Beef! YEAH!

Yesterday we met up with our Fargo girls for brunch at Elsie's Bowling Center.  What's that, you ask?  Why would we insist on a bowling alley for the most important meal of the day?  Because I said so.  Ass.  I wanted to take the girls someplace new, and their original choice of Dan Kelly's wasn't open yet.  Besides, when they come to Minneapolis, they always hit two places: DK'S and Manny's.

Nancy's mountain of beef

Manny's was good when it was in the Hyatt, but something happened when it moved to the Foshay.  It feels swankier somehow, despite being in a skyscraper that's older than Jesus.  I swear the food got better.  I normally order seafood at steakhouses, because I am That Girl, but I'll order the shit out of a slab of beef the size of my face there.  If I were a bigger deal at work (my actual job title is "Peon Lifer"), I'd find a way to have lunch meetings there once a week.  And pay with my corporate card.  Like a boss. 

Keep it classy, homies! 

We were introduced to Mancini's by my sister-in-law Julie and her now husband Matt.  I originally balked at going there, because...St. Paul?  And they don't take reservations?!  Kristin Ann Goin Oberg was not raised to sit and wait for a meal like a commoner!  Except I totally was (because the Perkins in Blaine always had a line out the door...not), and while we waited Julie got tipsy and asked me to be a bridesmaid, so obviously I cried happy tears.  I also cried happy tears when I had my first bite of lobster.  Those tears may have been composed of clarified butter.  We went back for my birthday dinner last year and they made me a whole frigging cake!   I felt special. 

Because that was what I needed after a cup of butter. 

When we got engaged, we happened to have a coworker who got us an in at Gittelsons Jewelers.  That meant not only did we get my engagement ring for a song, but we got two free drinks at the dearly departed Morton's.  Now, people talk about how great Murray's is, with the history and the silver butter knife steak and OVERRATED.  Like Rhonda said yesterday, "It's like a picnic in there!"  Morton's was so much more fun, like when they'd bring around the cart o' beef to aid you in the crucial decision of what cut of meat you most craving.  And the chocolate molten lava cake?  If there was an award equivalent of a Grammy for cake, it would have won Record of the Year every time.

Feedback funsies

Last weekend, Noah and I made the pilgramage to Sioux Falls, simply because I'd never been, and I have a solid amount of vacation days to burn before my boss goes on maternity leave until the end of time.  I was hoping to come back and regale you all with tales of delectable meals and dazzling cocktails like with the Kansas City trip.  As you may have guessed since I haven't blogged about the trip yet, it was...not a foodie trip in any way shape or form.  Don't get me wrong, the cheeseballs (deep fried cheese) and the new to us chislic (deep fried steak.  That's right!  And yet so wrong...) were great, but not really blog-worthy, you dig?

So here I've been for the past two weeks with a bug up my ass to write, but no good subject matter.  Faithful readers, I am writing to ask for your help.  I want feedback from y'all.  Who are you?  What have you enjoyed about reading this drivel?  Are there any restaurants you want to read about?  Any food related topics I could ramble on about for a few paragraphs?  I'm thinking one about wedding food is in order, but I'll wait until after my little (I guess I can't call him little if he's going to be 29 on Saturday) (JESUS I remember his baptism like it was yesterday...sob) cousin Jeffy's wedding for that.

Help a sister out.  Sharing is caring!

“Fish meat is practically a vegetable.”

In the interest of saving some money and hopefully losing some weight, I am having a big leafy salad for lunch.  Because of this, all I can think of is how much better just about anything else in the world sounds right now.  When I was young and new to working downtown and still had a (bleep)ing metabolism, I'd venture out into the skyway and eat anything I wanted.  Hello Jamba Juice, yes I would like a Peanut Butter Moo'd the size of a pony keg!  Ciao bella, Andrea Pizza, two New York style slices are just what the doctor ordered (man, I need to go back to THAT doctor)!  Good God that sounds good right now.  (Bleep)ing salad.  Now that I no longer have one hour paid lunch and am pretty much chained to my desk all day (let's not forget old and lazy), skyway lunching is no longer the best option for me, which is a pity because there are these new contraptions out there called "food trucks" that are all the rage amongst downtowners.  Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who brings me lunch on occasion, and in the summertime, that lunch is from the Sushi Fix truck.

Before I go on, I want to know what's so damn scary about sushi.  Every time I'm presented with a mouth watering array of fish, at least one of my fellow cubicle dwellers (hi Scott!) freaks out like this is Fear Factor hosted by Joe Rogan (his last name is not Garrelli) and I've just been served a plate of slugs.  It is an acquired taste, I'll admit that.  We took my wonderful in-laws to Masu in Northeast last year, because a good sushi and robata restaurant is fairly hard to come by in Williams, MN (they're basically in Canada.  If you stood in their backyard and threw your passport you'd hit a Mountie) (which I don't recommend).  We have a picture of Maripat taking her first bite of sushi, and bless her heart she ate it like a champ, but I'm fairly certain that wasn't her favorite part of the meal.  Hence why we took them to a place with robata as well, because after she had the eggplant all was forgiven and I was accepted back into the family.  Which is good, because then I was able to enjoy some amazing short ribs.  Mmm, short ribs.  (Bleep)ing salad.

Don't get me wrong, I love Masu dearly, even if it seems to always be packed and the majority of the clientele is so pretentious you'll feel like you're at one of those damn hippie music festivals (Hullabalooza '96!).  There's just something a little extra special about Sushi Fix.  When the truck is out, they Tweet a picture with their location and the daily special, which is usually something spicy and we've established that's something I generally cannot handle.  (The last roll I got there was spicy and I loved it.  It was also wrapped in soy paper so you better think twice before calling me a pansy, you horse's ass.)  Instead, I stick with what I know, and what I know is that their sashimi is phenomenal and I insist that you sushi fanatics must try it.  On a hot summer day, when the sun is causing me to melt in my blast furnace of a cubicle, it's the best lunch ever.  If you're a nigiri person, I can dig that too, for it is delectable (no hate on this blog.  Food is love).  I've had sushi where they don't use enough vinegar in the rice, resulting in a maximum amount of blandness.  No me gusta.  Grab some chopsticks, dip the fish into the soy sauce, and kampai!  And if you need me, I'll be here eating jellybeans and hoping I remembered to put on deodorant this morning.