Nothing says “Happy Birthday” like tacos! I was excited to go out for impromptu dinner with my parents for my mom’s birthday in Hudson. I was even more excited when my mom picked Azul Tequila Bar and Grill, because I live for queso dip.
Burger Dive is the new name of the kitchen operation at Tony Jaros Rivergarden, similar to how Smack Shack runs the kitchen at 1029 (another Northeast gem), Smack Shack chef, Josh Thoma partnered with chef Nick O’Leary (Borough, Coup d-etat, and Travail) to rejuvenate the food at this classic Northeast dive bars.
You can read the full Tony Jaros Rivergarden Hipster Hack HERE. It also looks like a second Burger Dive location will be opening up in Rosedale Center’s second attempt at a Food Hall so stay tuned there! Continue reading
I’ve been staring at photos from MN Nice Cream on Instagram for, well, YEARS and I’ve passed it driving more times than I can count so when my sister went to the new Stillwater location before I got there and rubbed it in my face, it was game on! Luckily, during our annual brewery crawl this year we started at MN Nice’s nextdoor neighbor, Able Seedhouse + Brewery giving me the perfect opportunity!
The “Not Justa” family has been growing over the years. Starting with Not Justa Cafe in Bayport almost 20 years ago, NJ’s has been a staple for weekend brunch with lines out the door. They’ve since expanded with locations in Somerset, New Richmond, and opened up “Not Justa Bar” next to the original NJ Cafe in Bayport…naturally this location is my favorite, because they serve liquor and I live for a brunch cocktail!
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Working downtown means getting to enjoy lunch menus of places that may be a little too pricey for a normal dinner…like Monte Carlo. Fun fact: I had actually just broken my iphone the night before we went to lunch so my boss used his to take these photos instead haha. THAT is the epitome of a supportive job 🙂
Tamarack Tap Room used to be one of the defunct Champps Americana locations when I was growing up well into my adulthood. My family used to frequent this location pretty often and when I got older I used to go with friends to play “Bucks” and hang with CA the DJ. When they closed, I wasn’t surprised, because let’s be honest, they weren’t exactly “impressive” (although I still daydream about that club sandwich), but I am so glad that Tamarack Tap Room opened in it’s place a few years ago. This was the restaurant that Woodbury needed: good food, innovative food that takes risks yet not TOO risky for the ‘burbs, and has an AMAZING beer list.
I lucked out growing up near Vali-Hi Drive-In. It was literally only a 10 minute drive for me unlike many people who have to make the drive in a destination, it was pretty standard for my friends and I to go and watch a couple movies and then rush home before curfew.
I went into the Minnesota State Fair with an ambitious list of new foods and drafted my line-up of three other people willing to help; Noelle, Lisa & Tom…as you probably already guessed, we did not make it all the way through the list haha. The hard part about new fair foods is that it doesn’t take into account all of your Minnesota State Fair food staples OR the copious amount of beer you’re going to be drinking.
I think we made a valiant effort and secretly am thankful of the rain that swept in around 5pm so that we had a legitimate reason to leave with our mission incomplete.
6 hours. 11 foods. 6-ish beers. Minnesota State Fair ✓
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We discovered Cold Front Ice Cream while visiting their next door neighbor, The Nook.
I was in love with them the moment I read their savage sign out front and knew it wouldn’t matter how full we were after dinner, because we were definitely going in there to support this locally owned establishment.
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I’m almost embarrassed to say this was my first time eating at The Nook in Saint Paul considering for 3 years I lived a mere 5 blocks away. In my defense, I was a regular at Shamrocks on West 7th, which is owned by the same people and has most of the same menu items! My favorite coworker happy hours started at Shamrocks and proceeded up Randolph. Literally, the best happy hour route there is in Saint Paul.
I’m happy to have finally corrected this wrong and luckily, because we went on a Thursday night, the wait (which was my previous deterrent, since it has a reputation for being pretty long) was only 20 minutes!
Hipster Hack 