Twin Cities Restaurant Blog

House of Wong- Roseville, MN

Cuisine: American, Chinese,

Restaurant Features: On-Site Parking, Counter-Service for Take Out

Location: Roseville, MN

Address: 1163 Larpenteur Ave W St Paul, MN 55113-6382 (651) 488-6687

Links: Google map

Atmosphere: House of Wong is a large restaurant located within a large strip-mall in Roseville.  The restaurant is long and narrow shaped, with several high-backed booths that run all the way to the back of the restaurant. The taller booths give you a sense of privacy and the way they are placed might make you forget the restaurant is as big as it is. The decor of the House of Wong is more casual and homey than sophisticated Asian, but the hand-carved wooden doors and  handful of Asian vases serve to remind you this is indeed, a Chinese Restaurant.

Menu: Appetizers include Egg Rolls, Cantonese Chicken Wings, Fried Potstickers, Szechuan Wings, Chinese Barbeque Pork, Crispy Chicken Fingers, Jumbo Golf Shrimp, Meat Wontons, Cream Cheese Wontons, Shrimp Toast, Fried Chicken Livers, and Onion Rings.

The House of Wong has several variations of Chow Mein including Meat, Diced Chicken, Sliced Mushroom, Subgum, Chicken Mushroom, Chicken Subgum, Shrimp, and Barbeque Pork.  Lomein entrees are made with either Chicken, Barbeque Pork, Beef, Shrimp, or the House of Wong Special Lomein.

Fried Rice specials include Chicken, BBQ Pork, Beef, Fresh Shrimp, Special Fried Rice, and Meatless.  

Chinese Chicken dishes include Sweet & Sour, Sesame, Orange, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Chicken and Broccoli, Chicken Almond Ding, Kung Pao,  Szechuan, Chicken in Garlic Sauce, General Tsao's, and Curry Chicken.

Beef Dishes include Beef & Broccoli, Beef & Snow Peapods, Beef Pepper Steak, Mongolian, Kung Pao, Szechuan, and Mandarin Beef.  Pork entrees include Sweet & Sour and Sesame.

Vegetarian and Seafood plates include Gulf Shrimp & peapods or Broccoli, Szechuan Shrimp, Kung Pao Shrimp, Triple Kung Pao, Hunan Triple Crown, Szechuan Vegetarian Tofu Stir Fry.

You can also get a  Noodle or Rice Bowls topped with either Mandarin beef, Teriyaki Chicken, Szechuan Garlic Chicken, Pepper Steak, Chicken Almond Ding, Kung Pao Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, and Szechuan Vegetarian Tofu.

There are a number of combination plates as well.

Besides the large amount of Chinese dishes, House of Wong also has several American Items on their menu with Entrees such as Hamburgers, Fresh Roasted Turkey, Grilled or Breaded Pork Chops, Leg of Pork, Pork tenderloin, Frilled Round Steak, Cod Filet, Baby Beef Liver, Sauteed Chicken Breast, Breaded Pork Cutlet, Jumbo Golf Shrimp,  Hawaiian Ham Steak and Fried Chicken.

Sandwiches include Triple Decker Club, Grilled Cheese, Cold Turkey, Hot Turkey, Grilled Chicken, Grilled Ham and Cheese, Chicken or Tuna Salad, and Fish & Chips Basket.

You can even order Italian entrees like Spaghetti, Meat Lasagna, Mostaccioli, Chicken Parmigiana, and Fettuccine with Chicken and Broccoli.

The homemade pies at House of Wong include Banana Cream, Coconut Cream, Chocolate Silk, Apple, Custard, Pumpkin, and on Sundays there is also Carrot Cake.

Price guide: Prices vary depending on whether you dine-in or order take-out.  Take out prices seem to be a couple $$ less.  Appetizers $5-10  Chinese Entrees $8-14 American Entrees $10-16

What we ordered: We started with the Shrimp Toast, which was fabulous! The bottom was made with a piece of cocktail-sized bread and then large pieces of shrimp were butterflied, seasoned, and then placed on top and then battered and deep-fried.  What a delightful combination of textures! The toast was crispy yet the top was light, fluffy and crunchy.  Served with hot mustard and a mild sweet and sour sauce.  I have only had shrimp toast at a handful of restaurants and I think House of Wong has the best :)

We also ordered the Barbeque Pork appetizer.  Unbelievably good!  The pork was so tender you could cut it with a fork and the outside was glazed with a sweet sauce, complimenting the natural flavor of the pork.  This is a must-have every time I visit the House of Wong!

 

We also had the Pork Fried Rice, which had large pieces of the Barbeque Pork that I like so much.  The  rice was so hot it was steaming and my photo ended up turning out blurry.  Sorry I didn't take a better one! The rice was deliciously flavorful with green onions, scrambled egg, mushrooms and bean sprouts and the portion was  very generous. 

 

We also tried the Egg Foo Young with shrimp and mushrooms.  I am not typically a big fan of egg foo young, but this was really good! There was a nice mix of both vegetables and shrimp.  The sauce was on the mild side.

 

We also ordered the Beef Tenderloin Lomein.  This was a generous portion of thin, pan-fried noodles with stir-fried pea pods, onions, carrots, bean sprouts, and thin slices of beef tenderloin.  This is a mild dish that compliments each of the individual flavors of the ingredients.

 

We also had the Orange Chicken.  The portion was pretty large with several pieces of crispy, batter-fried chicken.  The sauce was very thick and tasted very strongly of orange.

Service:  Our visit was right at the beginning of the dinner rush and we were lucky enough to get a table immediately- (You can almost always expect a short wait during the dinner rush because the House of Wong is very popular! ). Our server was very nice and very busy attending to us as well as her other tables, she was very attentive to getting refills

Overall Impression: House of Wong has been one of my all-time favorite Chinese restaurants since I was just a toddler.  You get large portions for the money the food is consistent and the quality of the meat is always very good.

IL Vesco Vino Bar Napoleto- St Paul, MN

*** Il Vesco Vino has relocated!!! This review was done at OLD restaurant location on Selby Ave.***

Cuisine: Authentic Italian
Restaurant Features: Patio Dining

Location: St Paul, MN
Address: 242 W. 7th Street  Saint Paul, MN 55102 (651) 222 - 7000
Links: Il Vesco Vino Website  Google Map

Atmosphere: Located in a refurnished Victorian Mansion in the middle of a residential neighborhood, Il Vesco Vino is a romantic little Italian restaurant and bar.  There are three stories to the restaurant, with many private dining areas throughout the rooms of this former mansion.

 

This is just one of many seating areas....

 

There is also a beautiful patio adjacent to the building, complete with gardens, a bar, and a wood-fire brick oven.

Menu: Appetizers include Arancini (fried rice balls stuffed with peas, mint & fresh lemon), Eggplant Parmigian, and Fried Calamari.

Antipasti that are served cold include Spicy Garlic & Rosemary Olives, Caprese, Romaine, Garden Greens, Panzanella, Roasted Beets with Arugula, Tuna Crudo, Carpaccio (thinly sliced beef), and Salumi & Cheese.  Antipasti that are served hot include Tomato and Sage Soup, Fried Polenta with Peas, Grilled Sausage with Roasted Peppers, House-made Meatballs, and Mediterranean Steamed Mussels.

Pasta Dishes include Puttanesca (spaghetti with olives and anchovy), Ziti, Lemon Risotto, Gnocchi with Porcini Mushrooms, Tortelloni with Shrimp, Ravioli with Lamb, Bucatini all' Amatriciana, Spicy Linguine with Shrimp.

Entrees (Secondi) include Pork Piccata, Fire-Roasted Chicken, Grilled Salmon with Artichoke, Grilled Lamb Steak, Halibut, Seared Scallops, and New York Strip Steak.

Desserts include Tiramisu, Cheesecake, Chocolate Fudge Cake, Creme Brulee, Chocolate Stuffed Pistachio donuts, Limoncello Frozen Custard, Warm Chocolate Cake, and Vanilla Gelato.

Price guide:  Appetizers $9-13  Antipasti $ 5-18  Pasta $13-19 Entrees $18-28  Desserts $7-8
What We Ordered: My companions and I stopped at Il Vesco Vino on a Saturday afternoon between a wedding we had just attended and the reception which was scheduled to start a few hours later.  None of us had eaten all day and we needed just a little something to tide us over until we were able to eat dinner at the reception.

Along with several really good cocktails, we received a basket of fresh bread.  It was thick, had a nice crust and was served with olive oil on the side for dipping.

 

We also ordered the Calamari which came seasoned with lemon and sea salt.  Our order consisted of both battered and fried rings and tiny little squid with tentacles still attached.  Both were very good, the texture of the rings was tender and the little squids had a crispier texture.  Two of my companions had never had calamari before and were slightly reluctant to try it, but both thought it was really good.

Service:  There were only just a few other tables being occupied on the patio where my companions and I sat, and the service was excellent.  All of our needs and requests were fulfilled in a timely manner.
Overall Impression:  A cool, romantic place for an authentic Italian meal.  Many wine and specialty drink offerings along with great special during Happy hour make it a great place to visit after work or for a romantic dinner. 

Khan's Mongolian Barbeque- Richfield, Roseville, Coon Rapids, MN

Cuisine: Asian, Mongolian, On-Site Parking
Restaurant Features: Bar, Lunch Buffet, Dinner Buffet, On-Site Parking

Locations: Coon Rapids,  Richfield, Roseville
Addresses and Maps:

Coon Rapids- 2085 Northdale Blvd NW Coon Rapids, MN 55433 (763) 767-3018
Richfield- 500 E 78th St Richfield, MN 55423 (612) 861-7991

Roseville- 2720 Snelling Ave N. Roseville, MN 55113 (651) 631-3398

Atmosphere:  There are several small dining areas situated around the restaurant, made a little more private with the creative use of live plants.  The dining areas all surround the centrally-located meat and vegetable buffets.  All seating is limited to tables, but there is at least one dining space that allows for tables to be pushed together for larger parties.

 

Within the restaurant there is a small bar area to accommodate patrons who may have to wait for a table on a busy night, or for those who would like to try one of the specialty tropical drinks or wines.

Menu:  The concept of Khan's is one that allows diners to customize their own stir-fry dishes.  Patrons choose from a buffet containing a variety of sliced frozen meats (beef, chicken, pork, lamb, shrimp and imitation crab).  You take a bowl, fill it with the meats and noodles of your choosing, and then move down to the vegetable line where you can choose from a large selection of fresh vegetables to be used in your custom stir-fry.

 

After filling your bowl with your preferred meats and vegetables, you then add sauces to flavor your stir-fry, such as Garlic Sauce, Cooking Wine, House Sauce, Dragon Sauce, Teriyaki, Curry, Lobster Sauce.  There is a sign over the sauce bar that suggests which sauces and flavorings you should choose, depending on how spicy you would like it.  After you have your bowl filled with meats, noodle, vegetables and sauces, you take it to the Barbeque Area, where  your stir-fry is cooked right in front of you.

Price guide: $15 All-You-Can-Eat Buffet or $10 for a single plate
What I ordered:  Everyone receives an appetizer as part of the cost of the buffet.  There is Hot and Sour Soup, a Fried Wonton, and a tender BBQ Marinated Chicken Wing.

 

My first plate consisted of beef, thin noodles, peppers, zucchini, broccoli, onion, carrot, and pineapple.  I love spicy and flavorful food, so I used a ton of the garlic sauce, fresh cilantro, several scoops of the dragon Sauce, cooking wine, house sauce and teriyaki.  It was delicious!! I have been to Khan's several times and have finally figured out the amount and combination of sauces that I like the best.  One thing i have noticed is that it seems safe to go a little overboard with the sauces, because a lot of the moisture is cooked out and the noodles also absorb a lot of sauce.  Despite how much spicy Dragon Sauce I added, it wasn't as hot as I like it.  The best part is that if you don't care for your stir-fry, you can always go back to the Buffet line and start over with a new combination!

 

Sticky Buns are also served with dinner, a dough-like pastry filled with a buttery cinnamon/sugar sauce.  I did not try this because I was already too full from the other good stuff!

Service:  Our server was very friendly and prompt, kept drinks refilled and removed dirty plates in a very timely fashion.  It can get extremely busy on weekend evenings, so it is a good idea to call-ahead for a reservation, especially if you plan to have a party larger than four.
Overall Impression: If you enjoy stir-fry, Khan's is your place! The endless trips to the buffet for only $15 is a great deal.

Blue Heron Grill- Hugo, MN

Cuisine: American, Steak, Ribs, Chops
Restaurant Features: Bar, On-Site Parking, Patio Dining

Location: Hugo, MN
Address: 14725 Victor Hugo Boulevard  Hugo, MN 55038  (651) 756-1894
Links: Blue Heron Website Google Map

Atmosphere:  The Blue Heron is a very large restaurant, with a handful of dining areas surrounding a centrally-located bar area.  There are several large-screen TV's on the walls throughout the restaurant.  The decor of the restaurant was one that had no apparent theme, but was painted with warm masculine colors to go along with the wooden tables and chairs.

 

Bar Area

Menu:  Appetizers include Calamari, Sante Fe Quesadilla, Muchos Nachos, Onion Rings, Wings, Chicken Satay, Walleye Fingers, Prime Rib Asparagus Wrap, Grilled BBQ Salmon, Steak Bites, Bruschetta and Spinach & Artichoke Dip.

Salads include Fresh Tomato Mozzarella, Chef, Taco, Caesar, Wedge, and Pear & Bleu Cheese.  Soups include French Onion and a Soup du Jour.

Entrees include Grilled Fajitas, Shrimp Scampi, Broasted Chicken, Walleye, Filet Mignon, Ribs, Ribeye, Pork Chops and Chicken Florentine Lasagna Rolls.

Pasta dishes offered at Blue Heron are the New Orleans (Jambalaya), Seafood Linguine, Bolognese, Pasta Primavera, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Chicken Alfredo, and Caprese.

There is also a large selection of sandwiches including the Prime Rib French Dip, Old Fashioned Club, Prime Rib Philly Cheese Steak, Grilled Chicken, Buffalo Chicken, BBQ Pork, Walleye, Cuban, Italian Sub and Glazed Hickory Chicken.  Wraps include Southwestern Chicken, Smoked Turkey & Avocado, and Buffalo Chicken.  There are also a number of Specialty Burgers including the Blue Heron Burger (cheese, sauteed mushrooms, fried onion, smoked bacon, jalapenos, pineapple, lettuce and tomato).

Price guide: Appetizers $8-12  Salads $9-10 Entrees $13-24 Pasta $10-14 Sandwiches $8-11
What we ordered: We started with the Nachos, which was a huge pile of chips loaded with sauteed peppers, jalapenos, green onions, black beans, tomatoes and seasoned ground beef, with guacamole and sour cream on the side.  The portion was huge, with all of the ingredients stacked on top of the chips.  The nachos were good, but it was hard to get both chips and ingredients together in the same bite. There seemed to be cheese baked only on top.

We also ordered the Chicken Satay, which I was disappointed to discover was not what I consider chicken satay at all!  Not Thai Satay, anyway.  The chicken skewers were very good, nice and tender, but the flavor was distinctly teriyaki.  Apparently the kitchen was all out of the Thai Cucumber salad that traditionally accompanies Satay, so they substituted it with coleslaw.  Both were very good, just not what I was expecting.

For my dinner, I had the Mushroom and Swiss Burger.  The burger was quite large and pretty good.  It had a decent amount of fresh sauteed mushrooms and Swiss cheese, served on a toasted bun.  The burger was ordered medium-well and it was quite pink in the middle.  The few thick-cut fries they gave me were hot, but sparse.

 

One of my companions ordered the Bacon Swiss Burger

 

One of my companions had the Walleye Sandwich.  This is actually what I had ordered for my meal, but I missed the description that said it had American Cheese, so I was unable to eat it.  It was unfortunate for me that such a nice fillet of walleye was covered with a food I have a strong aversion to.  My companion was nice enough to swap the burger for the walleye and enjoyed it.  The fillet was large and perfectly browned with a light breading.

 

Another companion had the pork chops, which were very thick and tender, and perfectly seasoned with maple glazed brown sugar.  The green beans were also sauteed in a sweet glaze and ad a nice texture to them.  The baked potato was not nearly as good as the rest of the meal.  It was old, hard, dry and had obviously been sitting in the tinfoil since the dinner rush many hours earlier.

Service: I had heard such bad things about the service at the Blue Heron that my expectations were not very high.  I am sorry to say that the service on my visit was even worse than I could have expected! In fact, I am going to go as far as to say I had the worst service of any restaurant I have ever done a review on at this point in time (about 75 restaurants!).  My companions and I arrived at the restaurant shortly after 9pm, long after the dinner crowd had gone.  There were only a few other diners in the restaurant, but several people having cocktails in the bar area.  The hostess greeted us in a friendly manner, and brought our party of four to a table in the bar area.  We asked for a table that was close to one of the large-screen TV's so that we would be able to watch a Pre-Season Vikings game that was in progress.  After we were seated, it took at least ten minutes for our server to come to our table to take our drink orders.  Drinks took at least ten minutes and she had forgotten one of them, so that drink didn't arrive until 25 minutes after it we ordered.  Our server was friendly, but did not go out of her way to give us helpful suggestions of what to order.  Appetizers arrived approximately 20 minutes after we ordered, however the restaurant made a substitution for an item that they were apparently out-of, without consulting us first.  Half-way through appetizers, the TV that was showing the Vikings came was changed to something else.  Our party asked three different people at three different times if they would kindly put our game back on.  All three requests were ignored, despite reassurance that they would change the channel back.  We waited, waited, and waited some more for our entrees, our server was nowhere in sight.  We were left without refills for quite some time.  Dinner was finally served about 50 minutes after we ordered.  Our server was polite when we did see her, but that seemed rare.
Overall Impression:  I am a resident of Hugo and had been waiting many years for a nice restaurant to move into town, so I was incredibly disappointed with my first visit to the Blue Heron because the service was so bad.  The food was good enough, but certainly didn't outweigh the amount of time it took between ordering and eating.

Mama's Pizza- St Paul, MN

Cuisine: Italian, Pizza, American
Location: St Paul, MN
Address: 961 Rice St St. Paul, MN 55117 (651) 489-2005
Links: Mama's Website Google Map

Atmosphere: The restaurant is in a small space and is always packed with people enjoying the best pizza in the North End neighborhood of St Paul.  The custom mural painted on one of the walls is bright and cheerful and helps make the room seem bigger.

Menu:  Appetizers and side orders include Mini Pizzas, Mini Italian Fries, Cheese Bread, French Fries, and Onion Rings.  Salads include dinner salad and antipasto.

Sandwiches include Hot Diego, Meatball, Italian Sausage, Chicken Patty, Fish, Cube Steak, BLT, and Hamburger.

Italian Dinners (comes with fresh Vienna Bread) include Spaghetti, Mostaccioli, Ravioli, Lasagna, Veal, and Stuffed Shells.

American Dinners (comes with salad and choice of fries, spaghetti, mostaccioli or ravioli)  include Shrimp, Grilled Pork Chops, Fried Chicken, Tenderloin Steak, Hamburger Steak, Cube Steak, and Deep-Fried Fish.

Pizzas come either large or small, ingredients include Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Banana Peppers, Green pepper, Onion, Green Olive, Black Olive, Bacon, Mushroom, Shrimp, Canadian Bacon, Pineapple, Cheese.  Italian Fries are also an option....pizza crust covered with cheese, with sauce served on the side.

Price guide: Appetizers $3-6  Sandwiches $3-9 Italian Dinners $6-10 American Dinners $8-11
What I ordered: To start off, a couple of my companions and I each ordered a slice of cheese bread, which was thick and crunchy on the bottom.  There was a decent amount of cheese baked atop a light spread of melted butter, but I could not detect any garlic on the bread.  It was served with a side of marinara.

Our visit was during lunch, so one of my companions and I decided to share the Special Hot Diego Sandwich. This version of the Hot Diego comes with sauteed onions, green peppers, mushrooms on top of a ground beef/Italian sausage patty and is smothered in sauce with mozzarella cheese baked on top.  I thought the sandwich was good, but not as good as other Dago sandwiches that I have tried recently.  The meat patty was very thick and a little on the tough side.  The texture seemed to be dense, my guess is that there are little or no bread crumbs used to make the patties.  The sauce was very good, as were the veggies, however the veggies were chopped into fine little pieces so their flavor was more subtle.

 

Two of my companions ordered a pepperoni and green olive pizza and thought it was very good.  The crust was very thin, crispy, and loaded with sauce.  There was also a nice amount of cheese on the pizza, but it didn't cover all the way to the edge of the crust.

 

Another companion ordered a California Cheeseburger with a side of onion rings.  The cheeseburger was a standard burger, but at just $3, you couldn't find a burger this size anywhere but a fast food place! The onion rings were about 1/4-1/2inch thick and had a crispy breading on them, also a generous portion for only $3. (NOT included in price of burger).

 

One of the best things about Mama's is that at the end of the meal, everyone is given a complimentary baby ice cream cone (tastes just like the ice cream at DQ).

Service: It was packed during the lunch hour, but my party of five got there early enough to find a table big enough to accommodate us.  Our server was very friendly and the food was served in a reasonable amount of time.  The cook/owner was full of smiles; very welcoming.
Overall Impression:  Friendly service and good Italian food at prices that can't be beat! Complimentary mini-ice-cream-cones is a sweet bonus :)