Twin Cities Restaurant Blog

Jake's City Grille ~ Eagan, Eden Prairie, Maplewood & Plymouth, MN

Cuisine: American, Pizza, Steak, Chops & Ribs, Steak, Chops, Ribs

Restaurant Features: Bar, Patio Dining, Sunday Brunch, On-Site Parking

Location: Eagan, Eden Prairie, Maplewood, & Plymouth, MN

Addresses & Maps:

Eagan: 1288 Promenade Place Eagan, MN 55121 (651)287.8784

Eden Prairie: 12365 Singletree Lane Eden Prairie, MN 55344 (952)930.3742

Maplewood: 1745 Beam Ave E  Maplewood, MN 55109  (P) 651-366-6440  F) 651-366-6441

Plymouth: 3005 Harbor Lane North Plymouth, MN 55427 (763)559-1595

Links: Jake's City Grille Website 

Atmosphere: Contemporary with warm, rich colors;  very relaxing and inviting. Large dining room split into two sections, with additional seating on large patio.  I found it interesting that the wall between patio and restaurant is a clear-garage door; not sure if/when it is opened. There is also a nice view of the kitchen and wood-fire oven in the back of the restaurant, you can watch your pizza being baked!   

Menu: Jake's has a very large menu! Appetizers include Buffalo Wings, Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Dumplings, Lettuce Wraps, Seared Tuna, Bruschetta, Nachos, and Walleye Fingers. There are a variety of Burgers and Chicken Sandwiches and Specialty Sandwiches like the Prime Rib Dip, Walleye Sandwich, Lobster Clubhouse, or Smoked Turkey Melt.  In the mood for a good steak? Choose from Ribeye or Prime Rib (3 sizes to choose from), or Ribs and Beef Brisket.  Other entrees include Glazed Chicken, Pork Chops, Shrimp, Walleye, Salmon.  Tex-mex selections include Smoked Chicken Enchiladas, Fajitas and Tacos.  Pasta selections include Cajun Chicken Fettucine, Spicy Garlic Shrimp Linguini, and Baked Penne with Sausage.  There are also wood-fired pizzas with many choices of toppings.

Jakes also offers a Sunday brunch.  Items include Mesquite Beef Brisket, Peel-N-Eat Shrimp, Eggs Benedict, Huevos Rancheros, Scrambled Eggs, Jumbo Sausages, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Smoked Gouda, Au Gratins, Southern Fried Chicken, Made-to-Order Omelettes, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Pan Gravy, Ciabatta French Toast, House Smoked Salmon, Fresh Fruit, Bagels and Cream Cheese, Caramel Rolls, Cinnamon Roll

Price guide: Appetizers $7-12  Burgers/Sandwiches $8-12 Entrees $15-21 (More for large prime rib)Pasta $11-14 Pizzas $9-11 Sunday Brunch $14

What I ordered: Smoked Chicken Enchiladas (Herb seasoned shredded chicken, onions and pepperjack cheese wrapped in corn tortillas with ancho chili sauce, pico de gallo and sour cream).  I have to say I thought this meal was really good, better than I expected for a non-Mexican specialty restaurant.  The black beans must've been marinated in spices because they had really good flavor  The rice was also excellent.  The enchiladas themselves were very cheesy, but had chunks of white meat chicken.  The portion was modest, I was actually able to eat the entire thing.

One of my companions ordered the Fire Grilled Chicken Ciabatta
(Caramelized onions, cheddar, Jake Sauce and chipotle mayo). She liked it so much I ended up ordering the same sandwich on a  separate visit a few days later with a different companion.  I was blown away by the amount of french fries that were on my plate!  The sandwich was very good, it had a sweet sauce that was similar to BBQ, but more sweet and not as thick.  Loved it on the ciabatta bread. 

On my second visit to Jake's, my companion ordered the largest Prime Rib (22oz).  Huge steak for the money! It was very tender and cooked perfectly.  The au juis at Jake's was very good 

I was too full to consider dessert on either occasion, but they all looked really good, as you can see from their dessert tray.

Service: Excellent on both occasions.  The servers were very knowledgeable about the menu and made recommendations, or answered all questions.

Overall Impression: Great atmosphere, huge menu of excellent food, prices a little high but comparable to similar restaurants.

Max's Groove House ~ Forest Lake, MN

Cuisine: American,

Restaurant Features: Bar (limited to beer and wine), Counter-Service, Live Music, On-Site Parking

Location: Forest Lake

Address: 21450 Forest Blvd. North (Intersection of Hwys 61 & 97) 651.982.1802  | Fax 651.982.1803 

Hours: M-F 6am-9pm Sat 7am-9pm  Sun 7am-3pm

Links: Max's Groove House Google Map

Atmosphere: Brightly colored walls with lighted pendants hanging from the high ceilings, Max's is brightly lit during the day, and seems like it is romantic and laid-back at night.  Counter service is offered for breakfast and lunch, with digital screens displaying the current menu.  Dinner menu/table service is the standard for dinner.  I was pleased to see that Max's is smoke-free and they also offer Wi-Fi :)

Menu: Breakfast items include a variety of omelets, breakfast burritos, fruit and classic breakfast sandwiches (build-your-own with choices of a variety of meat, eggs and cheeses).  Several varieties of coffee and energy drinks are also very popular.  Lunch items include a variety of fresh salads, soups (chicken dumpling and SOTD), and specialty sandwiches including the baked Reuben, Philly cheese steak, grilled chicken, clubhouse, and a variety of deli sandwiches as well.  Hot dogs and hot carved beef (referred to as "burgers") sandwiches are also very popular.

Dinner selections include all of the specialty and hot sandwiches, plus pulled pork, beef brisket, ribs, rotisserie chicken, and coconut crusted tilapia.

There is a large dessert menu and also a huge variety of specialty drinks offered, including a selection of wine, beer, teas, coffees and old-fashioned sodas.

Price guide: Breakfast $3-6, Salads $4-7, Sandwiches $5-8  Dinners $8-11

What I ordered: Baked Reuben (Hand carved corned-beef topped with swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and 1000 island dressing on rye bread, served with seasoned kettle chips.  I thought the sandwich was very good, the corned beef was lean and had great flavor.  My personal preference is that Reubens have better flavor when grilled with butter, but this baked Reuben is a better choice for keeping it "light".

My companion ordered the Memphis Bleu Burger, slow-cooked shredded beef topped with peppered bacon and bleu cheese, served on  ciabatta bread.  This sandwich was amazing! I tried only a  few bites and have never had anything like it before.  The combination of flavors from the beef, bacon and bleu cheese was really wonderful and I loved that it was served on the ciabatta.

Service: Very friendly! No matter what time of day you visit, you are sure to be catered to.  Although you must order at the counter for breakfast or lunch, food is prepared reasonably fast and brought to your table.  The only thing I think that could be improved is having a refill station that customers can access.

Overall Impression:  Excellent food, fast service, great prices!

PF Chang's China Bistro ~ Edina, MN

Cuisine: Chinese

Restaurant Features: Bar

Location: Edina

Address: Southdale Center 2700 Southdale Center Edina, MN 55435 (952) 926-1713

Links: PF Chang's Website  Google Map

Atmosphere: PF Chang's considers themselves  a "stylish, high-energy bistro" and I would have to agree; swanky and dimly-lit, this is not your typical Chinese restaurant!  The tables are all set within this massive space (nice for accommodating larger parties), with large booths lined around the outside of the room.  Large bar spaning thew back of the restaurant, with Chinese murals painted on the wall.

Menu: Appetizers include include Chang's chicken lettuce wraps, crab wontons, peking dumplings, spring rolls, seared tuna, and fried calamari.  Hot & sour soup, wonton soup, shrimp salad, and salmon salad are the popular soup & salad choices.  Entrees include almond cashew chicken, lomein, shrimp with lobster sauce, Cantonese roasted duck, Chang's Spicy chicken, ginger chicken and broccoli, black bean chicken, orange peel, lemon or sweet and sour chicken.  There is a large variety of scallop and shrimp dishes (kung pao shrimp, Chang's lemon scallops, etc).

Price guide: Appetizers $9-14 Entrees $14-24

What We ordered:

Black Bean Chicken (Slices of chicken, stir-fried in a black bean sauce).

Salt and Pepper Prawns (Stir-fried in a salt and pepper mix of chili peppers, black beans, ginger and green onions. Served with a sweet mustard sauce. ) Nice texture to the shrimp and I loved the sweet mustard sauce for dipping.

Spicy Chang's Chicken (Lightly dusted and stir-fried in a sweet Sichuan sauce).  I loved this dish! The chicken had just the right combination of sweet and spicy.

Chow mein (Egg noodles stir-fried with chicken).

Combination fried Rice (Mixed with egg, soy and sliced scallions, beef, chicken, pork and shrimp.)

We were celebrating a birthday and got this complimentary chocolate cake (Six layers of rich chocolate cake frosted with semi-sweet chocolate chips and served with raspberry sauce. ).  Delish!

Service:Pretty good, considering our server had a big section and was very busy.

Overall Impression: Food is excellent, but expensive!