Crave - St. Louis Park

After seeing Alice in Wonderland at the Showplace Icon Theater in SLP, I was delighted to see Crave right next door. I have been wanting to go for some time now, and what better to do after a movie than nosh and drink and talk?? So...of we went, Mr. H and I!

Crave is really ultra modern and new, very spacious, but not at all trendy or stupid (like Azia. ugh.) It was very friendly and cozy, for being such a large space. The outside boasts some of the most gorgeous outside seating I've ever seen, and I immediately imagined myself on a nice breezy evening; lounging, sipping drinks and eating sushi and life is A-OK! We got there around 930, just in time for Happy Hour. I ordered a vodka cranberry/apple/ginger ale drink ($5!) and Mr. H, a mojito. Their Happy Hour food is seriously a good deal. You get 3 categories - $3, $4 and $5, with anywhere from five to seven things on each list. I got the Unagi maki ($3) and an and an order of the Lemon Garlic Chicken wings ($5.) Mr. H got the Scallop Poppers (scallops baked in spicy mayo wrapped in salmon, topped with crunchy flakes - $5)

Maki/ ScallopsThe maki was lush and lovely. I prefer my sushi food in smaller bites. Some places I've been to act like it's a competition to see how big they can make them. But I like being able to COMFORTABLY pop one in my mouth. These were tres bien! But the real winner were Mr's H's Scallop poppers. I took one bite and was immediately transported to a different universe. It was like biting through BUTTER, with crunchy flakes and my ever beloved masago adding to texture. The scallops were buttery and light and melt in your mouth wicked awesome good superb. I want these again and again.

WingsI loove me some wings, and these were the best I have ever had. In my life. Either that means I haven't had enough wings, or that these are really really good. And dude, they are FIVE BUCKS. The lemon came through just slightly, letting the chicken sing. The best part: the skin. Crunchy crispy greasy heaven. The wings are meaty, and are exactly what I think of when I think of a good nosh. Even ask Mr. H, who "doesn't like chicken skin." That boy was sucking and biting every last crumb of wing-tip skin (my favorite part) like a starving dog. I think I even heard him growl once or twice.

Overall, I loved the happy hour nosh and drink. I also got a nice glass of sake - all this came out to be 30 bucks. That's pretty awesome for all that food and a few drinks. Since Crave has 87 hundred things on their menu, I will have to make many visits. My mom wants to go to dinner tomorrow, and I WILL get her here, so be on the lookout for that blog. Hi Mom!

http://www.craveamerica.com/index.php

Volnay Bistro Bar - Wayzata. (shut up Chad.)

Since I've started to explore the French language, I've also become increasingly curious about the food, and culture in general. I've already (semi) conquered Japanese, so next up: French. I mean, who needs all that butter and cheese? The French Paradox says we do. So there.

Sunday was a rare shopping free day, so Mr. H and I opted to go out for la dejeneur in a new little French place in Wayzata. I've heard the space is formerly Chez Foley, and it doesn't seem completely French (they have a ranch chicken wrap), but it was affordable (which will be my biggest obstacle to truly experiencing French foods) had a few frenchy things, and was close by. So....off we went!

Volnay is a quaint little cafe type place. The interior is very classic, but relaxed. I dunno why they call it a bar, because there isn't one. But I cant wait until it really warms up, so I can sit outside on a small strip of sidewalk at what will no doubt be a small round table and be very European and such.

I knew what I wanted before I even got there (hooray internets) but Adam was undecided. As much as I tried sweet talking, eyelash batting, threatening, bullying and downright begging, he decided against the Lobster Club (lobster meat, house made aioli, lettuce, tomato, bacon and avocado on 12 grain - $13) and went with the Mussels Mariniere (Prince Edward island mussels, white wine, shallots, parsley, garlic and bay leaf - $15) and I stuck with my Bochees a la Reine (flaky pastry filled with chicken, chives, mushrooms, potato dumplings and buerre blanc sauce - $9), and la serveuse even told me my pronunciation of it was quite good, though I don't know what it translates to in English. Oh, and of course we needed soup, so we ordered a bowl of french onion soup as well.

French Onion Soup:
This is not your typical greasy, overdone onion soup. No. It was a simple soup, with a nice piece of swiss draped and semi melted over the top. It was savory, had soft spongy crutons afloat, and the onions were soft and melted in my mouth (this from a girl who doesn't like onions. I challenge myself!) It was a very good "lunchy"soup.

Bouchees a la Reine (how in the hell do I set up my international keyboard?!?!)
First off, I warily circled the salad, as a dog would another strange dog. Salads scare me. They can be so terrible. But this was NOT terrible. It was simple, crunchy, not over dressed, and perfect in every way. The Bouchees al a Reine...well, it's basically a Chicken Pot Pie. One that melts your FACE with awesomeness! Calling the crust flaky and buttery is a downright insult. This pastry is the true nectar of the pastry gods. I even ate the mushrooms in it, which were chopped and admittedly added texture only, but still. Baby steps! The filling was creamy without being TOO rich, and the chicken and the potato dumplings danced and sang in my mouth like they were happy to finally be eaten. In short - SO DAMN GOOD. (and like, a billion calories.)

Mussels
I tried them. I don't like them. They remind me of everything I don't like about mushrooms. I know, I know. This will have to be conquered later. Mr. H enjoyed them though. The garlic seemed subtle, but I was surprised how much I tasted in my mouth and smelled on my hands later.

After looking in the pastry case, we HAD to get dessert. Yes, they have creme brulee. But our sights were set on the Mouche Ganache (light chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache mousse - $6.)

It was ok, if unremarkable. Big old dome of rich, firm mousse with an inch of cake underneath. It had an edible star - bonus!

We ordered coffee's after all this, and I don't know if my head was swimming from all the butter and cream and goodness, or if that really was the best coffee I have ever had in my entire life. Rich, strong, flavorful.. - PARFAIT!

I looooved Volany, and will go back and eat as many things as possible!

Greats:
- All.

Not so greats:
- None.

Casablanca - East Bank, U of M, Minneapolis

After much delay, Mr. H and I finally hit up Casablanca. I was surprised to see this little hidden restaurant is actually quite beautiful. Nestled besides the Profile Room building on the East Bank, Casablanca is a cozy little eatery with lots of modern, sleek touches. Pretty lights, sleek bar and flowers, and comfortable seating (double bonus.) The menu offers African, Middle Eastern and Somali cuisine, along with burgers, pasta's and crepes. This mish-mosh can be a little scary in restaraunts - but off we went!

They don't serve any alcohol at Casablanca, so I had an African tea. It was way sweet and cinnamon-ey, but comforting on the cold night. For our appetizers, we ordered the Sambusa (A favorite Arabic, Turkish, and Somali pastry, similar to a turnover or spring roll made with ground beef, onions, garlic, cilantro, and tomatoes. Two pieces - $3.95) and they were out of the spinach crepe, so we got a chicken crepe instead.

Sambusa

These are pretty similar to the Indian samosa. Meat inside of pastry. This was beef, and was pretty simple. There was a kick of spice, but it could have used a dipping sauce to enhance the flavors.

Chicken Crepe (Chicken and mushrooms with veloute sauce- $5.95)

This thing was weird. The crepe itself was fine. But the cream sauce was like cream of mushroom soup, and the interior appeared to be frozen veg from the bag thrown in with some shredded chicken. Not great.

They have about 87 things on the menu I want to try. I tottered between the Kay-Kay (something I had years ago, and isn't an easily accesible Somali dish) and a chicken entree. As much as I wanted to try the Kay Kay again, I opted for the Chicken Sonoma (Chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese, feta cheese, mushrooms, topped with cream sauce, and served with soft saffron basmati rice - $11.95), regardless of the fact I was told it was "pre-stuffed" when I asked for no mushrooms (yikes?) Mr. H ordered the Goat (Slow cooked goat meat caramelized with onions and cilantro - Served with basmati rice or pasta - $9.95.)

Chicken Sonoma

As you can see, they give you a gigantic mountain of saffron rice. This rice is soooooo good. Nice and saffron-ey, with raisins and not overcooked at all. I want to create this at home so I can take bowls of rice with me to work several times a week, maybe mixed with some protein or an addition of vegetable. I was a bit apprehensive when I approached my chicken, but was pleasantly surprised! The chicken was moist and tender and had great flavor. When I got to the middle, I became confused. I was seeing (and tasting) some sort of filling with sun-dried tomatoes, no real presence of cheese (or mushrooms.) The cream sauce was out of this world good, but there was so little of it. It was rich and buttery and deep. I wanted more! I also wish I had more cheese. I got no flavors of goat or feta cheese at all.

Goat

Mr. H also got the same huge pile of rice, with what looked like little "nibs" of goat meat, on the bone. I've never had goat outside of sauce. These were plain, and cooked well. But the taste was certainly different. The texture was either slightly fatty, or like roast beef, and I struggle to describe the flavor. It was decidely more "gamey" than what I am used to. I am not sure how goat is SUPPOSED to taste, but this really tasted like... an "animal." Not dirty at all, just a bit different from what I am used to. I'm not explaining it well - it's hard to describe.

After we were finished, I asked to see the menu again, due to my confusion over my dish. Upon my questioning, our server (who was great) mentioned the filling was supposed to have sun dried tomatoes in it (before I even mentioned what it was), and that they must have accidentally left it of fthe description. Not complaining though, because the sun dried tomato was delicious with the chicken. But that's a dsitinct flavor, so I do hope they correct the menu listing.

Overall, I really liked Casablanca and will definitely go back. I am intrigued to try their pasta dishes (just to see, yknow?) and the Kay Kay. Bonus is that they have coupons on restaraunt.com - I got a $25 gift certificate for 8 bucks. There are a few conditions (minimum of $35 purchase, and mandatory 18% gratuity) but it still comes out to be a good deal!

Greats
-Nice atmosphere. Very cozy, but modern
-Chicken Sonoma
-Chicken Sonoma sauce OMFG.
-Saffron rice!
-Our server was really well spoken and pleasant

-Restaraunt.com makes it possible to get a crapload of stuff without breaking the bank!

Not so greats
-The chicken crepe
-The goat, but maybe I just don't like goat
-African tea, but that's just because I don't like cinnamon!

http://www.casablancadiamondrestaurant.com/