Take me out to the ballgame…

Wednesday was a mystery date planned by Josh. We took the day off work and had a leisurely morning of sleeping in, walking down to our nearest lake and generally hanging out. We left the house around noon to go to the Saints game, St. Paul’s semi-pro baseball team. We had great seats, directly behind home plate and four rows back. The awesome thing about Saints games is you can get these seats for $12 apiece!

Since it was a mid-week day game, it was not remotely crowded. We ended up sitting between two season ticketholders who knew pretty much everyone who walked by. They were nice and we chatted with them a bit.

It was a HOT day – in fact, it hit 97 degrees and broke a record for being 8 degrees warmer on that day than ever before. And, it was windy – thank goodness, because without the wind it would have been miserable. On the down side, a fair amount of dirt ended up in our beer, hair, teeth, etc. Gritty.

Saints games are always super random and I don’t think I’ve seen an entire inning even once in all the times I’ve been to one. There is always too much to do, from getting another beer to watching eyeballs chase each other around the field, commenting on the trains going by and people watching. Oh, and the pigs in tutus, of course!

Wednesday was no exception as the power went out for several innings. No scoreboard, no PA. People just passed the word along. #17, third baseman John Doe is up to bat. Funny.

We had to leave during the sixth inning because we had an appointment to make beer and wine. Our new friends were sad to see us go. The Saints were behind, anyway, and ended up losing the game.

Josh had booked a 4 o’clock appointment for us to make a batch of beer and a batch of wine at Vine Park Brewing. We have both made beer there before, but never wine. We’ve been saving our bottles at home!

We got started on the beer first, since that takes longer. Measure, boil, mix. Pretty simple and there’s a lot of down time in-between. So we hung out, read the paper and drank the free root beer. We go back in two weeks to bottle the Summer Wheat.

As for the wine, it couldn’t have been easier. They have a bucket of water and you stir in a packet of clarifying agent, two packets of oak, a box of grape juice and a packet of yeast. (I had no idea oak came in powder form!) It will sit there and ferment, and then we’ll go back in six weeks to bottle it. I was surprised that’s all there was to it. Once we get our rioja back (makes 30 bottles), we will have to store it for six months before it is ready. We’ll have to have a “come try our wine” party!

After that we swung by Shamrocks for their juicy Nookie burger and fries (in a word, YUM!). Then, home again for a nap and a shower. All in all, an excellent mystery date!

Another Mystery Date

Another busy week! After Wednesday’s malbec tasting, I had the Keith Urban concert at Xcel Center in downtown St. Paul Thursday night. I met up with Dee Dodge and her brother beforehand for drinks/snacks at Pop!!, the successor to the Pop! Restaurant in NE. It took over the old Fhima’s space and did a nice makeover. Their food is nothing amazing, but it is darn cheap on happy hour special. The concert was, of course, awesome, and I am looking forward to seeing him again in Milwaukee in June.

Friday night we went shopping for light fixtures as, for no apparent reason, our townhouse has hardly any ceiling lights so we have been living primarily by lamplight. We finally decided to get smart and hire an electrician to put lights in four rooms. Shopping for lighting fixtures was fun; for the first time ever in my life I “got” the allure of the home improvement center! Al put in two of our lights Saturday and will finish the other two tonight. We are unbelievably excited to have light in our house!!

On Sunday we had a fairly lazy day, which included going to see Angels & Demons (not my fave), massages at Elements and naps! But on Saturday…

Mystery Date
Saturday night was one of my mystery dates, which was essentially a tour of St. Paul. First up was dinner at W.A. Frost, in the Cathedral Hill area. Frost’s is classic St. Paul, but I had only been there before once on their patio and once in the bar, so going to dinner was a different experience. (Mind you, one should always hang out on their patio on a nice summer day!).

They had a 6-course tasting menu, so we decided to go for it. Josh got the regular tasting menu, and I got the vegetarian one. Not because I don’t like meat (love it!), but because it was fun to get something different and there were several yummy-looking pasta items on the vegetarian menu, which is always good in my book. We also got the wine pairings. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask for a copy of the menu on our way out, so I’ll have to recreate as best I can.

My amuse bouche was a single mascarpone ravioli in a sweet pea/mint puree. Very good and fresh tasting, though you really couldn’t taste the ravioli. Josh’s was a short rib in an jalapeno sauce.

Next up was a corn bisque with a sweet chili oil drizzle. Mine had a poached egg in the middle and Josh’s had shrimp and chorizo croquettes in it. The bisque was delicious, mostly because the chili oil kept things interesting.

Next I had an herb and mushroom gnocchi. It was good, but almost seemed as if it was served too hot to get much flavor from it (maybe it didn’t have much flavor to begin with). It reminded me of onion-flavored tater tots and I feel like they were overdone compared to other gnocchi I have had. Josh’s dish was skate wing with cabbage in a foie gras juice. He said the skate wing was pretty fishy tasting, so I didn’t try it. My newfound willingness to try seafood only goes so far!

My main entrée was a raspberry risotto with walnut topping. I didn’t eat very much because it was fruity and therefore very dessert-tasting to me — almost like a rice pudding or something. Josh’s was some kind of lamb, very tender and buttery and tasty. Mm, lamb. Baa.

We sort of missed out on our next two courses as we had to get moving on to the next stage of the mystery date. A little bit of poor planning, I guess, except we didn’t know we were going to get the tasting menus! We should have warned the server we were on a schedule and didn’t, so I felt bad about that.

The fifth course was a cheese with a lavash cracker. The sixth course was dessert, with samples of three things: creme brulee, a warm chocolate cake with crushed orange (candy?) on top and an almond torte of some kind. Hard to remember since we took about one bite of each thing and got the heck out of there.

Wine-wise I know we started with a (cava?), which was quite good, went on to a pinot gris, then a couple of reds. The last two – again, which we barely tasted, was something liquorice-y (blah) and then a basic port. I wasn’t too sad to have missed out on those two!

Phase Two of our date was to see comedian Steven Wright at the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. We skated into our front row seats all of about 60 seconds before the lights went down and he came on. Steven Wright is famous for whipping off one liners one right after another, which he did for 90 minutes straight, except for a random song or two in the middle. It was entertaining and he had some good jokes. I was surprised there was no opening act. I also decided I would be pretty scared to meet him in a dark alley based on appearance!

After the show we went to the bar at Kincaid’s, mostly to kick back. We did order the Kobe beef meatloaf sliders, which were three for only $4 (happy hour special). Even though Josh thinks turning Kobe beef into anything as mundane as meatloaf is sacrilege, they were darn good! Josh had a vanilla sky martini and I had a moscato, and then it was home and off to bed!

Malbecs at Morton’s

Josh and I do manage to be busy people (even if what we are up to doesn’t always make the blog!). Last week we went and saw Clinton Kelly (from TLC’s “What Not to Wear”) do a fashion makeover show at Southdale (and picked up a few new duds for ourselves) and we also went to a screening of the new Star Trek film. Despite not knowing too much about the Star Trek franchise other than the names of a few main characters, I really enjoyed it!

On Wednesday we went to a malbec tasting at Morton’s, an old school steak place in downtown Minneapolis. We almost didn’t go because when I called the restaurant to see if they had spaces available nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. Luckily (for them, and us), they at least took our number and found somebody who knew what the scoop was call me back. Apparently they only do this sort of extra event quarterly, and not all staff was up on it.

Malbecs. In a word, yum! As Josh says, they are real tooth stainers – in other words, they are pretty much a red wine you are going to *know* you drank! Argentina, I believe, is the world’s largest producer of malbecs, even though it is originally a French grape. Other countries, such as Chile, also produce malbecs.

The first one we tried was actually a white — who knew?! It was a Trapiche Torrontes (Trapiche being the #1 wine grower in Argentina, according to the wine distributor on hand). It smelled like a moscato but tasted more like a chardonnay (not the oaky, buttery kind). Had what I call a “bright, hay” taste with a light citrus flavor.

Next up was a Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec, which we have bought and drank at home several times. This is a seriously awesome wine, particularly if you like that delicious campfire smoke taste in a wine. YUM. Allegedly this is the #1 malbec in Argentina, and I see no reason to disagree!

Next up was a Michel Torino Don David, which we had never tried before. It is a dry and smoky wine. Also tried the Broquel, which I am pretty sure we've had before. It was not as dry or smoky as the others. I’d say it was a solid wine, but a pretty run of the mill red compared to the others – not awesome (and smoky!) like you expect from a good malbec. Last was a Trapiche single vineyard Adriana Venturin. In a word, smooth. And tasty :)

Our wine host told us that Argentina used to churn out some crap wines, getting 7 tons of grapes to the acre (I think). The standard is 5 tons, so they were using basically anything that came off the vine. They have refined their practices, though, and are turning out some really good stuff.

Beyond the tasting, Morton’s served up some snacks for us. Your basic cheese and crackers, of course, but also large scallops and a skirt steak with chimichurri sauce. Yum and yum. I am seriously going to have to re-think my whole anti-seafood thing, at least as far as scallops go!

Neither of us had ever been to Morton’s before. I didn’t realize, but it is actually a story below street level. It had a cool vibe, very old school, kind of like Murray’s. It looked small but we were off in one area so didn’t really explore the joint. Their menu looked pretty good, as did their bar area. I kind of expected Frank Sinatra to come waltzing around the corner.

These wine tastings can be a little random since Josh and I usually come by ourselves and don’t know anyone else. However, two girls ended up joining us at our table and they were very fun. We even ended up staying past when the tasting was over just to keep talking a little longer. Wine – it will make friends out of strangers!

La Belle Vie

Bowl of Goodness
Josh had this great idea that we create a “bowl of goodness”. In other words, we write down the names of all the restaurants we want to try out on slips of paper and put them in a bowl, and whenever we are stuck for a date night idea we can just draw from the bowl. We decided earlier in the week that we wanted to go out Friday night, so we got to draw from the bowl for the first time. The winner? La Belle Vie.

La Belle Vie
La Belle Vie is just outside of downtown Minneapolis, across from the Walker and edging Loring Park. It used to be in Stillwater, but came to Minneapolis in 2005. The location used to house another high-end restaurant, Groveland 510, which we also had never been to.

I had heard the food was outstanding at La Belle Vie, but that it was better to go to the Lounge instead of the formal dining room because the food/drinks was just as good but better prices. Josh had heard the mixologist, Johnny Michaels, was known throughout the Cities for his cocktails, so we were pretty excited to go.

La Belle Vie, I have decided, is my new favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities!! Love it, love it, love it. How have I never been here before?!

The lounge is cool. Total old school décor, but a really laid back vibe. Very diverse crowd, too, people of all ages and from casual to more formal dress.

I hardly looked at the wine menu because the cocktail menu looked so darn tasty (plus we figured we had to check out Johnny’s prowess). Let’s just say his reputation is well deserved! Sadly, I can’t remember what the first drink I had is called. It was a pomegranate ginger martini of some kind. Fruity up top, ginger-y on the bottom. Great layering of flavors. Josh had a Black Pearl, aka a “sparkling blackberry cosmo” – it was delicious, and I liked his better than mine. However, my next beverage was a Parlez Vous (raspberry vodka, pineapple juice and cava topped with orange-passionfruit foam). In a word – YUM. I could have had a glass of just the orange-passionfruit foam and been just as happy. Johnny = two thumbs up!!

The service is pretty good. Our waitress was pretty busy, but there are all sorts of other people popping by your table to bring you bread, refill your water, bring your food, etc., so we didn’t feel neglected. They had three kinds of bread – white, maybe a 7-grain, and something that tasted like it had raisins in it. That was my favorite!

Tim McKee is the chef. He is renowned throughout the Midwest and is always winning some award or another, most recently the 2009 James Beard Award. He and business partner Josh Thoma also own Solera (yummy), Barrio and Smalley’s Caribbean Bar-B-Q in Stillwater (both also in our bowl). He has recently taken over the kitchen at Cue, the floundering Guthrie restaurant. I’m sure he’ll manage an amazing turnaround.

The nice thing about eating in the lounge is you can still order off of the dining room menu. So I ordered my salad off the dinner menu and my entrée off the lounge menu.

My salad was a warm goat cheese tart with tomato confit and tapenade vinaigrette. I guess it’s a pretty simple dish, but it was wonderful, which I guess is the point. If you do everything perfectly, it doesn’t matter if it is simple. For dinner I had a truffled crêpe with jambon royal, brie d’eaux and slow-cooked egg yolk (okay, I wasn’t that excited about the egg yolk, but the ham and brie crepe was pretty darn good!).

Josh had the Lounge tasting menu with the accompanying wine selection. First course was a pan-roasted langoustine with ramps, Meyer lemon, langoustine brandade and trout roe. I believe it was accompanied by a dry champagne, though I don’t know what kind. The only think I tried was the trout roe, which was a burst of fishyness. Blech.

His second course was braised rabbit and fava bean risotto with black truffle and slow-cooked quail egg. The risotto was creamy and delicious. I believe he was served a pinot gris with this, which was pretty good.

His next course was an herb-crusted lamb ribeye with black olive gnocchi and roasted artichoke. I tried the gnocchi, which was good. I don’t know what wine came with this; I didn’t try it.

Before dessert we ordered the cheese plate, which included five cheeses. All were very good, and a couple were pretty strong (pungent).

Josh’s dessert was a dark chocolate cake with milk chocolate panna cotta and cava sherbet. I don’t remember this one bit! I was pretty full at that point, though, so maybe I didn’t have any? Their pastry chef is well renowned as well, but I was too stuffed so just ordered a glass of icewein. It was good, but not as good as Josh’s moscato.

As a random anecdote, the guy who brought our food (and described each dish with flair and expertise) had a total Telemundo voice. Very funny!

Las Vegas 2009

Imperial Palace
We stayed at the Imperial Palace, mainly because it was wicked inexpensive and right in the middle of the strip. After I made the reservation, though, I went on yelp.com and nearly all of the reviews were negative, saying what a scary dump it was, etc. So I was pretty nervous/skeptical about what we were going to find. But you know what? It wasn’t anything bad at all. Certainly it wasn’t one of the big or fancy places, but I didn’t think it was scary at all.

We had two different rooms: The first night we got there and our room had two double beds instead of a king. I called and they couldn’t change us until the next day, so we decided to make do. There were some stains on the carpet and the décor was hideous and looked about 20 years old, but it seemed clean and who spends any time in their hotel room when they are in Vegas anyway? The next day we got moved to a room with a king-sized bed and it was much bigger, much nicer and much more modern. With the new room I couldn’t complain at all.

One drawback – of every casino – is that smoking is allowed, so even though our room was non-smoking, it was still in my hair/clothes every time we walked through the casino (or any casino). You forget other places are like that with the no smoking laws in Minnesota. (Thank you, Minnesota legislature!)

The casino area had Dealertainers, which are people dressed as celebrity impersonators who deal (blackjack, I think), but also get up and perform. It was fun to see them and they had a huge variety: Bette Midler, two different Michael Jacksons, Rick James, Billy Idol, Garth Brooks, Rihanna, Jake and Elwood Blue, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett and many others.

Legends

Along with our hotel room we got half-price tickets to a number of shows. We went to the Legends show at Harrahs, which is a celebrity impersonator-type concert. We were situated in the mid-back of the theater, but minutes before the show the usher came up and asked us if we wanted better seats and sat us in the third row. Nice!

The show was a great time and I’m glad we went. I might not have been as excited to pay $60/ticket, but at $30/person it was well worth it. The show was emceed by “Jay Leno.” The guy didn’t look much like Jay but really had his mannerisms down. The first act was Tom Jones and it was hilarious. The guy really had the cheesy aspect, which is really what you want in a Tom Jones. It was an absolute hoot!

Next up was “Whitney Houston” and, man, was the girl good! Looked a lot like her, too. Very impressive. Probably my favorite was The Temptations. Everyone knows the “Golden Oldie” tunes so it was a lot of fun. Last was Elvis. More of an older Elvis, not the hot young Elvis, and he didn’t look a ton like him but did have some of the moves. The best part was this girl in the audience who acted like he was the real Elvis, swooning and smooching on him and everything else. Maybe she was a plant, but it was pretty funny.

The show went quickly and I wish it would have lasted longer, even though every artist sang about 5 songs. I was hoping for Prince or someone else a little more modern. There were also back-up dancers for all of the acts, who were all very good (and good looking!). Sure can’t imagine going to dance classes as a kid only to end up on a Las Vegas stage.

Alex
Alex, at the Wynn, is a two star Michelin restaurant, very formal with flawless service. Not only did they have a little chair to put my purse and wrap on that sat at our table, but I hardly had a sip of water before someone was refilling it again. Our waiter’s name was David, but I liked to call him Brian ‘cuz he had a ‘50s-style haircut like Brian Setzer. Besides him, we had a sommelier and a busser and probably three other people that cruised by on occasion to make sure everything was right in our world.

To start the night we each had a cocktail. I had an elderflower fizz, which was quite delicious, and Josh had a pear martini. Never mind there wasn’t a drink under $20 in the place.

The night started out with a plate of 5 amuse bouche “compliments of Chef Alex”: tuna tartare, prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe, duck on a crisp round cracker, mushroom soup, and a cheese-stuffed oyster-style cracker. I didn’t think the tuna tartare had much taste to it, the prosciutto/melon combo was a good blend of salty and sweet, the duck was fine, the mushroom soup was really good, smooth and creamy and not at all like the lumpy stuff you throw in a hotdish. My favorite was definitely the mushroom soup.

They served a variety of breads, including one with black olives that I enjoyed.

You can order off of two menus at Alex – the tasting menu, which has seven courses and which Josh had, or the price fixe menu, from which you could order one item each off a selection of appetizers, entrees and desserts, which is what I had. It made the pacing of the meal a little bit awkward with different numbers of dishes coming out for each of us, but the kitchen tried to rectify that by serving me an additional complimentary amuse bouche when Josh’s first course arrived. Unfortunately, I can’t remember for the life of me what it was!

For an appetizer I ordered the roasted sea scallops with white and green asparagus, organic polenta and sweet sausage. This will come as a surprise to many as I am generally very anti-seafood. However, I had recently tried some really delicious scallops and I was game to give it another whirl. These tasted slightly citrus-y and were very good.

For my entrée I ordered the Moroccan spiced lamb pastilla with pea mint puree, toasted almonds and morel mushrooms. The meat was a little dry, I think, but that was entirely my own fault as I ordered it medium well. I don’t like my meat too raw, but not too done, either. It’s hard to communicate sometimes. This came with lamb (veal?) sweetbreads and, even though I am generally against all sweetbreads, I was game to give it a go. My mistake – absolutely disgusting! I very much wanted to spit it out, but somehow managed to control myself.

For an intermezze course – again complimentary to match me up with Josh’s dishes — I was served Coconut Tapioca pudding with Passion Fruit Glaze and Tropical Fruit in a shot glass. Good, not awesome.

For dessert I had the roasted pineapple with banana basque cake and coconut sorbet.
Overall, it was a very nice experience. I never thought the food was out of this world, nor did I think it was worth the cost. I did, however, discover a wonderful new wine that the sommelier picked out for me. It was a Suhr Luchtel and I believe it was a pinot noir, even though I hinted at a cabernet. His taste was spot-on, though – it was delicious.

Josh will have to tell you more about his experience, but I can tell you what he had in his seven courses with matching wine pairings:

Atlantic Fluke carpacchio with puffed rice, seaweed and pickled Japanese plum. Wine was a French Mailly, Brut Rose, Grand Cru Champagne. A little dry for my taste.
Warm salad of giant clam, fresh abalone and cuttlefish, chickpea and toasted almond puree. Wine was an Italian Shiopetto, Blanc des Roisis, Venezia Giulia, 2006. I think I liked this one.

Hot and cold foie gras with Spanish ham, pineapple, brussel sprouts and spiced duck sauce. This may be the first time I’ve had foie gras. I much preferred the chilled version with the fresh pineapple. The warm version tasted almost too rich, too fatty, too gravy-like (Yes, I’m sure I have a very uncouth palate). There was also freeze dried pineapple bits, which were unusual in texture. The wine was a 2005 French Domaine Bott-Geyl, Sonnenglanz Grand Cru from Alsace. I don’t think I tried this one.

Japanese sea bass with sweet and sour orange, red pepper confit and lobster-red wine sauce. The wine was a 2000 German Franz Keller Pinot Noir, Selection S from Baden.

American Wagyu short rib with potato gnocchi, roasted asparagus, parmigiano and red wine. I don’t know if I have ever had Wagyu beef before but to me it was like soggy bread – far too “wet” for me. I know it is supposed to be fatty, but I just didn’t care for the texture. Wine was a 2005 Napa Valley Caduceus, Nagual del Sensei, Pope Valley.

Intermezze was a mascarpone panna cotta with pear and sauternes gelee.

Dessert was a vanilla citrus parfait with toasted marshmallow cream and campari sorbet. The BEST part, though, was “The Gift,” Littorai, Botrytised Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast 2006 dessert wine. When Josh commented how much he liked it, the sommelier brought another glass. It tasted as good as it smelled, and I am hoping it is made into a perfume soon. Probably the highlight of the whole night!

Everything was beautifully plated and elegant, as expected. All of the staff – all men – were dressed in beautiful suits. I was plenty full when we left but I don’t think Josh was – it really is a small “tasting” of everything. When we left, I was handed a box of cookies and we were thanked for coming. All in all, it was a lovely evening.

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon
L’Atelier is at the MGM and has a much more relaxed, laid back vibe than Alex. It seems to be younger and hipper, with lots of red and black, and almost all of the seating is around the bar so you can watch the preparations. I may have been more absorbed with the lack of skirt the girl sitting next to Josh was wearing to adequately pay attention to the kitchen: had she not had a napkin on her lap, her modesty would have been zip. But, I digress.

Our server’s name was Joe. Joe was very knowledgeable and an all-around good guy. Also very accessible and friendly. We each ordered a cocktail – Josh had the dolce cocktail (lots of mango, peach and basil) and I had the francais martini, which was pretty bland (especially since we had arrived early for our reservation and stopped off at Tom Coliccio’s Craftsteak for an absolutely delicious raspberry martini before dinner).

We both ordered the “discovery” tasting menu and the wine flight that went with it. The first course was a foie gras parfait with port wine and parmesan foam served in a shot glass. I thought it was quite good and decided I might like this foie gras stuff!

Next up was smoked salmon in an herb gelee with a light wasabi cream in a shot glass. This was revolting. Mostly a texture thing, I think – basically it was like raw salmon in jello. Gross. I ate two bites and called it quits.

I was pretty terrified to try this next dish: poached baby Kusshi oysters with French Echire butter. Three little oysters came on a bed of what looked like crushed ice, but must have been rock salt with pink peppercorns. Maybe it was the butter – which they also served with their bread and was AWESOME – but they were really delicious and, I think, my favorite thing I ate that night.

Next was Maine lobster in a tomato sauce with green asparagus. It tasted fine, I think – I’ve never really gotten the whole lobster fascination.

Foie gras ravioli in a warm chicken broth with herbs. The ravioli were about the size of nickels and there were maybe 5 in this dish. Even so, I think having multiple foie gras dishes on a tasting menu is going a bit overboard (especially since there was yet another foie gras item on the menu). I was over it already.

Next was Dover sole with a warm leek salad and crispy potato (and by crispy potato, they mean potato chip). I wasn’t too psyched about the Dover sole, either, but it was also tasty. Who knew? Maybe I will turn into a seafood fan yet.

The next thing was the only place in the menu where Josh and I differed. We could order the foie gras stuffed free-range quail with truffle mashed potatoes or the lamb shoulder confit with fava bean stew. I had the quail and Josh had the lamb. His lamb was very tender and tasty, much better than mine from the previous night.

Next was a traditional savarin with Tahitian vanilla cream and aged dark rum (which I have zero recollection of). Last was strawberry meringue around a fennel parfait and crème fraiche ice cream. The strawberry meringue was very strawberry.

The wines, I am sad to say, I don’t have written down. The first was a Gosset brut champagne and the second two were Chassagne Montrachet burgundies, the first a 100 percent Chardonnay and the second a pinot noir. I am generally a hater of chards but this one was quite good. Not that oaky, butter-bomb quality of American chards. I was a fan! The pinot noir was very typical of a pinot.

We also ordered an apple cider dessert wine from Ontario that was very good… something cidre, can’t remember… and were going to order a chocolate port(?) but Tracy had had enough to drink at that point!

The service here was not so practiced and elegant, but I enjoyed myself much more. It didn’t seem so stiff and Josh and I were able to chat much more easily as we were sitting more closely together. Again the presentation was beautiful. I would definitely come here again before going back to Alex.

The car
For Christmas I had rented Josh a car from “Dream Car Rentals.” I’m sure having to wait until April to use his Christmas present was kind of a bummer, but I think he enjoyed it in the end! I was a little bummed because I had originally reserved a replica 1965 Shelby Cobra – a totally sweet car. They claimed it was “in the shop” and we ended up getting a Lotus Elise instead – a totally hot red sports car that I think Josh was more than happy with. Still, I told Josh it was interesting that, of all the pictures of people in various cars they had up on their walls, not one of them was a Shelby Cobra!

The Lotus is a small, small car. The engine is in the rear, which leaves about a 2x2-foot trunk space. There is no room for anything in the car other than you and a passenger. Josh wondered what was under the hood, but other than a battery and our feet, that’s about all that fits!

Getting in and out of the car was SO awkward! It’s really low to the ground and you have to kind of slide in. Getting out is even worse, because you have to sort of hoist yourself up and out. I’m sure it would have make great youtube footage to watch us try to maneuver in and out all day!

The car didn’t have much for shocks, I don’t think, and you are so low to the ground you feel every bump in the road. I thought it would feel a lot more luxurious than it did, but the seats weren’t particularly well padded or anything. HOWEVER – everything was totally paid back in the comments we got when driving it! (I should say, when Josh drove, ’cuz it’s a stick and I don’t know how to drive one.)

Right away, on our way to show the car off to my brother, a lady on the road next to us caught my eye and just stuck out her thumb with a huge grin – she approved! We got comments and looks and stares all day long about what a great car. It was fun!! We drove it all over the place, too, from Red Rock Canyon to Valley of Fire State Park, from Lake Mead Recreation Area to the Strip. Good times!

Wedding
My Cousin Tom got married Saturday night at one of the chapels at TI (formerly Treasure Island). Megan looked beautiful in her dress and Tom looked very solemn. I thought the chapel room was a bit small, but I liked their officiant a lot. They said very traditional vows ("in sickness and in health..."). Dinner was at the Kahunaville restaurant and the food was very good. For table favors they did gold coins with their last initial on them, which I thought was cute for it being at Treasure Island.

Miscellaneous

Red Rock Canyon is just outside of the city and is a 13-mile scenic loop. There are plenty of turnouts where you can stop to enjoy the view and/or hike. Really pretty stuff. Saw lots of people jogging and biking out there as well.

Valley of Fire is just BEAUTIFUL! If you are ever in the neighborhood, I highly recommend checking it out. It was well worth the drive in every way.

Had breakfast the first day at Le Creperie at Paris. Josh had a delicious one with prosciutto and basil in a bechamel sauce. Yum!

We went to a watch store at the Forum Shops called Tourneau. Josh said it is the largest watch store in the world. I don’t know how many brands they carry, but the store has several floors. All men in the store – such a man thing! Josh ended up buying a beautiful Hamilton watch with a black face and a brown band.

As you know, I am too cheap to be much of a gambler, but I placed my first sports bet ever. Fuzzy explained how it works to me, and I bet on three UFC fights – two for Saturday night’s fight and one for a fight taking place next month. So far I won my money back plus $18.55! I was pretty excited about that – not the money so

much but that I know enough about the UFC to make intelligent bets. I only bet $10/fight so it’s not like it was a big deal either way, but still! I’ll take $18.55 any day.

City Pages Wine Tasting

Before I get into the tasting, can I just tell you that I was given the third degree by the reservationist at Alex, a high calibre French restaurant in Las Vegas? As you know, Josh and I are traveling to Las Vegas next week for my Cousin Tom's wedding, to see my brother Fuzzy, to hang out in the sun and check out a couple of oh-so-fabulous restaurants - one of which is Alex at the Wynn. So I call tonight to make the reservation and I was on the phone for a good 20 minutes. Had no trouble at all getting in or at the time we wanted, more that the reservationist was exceptionally careful to explain all of the awards the restaurant has won, how it is top rated with a famous chef, that jackets are not required but "strongly suggested," that the dress is "elegant" and certainly no shorts, jeans, etc., should be worn. She was also very specific in letting me know it's a price fixe menu, that they have a 3-course and a 7-course tasting menu, etc. And, you have to give a credit card in advance to hold the reservation - not a big deal as I have encountered this before, but if you end up canceling or are a no-show, your card gets charged $50/person anyway. Well, I suppose they have to do it so not just any country bumpkin walks in thinking it's McDonald's or something, but sheesh. I felt like I was going to have to fill out an application just to get in the place.

Wine Tasting
Anyway - on to the City Pages Wine Tasting. Surprisingly, I've never been to this before, and it's quite inexpensive - $25/person. There were 50 vendors at International Market Square (including two beer vendors). There were 250 wines there and, as I counted later, I actually tried 41 of them! (Hello, my name is Lush.) With the exception of maybe two pourers, they really are tastes - just a splash in your glass. A couple I did not care for at all and so dumped before I finished it, and a couple more of the 41 were just a sip out of what Josh was trying.

The nice thing is barely any of the wines were over $12/bottle. Just goes to show there are plenty of wines out there at a reasonable price point. They had a good mix of wines, though I largely stuck to my classic faves - moscatos, malbecs, old vine zin, rieslings, prosecco, a cab and a gewurtztraminer here and there. I was familiar with many of the vendors - such as Chateau St. Michelle (always a fave) and had never heard of many others. We skipped an occasional booth due to overcrowding, but weren't too worried about it - some wineries, like the local Cannon River, we plan to visit this summer anyway.

The place got crowded pretty quickly and the food was almost nonexistent. However, I did have a funny experience. Josh and I were standing, trying to figure out the next booth we were going to hit up, and all of a sudden this really good looking guy comes up on my left and grabs/hugs me. And I'm like - a) Wow - nice looking guy, and b) who the heck is it?! Turns out it is my cousin Mike; he was there with his girlfriend Sarah. We talked for a bit but then took off on our own wine agendas.

Most of the pourers were volunteers, like when we did the Food & Wine Experience. I think this event was a little crazier than that one (probably due in part to the cost accessibility). It would probably still be fun to work, though. We saw a Trinchero booth with the wines we had poured at the other show and immediately felt a small sense of pride - silly, isn't it? I think there were a few actual wine reps, but no one really had time for lengthy chats. (Not when you have 41 wines to sample, anyway :)

My favorite wine was probably the Gancia Moscato d'Asti, $14.67/bottle on sale at MGM. Or maybe the Mondoro Asti, at $13.77/bottle? Sheesh, I can't remember! I do remember the Calina Carmenere smelled exactly like pepperjack cheese, but it was pretty good. Did not care for the Wolf's Blass Riesling or the Castle Rock Reserve Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.

Bradstreet
Next on the agenda was hitting up Bradstreet Crafthouse, formerly Infinity nightclub in Block E, Graves Hotel. The interior is mostly the same with the exception of now you have to hike up to the fourth floor to go to the bathroom - always slightly irritating. Otherwise, we had a very nice, relaxed time. Bradstreet is known for its complex drinks (all $10) and their small plates (all $10 or under). The place wasn't crowded and we got a table right away.

First thing they did was serve us a liquid amuse bouche (we do love our amuse bouches) - a drink they are thinking about putting on their summer menu. A little lemony sweet for me but we drank it anyway, and it was served in the cutest little cordial glasses. For drinks I had a Cooper's Union, which I highly recommend. To quote: "a refreshing blend of Prairie Organic vodka, elderflower liqueur, citrus juices, and orange flower water." It tasted like moscato with orange flavor, very refreshing and tasty. Josh had the Moscow Mule and it had a really wonderful ginger taste to it.

For food I ordered mini sliders and chicken satays, and Josh ordered duck wings and crab cakes. Overall, not a place I'd hit up every weekend - way too mellow of a vibe in there, especially for a Friday night - but I would certainly go back for a beverage or two to set the night off right!

Busy Weekend

The nice thing about living in the Cities is you can be a day away from the weekend with no plans at all, and then suddenly your schedule is pretty full. Saturday night we met JenO and Ken for dinner in Eagan at a little neighborhood joint not far from their house. Bibo was formerly Vivo Italia, and was taken over by the i nonni people of Lilydale. Their wine list is a bit unusual for the casual drinker, but plenty of good stuff on there. I had the brachetto, which is a red sparkling and darn tasty! Their menu is not deep, but there is enough to choose from. I *highly* recommend the mostaccioli dish - it was wonderful. They also have a deep-fried grilled cheese app (or similar) that was quite good. It's nice to have a neighborhood place like that in walking distance - something E.P. does not seem to have.

On Sunday, we went for brunch at Spoonriver in downtown Minneapolis, right next door to the Guthrie. The wonderful thing about Brenda Langton's place is that everything tastes like it was fresh-picked out of the garden about five minutes before it arrives on your plate. If you are going for brunch, I definitely recommend the hash browns.

Next up was "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" at the Guthrie. "Two Gentlemen" was Shakespeare's first comedy and therefore not one of his best, but the staging was interesting in that it was set in the 1950s. Some of the character actors were more engaging than the leads. In a nice twist of events, our tickets were free as they were donated to us by a former colleague of mine. Yay!