into my first crack at pulled pork. Hopefully that will help get the chill out of my bones. Spring in MN can be cruel...

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

Holy Shish! It's Been a While

OK, so I haven't posted in a while. However, make no mistake, I am no less obsessed with food today, it's just that I've been busy, so have a heart. So I love good food and I love cheap food - cheap eats if you will. I'm going to make it more of a point to write about the cheap eats I love. There is nothing better then rounding out a prefect day on the go, filled with fun activities, then to hit a quick spot where you can get a quick, exciting meal and get on to the next event. Enter Grand Avenue in St. Paul and Shish Mediterranean cafe. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and specialize in Mediterranean and middle eastern dishes. I love their food! The first time I hit Shish I had to have the chicken shawarma http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawarma . I fell in love with shawarma when I was studying on the Gold Coast in Australia where it is a common street food. One huge culinary component I feel is missing from this city is a tremendous culture of street food, but that is for another post. The shwarma was warm, spicy and balanced with tender, spicy chicken and the crunch of a few onions and crisp lettuce. Mix that in with a cool hint of cucumber sauce and you have a great meal on the go, although I woulkd have loved some sweet chili sauce! The second time (OK serious nod to Shish simply based on the fact that I ate there twice in 2 weeks) I at there I had a burger that was celebrated with a Med feeling and style. Take a nicely grilled burger, (OK, maybe it was a bit dry - let's up the fat content people, my BMI is just fine!) top it with good quality feta, grilled tomatoes and onions, a light and earthy hummus add a dollop of Tzatziki and you've got a serious meal and a community of flavors that has all the comforts of a good old burger and all the flash and excitement of middle eastern cuisine. The fries were outrageous too. They were perfectly crisp, well salted and had a hint of curry in the finish. Head over to Grand just past Macalaster and before Snelling if you are looking for a good on-the-go lunch in St. Paul. Oh and by the way. It's straight up cheap!

Happy Eating,

-Teddy