Twin Cities Restaurant Blog

Red's Savoy Pizza ~ St Paul, MN (Coon Rapids, Hugo, and Uptown Minneapolis)

Cuisine: Pizza
Restaurant Features: Bar, Flatscreen TVs, On-Site Parking,
Location: St Paul, MN

Address: 421 East 7th Street  St Paul, MN 55101 651-227-1437
Hours: Mon-Sat 11a-11p  Sun 11a-10:30p
Links:  Google Map

 *Red's Savoy Pizza in Coon Rapids, Hugo, St Paul, and Uptown are all Delivery/Take-out Only

Atmosphere: Red's Savoy Inn is the original Savoy location, found just on the edge of downtown St Paul at the corner of 7th St. and Lafayette.  There are two entrances into Savoy's on the west side of the building, one near the parking lot in back and one one the side near the front.   The restaurant is divided into two sides, with the Bar Area being what you see when you first enter.  The bar stretches the length of the room, which has tables and booths as well.

The main dining room is adjacent to the bar area with an open walkway in between.  Also between the two rooms is a giant aquarium with live tropical fish.  It is quite dim inside Savoy, there are no windows and the only lighting comes from the soft yellow glass orbs overhead. 

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 Menu:  Appetizers at Savoy Inn include Buffalo Wings, Deep Fried Cheese Ravioli, Mozzarella Sticks, Jalapeño Poppers, French Fries, Onions Wings, Garlic Cheese Bread.

Sandwich options are the Meatball Dip and Hot dago with Cheese.

Pizzas come in two sizes, 10" or 14", Hand Tossed Thin Crust. Topping options include Sausage, Pepperoni, Hamburger, Mushrooms, Onion, Green Pepper, Green Olive, Black Olive, Sauerkraut, Pickles, Canadian Bacon, Banana Peppers, Jalapeños, Pineapple, Bacon, Shrimp and Anchovies.

Price guide: Appetizers $5-7  10" Cheese Pizza $8.45  Toppings $1-2/ea 14" Cheese $11.40  Toppings $1.50/2 ea (premium toppings more)
What We ordered: My companions and I started with an order of mozzarella sticks.  They were just as mozzi-sticks should be, crispy golden brown on the outside and hot melted mozzarella inside.  It came with a side of sauce.

 

Our group ordered a variety of pizzas.   The pizza has a very thin crust at the base of each creation, then covered with spicy pizza sauce, toppings and mozzarella cheese.  This was a 10" Pepperoni, Mushroom and Shrimp.  I have really come to enjoy shrimp on pizza over the past couple of years and this was the first time I had tried it at Savoy.  The shrimps were very little and there were plenty of them covering the pizza.   The not-too-thick-not-too-thin pepperoni had great flavor while not being too greasy.  We ordered our pizzas "well-done" so the cheese on all the edge pieces was browned and crispy.

 

Another pizza was a 10" Pepperoni, Banana Pepper and Onion.  Great combo of toppings! The banana peppers spiced it up a notch and the onion added a touch of sweetness, perfectly complimented by the zesty pepperoni.  The crust is very thin and crispy, but not at all chewy.  Overall the Savoy pizzas were a success and a few of my companions even declared Savoy pizza to be their favorite or "the best".

 

We also had a 14" Special Pizza with Sausage, Pepperoni, Mushroom, Onion, Green Pepper and Green Olive.  This pizza was loaded with ingredients and cheese.

 

One of my companions also ordered a side of Rigatoni with sauce.  I thought the portion size was just right for a side order.

Service:  It wasn't very busy on the late Wednesday evening of my visit, so we had no problem getting a parking place in the small lot in the back of Savoy's and easily found a table inside the restaurant.  Our server was nice but took her time checking on us even though there were very few other customers.  Food was prepared in a reasonable amount of time.
Overall Impression: Savoy pizza is one of the better thin-crust pizzerias around St Paul, especially if you like a spicier sauce and pizza loaded with toppings and cheese.  The prices are comparable to many other local pizzerias but you get a hefty amount of toppings for the money.

Dino's The Greek Place - Coon Rapids, Edina, Lakeville, Roseville, Plymouth, West St Paul, & Woodbury MN

Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Restaurant Features: Counter Service, On-Site Parking
Locations: Coon Rapids, Edina, Lakeville, Roseville (Falcon Heights), Plymouth, West St Paul, and Woodbury, MN
Addresses & Maps:

Coon Rapids- 3179 Northdale Blvd. Coon Rapids, MN 55433 (763) 422-2003
Edina- 6539 York Ave. S Edina, MN 55435 (612) 866-6363
Lakeville- 17701 Cedar Avenue (Cedar Avenue & Dodd Road) Farmington, MN 55024 952) 431-3466

Roseville- 1700 Snelling Ave. Falcon Heights, MN 55108 (651) 645-8800
Plymouth- 3355 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447 (763) 553-2040
West St Paul- 1221 South Robert St. West St. Paul, MN 55118 (651) 450-6976

Woodbury- 10060 City Walk Drive  Woodbury, MN 55129 651-738-9757

Links: Dino's Website
Hours: Daily 10am-10pm

Atmosphere: Dino's offers counter-service and is about the same size as a typical fast-food restaurant.  The entire restaurant is furnished with your basic hard-top tables set close together, without a booth in sight.  There is a beverage station near the front counter with two large soda dispensers.  A couple of TVs hang from the ceilings and there are also some paintings adorning the walls.

Menu: Side Items include French Fries, Seasoned Fries, Pita Bread, Pita Chips, Hummus, Greek Olives, Pepperoncini Peppers, Falafel, Spanakopita, Onion Petals, Spinach Puffs and Greek Meatballs.

Dino's offers a Greek Salad ( lettuce, feta, Greek olives, cucumbers, peppers, onion, pepperoncini peppers, and Greek dressing) with choice of meat.

The Sandwiches at Dino's are served on fresh pita bread and include the Gyro (meat with raw onion, tomato and tzatzini sauce), Jr. Gyro, Spicy Gyro, Chicken Gyro, Jr. Chicken Gyro, Greek Chicken Breast, Greek Philly (sauteed peppers and onions and melted Swiss), Greek Meatball, Falafel (deep-fried patties made of a mixture of ground chick peas and seasonings), Steak Souvlaki, and Chicken Mushroom Swiss.  **Any sandwich can be mega-sized for an additional charge.  Any sandwich can be ordered as a Value Meal, which comes with soda and either fries or side salad.

There are also a couple of Wraps including Greek Chicken Caesar, Hummus, and the Gyro Bacon Cheddar Wrap.

Entree Plates offer meat choice with Fries, Greek Salad or Rice, and Grilled Pita.  Meat choices are the  Gyro, Chicken Gyro, Steak or Chicken Souvlaki (kabobs), or Spanakopita (spinach, onions, feta and ricotta cheese wrapped in filo dough and baked).  Combination Plate includes each of the meat choices.

There are also two Family Packs available.  The Family Pack comes with 1 lb gyro meat, sauce, toppings, and 5 pitas.  The Mega Family Pack is the Family Pack with an additional two orders of Fries and 1 large Greek Salad.

Desserts include Baklava, Cookies, or Ice Cream.

Price guide: Side Items $1-2 Sandwiches and Wraps $5-6  Value Meals $8-9 Salads $6-9  Plates $7-9
What I ordered: The Greek Chicken Breast Sandwich with Spicy Feta and side of Seasoned Fries.  Normally this sandwich comes with regular feta cheese, but I LOVE the spicy feta and have them substitute the regular feta for the spicy.  This particular sandwich came with both, which was a little too much.  The chicken breast was marinated and tender, cut into strips.  The sandwich was big and messy, so I opted to eat it most of it with a fork.  The onions were plentiful, sliced thin and the spicy feta had a nice kick to it and was full of flavor.  The Seasoned Fries were delicious!  Dino's adds their own Greek Seasoning which is pretty salty and garlic-y, but so so SO good!

One of my companions ordered the Spicy Gyro Sandwich.  It is similar to a regular gyro except the spicy comes with the spicy feta instead of tzatziki sauce and also has romaine lettuce.  My companion enjoyed it but prefers the traditional gyro.

Another companion ordered the Souvlaki Plate, with one chicken and one beef kabob, Pita Triangles and Onion Petals.  The meat was very good, but there were just five bites of meat on each skewer.  The Onion Petals were crispy brown and the portion was rather large.

Service: Ordering is done at the Counter and it usually takes less than ten minutes for the order to be ready, at which point they will either call your name or bring the food out to your table, depending on how busy they are.  There are often staff members who will walk around to bus tables or ask you if you'd like a drink refill or anything else.  Definitely a step above most other fast-food type restaurants.
Overall Impression: I really enjoy Dino's, it is fast and the food is good (especially anything with spicy feta!).  The seasoned fries are AWESOME.  Dino's is more expensive than other fast-food restaurants but less expensive than most sit-down restaurants.  I wish there was a Dino's in Hugo or Maplewood!

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.

Moe's- Moundsview & Coon Rapids, MN

Cuisine: American, Steak, Ribs & Chops
Restaurant Features: Bar, On-Site Parking, Sunday Brunch

Location: Moundsview, Coon Rapids
Addresses & Maps:
Moundsview: 2400 Highway 10 Moundsview, MN 55112 (763)786-1800
Coon Rapids: 3420 129th Ave N.W. Coon Rapids, MN 55448 (763)422-9100
Links: Moe's Website 

Atmosphere: I thought Moe's (Moundsview) was nicer on the inside than the exterior of the building may indicate.  The main dining room was a decent size, with vaulted ceilings making it seem bigger than it really is.  There were a variety of booths and tables,  including one large round table in the middle of the room-perfect for a party of 8! I can only assume that the double-sided fireplace in the middle of the room probably gets the place nice and toasty during the winter.  Adjacent to the dining room is the bar area.

Menu: Appetizers include Buffalo Wings, Onion Rings, Jo-Jos, Bruschetta Pizza, Mini Burgers, Spinach Dip, Stuffed Mushrooms, Nachos, Chicken Caesar Quesadilla, Malibu Shrimp, Chicken Tenders and Drunken Beef Tips.

Salads offered are Moe's House, Buffalo Chicken, Club, Rising Sun (Asian-style), and Caesar.  There is one soup offered daily, starting with Beer Cheese on Monday, Tomato Basil (Tues), Vegetable Beef (Wed), Chicken Wild Rice(Th), Clam Chowder(Fri), Shrimp Jambalaya (Sat), and Broccoli Cheese on Sunday.

There are several sandwiches and burgers offered, all served with Shoestring Fries, including Grilled Turkey Supreme, Mayslack's Original Roast Beef, Beef and Cheddar, Cheesesteak, Pepper Stack (Buffalo Chicken with pepperjack),  Buffalo Wrap, Chicken Caesar Wrap, Mango Wrap, Mustang Chicken (with cheddar, bacon & bbq), Chicken Moe, Walleye, Tuna melt, Flaming Lips Burger, and the Pastramickle (pastrami, pickles and cream cheese).

Entrees include Porterhouse Chop, Flat Iron Steak, Shore Lunch Walleye, Kansas City Steak, Bourbon Steak and Shrimp, Cedar Plank Walleye (maple and brown sugar), Stuffed Chicken Breast, Saint Louis Pork Ribs, Chicken Stir-Fry, Grandma Moe's Meatloaf, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Crescent City Pasta, and Beef Stroganoff.

There is also a Sunday Brunch from 10am-2pm!

Price guide: Appetizers $7-10  Salads $4-11 Sandwiches $9-11  Entrees $10-22
What We ordered: I wasn't the hungriest on this visit and wasn't in the mood for meat so I decided to go with the Bruschetta Pizza.  The pizza itself was a decent size, with a flatbread crust and piled with flavorful bruschetta.  As you can see the pizza was also loaded with cheese- (enough for a couple of pizzas!).  I liked it, but it had way to much cheese for my taste and I was only able to eat a couple of pieces. 

One of my companions ordered the Mayslack's Original Roast Beef Sandwich, a "slow-roasted garlic infused beef" that is served on a rye bun and topped with banana peppers and onions, with a side of au-jus.  This beef had a ton of flavor- the garlic was especially strong and had a spicy twang to it.  I tried a bite of the sandwich and thought it was really good, but the garlic was too overwhelming for my companion and she wasn't able to eat much of it.  The sandwich came with a heaping serving of shoestring fries that were piping hot and crispy.

Another companion ordered the Cheesesteak Sandwich with Moe's Jo-Jo Potatoes instead of the shoestring fries.  The roast beef on this sandwich is also Mayslack's, but loaded with mushrooms and melted Swiss cheese and creamy horseradish and served on a hoagie roll.  The flavorful roast beef seemed to go much better when paired with the ingredients on this sandwich than on the "Original" sandwich (pictured above). 

Service: We visited at an odd time of day (around 3:30pm on a sunny Tuesday afternoon), so we were the only customers in the dining room.  Our service was great! Our server was very friendly and helpful with making suggestions, the food was delivered promptly.
Overall Impression: The service and food are both good enough to go back, although hopefully next time I will be hungry!

Acapulco Restaurante Mexicano ~ Blaine, Stillwater, Coon Rapids, Woodbury & Maplewood, MN

Cuisine: Mexican
Restaurant Features: Bar,  On-Site Parking

Locations: Blaine, Stillwater, Coon Rapids, Woodbury, Maplewood
Addresses & Maps:

Blaine- 9360 Baltimore St. Blaine, MN 55449 (763) 795-0347

Coon Rapids- 12759 Riverdale Blvd. Coon Rapids, MN 55448 (763) 323-8772

Maplewood- 3069 White Bear Ave. Maplewood, MN 55109 (651) 748-0316

Stillwater-240 West Frontage Rd. Stillwater, MN 55082 (651) 351-9462

Woodbury-1795 Radio Drive Suite A Woodbury, MN 55125 (651) 739-6360

Links: Acapulco website

Atmosphere: Festive, with the walls painted with murals and is somewhat made to resemble a  Mexican courtyard. 

The Woodbury location also has a large bar area with several large-screen TV's playing different sporting events.
There were also several round tables for their weekly Texas Hold 'Em tournaments.  Seemed like a quite  a popular place!

Menu: Appetizers include Acapulco's famous Cheese Dip, Guacamole, 5 Layer Dip, Taquitos, and Nachos.  Burritos include the Acapulco Burrito (steak), the Burrito National (smothered with cheese sauce), Creamed Burritos, Fajita Burrito, Wet Burrito (covered in enchilada sauce), and Chile Relleno Burrito.  Tacos include ground beef, grilled chicken, grilled beef, shrimp, mahi-mahi, and carnitas (pork).  Quesadilla include Queso (cheese), mushroom/onion/tomato, Relleno (stewed chicken or beef), or the Fajita Quesadilla.

Entree specials include Grilled Beef or Chicken Fajitas, Carne Asada, Chile Colorado, Carnitas, Chimichanga (with stewed chicken or beef), Seafood Chimichanga, Grilled Chicken, Taquitos, Pollo Dulce (Marinated chicken with sweet salsa), Chilaquiles Pollo (Stewed chicken casserole), Green Chili Pork, Poblano Chili, and Chicken with Rice. 

If you're in the mood to try a few different items, Acapulco has 10 menu combination plates.  They also offer a build-your-own combo where you can pick-two or three or four items (tacos, enchiladas, burritos, chili rellenos, tostadas or tamales). 

Price guide: Appetizers $4-8  Burritos $7-8  Tacos 2 for $5-6  Quesadilla $5-8  Entrees $8-14  Combos $8-10
What we ordered: To start off, we had complimentary chips and salsa.  The chips were hot and crispy and the salsa was good for standard mild tomato salsa.

My companion and I ordered several plates to share. We ordered a four-combo platter with a beef taco (for me), a chill relleno (for her), and two enchiladas.

The beef taco was pretty good.  The crispy corn shell was filled with beef.  The chile relleno was also pretty good, with a nice crispy batter and delicious spicy pepper.  The enchiladas....um, how can I say this diplomatically?....were not to my liking. I did not care at all for the soggy stewed chicken mixture and the enchilada sauce itself did not seem to be the kind of homemade origins.  The beans and rice were served separately...the refried beans were thick but good.  The rice was not the custom Spanish rice, but rather a mild flavored rice with mixed vegetables.

The fajitas were pretty good. The chicken and steak were marinated and grilled and served with a ton of peppers and onions.  Our server happily brought us an extra side of tortillas and never charged us for them.

Service: Pretty friendly and fast.  Drinks were served frequently.
Overall Impression:   The restaurant had a fun atmosphere, especially with the crowd that was in the bar area playing poker... I know that at least the Woodbury location offers Texas Hold 'Em tournaments a few nights per week, not sure about the others.  The food however, was nothing to rave about. Mediocre.  My suggestion is to stick with grilled meats rather than the stewed. 

Bennigan's Grill & Tavern-Multiple Twin Cities locations

Cuisine: American, Bar & Grill
Locations: Bloomington(**Site of this review), Coon Rapids, St Louis Park
Addresses & Maps:
Bloomington-  1800 W 80th St  Bloomington, MN 55431 952-881-0013

Coon Rapids- 3590 River Rapids Dr. Coon Rapids, MN 55448 763-427-1888

St Louis Park- 6475 Wayzata Blvd St. Louis Park, MN 55426  952-593-5024

Links: Bennigan's Website

Atmosphere: Just beyond the host stand  in the center of the Bloomington Bennigan's is a large bar area, with smaller dining areas scattered around the outer areas of the restaurant.  The small pockets of tables and booths gives this Bennigan's location a nice, intimate feel

Menu: Appetizers include Golden Chicken Tenders, Fajita Chicken Quesadillas, Mozzarella Cheese Sticks, Ultimate Nachos, Buffalo Wings, Boneless Buffalo Wings, Southwest Egg Rolls, and Broccoli Bites. 

Sandwiches include the Monte Cristo, Turkey O' Toole, Buffalo Chicken, Grilled Chicken Club, French Dip, Reuben, Angus Melt, Chipotle Burger, Black & Bleu Burger, and Guiness Glazed Bacon Burger. 

Entrees include Guiness Glazed Chicken & Shrimp or Sirloin, Stacked Chicken, Chicken Fried Chicken, Grilled Chicken Platter, Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Pasta, Ribeye, Sirloin, Baby Back Ribs, Tempura Shrimp, Grilled Salmon, and Grilled Seafood Platter.

Bennigan's also offers a variety of salads and soups.

Price guide: Appetizers $6-8  Sandwiches $8-10  Entrees $10-18
What I ordered: The buffalo chicken salad (layered bleu cheese crumbles, carrots, celery and pico de gallo on a bed of greens tossed in a creamy Ranch dressing, topped with buffalo fried chicken, and placed inside a crispy tortilla shell).  This salad was LOADED! The Buffalo sauce had a nice kick to it, the veggies were fresh and crisp, and the tortilla shell was light and crispy.

One of my companions ordered a cheeseburger.  The beef was juicy and fresh, the bacon smoky and crisp.

Another companion ordered the Turkey O' Toole (Juicy turkey breast sliced thin, melted Swiss cheese and  Smoky Honey Dijon dressing. Served hot on a Bennigan’s pretzel roll.)  Bennigan's was happy to replace French fries with a bowl of their delicious Baked Potato Soup.

Service: Good and fast.  Our visit was on a Saturday at noon and it didn't seem to be too busy.
Overall Impression: Good food at a reasonable price, fast service. Tucked back in an area that doesn't have other restaurants, kind of hard to find.

Olive Garden ~ Bloomington, Burnsville, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Oakdale, Roseville, and Saint Louis Park, MN

Cuisine: Italian

Restaurant Features: Bar, On-Site Parking

Locations: Bloomington, Burnsville, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Oakdale

Addresses & Maps:

Bloomington- 4701 American Blvd W. Bloomington, MN 55437 (952)841-4044

Burnsville- 1451 County Rd 42  Burnsville, MN 55306 (952)898-4200

Coon Rapids- 150 Coon Rapids Blvd Coon Rapids, MN 55443 (763) 786-1089

Maple Grove- 12520 Elm Creek Blvd N Maple Grove, MN 55369 (763) 420-9699

Maplewood- 1749 Beam Avenue Maplewood, MN 55109 (651) 773-0200

Oakdale- 8367 3rd Street N.  Oakdale, MN 55128 (651)264-1447

Roseville- 1525 County Rd C Roseville, MN 55113 (651) 638-9557
Saint Louis Park- 5235 Wayzata Blvd Saint Louis Park, MN 55416 (952) 544-4423

Links: Olive Garden website  

Atmosphere: One look at the house wines lining the walls, and there should be no doubt this is an Italian restaurant!  Cozy, warm and dimly-lit are the words I would use to describe the atmosphere.  Several small sections of the dining area offer privacy and romance.

How cute is this little indoor courtyard that greets you upon entry? The perfect place to have a glass of wine while waiting for your table!

 

Menu: Warm breadsticks and Italian house salad are brought out almost as soon as you place your meal order. 

Appetizers include brushetta, stuffed mushrooms, smoked mozzerella, calamari and shrimp scampi.

Entrees include classic Italian recipes such as lasagna, fettuccini alfredo, ravioli, manicotti, spaghetti and linguini, and chicken or eggplant Parmigiana.

Not in the mood for pasta? No worries...there are a variety of Italian pork, beef and chicken dishes as well.

Price guide: Appetizers: $6-10  Classic recipes $9-12 Meat entrees: $15-20

What I ordered: Baked Manicotti with a delicious blend of cheeses...so much cheese in fact, that I needed to order a meatball to balance it out a little.  Very rich.

My companions ordered the Tuscan Garlic Chicken (Pan-seared chicken breasts with roasted garlic, red peppers and spinach in a white wine and garlic cream sauce, tossed with curly fettuccine).  Absolutely delicious, I will order this dish next time.  The huge cloves of garlic laced throughout the dish are a garlic-lovers dream, a vampire's nightmare. 

and the Stuffed Chicken Marsala (Oven-roasted chicken breast stuffed with Italian cheeses and sun-dried tomatoes, topped with mushrooms and a creamy marsala sauce. Served with garlic parmesan mashed potatoes.)  Another delicious dish!

Service: Our waitress was very nice and friendly, patient throughout the ordering process.  She offered suggestions and offered us samples of the house wines.  She was very friendly and prompt in checking on us.

Overall Impression: The food and atmosphere at Olive garden is pretty much the same at every location you would visit. 

Texas Roadhouse ~ Coon Rapids, MN

Cuisine:  Steak, Chops & Ribs

Restaurant Features: Bar, On-Site Parking

Location: Coon Rapids, MN

Address:  2780 Main Street NW Coon Rapids, MN 55448 (763)862-3389

Links: Texas Roadhouse Website

 

Atmosphere: Downhome FUN! As you walk in the front door, the first thing to greet you is a stand of cute, bubbly hostesses (make sure you Call Ahead to put your name on the list and get a confirmation number;the Texas Roadhouse is always PACKED).  Adjacent to the hostess stand is a juke box stocked with classic & popular hee-haw music; play a few of your favorites (complimentary) and listen to them play throughout the large U-shaped restaurant (bar is in the middle of the restaurant). Although the restaurant is quite large, the Roadhouse literally packs 'em in, table-to-table with just a small path to the "Outhouse"  at the back of the restaurant.  The bathroom is not really an outhouse, but it does have only 3 stalls and a line almost out the door.

Apparently, the Texas Roadhouse is a popular spot for birthday celebrations; we knew this because no less than 6 times did the entire wait staff come together to serenade the birthday guest.  It was actually kind of funny to see, while being sung to, the birthday guest had to sit on a wooden "horse" complete with saddle, with the chandelier doubling as a "spotlight" on said guest. (In this case the guy with in the black sweater (back to camera) on the left side.

Menu: The Texas Roadhouse is known for their steaks. Check 'em out before you order! 

Beside the steaks pictures above, other popular menu items include Fall-off-the-bone ribs, chicken- fried-chicken, BBQ or smothered chicken, grilled porkchops, catfish and walleye.  If you're hungry while looking over the menu, enjoy the peanuts and hot buns with sweet butter...they're sure to tide you over. Texas Roadhouse Menu

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Price Guide:

Appetizers $5-9

Steaks: $9-$19

Ribs: $13-$17

Entrees: $8-$13

What I ordered:

The menu proclaimed its famous "made-from-scratch-recipe" Texas Chilli, so I chose that as one of the two sides that came with my steak.  I mistakenly assumed that "made from scratch recipe" meant homemade, but unless my taste buds deceive me, this chili tasted like it came straight out of a can.  Besides the chunky tomatoes and mildly-spicy kick, I was highly disappointed with the chili.  Next time I would defintely get the side house or ceasar salad as one of my sides instead.

Since the Texas Roadhouse is known for their steaks, I decided to go with the 12oz ribeye (medium)  smothered with muchrooms, onions and jack cheese, with texas steak fries as my second side.  The flavor of the mushrooms and the seasoning on the steak had a hint of garlic, pepper and salt.  The ribeye was cooked exactly to medium, but I thought it should have been more tender than it was, as it was a little on the tough side.  The fries were slightly crispy and nice and hot on the inside, lightly salted.

My companion ordered the 16oz prime rib (medium rare).  The cut was thick and tender as can be, with a slightly aged flavor.  The au jois was also very flavorful.  Probably the best large prime rib you will find for $17.99!

Service: Other than having to call ahead 2-3 hours before you'd like to dine-in, the service was very good.  As I mentioned earlier, the staff was very fun and friendly.  Our server did an excellent job keeping up with refilling the drinks for our party of six and kept bringing additional baskets of the warm buns.  Our food took approximately 30 minutes to arrive, but the peanuts and buns (not to mention good company) made the time pass extremely fast.

I will definitely go back to the Texas Roadhouse in the near future.

Fuddruckers Hamburgers ~ Bloomington, Coon Rapids, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, St Louis Park

Cuisine: American, Burgers, Bakery, Ice Cream

Restaurant Features: Bar (beer only), Counter-Service, Games, On-Site Parking

Locations: Roseville (site of this review), Bloomington, Coon Rapids, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove and Saint Louis Park.

Addresses & Maps:

Roseville 2740 North Snelling Avenue, Roseville, MN  55113 651-636-3833    

Bloomington 3801 Minnesota Drive, Bloomington, MN  55435  952-835-3833

Coon Rapids 8955 Spring Brook Road, Coon Rapids, MN  55433  242-780-2909    

Eden Prairie 11825 Technology Drive, Eden Prairie, MN  55344    952-943-1010                

Maple Grove 14500 Weaver Lake Road, Maple Grove, MN  55311   763-420-6388    

Saint Louis Park 6445 Wayzata Blvd., Saint Louis Park, MN  55426   952-593-3833    

Links:  Fuddrucker's website

Atmosphere: Fuddruckers is decorated with an "Oldies Rock" theme. Vinyl albums, posters and pictures of some of the classic oldies bands line the walls. There are even a couple of large round booths in the corners decorated as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The King. Large back room is a great place to invite a big group or throw a birthday party. Video games and arcade will keep the kids entertained for quite some time :)

Menu: Where else can you go besides Fuddrucker's and order the perfect size burger for your appetite? Choices are 1/3 lb, 1/2 lb, 2/3 lb and the 1 lb burger! Choose your own fixings and decorate your burger from a serve-yourself line adjacent to the pick-up counter. Besides the World's Greatest Hamburgers, they also offer chicken, fish, 1/4 lb beef hotdogs, and a variety of salads. Check out other menu items on the Fuddrucker's website.

All sides come ala carte: Onion rings, wedge-cut fries and chilli-cheese fries, nachos. Fuddrucker's also has a bakery and ice cream shoppe to entice your sweet-tooth. Mouth watering cookies and brownies are available at a very reasonable price! You can also create your own ice cream flavor from a variety of homemade flavors and toppings. Malts are also fabulous, try one! Oh, did I mention that all of their buns are baked fresh on-site daily and grilled to perfection?

Price Guide: Burgers range from $5.50 for the 1/3 to $8.50 for the pounder. This price does not include a side. Sides range from $1.69-$4.00

What I ordered: 2/3 lb southwest burger. Comes with monterrey jack, crispy bacon and guacamole. If you like to spice it up a bit, I highly recommend adding some fresh pico de gallo and/or banana peppers. I like a lot of guacamole, so I also ordered an additional side.

Hungry? You have to be to eat this amazing 1 lb burger with all the fixings!

Service: Order-at-counter-dining. You get a light-up coaster when your food is ready, and then pick-up at the food counter. Usually Fudd's cranks out the food pretty fast, even on a busy night. On this particular Monday night they were not busy at all, but we waited almost 25 minutes for our food. It was worth the wait!

Overall Impression:  Fabulous burgers, fun atmosphere & great bakery!  Exceptional place to bring the kids