Dinner...Resumed

Monday, January 7th was the first time my grandpa and I had gone out to dinner in a long while.  While we were meeting every 10-18 days or so for the majority of 2012, I put our meetings on hold back in August because of my dad.

We decided to start fresh again at the beginning of the year.  We went to our family standard, Yarusso's.  On the first Monday of the month, they celebrate all of the birthdays for the month.  If you have a birthday during  that month, you get a free entree with the purchase of one.  Being that my grandpa's birthday was the day before we met, he received a free meal.  My birthday is also in January but we didn't have anybody else along so I could get mine free. :)  M had an impromptu meeting with someone from the American Liver Foundation and my mom didn't want to go since she had been eating a lot of Italian lately.  (Yeah, I don't understand that either.)

They also have all you can eat Pizza and Pasta on Mondays for $7.99.  That's what I had.  The pizza was ok.  The pastas to choose from were rigatoni with red or alfredo, ravioli as well as huge meatballs in red sauce.  They're meatballs are pretty good and I had rigatoni with alfredo sauce, which isn't something I normally gravitate towards but it was really good.

I talked to the owner there and he asked me how my dad was.  It was hard to say that he had passed away. He was very bummed when I told him.  My dad and him along with my mom and others in our family used to go out and go see a certain band back in the day together.

It was nice to talk to my grandpa again, one on one too.  And I forgot to get a picture of us!  I hate when I forget!

Breakfast with Grandpa

Last Saturday the 8th, M and I picked up my grandpa and went to Key's Cafe in Woodbury.  The Woodbury location is located inside an indoor mall, which was kind of different.  It's been hard trying to meet with my grandpa on a regular basis with everything else that is going on with life but I'm trying my hardest, even if we were normally scheduled to go to dinner earlier that week.  Oops. Better late than never.

  

A Special Breakfast

Last Sunday it was time to go out with my grandpa for breakfast but I also asked my parents if they could join us.  We met at the Woodbury Cafe in Woodbury.  I have been to all of the sister restaurants (Grandview Grill, Louisiana Cafe, Uptown Diner) so I am familiar with their menu.  Everyone loved their food so it was a great success.  My dad had the chicken fried steak breakfast, the walleye breakfast for my mom and my grandpa had a classic egg breakfast.  I had the cajun breakfast and tried my best to make it as veganized and healthy as possible but pretty much failed.

Have you ever used Groupon Now?  I've used Groupon many times before but Groupon Now is when a business is offering a deal for that day.  I decided to look and see if Woodbury Cafe was on there and it was so before I left, I bought a $15 voucher for $7 which could only have been used for that day.  If it expires without being used, you get the promotional value (the price you paid), back. It was a great way to save $8 before heading out the door.

Here's a picture of us. My dad probably doesn't like this picture because his cheeks puffy.  He's gained some weight lately but his cheeks are from the steroids he's been taking to control his pain.  My mom's eyes are closed. (WHICH THEY ARE IN EVERY.SINGLE.PHOTO.WE EVER TAKE!)

For those that have never seen my parents stand next to each other, my dad is 6'3" and my mom is 4'11"

We're Back On

We had a one month hiatus from going out to dinner/breakfast with my grandpa as he had cataract surgery so we needed to wait until he felt up to going again.  My grandpa is always in search of a good burger so we took him to Brine's in Stillwater on Wednesday, August 1st.  M and my grandpa ordered burgers and I had a fish sandwich.  I've always thought Brine's food is good so I'm glad we had a chance to take him here before the summer ended.  They have the best bloody's too!

Someone looks craaaazzzyyy!

Woody's

On Wednesday, June 13th, M and I picked up my grandpa and we went out to dinner.  We went to Woody's Roadhouse in Woodbury.  This place has been a million different restaurants over the years including Ol' Mexico eons ago and most recently, Throwbacks.

The restaurant has a Cowboy Jack's-type feel to it.  My grandpa had ribs, M had a chicken sandwich and I had salmon and all of us enjoyed our meals.

Our First Breakfast Date

I haven't had much desire to blog lately and I haven't visited your blogs.  I go in these ebbs and flows of blogging and reading them and then, not so much, so it should be no surprise I'm behind on my blog.

A couple of Saturdays ago, June 2nd, I had breakfast with my grandpa.  Normally we have been doing dinners every other Wednesday but I thought it might be fun to mix it up a bit and meet on a Wednesday and on the opposite week, meet for breakfast on one of the weekend days.

M couldn't join us since he had last minute roofing plans at his cabin so it was just my grandpa and I. I met at his house at 9 am and we went to Shar'Els Cafe in Oakdale.  I had never been there before but the place was packed and we couldn't even find a parking spot in their lot.  We had a short wait of 5-7 minutes before we were seated.  I wanted to order an omelet however I rarely eat eggs so I wanted egg substitute.  They don't have it!  I thought that was weird considering this is a cafe that closes at 3 pm and only serves breakfast and lunch.  I ordered the omelet anyway.

I went back to my grandpa's house and visited with him for awhile before leaving so I could go home and go to the hospital to visit a little baby that was born the day before.  I never made it to the hospital.  I got home and felt completely sick, which I think is from the food.  I'm sure there was nothing wrong with the food but just the way I responded to eating a food I rarely eat.  

I didn't get a picture of my grandpa and I.  There really wasn't anyone that could take the picture for us and I'm a horrible self-portrait taker.  I even had a dress on! 

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Patio Action

Last Wednesday, we went out with my grandpa for dinner.  Since the weather was absolutely gorgeous, I suggested we go to The Freight House in Stillwater.  They have a huge patio which overlooks the St. Croix River.  The food was really good.  Both my grandpa and I had fish and M had bacon mac 'n cheese.

I spent many a night at this place under age and when I was legal.  I remember the good old days when I was 19 and 20 and $20 could get you four Long Islands with tip.  I can't imagine drinking that many now.  I also can't imagine dancing on the speakers and stage like I used to either.  Remember those days, Becky?  Every Friday and Saturday night!

One Day Late

I couldn't meet with my grandpa on our regularly scheduled Wednesday due to the going away happy hour the day before so we met on Thursday instead.  It was just my grandpa and me this time and we went to a bar called Riley's, which is just minutes from his house.  They had a great special on ribs so my grandpa ordered those and I had jumbo shrimp and both of our meals were very good.  I guess I was surprised at how good the food was for just a neighborhood bar.  I used a Crowd Cut voucher and we didn't have to pay anything but the tip!

Thanks to the lady having a cigarette outside that I bothered to take our picture

Patriot's Tavern

This past Wednesday, we took my Grandpa to Patriot's Tavern in Stillwater.  I've been wanting to try this place for so long.  M and I went there on Independence Day (get it, Patriot's Tavern?) but they were closed.  I had high hopes for this place and it was even more awesome that I had a Groupon deal for it as well.

Things didn't go as planned.  To start off the bad night, our server didn't even come to greet us for five minutes. Then he took our drink order and was already walking away before M had finished ordering his drink.  It took another handful of minutes to get our drinks but we weren't ready to order.  Again, another big delay for the server to come back.

We finally ordered and my grandpa ordered a cheeseburger.  The server rudely said, "what kind?"  My grandpa said, "a cheeseburger" not knowing what he meant.  He again rudely said, "what kind of cheese? I guess I should be more clear in what I'm asking for."  Despite that last part of the sentence, he still had a tone and definitely no patience.  I should also state that the place is very small and when we arrived, there weren't that many people in there.  The place did start to fill up though as the time passed.  I ordered and then M ordered his meal, omitting both greens and mayo from the burger.

The order came out and of course, M's had greens and mayo on it.  He told the person who brought it out, who wasn't our server, that that wasn't what he ordered and what it wasn't supposed to have on it.  They came back two minutes later with greens removed and mayo scraped off.  Now, maybe that would be good enough for some of you but I think it's poor.  If someone doesn't like mayo, do you think they want a bun that still has a thin layer of mayo on it?  The burger is ruined because someone cannot either take directions or follow directions.  The burger sat there on the edge of the table because M had lost his appetite and it wasn't for another 10 minutes before the server came over to check on us for the first time since receiving our food.  He asked what the deal was and pretended to be pissed when he found out they scraped off the mayo from the bun.  I'm sure they do it all the time.  If you are a picky eater, scraping stuff off doesn't cut it. Imagine the condiment you hate the worst on your bun and having them scrape it off and bring it back out to eat.  It's still there and at that point, there's no use trying to take it back again because who knows what they'll do to your burger then.  

Our server later showed us the ticket he put in to the cooks and it did show the server got the order correct and it was the cook's error.  I guess he still wanted to try and get a good tip out of this experience.  Never once did the server apologize for the mistake.

We received our bill and of course he had taken off the burger and the $3 additional charge for fries also was removed as when you enter in a burger in the system and then fries, they get grouped together as the server explained therefore it was a "bonus" that we received the fries for free as he stated.  Only then, did he apologize for the issues we had.  After taking off M's food, we barely made the minimum amount needed to use the Groupon so the bill ended up being cheap.

I was so excited to come here and now I know I'll never be back.  The whole place and experience has left a horrible feeling for us.  You win some and you lose some.  At Patriot's Tavern, we lost but at least I was still with my grandpa and my honey.

Roma

Last Wednesday M and I picked up my grandpa and we headed to Roma in Willernie for our biweekly dinner date.  I had no idea how popular and busy this place is but we had to wait 20 minutes on a Wednesday to be seated.  I suppose it's partially because the place isn't very big.

I had given blood earlier that day so I was so tired and kind of lethargic but I still think I made pretty good company.

I liked Roma, but I thought it was kind of expensive.  I had a coupon deal and it still ended up being too expensive, especially considering I had purchased the coupon deal.  I would go back but only with a coupon and I'd probably get something cheaper.

Gnocchi Bolognese for me

Pizza for M

Hot Dago for Grandpa- It was REALLY hot.

Resuming Dinner Dates

It's been awhile since I went out with my grandpa.  The last time we went out was for our big family dinner on February 15th.  I got sick a couple of weeks after that so I had to cancel and so we just decided that our dinner outing would be the fish we had at my sister's house for my mom's birthday the following week.  Fast forward two weeks later and my grandpa had to cancel because he was sick so one week later, we were able to finally meet again on our normal "off" week, which will now become our "on" week.

We ate at Ray J's in Woodbury.  It's just like your average sports bar/American bar food place and the food was just average as well.  My grandpa was still kind of weak from being sick but you could tell we really boosted his spirits that night and he was very happy to be resuming dinner dates and just getting out of the house for some food and company.

It was raining out so that isn't dandruff in M's hair

Yarusso's

Last Wednesday, my mom's side of the family got together for our quarterly Yarusso's dinner.  We were a little bit late doing it but my grandpa thought it would be good to do it during the week of the anniversary of my gramma's death.  We were missing a few but it's amazing how many of us can get together with just a couple of weeks notice.

My Two Valentines

I had two Valentines for V-Day...Michael and my grandpa.  (Dad, I didn't forget about you.  I wore the heart necklace you gave me when I was a kid.) We asked my grandpa if he wanted to join us on Valentine's Day for our traditional Valentine's dinner at White Castle.  It was the 5th time M and I have gone to White Castle for V-Day and our 8th together.  My grandpa didn't want to intrude on our dinner but we insisted he was not intruding at all.  We picked him up, gave him a homemade card, some chocolate and Jelly Belly jelly beans and we went to the Stillwater location, which is one that just opened in 2011.  

For those that don't know, you need reservations for White Castle on V-Day. They have a hostess, bring you to your candlelit table, have a server take your order and they even take your picture and put it on their website.  We sat at a high-top table right in the middle of the restaurant and we ordered a bunch of things for all of us to share including fish nibblers, mozz stix, chicken rings, onion chips, fries and we each ordered our own sandwich.  We even received a little cheesecake dessert but M and I gave ours to my grandpa to take home and eat later along with all the leftovers.  What surprised me most about the night was that I felt a hand on my shoulder so I looked over and it was my cousin John and his wife Jen!  It was so funny to see them there and after experiencing it one time, they plan to make it their V-Day tradition to go to White Castle!  John told me that his parents (my aunt and uncle) were there earlier in the evening too!  See, all the cool kids are doing it!  

I spoke to my grandpa on Wednesday night and he told me how much he loved going there with us on Tuesday.  He said that it is something that he'll remember forever and that he had a blast.  I love that!

Hi John and Jen!

Grandpa, Me, Michael

John, Jen, Me, Michael

Me, Michael and the fire extinguisher

5 Guys

Five guys went to Five Guys last Wednesday which included my Grandpa, Dad, Mom, M and me.  We went to the Woodbury location and only M and I had ever been to a Five Guys before.  M and I first tried them in Florida and then again in Dinkytown.  I remember them being so juicy and greasy and yummy but this time I was kinda disappointed.  I think it's partially because I don't really eat burgers and fries anymore and my taste buds have changed.  Everyone else enjoyed it and we all went to my grandpa's house afterwards and hung out and talked before calling it a night.  Dad, I hope you and mom come out with us again.  Have you guys tried Five Guys?  What did you think?

Hey, did you know that today is the second day of the second week of the second month of the second year of the second decade of the second millennium?

Dinner with Grandpa- Week 2

Last Wednesday I went out with my Grandpa to Famous Dave's in Woodbury.  It's been years since I've been to a Famous Dave's and I've never been to that location but it was very cabin-like and cozy.  I finally was able to give my grandpa his photo book that was incorrectly put together and he loved it.  He even teared up a bit when he paged through looking all of the pictures.  Just a tidbit...my grandpa had jeans on, which I've never seen him wear before.  He has one pair but he said he really hasn't worn jeans since he was 14!

Dinner with Grandpa- Week 1

The first dinner with my grandpa for 2012 took place Wednesday, January 4th.  His birthday was Friday the 6th (he turned 77) so I considered this his birthday dinner.  We went to DeMori's which is pretty close to his house.  This was the second time I had been there and I thought it was really great and our server was awesome.  For my grandpa's birthday present, I used all the pictures that I took of us this year on our dinner dates and had a hard cover book made.  Unfortunately, when I went to pick up the book at the place I ordered from, they put all the pictures the other way so you would have to read the book from right to left, from finish to start.  Asinine.  I called the place to fix it but it hasn't been fixed yet so he hasn't received it yet.  Anyway, here's the message I put on what is supposed to be the front page:

2011 wasn't the best for us but we can't change the events that are a part of life.  What we can do is enjoy all the moments thereafter and appreciate those that are still around us.  I appreciate you, Grandpa.  I'm grateful to have been given the opportunity to spend a lot of time with you and I will continue to look forward to our dinner dates and family events in the future.  Even when something unfortunate happens, there is always something good that comes from it.  Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Dinner Date- Plan B

My Grandpa and I went out to dinner the Wednesday before Christmas.  The plan was to go to Wild Bill's in Woodbury but after getting there, we found out it was a 25 minute wait...on a Wednesday at 6 pm?  I figured everyone must have been out Christmas shopping or something.  We decided against waiting and went to eat down the street at The Machine Shed.  I had only been there once but my grandpa had been there a few times.  I had the Shepherd's Pie and my grandpa had liver and onions. (Ick!)  Both of our dinners were excellent and if you like good ol' comfort food, this is a great place to go.

Yummy Shepherd's Pie

The Nook

The Nook Restaurant had a fire almost exactly a year ago.  They reopened again this past May but I hadn't visited since the reopening until last week.  M and I took my grandpa there for what I would argue is the best burger in Minnesota.  If you don't think it's the best, it's at least my favorite.  The restaurant looked pretty much the same except the kitchen is in a different location, it looks like they added a few extra seats and it a little bit more modern looking with the exposed duct work.  The place is so tiny to begin with that no matter what they did, they can never keep up with the demand during the busy times of the day.  We arrived in the 5 pm hour which was a great thing as there were probably 30 people waiting when we left.  If you haven't been there before, I highly recommend it. 

Woodbury Dinner

It's been hard to keep up my daily "Thankful November" posts and it's been even more difficult to blog about all the other things going on in my life at the same time.  I'm going to sneak in several posts yet for the remainder of this month and start fresh again for December so look for seven posts between today and tomorrow. Yeah, I know.  

It's already been almost two weeks since my sister and I met with my Grandpa for dinner.  We went to Bonfire in Woodbury for dinner and then went next door to where my sister works.  She's a general manager of a hotel so she gave us a tour of the common areas and then showed us one of the rooms.  Once we came back down to the front desk, my Grandpa told the manager on duty that he liked the room and that the bed bugs were very friendly.  Of course they hate the words "bed bugs" in the hospitality industry and of course he was kidding but it was hilarious.  I told my Grandpa that saying "bed bugs" in a hotel is like saying "bomb" on an airplane!  We thought it would be kind of funny to take a picture of us behind the front desk at the hotel.

Groveland Tap

Last Wednesday we brought my Grandpa out for dinner at Groveland Tap in the Merriam Park/Highland Park area of St. Paul.  None of us had been there before but they have a pretty impressive beer selection which excited Michael.  It's just a neighborhood bar/grill and we sat in the corner right by the big window so we could see all the action going on around us.  I had the tempeh sandwich which was pretty good and I would order again if I went there and the guys had burgers.  If you love beer, I would definitely check this place out.