Bonefish Grill

Linda’s Take

Bonefish Grill just opened up in the West End and, judging by the website, the menu looked awesome!

I really wanted to go here. Jason said it looked like a great place to try, so we made reservations one night after our dancing lesson.

I really liked how the inside of the restaurant looked. The staff was really nice and was helpful at suggesting things to try.

I absolutely loved the appetizer that we tried, Bang Bang Shrimp; it’s breaded shrimp with a yummy sauce over a bed of shredded lettuce.

I ordered a filet of trout and they cooked the fish really well. I also ordered some corn chowder soup and that was really yummy.

This place isn’t the best for signature drinks, but if you want a really good place to have seafood, go here. Oh, I almost forgot to say the bread was die for!

I would go back there to just eat the bread, the shrimp appetizer, and the corn chowder soup.

By the way, they forgot to bring out my soup with my meal, so they decided not to even charge us for it. I thought that was a really nice touch.

I will say that this place is on the fancy side, so if you want to impress someone without breaking your budget, this is the place to go.

I give this place 5 out of 5 pants off

Jason’s Take

Linda and I spend a lot of time in the West End development in St. Louis Park, so we were excited to see a new restaurant opening up there.

Bonefish Grill looks a bit on the fancy side, but doesn’t get all the way over into pretentious, which is nice. All told, we spent $93, which included four drinks.

We started out with the Bang Bang Shrimp on the waitress’s suggestion, and it was oh-my-god good.

I followed that up with the Ahi Tuna Steak, with mango salsa, which was good. I really like mangoes.

The bread was phenomenal. I’d go there just to eat Bang Bang Shrimp and bread.

I give it 5 out of 5 pants off.

Raku Sushi & Lounge

By Jason Leave a Comment

Linda’s Take

There is a nice quiet sushi place to go in the West Metro called Raku Sushi & Lounge. I liked the decor, the staff is ready to help, and the lunch prices are good.

Jason and I wanted to get some lunch and I wanted to spend time with him before he was going to go deer hunting for the weekend. I didn’t want to do all you can eat sushi, so I looked online and Raku looked like a good spot to go. We really like the West End area and it is so convenient for us.

This place has been there since the West End shops have opened and they seem to be having repeat costumers. I overheard another couple say they come there for lunch often.

The food was really good and pleasing to the eye! This is a place I would go to for lunch with friends or by myself again.

I give it 4 out of 5 pants off

Jason’s Take

I was leaving town and wanted to have lunch with my beautiful wife first. We were in the mood for sushi, so off we went. Linda looked up Raku and it seemed like a good place.

They’ve got little, sit-on-the-floor tables by the door, but traditional booths and tables beyond that and pretty decorative fish hanging all over the ceiling.

The place is affordable. We got the lunch special–3 rolls and a bowl of soup–and spent about $30 after tip. More important: the sushi is good. Cheap, bad sushi isn’t worth paying for.

I give it 4 out of 5 pants off.

Total Score: 4 out of 5 pants off

Wok In The Park

By Jason Leave a Comment

Linda’s Take

Sometimes we don’t have time to do a full date night so if the schedule allows it a yummy lunch is a good idea.

My husband loves Wok In The Park! They have really good Chinese food and the service is always friendly.

I really like there lunch menu. It’s a 1-2-3 step and you can’t go wrong with anything you choose. Also there pho soup is amazing!

Only thing is, you gotta get there right away at 11am, or after 1pm. They get busy fast!

Or, you can place in an order for carry-out!

I give this place 4 out of 5 pants off.

Jason’s Take

I’ve said it before: Chinese restaurants usually have a predictable cycle. They open, they’re awesome, they start to suck, they close.

When my last favorite Chinese place did that, I was sad. Somehow, they haven’t hit the close-the-doors step, yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

Since I was sad, I went hunting for a replacement.

And I found it.

Wok In The Park was born out of a feud with Than Do across the street. Or something. I don’t know all of the details.

What I do know is that WITP freaking rocks. The egg rolls are awesome and the cream cheese wontons are the best I’ve had, and I’ve had a lot of cream cheese wontons.

The lunch special is sweet. Pick a soup, an appetizer, and a main course(a bit smaller than the regular menu) for $10. Good food cheap.

Beats the heck out of anything else in the area, hands down, but try not to show up between 11:30 and 12:30 or you may not get seated. It’s not a huge place and they are popular.

I give it 5 out of 5 pants off.

Total Score: 4.5 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

Linda’s Take

Jason’s Take

Linda’s Take

Jason’s Take

Total Score: 4 out of 5 pants off

Linda’s Take

Jason’s Take

Total Score: 4.5 out of 5 pants off

Jason’s Take

Linda’s Take

Total Score: 3.5 out of 5 Pants Off