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Dates that will knock your pants off

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Cooper Irish Pub

By Jason Leave a Comment

Jason’s TakeCooper Irish Pub

On date night last week, we were going to go to the Yardhouse, but found out you really should get a reservation if you’re going there on a Friday night.  So we went to Cooper Irish Pub instead.

Cooper’s is a slight upscale Irish bar.  They serve a variety of beer, and the food’s always good.  We walked in right as a lull hit, because we got seated immediately, but they were crowded 15  minutes later.   Yay, us!

They make a perfect Old Fashioned, if you want to pretend to be a Mad Men hipster.  I did, so they did.  It was good.

We started out with Reuben Rolls, which are reuben guts wrapped in a spring roll and deep fried.  I’ve only recently been able to bring myself to eat sauerkraut, and then only at good restaurants.   This certainly wasn’t a restaurant that made me regret eating kraut.

We followed the rolls with a chicken and hummus wrap with mashed potatoes for me and a vegetarian wild rice burger for Linda.  Both were good.  Cooper’s knocks the mashed potatoes and gravy out of the park.   I like ordering simple things at new restaurants because it’s hard for the chef to hide behind the fancy crap.  It’s a good way to judge the overall quality of a place.  Cooper’s delivers.

For dessert, we had their three-dessert sampler thingy.  I don’t remember what they call it.  We got the deconstructed cheesecake(yum), the bread pudding(yum), and the salted caramel ice cream.  Oh my golly gee, this was good ice cream.  One bite, and I was ready to smoke a cigarette and roll over to fall asleep.   I’ve had sex worse than this ice cream.  Damn.

5 out of 5 pants off, for sure.  Cooper’s is worth visiting.

Linda’s TakePass the cigarette

So this evening we were going to try out the Yardhouse, but with over an hour wait we thought there are plenty of other restaurants over at the West End Shops we can try.  The closest was Cooper’s. They got us in right away; the place was busy but not over busy.

They had a good selection of beers on tap, and the menu was pleasing. I loved the look of the place, tons to look at.

We tried an appetizer that had I really liked, Ruben egg-roles I would get those again in a heartbeat. I ordered a veggie burger, and it really tasted good however it fell a part too easy, my sweet potato fries were some of the best I have ever eaten, plus the choices of dipping sauces that I got with it made them 10 times yummier!

The best part of the meal was the desserts, we had a 3 treat trio, and by far for both of us we loved the salted caramel ice cream, however I found out the hard way that ice cream and a few beers don’t sit to well in my tummy. Needless to say that cut or evening a little shorter that what we wanted. So never again will I have the 2 together! Sorry for crashing our date honey, but you are awesome company!

4 out of 5 pants off

 Total Score

4.5 Pants Off!

Pants OffPants OffPants OffPants OffHalf Pants Off

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Minnesota, Restaurants, St Louis Park Tagged With: american food, bar, irish food, upscale, West End

Crave

By Jason Leave a Comment

Linda’s TakeGodzilla Sushi Roll

So, one night, we didn’t know what kind of food we were in the mood for. But we wanted to stay close to Toby Keith’s to get some good dancing in and have drinks.

Jason suggested Crave; it has hearty food and light food. Kind of an American/Asian twist on everything. I thought it was a superb idea!

I really love the atmosphere in this place. It is high scale business feel, but warm and inviting. I don’t know if that makes sense to you, but that is what ran through my head.

Our waiter was really nice, he even gave me a wine to try for free because Jason ordered an Old Fashioned and the bartender hadn’t muddled the fruit in the drink. I said something politely to the waiter because I know it makes a difference in the way the drink tastes. Jason agreed with me when he got his corrected drink and I could tell by the look on his face that he was satisfied! (Almost like that after-sex look men get!) I asked the waiter for suggestions on food, and the way he was describing some of his favorites sounds as if they would be the perfect choice for me.

I ordered a beet salad and I really enjoyed it, fresh and crisp. Also I ordered a “Godzilla” sushi roll. Oh my god, this was huge. Packed full, about twice the size of regular shushi rolls, and I couldn’t even finish it. However, I do want to go back and get one again. Delightful and delish!

This is a great place to take someone out for a date. Really great food, more pricey than a place like Applebees, however not over the top pricey. Also they have a couple of other locations around the Twin Cities.

I give it 5 out of 5 pants off!

Jason’s TakeBaked Mac & Cheese

We’ve slowly been working our way through all of the restaurants in St. Louis Park’s West End district.  We’d eaten at Crave before, but not at all recently.  Definitely not recently enough to review it accurately.

So off we went.

We ordered drinks.  I ordered an Old Fashioned, because I’m a geek and a Mad Men fan.  You can only get good Old Fashioneds at good restaurants, and I thought Crave fit the bill.  I was wrong.  With an Old Fashioned, you have to muddle the fruit and the bitters into the sugar or it doesn’t work.  Hell, they even know that at Applebee’s.  Without doing that, you’re basically drinking a glass of Rye.

Thankfully, the waiter understood and got a replacement quickly.  I watched and the bartender didn’t spit in my glass.  Yay!

We started with the beet salad and walleye cakes.  I can’t stand beets, so I only tried a bite, then graciously let Linda have the rest, cuz I’m awesome like that.  The walleye cakes, however, were right on the edge of really freaking awesome.

After that, I had the baked mac & cheese, which always looks so damn good on the menu, but never–at any of the restaurants I’ve been to–lives up to my hopes.  Don’t get me wrong, it was good, especially with the chicken-apple sausage, but it didn’t wow me.

The bill ran $78.90 after tax.  That’s two appetizers, two entrees, and a round of drinks.

I give it 4 out of 5 pants off.

Total Score: 4.5 Pants Off.

Pants OffPants OffPants OffPants OffHalf Pants Off

 

 

 

 

 

Walleye Cakes Crave

 

Filed Under: Minnesota, Restaurants, St Louis Park Tagged With: american, american food, bar, chinese, chinese food, fusion, sushi, West End

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