Chef Raphael’s Friday Night Specials

June 20th, 2009

As many of you know, we love the Northfield Golf Club for food.  We don’t golf, either.  And we are not related to Raphael, although I am thinking of trading my husband to Raphael’s wife (Annie?)over at Ole Cafe.  Who needs two foodies in one family anyway!  Just kidding.. We receive an email every week with a NGC Friday night special menu on it.  Most of the time, we cannot resist and head over after a long hard week of working, where we only look up for some basic quick meal, for which I am famous in house, and for which D has become extremely good at unfreezing many assorted food items.  Some may call this cooking,  I can not.

Anyhoo, D ordered the ribs described below and I tried some of them plus the potato salad, and the shrimp appetizer and iced coffee. I am going to say one word about the complete experience and then you can drool a little while you relish the symbolic words below, and then make a reservation for next Friday, when the special menu will be created anew.  My word is ex quiz it, as in there are no tests, questions, or ex’s around, it’s was just an exquisite dining experience all the way around.

Friday, June 19th, 2009

“Grill Out”

Soup

Chinese Dumpling Soup

Appetizer

10 spice Grilled Shrimp Cocktail

Topped with Tangy Guacamole, Tortilla Chips and Mojito Granita shavings

$8.95

Entrees

All Entrees Served with NGC Classic Potato Salad and Grilled Vidalia Onion
topped with Griniche Crumbles

(Add Soup or Salad for $1.50)

Costa Rican Mahi Mahi

Served with Kumkuat Mojo and Confit

$18.95

Grilled Lamb Shanks

Finished on the grill and served with Lemon and Horseradish Gremolatta

$22.95

Tamarind Glazed Baby Back Pork Ribs

Finished on the Grill and served with Mango BBQ sauce.

$18.95

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Save the Date - Garden Tour

June 17th, 2009

2009

Northfield Garden Club
Garden Tour

Flowers and Fine Art

June 27th from 10AM-4PM
June 28th from Noon to 3PM

Purchase
Tickets - $10
at
Present Perfect
Hodge Podge Que
Knecht’s Nursery

There are six beautiful gardens to tour and you can also see the Art in Bloom show on Sunday from noon to three, where garden club members and others have created floral arrangements to compliment paintings.  Bring your out of town friends, and the kids will love it, too!

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Oui, Oui, Oui!

June 10th, 2009

No, not as in the three little pigs, (there were only two of us) but as in Life is Good.  Today we stopped into “Pardon Our French” a little sandwich, soup and bakery and wine shop in Eagan.  To blog about this restaurant is to take one’s time and give a paragraph to each subject.

Croque Madame.  This was the specialty sandwich of the day that I ordered and ate.  It consists of two slices of spinach bread, which is neither too light nor too heavy, but very tasty.  The bottom slice is double thick.  Keep that in mind.  Then comes a layer of bechamel sauce, a thinly sliced piece of ham, a slice of Swiss American cheese, another slice of spinach bread topped with shredded and toasted half brown mozzarella and then top that with a perfectly cooked sunny side up fried egg.  The fried egg on top is what makes the French the geniuses of cooks.  They always bring it in the extra mile and then add a few more hundred meters, just to be sure.

French Fries.  I ordered the fries extra for a buck and found them to be the most delicious things ever, ever, ever.  Perfectly golden potatoes to start and then fried just the right amount to make the most perfectly crisp, but not dry or soggy or, well, just the most perfect fries ever.  Award winning.

Baguette with poppy seed topping and pruichetto with white cheese and tomatoes.  D ordered this sandwich and I had a chunk of it.  Man, to die for, really.  Extra poppy seeds and the flavor blend was oh, so French!  Ooooh lala!

D ordered the house blend iced tea and it was raspberry tea with real raspberries and blackberries on the bottom, about a dozen, and the berries tasted so good after soaking in the tea.  They were like a mini taste sensation, or diet delight for a person watching their waistline.  Rally.

Afterward, no we weren’t satisfied even after eating so fine a meal.  I guess that’s because we only do that once a week, if that.  Anyway, I ordered up a cranberry oatmeal cookie, large, and a blueberry Danish for home.  D had the strawberry cheese cake.  Needless to say, good, good, good.  In fact, so good, I don’t recommend you going there any time soon.  More for me.  :)

There are two computers, wireless, fireplace, couches, very homey, very French music wafting through the air, handicap accessible and on Wednesdays at 3 PM you can go and meet other French conversationalists.

1565 Cliff Road
Thomas Lake Center
Eagan, MN 55122

(651) 454-2233

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La Eskina

June 4th, 2009

My dh and I took a a tip from Griff over at Locally Grown Northfield and took a trip over to Dundas for the new supermercado on the east side of HWY 3, near the bank, pet store and the liquor store.  La Eskina (a family name) offers fresh produce, soda pop, canned goods, children’s games, and a little sit down restaurant.

We ordered the burritos at the counter.  We have been trying to replace the great burritos we used to relish in Chicago for some time now.  We were not disappointed at all.  I had the veggie version, which I think was invented right there on the spot and D had the beef burrito.  We were both so enthused with our meal, we barely spoke.  And I am on this big mission not to eat fast…again. I spent years shovelling down food in downtown Chicago restaurants during lunch break.  It’s no good. But, today, my mission was thwarted.  I scarfed that burrito up pronto.  I even finished before dh, which never happens, believe me. Maybe it was the blaring tv and radio playing simultaneously, or maybe I was *that* hungry.  Either way, the food left the area of my plate in a very short amount of time…and I learned to enjoy the audio chaos in the process.

The salsas, green and red, were a bit spicy, but nothing that would create a jolt.  I had a Tamarindo soda pop, made I from tamarind fruit, a favorite of people around the world.  It was sweet and slightly carbonated. D got the bottled water.  I have nothing to say about that other than this.

All in all it was an interesting experience, the total cost was under $9.00…cheap and the food served as fuel for quite a few hours before I was hungry again.  Two thumbs up, cuz that’s all I have.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarind and http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/10899/

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Save This Date-June 27 or June 28

June 4th, 2009

Okay, now that you have written this date down, you can also plan on strolling The Northfield Garden Club’s Annual Garden Tour.  The official name is Flowers and Fine Art though.   What it is is a tour of six area gardens, not just ordinary gardens, but gardens where much love and attention and hard work is done to create a beautiful space, so beautiful that the gardeners want to share what they have done with all of us.  There will also be an on site artist who will share with you their own wonderful drawings and paintings, lovely creations all.  This is a great way to spend as much time as you like strolling, enjoying the outdoors and seeing inspiring sites and people.

Tickets will go on sale at three locations after June 17 at Present Perfect, Knect’s Nursery, and Hodge Podge Que. Cost $10.

Full disclosure:  I am an avid garden club member and on the garden tour committee, I have to do this.

Further full disclosure: The bad grammar was intentional so you will remember what I want you to remember!  hahaha,  I plot and laugh.

Even more full disclosure:  There will be no full disclosure in the future.   (I kid.)

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Party this Saturday

May 29th, 2009

I am posting this for the wonderful people at the Cafe

who make their customers feel so glad to visit them and

where the food is so good, so good!  If you find yourself

up north, stop by and say, Hi!

Mediterranean Cruise Cafe Party this Saturday
Moving to Burnsville Closing out Eagan Location PARTY

Come join us all day all night!!!

THIS Saturday May 30th

Noon-2:00 am

Join us in celebration as we wrap up our final days in Eagan before we move to the heart of Burnsville!

We will be featuring a variety of dancers, an outdoor tent with delicious food, cocktails and wine.

Thank you for the unforgettable memories throughout the many years.

The journey continues in Burnsville

We will close our Eagan location at midnight on Sunday, June 7th

and will open at our Burnsville location on Thursday, June 11th at 11:00am!!!

Don’t forget to come celebrate and visit us for our last week in Eagan and share the memories we have created here!

We will open our doors in Burnsville on June 11th, but we will be having our GALA GRAND OPENING MID-JULY - WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED!

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Food Allergies-Mango

May 16th, 2009

This is a tale of woe

A friend of mine I know

complained of poison ivy

rash on her face,

but there was no ivy

anyplace.

Then, another fella said

he had a rash on the front

part of his head.  He thought

it was poison ivy, too, but

it turned out to be the

true mystery of mango skin,

but who knew that mango

is in the sumac family,

including, oak, ivy,

sumac leaves of three,

Now add to that the

mango from the stores

and maybe you won’t eat mango

no more.

This has been a public service

poem from Bright and you

are welcome to check out to

see if that kid you thought

had A D and D is really

allergic to some perfume

in the crowd,

or maybe some other

food like tomatoes

or any food to which

he  or she says no no no.

Maybe a kid is acting out

not because he or she is bad

but because they are suffering

a reaction in their brains

caused by a substance that

their bodies cannot contain.

There, I made it rhyme again.

Check it out!

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It’s Farmer’s Market Time Again

May 11th, 2009

Beginning on May 8th, the Farmer’s Market is opening and will be there well into October, or longer. They have plants, herbs, honey, some of the best baked goods ever on the planet, so bring a friend to share with you and divide the time on the stair master.  There will also be some jelly,dried flowers, eggs and maple syrup.  More fruits and vegetables as they grow.  Can’t rush these things too much you know.

Once again the odd ball hours are  Tuesday and Fridays from 11:45 AM to 1:00 PM and Saturday 9 AM to ?  I think it’s also  1PM closing time.

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May Restaurant Award

May 1st, 2009

Sorry we haven’t posted much about restaurants lately.  It’s not that we aren’t going out to eat, because we are.   I can only stand so much of my own cooking, and that frozen stuff, even my beloved lifesaving Boca Burgers aren’t gonna keep me home 365.  We have been to Mandarin Gardens, which is improved and delicious, we have been to Applebee’s to meet friends and which can be fairly good if you watch what you order and when you are lucky enough to get your meal paid for by the friends.  I did the chicken sandwich at Culver’s, again very good for fast food, and Perkins continues to supply us with coupons and decent fair all the way around.  I was especially pleased the day I got the very last Pot Pie of the season.  Subway is keeping up it’s good standards for my fav tuna sandwich with EVERYTHING!  and I do mean everything. haha.

But the keeper, the winner of my Grandma May’s namesake month Restaurant Award goes to Kurry Kabob for their ever delicious, ever good prices, ever lovely service, ever increasingly beautiful ambience.  I love their weekday all inclusive buffet for $8, their awesome crystal chandelier, their cloth napkins and tablecloths, their stained glass wall sconces and colorful spice photos, their new lacey drapery, their very comfortable chairs, and did I mention the lovely curry sauces, great black tea, both hot and cold?  The free candied fennel at the end of the meal on the counter and the warm smiles from the owners and waitstaff.   It’s what restaurants are all about when they are there to serve their customers well.  Good JOB!

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Happy Earth Day!

April 22nd, 2009

http://www.terracycle.net for your Earth Day pleasures!

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