Joke Joint Comedy Club

Linda’s Take

I looked at the weather report because I live in Minnesota and that just makes sense. Weekend forecast for Friday night was blustery and I didn’t want to be outside more than I would have to. Plus I just got a new black dress and wanted to look good for Jason. (editor: She succeeded!)

I thought of going to the comedy club at the Mall of America, but they were all booked. Jason was awesome and located another comedy club close to our dance lesson. Plus he said they have a bar and serve food.

When we got there and I sat down I realized that I was way over dressed for the place; I kinda felt silly wearing a dress cause this is a jeans and t-shirt place, or tight tank top works too(ed: #Winning!).

They are able to fit a lot of people in the space provided, but the stage is really small; I guess comics don’t need a lot of room.

The food isn’t much too really talk about, it’s all deep fried stuff. Onion rings, fries, cheese curds, poppers, and mini sliders. They have a few more options, but I didn’t pay that much attention. But the drinks are really good! They make them strong and well. I only had 2 tropical drinks and I was feeling it, then I got a 3rd and lets say I was gone.

I do have to say that since this is a comedy club, the comedy was awesome! I smiled and laughed until my face hurt, then I laugh some more! They do deliver in the laugh your pants off department! I wouldn’t mind going back a few times, only this time I’ll be ready for laughs and drinks and dress a little bit warmer!

I give it 3 out of 5 pants off!

Jason’s Take

Friday night, we wanted to focus more on an activity and less on food. Linda wanted to go to the comedy club at the Mall of America, but they were booked, so I looked around and found the Joke Joint in Lilydale, which is a dinky little city squished between Mendota Heights and the Mississippi river. The town barely has its own zip code. Seriously, it could be Eagan or St. Paul, easily, and I’ve seen the address listed as each of those.

We booked tickets online, which is listed as cheaper than at the door, but the “convenience” fee makes the prices the same. We also paid for the premium seats, but that was a waste. It’s a small venue. It’s not possible to have bad seats. The front row is using the stage as a footrest.

First, the food. It was all fried bar food. There was nothing worth talking about, but the beer was just $4 for a tall domestic.

Now, the comedy. You don’t go to a comedy club for the food.

We saw two acts, plus a 5 minute opener: Nate Abshire and Paul Hooper.

Abshire was funny as hell. His riff on the 5 daily minutes to make a relationship last forever if you’re a woman had me rolling…and Linda scowling. Sorry, honey, but it’s funny AND true. I’d pay to just see him on stage. Plus he sold Bill & Ted inspired posters in the lobby after the show. That’s a pure win. Wild Stallyns!

Hooper was funny. His good bits beat Abshire’s, but his depressing bits definitely knocked the average into Abshire’s favor.

But they were both good. I’d go back.

4 out of 5 pants off.

Total Score: 3.5 of 5 pants off.

Ciao Bella

By Jason Leave a Comment

Jason’s Take

This week, it was my turn to pick a restaurant for date night. Don’t tell Linda, but I only made our reservations to Ciao Bella about 20 minutes before we left for our dance lesson. Love Yelp and OpenTable for finding a restaurant and making reservations.

Love. It.

So Ciao Bella is a nice Italian restaurant that happens to have some sushi options, which is weird. But, being an Italian joint, you’ll find lots of the expected pizza, pasta, and seafood.

As you walk in, you definitely notice the smell of fish, but that fades as soon as you get past the bar area. Once into the restaurant proper, it starts smelling good. They’ve got an open–and sprawling–floor plan, so the place is noisy. It’s not great for quiet, intimate conversations.

The drinks were reasonably priced, but not cheap. My cocktails ran $7.75 each, while Linda’s wine cost $10 per glass.

The food was good. The unlimited stream of bread that’s the staple of Italian restaurants everywhere in the Midwest was excellent.

We followed that up with seared wasabi scallops. Totally reccomend. I could have left happy after filling up on scallops and bread.

For our main course, I had the seafood linguini, which was done very well. Good food. Linda had the halibut special. Her fish was kind of dry, but was an otherwise excellent dish.

Dessert was the budino, which is a molten chocolate cake with vanilla gelato. It’s good, but very rich. We didn’t finish it.

All in all, a good place to get a bite, especially if you want to impress a date without worrying about making up deep conversation.

I give it 4 out of 5 pants off.

Linda’s Take

I had no idea where we were going to go to dinner this evening. I asked Jason to surprise me and pick a place, while I tried to look very nice for him. We walked into Ciao Bella, it looked really fancy. I was pleased with Jason’s choice.

I tried a wine that I liked (Moscato). I’m not a wine drinker at all, but thought what the hell. Not bad but a little pricey at $10.00 a glass. But then again, I don’t know what a good price is for wine.

We ordered some wasabi scallops, they were oh-so-good.

Jason ordered a sea food pasta, and I tried halibut for the first time. Kind of a dry dish, but I guess it’s supposed to be. Still tasted great.

This was a really nice place, the staff is really kind, and they always fill your water glass prompt and give you really good fresh bread.

I give it 4 out of 5 pants off

Total Score: 4 out of 5 pants off!

Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill

By Jason Leave a Comment

Jason’s Take

Linda and I are taking dancing lessons, which means we are also always interested in finding places to dance.

Enter’s Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill. They’ve got live music at least 4 nights a week, and the biggest dance floor I’ve seen in the western suburbs.

It’s gimmicky, it’s country, and the giant guitar-shaped bar can be irritating to walk around, but it’s fun.

The food…sucks. I’ve never been happy eating there. I’ll occasionally get an appetizer, but I try to avoid it. It’s all greasy and not worth getting.

The music, however is good. It’s almost all some blend of country and rock, which makes for fun music to dance to.

If you’re going to dance, I recommend getting there about 9. That’s when the music usually starts, and by 10:30, there are so many obnoxious drunks standing around the dance floor that dancing is almost impossible.

I know some people are offended by waitresses dressed slutty, but it’s not that bad. It’s a bunch of attractive women in shorts and tank tops that don’t leave a lot to the imagination, but they fade in to the scenery pretty fast. By your third visit, you hardly notice. I haven’t decided if that’s good or bad.

I give it 4 out of 5 pants off.

Linda’s Take

So I’m a country girl at heart, even though I grew up in a city suburb; put me on a horse and I’m in heaven.

So naturally, I like country music…really anything with a good beat is alright with me, but I mostly listen to country. So ever since Jason and I started taking our dance lessons, it only made sense to use what we are learning on a regular basis, right? Toby Keith’s Bar and Grill is really close to us, so, duh, it makes sense to shake our groove thing there!

We had been there a couple of times before to eat, but I don’t think I’ll ever order food there again. It seems to be just one step up from fast food for twice the price, however it’s an awesome place to go to and listen to live country music and, with a bigger dance floor than most places, this works for us really well!

But only if people that just stand on the dance floor and hold drinks and don’t dance taking up space on the dance floor get OFF the dance floor! (editor’s note: Or just die!) Oh gosh, that’s so annoying!

We found out that you don’t need to know how to line dance to be able to dance there, however, I wouldn’t mind learning some of that, just not the Achey Breaky that I was thought back in Jr. High School. Swing dancing works well with just about any up-beat song! Get a bunch of turns going and you look like a pro! And don’t worry if you fall on your ass, we have seen that a few times out there!

There is almost a live band every night, and most are really good. Also it’s only a $5.00 cover on Friday and Saturday nights, and there is no cover for Sunday – Thursday. Great way to practice dancing and have a few drinks, or just to have some country fun.

3 out of 5 pants off

Total Score: 3.5 out of 5 Pants Off

Hope Rides Harvest Day

By Jason Leave a Comment

Linda’s Take

There is a wonderful non profit organization that a great woman runs. She doesn’t do it alone; she has great friends to help. My cousin introduced me to her. Her name is Vollie and the organization that she runs is called Hope Rides. She runs this place in Mayer, MN. It allows children that have trouble opening up, have been scared and need someone to trust, have had abuse in their lives, or love being around horses and just get the chance to work and be with horses for free.

A few times a year Vollie throws fundraiser events that are completely geared towards kids and family. I asked Jason if he minded having the whole family go out there to get some fresh air and to have some fun. To my delight, he said yes, and everyone did have fun!

Our son got to learn how to juggle; Jason was also working on this. Our two girls loved the amusement park games and they got like a million suckers as prizes. They also had tables where they had face painting, caricatures, henna tattoos, and someone teaching kids how to draw horses. All of the activities were free and super fun for kids and adults!

There was also food, a silent auction, and Hope Rides merchandise to buy, with all proceeds going to Hope Rides.

Nothing is more rewarding then seeing all of the smiles on my kids faces, and to see Jason with a smile on his face when he is with his family. I wish I saw more of it!

I give this event 5 out of 5 pants off!

Jason’s Take

When Linda asked me to go to the Hope Rides Harvest Day fundraiser, I was less than thrilled. As much as I support her ~~obsession~~ interest in horses, I don’t share it. But family time is important, so off we went.

We walked in, and the first thing we saw was the driveway roped off and a juggling team teaching people to juggle. I’ve been trying to learn lately, so I dragged Brat #1 over there and we gave it a shot. I got bored of dropping the balls within about 15 minutes, but he stuck around for over an hour. He’s not great, but he’s actually juggling, now.

They had henna tattoos, face painting, a little carnival, horse rides, and a bunch of other stuff going on. We all had fun and threw some money at the charity. It was a good time for a good cause, and we’ll be back.

The horse racing was the best.

5 out of 5 stars.

Linda’s Take

Jason’s Take

Total Score: 3.5 of 5 pants off.

Jason’s Take

Linda’s Take

Total Score: 4 out of 5 pants off!

Jason’s Take

Linda’s Take

Total Score: 3.5 out of 5 Pants Off

Linda’s Take

Jason’s Take

Total Score: 5 out or 5 stars.