Dining Out at Red Stag Supper Club

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Well, we had such a good time eating out last Saturday that we decided to try it again tonight. Red Stag Supper Club here we come. 

                         

They closed at the beginning of the lockdown in February 2020 and didn't reopen until a week ago. Many other restaurants reopened in June of 2020.

                             

I've been looking forward to their Wisconsin style Old Fashioned since I made the reservation last week. I had two of 'em and they were awesome. Dale had red wine. 

     

We started with the meat, cheese, and relish tray. It was all great especially the beets and the pear chutney. 

       

For dinner Dale had a grilled salmon fillet which he loved. I had a prosciutto carbonara linguine and I absolutely adored it. It came with parmesan, peas, egg, and cream. 

     

Matthew, our waiter, took really good care of us. He told us he hadn't worked as much during the pandemic but was obviously so excited to be back at it again. He was attentive, pleasant, and just plain wonderful. You could tell he was so happy to be working again. 

  

For dessert Dale got the carrot cake which was heaven; very dense, not over sweet including the frosting. I got the Grasshopper. Now I've only ever had this drink with ice cream. This was more like a Brandy Alexander and used cream instead. It was amazing and I loved how they lined the rim with Giradelli powdered chocolate. 

                        

We listened to Bachelor Pad Royal from the Ultra Lounge series to get us into the mood and atmosphere of the restaurant. Interestingly enough the music played at the restaurant was all 1980s hits: Xanadu, Gypsy, Rock the Casbah, Flashdance, all tons of fun. We both reminisced about the 80s, especially the summer of '83 which was the first summer Dale lived in Minneapolis and the first summer I held a job at Dayton's Department Store. We were both off of work at 10:30 and probably crossed paths on the while waiting for the bus on Nicollet outside Dayton's. 

          

It's so nice to be able to eat indoors at restaurants again. Dale's feeling okay about it due to the precautions the businesses are taking. I feel the same way and I've also had the first of the two doses of the vaccine which also helps ease my mind. In just a week we've done Jax and Red Stag, two of our favorites, due to pent up demand. 

     

Dining Out at Jax

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Dale and I haven't dined inside since we took Mom to Jax back in June of 2020 when restaurants reopened for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic lockdown in March of that year. I made that reservation online and realized afterward that I hadn't made it specifically for the patio since we weren't comfortable eating inside. I called the next day to see if I could request a change. The person who answered the phone sounded like a twelve year old and assured me that, yes, our reservation was indeed for the patio. Turned out it wasn't. When we arrived they had no record that the reservation was for the patio and couldn't seat us there because it was full. We decided we were okay with the dining room since not many people were in it. 

   

We decided we were ready to try indoor dining since I've had the first dose of the vaccine and Dale is feeling more comfortable about it. We're both back at our workplaces now after months of working from home so we've become a little more comfortable with the idea of indoor spaces. I made a reservation for Jax. We both identified that we were a tad nervous but, more than that, a little jazzed. 

       

To put us in the mood we listened to Jackpot! The Las Vegas Story on the drive over to the restaurant. It's a 1990s era compilation CD of space-age bachelor-pad pop with a Las Vegas twist. 

I started with a Sidecar and Dale had red wine. 

   

Our appetizer was the onion rings and they couldn't be more perfect. They came with ketchup and a creamy sriracha sauce dip which was spot on.

   

For dinner I had Uncle Joe's prime rib sandwich on rye while Dale had the chicken pot pie. Both were amazing. 

   

Dale skipped dessert but I couldn't pass up a Pink Squirrel. I had been way too long. It was heaven and well worth the wait.

  

The main dining room was quite full however we were seated in the back dining room which was mostly empty on our arrival. However, it quickly filled up and it was encouraging to see Jax doing such good business. On the drive home we each remarked more than once how wonderful it was to eat inside at a restaurant. It's been way too long and I hope to never take it for granted again!