Va Bene Berarducci's Cafe - Duluth, MN

Bellisio is our usual go-to romantic spot in Duluth, but I did some research and stumbled on Va Bene. I'm not one for relying on reviews, but I have yet to see one bad review for Va Bene. So we decided to swicth it up, and off we went Mr. H and I!

Va Bene really doesn't look like much from the outside. It's a small little cafe type of place, so I wasn''t sure about the atmosphere. Upon walking in, I felt comfortable right away. The decor is cozy and not fussy. The vibe is laid back and lightly romantic. The kitchen is literally in the open, behind the bar area and to the right. There are about 10 tables in a small dining area that boasts a nice fireplace. Looking beyond, you see a glass enclosed patio area about 30 feet off the ground, overlooking lots and lots of lake. We waited about 5 minutes, and were seated in the next open table in that area on the patio. It was a small, narrow space, but somehow it doesn't seem cramped at all. The only gripe I have is that the wood accents/construction that runs along the windows are RIGHT at eye level...so you can see the water, but the wood blocks your view of the shore along with it, so it's like looking at half a painting.

As we looked over the menu, we ordered a 1/2 price bottle of wine (DiGiovanna Nero d’ Avola.) They have a small but very nice wine list. The cheapest wine by the glass on the red list is a Pinot Noir(Cesari Due Torri =$6.50). That's unheard of! We recieved our bottle of wine in minutes, and it was lovely; light but well balanced and lush.

As we perused the menu, we saw many delicious things and wanted all of them. I was happy to see crostini's, so we ordered the prosciuotto gorgonzola crostinis ($8.50.) The entrees are mostly pasta dishes, and they also have a build your own pasta, where you can choose between the 3 types of pasta (fettucine, jumbo shells or penne, which are the 3 varieties they serve in all), a sauce, and then up to 3 additional items. The ingredients are stored inside a cooler, where you can pick what you want and watch the cooks make it for you right there. It was tempting, but we decided on the Amatriciana with fettucine for me (A zesty pancetta, red onion, and tomato sauce, topped with Pecorino Romano cheese. Just like in Roma! = $14.75) and Mr. H on the Pesto Frutti Di Mare (Sautéed shrimp and scallops served with our creamy house-made sundried tomato pesto sauce. = $14.75.)

The crostini's came in about 10 minutes or less, while we thoroughly enjoyed our wine and were feeling a bit romantic. I bit into the crostini, and was a little sad that I was having trouble eating it properly. For one, I could not just bite "through" the proscuitto. It wasn't tough, but it's more sturdy than ham. So I found myself getting a huge bite of proscuitto + like 3 gorgonzola crumble in one bite. Plus, there was waaaayy too much fig jam. Fig jam is very sweet, and it also got all over my hands and table. I found myself removing half of it with my knife before eating the next one. One the good side, the crostini's themselves were perfect.

Our food came about 10 minutes later (i loved the timing of the service here) and looked and smelled wonderful. I took a bite of my dish, and it was heavenly. The tomato sauce was abundant, slightly spicy, tangy and garlic-ey. And not all at once, but in simple, light layers. The pecorino romano on top added a little kick and salt to the dish, which rounded it out well. I am pleased to say this was not too rich or too salty. This is the kind of dish I had hoped for at Rinata, or even I Nonni, but never got. My only gripe is that the pasta was a bit soft - I could have used a little more bounce off my teeth.

Mr. H's dish seemed a little more suspect, as do many seafood/ pasta dishes. I took a bite of his, and immediately wanted more...LOTS more. The scallops were soft and buttery, the shrimps were meaty and succulent, the penne was firm and chewy, the sauce was creamy, smokey and rustic, without ever being too rich. I would have sang if it weren't for the bitterness of food envy I was feeling.

Somewhere in between there, we were served focaccia bread with oil. And really - when is that NOT good??

When we were done and I was full, I was sad. Sad that I could not continue eating, and sad that we probably had to leave pretty soon. We talked a bit with a (different) waiter who informed us they had been there for 4 years now, but they have been revamping so many people think they're new. We told him how much we loved it, and he sincerely thanked us and seemed proud of our compliments.

I will be searching for a place in Minneapolis that can hold a candle to this one. Any suggestions??

Greats:
-Laid back vibe
-The Ameritriciana
-The Frutti
-The wine

Not so greats
-The lake view
-The crostini
That's it!

http://www.vabenecaffe.com/va-bene-caffe.html

Mexico Lindo - Duluth, MN

Mr. H and I arrived in Duluth, and were pretty excited to try out the new HellBurgers (the old Hells Kitchen) which is also right across the street from our hotel. After we arrived in Duluth and chilled in the hotel awhile, across the street we went.

We entered and seated ourselves, per the sign. The inside kind of reminded me of kindergarten with it's classic and bright colors and somewhat bright lighting. The illustrations by Ralph Steadman remain, along with much of the decor. I had wings on my mind, but we still perused the menu and drinks...and perused them....annnnd perused them. I think we perused them for about 10 minutes, and I was kind of getting a headache from the grade school atmosphere, so we left. They deliver for free, and next time I will likely hole up in the hotel with a bottle of wine and order delivery since it might be faster that way!

Mr. H and I then went on our famous 1 hour find-the-right-restaurant excursion. Mr. H is supremely indecisive, and since i had wings on my mind, I was too. Little Angie's Cantina? Nope, too bright, loud and generic. Green Mill? Old Chicago? No, hell to the no! We finally decided on the new and much hyped Mexico Lindo. (how we went from wings to mexican is beyond me, but not unusual for us scatter-brained individuals.)

We arrived at Mexico Lindo, which was a little confusing to get to since it is upstairs in the Fitgers building. We arrived and first saw a few people sitting in waiting areas. We were informed that there was a 20 minute wait, but we could wait in the bar. We agreed out of sheer frustration. We were then led through a frenzied, large dining room area to a small bar in the same space. Shortly after, we met our bartender who introduced herself as "not a nice person" and overall seemed unhappy. I ordered a margarita which was filled right to the brim, wiping off much of the salt... And the mix comes from a machine. We waited 30 minutes and watched a scene of disorganization . 3 drinks sat at the server station our entire stay at the bar. There were 2 bartenders in the small bar, one of which who was mostly counting cash. Finally, we were seated, a result of a "call and answer" system, where the servers walk around and call the name of who is on the wait list, menu's in hand.

We were led into yet another huge dining area, much different than the one we were just in; a bit more quiet and low key. Why they didn't put another bar in this area is beyond me. No wonder our bartender was so pissy. It also was lacking in decor. Mexico Lindo has sort of a schizophrenic quality to it. I realize it is only 2 weeks old, but still....

The menu consisted of your typical Chef Boyardee Mexican options. Combinations, enchilada's, burrito's, seafood specialities and the like. They brought out chips, which were hot and crispy, and the salsa was not hot at all, but cilantro rich, garlicky and very tasty. We finally decided: me on the Tres Maria (3 enchiladas) and he on a combo with one chalupa, one tamale and one chile relleno.

Tres Maria
(I don't have a pic for this one yet- but imagine 3 chef boyardee enchiladas with lettuce and junk all over them.)

Mr. H's combo

According to Mr.H, his chalupa was basically a hard taco (we are spoiled by the chalupas at Puerta Del Sol by our house.) However, we both found his tamale to be the best tamale either of us has ever had. It was delicately spiced, almost a cinnamon or nutmeg flavor, and completely savory. The chile relleno was also quite good, but again a tad too cheesey, even for me.

Greats:
-The tamale
-The chips and salsa
-Our waitress wasn't scattered or tardy. She was prompt, friendly and more together than the surroundings,

Not so greats
-That bitchy bartender (i hate bad service)
-The margs (terrible)
-The enchilada's
-The atmosphere

I don't think they have a website.

Mad Capper - Stillwater , MN

Mr. H and I started our recent vacation in Stillwater. We arrived there Friday afternoon, and decided on the Mad Capper for dinner, as we were famished after some shopping.

The Mad Capper is more of a bar with tables than a formal restaurant. Mostly working class people, and some families (unlike Brine's across the street - meat market!) They also boast a very nice selection of beer - including Kwak, Marsdoues, and otehr variety of tap beers for pretty decent prices. I ordered a vanilla vodka diet, and Mr. H ordered the Tripel Karmeliet which was quite good.

The food is pretty basic, though they do boast a few unusual sandwiches (Cream Cheese and Olive = $8.99, Avocado and Tomato = $8.99) Although they were intriguing, I opted to go with the Spicy Chicken sandwich (7 oz. chicken breast on whole grain bread, covered with Tabasco sauce and Bleu cheese =$7.99) and Mr. H ordered the Cajun Burger (Topped with shaved ham,
mozzarella cheese and Cajun seasoning = $9.99.)

Our food came in about 15 minutes, and I must say I wasn't too impressed. My chicken sandwich came on whole grain bread, which wasn't bad in itself. But the chickem breast was so extremely small that the bread overwhelmed it. I ended up having to pull the extra bread off (because I hate to eat 30% of just bread in my sammiches) and I wolfed all of it down in about 5 minutes. The tabasco sauce was apparent, but something tasted kind of...synthetic. I asked for a side of ranch instead of the blue cheese, so the sandwich was completely bare besides the chicken.

On the other hand, their fries were really good, as was their ranch. Fries were a good size, hot and salty. And the ranch was thick and creamy - not watery and bland like some places (yes I am a typical midwestern ranch-on-everything-please person.) Mr. H's burger was also quite good. I didn't taste anything Cajun, but it was nice and beefy and the bun held together nicely. Mr. H put some BBQ sauce on it, which I think was the best thing we were served. The BBQ sauce is nice and smokey and sweet, so I would suggest anyone thinking about going ere get something with te BBQ sauce on it.

Overall, if I go back, I will try their unique sandwiches, as I think most other things here are pretty standard bar fare - not great, but not bad either.

http://www.madcappersaloonandeatery.com/page.html

Savories - Stillwater, MN

I'm all about the quaint cafe experience when it comes to the lunch, so we chose Savories for our cafe in Stillwater. From the outside, it looks to be a quaint little cafe. They have a delicious looking sandwich on their lunch menu (dijon chicken, jambon, and gruyere pressé; mustard rubbed chicke, smoked ham, sweet onions and gruyere, wrapped and pressed = $11) so we went in, despite it being 1030 AM on a Sunday.

The decor is very bistro and quaint. Our server explained that lunch didn't begin until around noon, which was a huge bummer. But we opted to just stay and order from the breakfast menu, which consisted of maybe 6 things. She described the specials (french toast with apricot crumble e.t.c.) and also that they had different mimosa's on special. I love anything mimosa, so we ordered one lavendar and one elderflower mimosa at $3 apiece.

Since this place was a little bit expensive, we opted to share. We ordered the Crespelles St. Chapelle (a threesome of tender homemade crepes stuffed with creamy herbed ricotta, ham, mushrooms and caramelized leeks topped with a roasted tomato cream = $11.95) and sipped our mimosas while waiting. The lavendar mimosa was a bit too perfumey for me, and the elderflower a bit more sweet. We waited around 10 minutes for our food to come, and I was regretful when I saw how much it was when shared. I was quite hungry, and even thoguh Mr. H had already had a few doughnuts at the hotel, he ate every last bite of his.



The crepes themselves were lovely - soft and the herb tomato sauce was tangy and creamy. My big disappointment was that there really wasn't enough of it, and I left hungry, with a $30 bill to boot. (which i can't really blame Savories for.)

Overall, I would go back if I wanted a great and somewhat expensive lunch experience. I don't recommend splitting anything, or going here if you are super hungry.

http://www.savoriesbistro.com/index.html