So good, I gotta blog about it

Alright, so I've had the pleasure of experiencing some more unique/neighborhood restaurants since moving back to MPLS - the likes of Al Vento, BLG, Bar Lurcat, Pizza Lola, etc.  However, I don't have a lot of confidence in my inner "foodie" to talk intelligently about my dining experiences. 

But I MUST tell you about the place I dined at tonight with three friends.  It's Travail Restaurant in Robbinsdale - so a little off the beaten path, but WELL worth the trip.  I don't know a ton about the place, but I first heard of it when MSP Mag featured it as one of the best new restaurants of the year.  Either way, finally made plans to go there tonight.  It was definitely busy.  We got there at 5:45ish and didn't sit down until near 7ish.  A few (generous) glasses of wine, shuffleboard & bean bag games kept us occupied.  So yes, this place is busy (and pretty small). 

Either way, we sat down and immediately ordered some small plates to share. So insanely good - Blue Cheese Tots, Fresh Cut French Fries, and Prosciutto and Blue Cheese wrapped Figs.  They came out pretty much immediately.  Thank goodness.  Then, we each got our own dish.  Not a lot of food on these plates, but a TON of flavor.  I got a pork loin - wrapped in prosciutto, butternut squash drizzled, carrot powder/carrots/carrot chips, portabellos, sweet potato.  It was a beautiful combination in my mouth.

Half the fun of the night was all the servers that visited our table.  The restaurant is owned by 5 guys - all from different places in the U.S.  We got to chatting with them, and they all had awesome stories about how they ended up opening this restaurant in MN.  Truly inspiring. They seemed to LOVE life.

Then, came dessert. The four of us split the grand tour - 4 desserts.  Two of my friends gave up chocolate for lent.  Bad for them, awesome for me!  One of our desserts was prepared right at the table.

Net net, go to this place.  But, go (really) early or go late so you can avoid an hour long wait!

I've even "liked" them on FB:  http://www.facebook.com/Travailkitchen

Happy Dining People!!

Erin

Here we go!

Alright, so I've been reading some friends' blogs here and there and thought I better get on the band-wagon.  They're all pretty witty, so I had doubts about my blogging skillz.  But then I told myself - even if no one reads our blog, at least we'll have a little bit of history when we finally have kids and people will WANT to read our blog.  Until then, you'll just have to do with my ramblings while I figure out what my 'niche' is :)

Let's see.  Most people start this once they get married, so here's what's happened since then - in a nutshell:

• We now own a house and successfully navigated the winter without a leaking ice dam - thanks to Kevin's roof raking expertise.  We also had a hard battle with box-elder bugs on one side of our house.  Kevin sprayed, which resulted in a large massacre of these bugs.  Only time will tell on if these chamicals cause our own demise. 
• Kevin started his part-time MBA at the U of MN, sucessfully beginning our "5-year plan." Onward...
• The Packers won the Superbowl and it got CrAzY around here!
• Lots of family news, including visits from everyone - and multiple visits from some.
• Mark and Kevin successfully re-piped the bathroom, so we no longer ingest large amounts of some-type-of-metal/mold when we brush our teeth.
• We experienced our first MSP Restaurant week.  I don't think I'll ever be the same after 3.5 hours at Fogo de Chao.
• The Bachelor picked Emily.
• We finally ordered our wedding prints.
• We just had a new nephew enter the world! Jaxon Joseph joins the ranks of Cazdyn, Aneka, Owen, and Audrie as the fun neices and nephews we can't wait to see!

Restaurant Review (why not?):  Pizzaria Lola on 57th & Xerxes.  Very fun & unique atmosphere.  I just LOVE places like this.  Unique pizza DID live up to reviews of 'better than Punch Pizza.'  Just wish they had more on-tap beer!  http://www.pizzerialola.com/

Until next time.

Erin