Jax Cafe With Friends

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Cindi made reservations at Jax Cafe for tonight and invited me and Dale, Wyn and James K., and, of course, Maggie. Dale and I arrived first. I ordered a martini at the bar while we waited. Wyn and James were next to arrive. When Wyn saw me she said, "Joe you are my spirit animal!" I asked her why but honestly I was so stunned to find out I'm someone's spirit animal that now I can't even remember what she said although I believe it had something to do with my affinity for gin martinis. She ordered one for herself while James ordered a beer.

We were seated when Cindi and Maggie arrived. Cindi ordered a gin martini as well. It really is amazing how much influence I have. 

Wyn was so excited to be at Jax. She told me she's known about it for 20 years and has always wanted to go. The experience eluded her until now. She wasn't sure what to order so I heartily endorsed the steak because, well, it is Jax after all. We each got the slow roasted prime rib which was 14 ounces of heaven on a plate. We both loved it. 

Our server was named Sandy which was auspicious as I've been texting Cindi pictures of pink squirrels all week to get her psyched for dessert and one of the pictures I sent was of Sandy Squirrel from the Sponge Bob television show. It HAD to be a sign that our waitress ended up being named Sandy. She took really good care of us providing awesome service the entire evening. 

Wyn, Cindi, and I each ordered a pink squirrel for dessert. 

Cindi even had matchbooks made for the event.

Crooner's Lounge and Supper Club Part 1

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Crooner's Lounge and Supper Club Part 2

Saturday, March 12, 2016

From Dale's blog:

"So yesterday I posted about being exhausted from work, but having to rally and drive allllll the way across town to meet some friends for dinner when what I really wanted to do was sit on the couch and veg all evening.

Well.  It turned out to be one of the most delightful evenings we have spent in some time.  We really do like these friends a lot, so I knew it would be a good evening.  But this was a GOOD evening.  We sat around telling stories on ourselves for 3.5 hours, complete with gales of laughter to the point of crying.  We ended up serenading each other with songs from movies – everything from “Summer Lovin’” from Grease to “Otto Titsling” from Beaches.  I’m not sure how much the other diners there enjoyed us, but we really enjoyed us!"

Jax Cafe

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Dale and I celebrated my birthday tonight and we had the good fortune of being joined by our good friends, Maggie and Cindi. As part of my recent supper club kick I chose Jax Cafe in Minneapolis as the restaurant.

The parking lot at Jax has the rows labeled like avenues. We parked on Sirloin Strip which is right next to Lobster Lane.

The gals met us at the restaurant at 6:30. Our waitress, Sheila, took our drink order. I asked for and Old-Fashioned cocktail and before I could request that it be made with brandy, she gave me the choice of just that along with whiskey or bourbon. I went with brandy (Wisconsin style) as that's my favorite spirit to add to the drink.

While waiting for our drinks to come, the family of four at the table next to us got their food order. The father got prime rib and the portion they set in front of him was HUGE. He put his hands to his mouth and actually let out a giggle of delight when he first saw it. The mother was given the same thing. The son, who looked to be 7 years old or so, was also given the same  although his looked to have a side of mashed potatoes. The daughter, who was about 3 or 4, was given small bites from her mother's plate along with a little bit of mashed potato. They all finished those huge portions of beef. I was impressed.

Anyway, I had originally intended to order the trout which you can net in the restaurant's own trout stream on their outdoor patio. I've heard they take your picture during the netting which they then put in a photo sleeve with the caption "I caught my limit at Jax." They have it ready to send home with you when you leave.

Despite originally wanting the trout, the family with the three huge orders of steak had me salivating for it so badly that I had to change my mind. I just couldn't get that beef out of my head.

We all had a lovely salad of field greens, strawberries, and balsamic vinegar. I had the 14 oz. slow roasted prime rib which came with au-jus, horseradish sauce, and a baked potato with sour cream - totally old school. It was divine. By divine I mean it was soft and tender and practically melted in my mouth. I made the right choice. The trout can wait until next time.

Our server, Sheila, was a great gal. Supper club servers are always awesome and she really is one of the best I've worked with. I think she took a shine to me too.

I'd heard that Jax did personalized matchbooks so I asked the host. He said they made little notepads as well. I ordered four of those for the four of us (see top photo).

For dessert Cindi and I each ordered ice cream drinks. I got the grasshopper and Cindi got the pink squirrel. 

The recipe for the grasshopper is as follows:

1 part ice cream (or cream)
1 part creme de menthe
1 part creme de cacao

When made with cream I suppose a shaker with ice would be the appropriate preparation. With ice cream, a blender. 

The recipe for the pink squirrel is as follows:

1 part ice cream (or cream)
1 part cream de noyaux
1 part creme de cacao

Same preparation.

Great restaurant, great food, great company, great evening. Dale loved it so much he wants to go for his birthday too. I hope the trout is ready for me.

Holiday Brunch 2011/2012 Season

Today was Epiphany Sunday. This past Thursday was the actual day of Ephipany so the Christmas season has pretty wound down. We had meant to have this year's brunch much closer to Christmas but schedule-wise today is what worked best. Our guests included some folks from church. Cyndi and her partner Maggie, Andrew and his partner Muricio, along with Reverend Aron. Dale made an egg bake from a new recipe, hash browns and sausages. I made a maple pecan bundt cake from a Nigella Lawson recipe. We also served fruit (pineapple, mango, strawberries). For appetizers we served brie and fig jelly on crackers. To drink we offered a lot of options but everyone chose mimosas. It was all very delicious and the company was fantastic. I'm finding more and more that I like hosting Sunday brunch. It's such a nice way to wind down the weekend.

An Actual Dinner on Sunday

Today Dale and I went to brunch at the house of some friends from church. Fran and Charlie hosted us along with Arthur, Zara, Cindy, Maggie along with Rev. Michelle, a priest that used to work at our church. Zara has been living away for awhile and is back in town so it waas especially nice to reconnect with her. The chance to eat and relax with some very wonderful people was very much appreciated today. The previous week was long and this morning on the way to church I was actually feeling some anxiety about returning to work tomorrow. The company and the food was all so wonderful that it really put me in a relaxed state and caused me to remember that I really don't have any pressing business that I need to take care of the rest of the day. It reinforced for me that sharing a meal with others really is one of the most wonderful things in life.