Bar La Grassa - October 1, 2010

For those of you who don't like reading, I'll save you some time: Bar La Grassa is a fantastic place to eat and you should be calling them to make reservations right now.

Seriously.

The restaurant has an comfortable feel. The wait staff are mostly wearing jeans with nice dress shirts and aprons, you get the feeling that you could walk in wearing a suit or a Twins t-shirt and either would be welcome. (There was a Twin's game being played that night.)

The whole room has kind of a modern classic feel. Lots of old wood fixtures and old lights paired with black hardware and white paint. The plates at the table are decidedly classic china with red patterns. My grandmother had a set similar to them, except the patterns were blue, and I'd expect anyone who'd ever worked on a farm had seen a similar set. I happen to like old-school.

The food was amazing. The menu has a wide variety of small and large plate meals, mostly Italian inspired peasant dishes with an experimental flair. The small plates are perfect for a group, we each ordered one small plate and then as a group ordered one large plate. Two small plates, or an appetizer and a small plate would be more than enough of a meal for me.  The Soft Eggs with Lobster was fantastic, the eggs were made into a light omelette with generous chunks of lobster meat, and served atop wheat toast. Simple and delicious. I ordered the Gnocchi with Cauliflower and Orange as my small plate, I wanted to try something outside of my comfort zone. The gnocchi was served with an orange reduction and the steamed cauliflower was sliced and placed on top of the pasta. I really enjoyed this dish. We also had the Berkshire Pork Tenderloin with Salsa di Peperone. Highly recommended! The salsa adds so much to the perfectly prepared pork (or PPP, if you will.), it's very savory and slightly sweet and I'm kinda getting hungry again.

I should also note that the wine list is pretty extensive. There are some very reasonable glasses and some high-dollar selections, just in case you need to impress someone special or you've been blessed with a great financial windfall. And if you have, I'd be more than willing to let you handle the bill. I also take donations.

I had an excellent experience at Bar La Grassa and hope to stop in again soon. I give them 5 stars out of a possible 4.

http://www.barlagrassa.com/BarLaGrassa.htm

Mt. Fuji Restaurant - November 5, 2010

Mt. Fuji in pictures:






Fire!

Yummy drink!

I think I had the best filet mignon that I have ever had here. Hibachi is always fun and the fried rice was excellent! We were all stuffed and had a fun Friday night feast!

www.mtfuji-mn.com/

Bar La Grassa - October 1, 2010

Bar La Grassa - yum

http://www.barlagrassa.com/

Although it was a little hard to find, the food was great! We had the soft eggs and lobster bruschetta as an appetizer and OMG it was awesome! Next time I would consider ordering this as my meal so I could have the whole thing!

We also feasted on crab ravioli, gnocchi with cauliflower and orange, spaghetti carbonara, salad, beer, and wine.

I would definitely go back!

Moscow on the Hill - September 3, 2010

The first official meeting of FNF-TC met on a cool and breezy evening on September 3, 2010. Our original plans were foiled by an expiring Groupon, but we ended up having a lovely time anyways! We consumed a lot of food, a lot of vodka, and surprisingly, we were able to share two chocolate truffles amongst five people!

We sampled vodka from Sweden, England, Russia, France, and Poland. We feasted on dumplings, pork, salmon, mushrooms and cheesy goodness, and of course the truffles...chocolate...*drool*.

The vodka was so smooth that I was able to drink a shot of it and not want to die. It actually tasted good! No more Phillips for me!

In terms of service, I don't remember anything that stood out as either really bad or really good. I do remember that it was very loud and dark inside. I was sometimes distracted by the music and chatter and also felt my eyes adjusting to the dim light. It was all good though and it was fun to be there with a fun group of friends who all enjoy vodka.

Check out Moscow on the Hill at the link below. If you like rich, hearty food, and vodka then you won't be disappointed!

http://www.moscowonthehill.com/