Fall Golden Hour Kickoff 2024

 Saturday, November 23, 2024

Before dinner cigar.

Before dinner cocktail. 

Dale's famous baked pasta and broccoli.

We watched Desk Set. Cozy night in.

Holiday Time at Creekside

 

Dale and I were at Creekside for brunch recently. 

They're getting set up for the Holidays. 

We didn't have reservations so they couldn't seat us in the main dining room but they were able to fit us in the bar. 

I had an Wisconsin-style Old Fashioned, sweet. Dale had coffee. I got a Denver omlette with breakfast potatoes and Dale had some kind of big salad with chicken on it. 

Taking Dale and Mom to Creekside

Mom, Dale and I went out recently to celebrate our birthdays at Creekside Lounge and Supper Club. We were again fortunate to have Rebecca as our server (twice in a row!). We dug right in to the relish tray. Mom mentioned that Baba used to can pickled beets. Dale said they're packed with vitamins and that the pickling process somehow makes them even more nutritious. Being it was Dale's birthday Rebecca (I mentioned it to her while Dale was parking the car) brought each of us some champagne and launched into singing a portion I Get a Kick Out of You by Cole Porter starting with the line, "I get no kick from champagne." The three of us toasted to Dale's birthday but also to mine and Mom's recent birthday's.

I started with an Old Fashioned and Mom and Dale both had some nice red wine.  Rebecca brought us some popovers which were delicious. She told Dale she was taking a survey and asked him, "chocolate or strawberries?" Dale answered, strawberries. 

Mom had a little salad but Dale and I got the soup of the day which was a potato and cauliflower puree with fennel. So delicious. 

For dinner I ordered the spare ribs which came with carrots and loaded (with onions and white cheddar cheese) hash browns. Dale ordered the risotto with chicken. Mom wanted the capellini with shrimp but Dale mentioned that he had it last time and that it might be a little spicy for her taste. Mom asked about it when she ordered and Rebecca said she'd check with Chef Marcus to see if he could accomodate her. He could! He ended up putting on a substitute sauce which was garlicy but otherwise not spicy hot. 

After we were finished with our entrees Rebecca placed a white cake with strawberries in front of Dale. I said, "I guess the survey results are in!" It was so delicious. 

Despite having cake for dessert I still ordered a Pink Squirrel. When I asked Rebecca if there was a song for that she just smiled and said, "you go, squirrel!" However when she brought it she launched a version of the Temptations My Girl but changed it to My Squirrel. Mom, Dale and I talked about the recent visit of Sam and Pete and their families and also quite a bit about Dad. 

So nice to have dinner with two of my most favorite people. Rebecca helped make the evening extra special. 

Dinner with Sam and His Family

Wednesday, Augsut 16, 2023

Mom, Dale, Sam & Becky & their boys, and Pete  & his kids, along with Becky's cousin Cass, Cass's mother in law, and Cass's daughter Abby, all went out for dinner at Creekside to celebrate their last night in town. Pete's family was with us earlier in the week but they went home Tuesday evening. It's the first time we'dall been together since Dale and I got married in 2014. Wow, nine years. 

I'm having suregery on my foot tomorrow to have my broken fibia fixed. I know that's one of the leg bones but it broke just above the ankle. I'll be getting general anesthesia for the survey but the doctor said I could have one mixed drink the night before. I, not surprisingly, went with the Wisconsin style Old Fashioned.

As we left I noticed a VCR tape of The Three Stooges was playing on the grandma style floor console television set. What a hoot. Outside on Chicago Avenue we all said our goodbyes. It was bittersweet as I think it'll be a long time before all our families reunite again. 

Creekside Supper Club

About a week and a half ago Dale and I checked out Creekside Supper Club & Lounge. Following is what I wrote about it in my journal. 

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

This afternoon Dale and I decided to try Creekside Supper Club which in the old Pepitos space. As it turns out this was their opening night. 

They started us out with a little baby relish tray. It had celery and also some pickled carrots and beets. The beets were particularly good. We went ahead and ordered the regular relish tray and it was fantastic: pickled asparagus and carrots, wild game sausage, cheese curds, and walleye spread. It was simply fantastic and probably could've passed for a meal by itself. I had a cup of the corn chowder and it was perfect. Dale had a salad. 

For dinner I ordered the sirloin. I got it with a side of hash browns and it came with a huge piece of Texas toast. Dale got the salmon with a side of rice pilaf and he said it was divine. 

Oh, and I didn't mention that I ordered a Wisconsin-style Old Fashioned. It was so well made I had another. 

Now, the decor threw me off because I couldn't be completely sure they weren't going for irony. It was that spot on. 

For dessert I had a Brandy Alexander. It was so good it was like I got an old school malted milk from Bridgeman's only with Brandy. 

By the way, the staff was very friendly. All in all it was a great time and I can't wait to go back. 

Mother's Day 2021

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Dale and I took Mom to Red Stag for dinner tonight. She was excited to go to a restaurant for dinner. When she goes out with friends it tends to be for lunch. 

I, of course, started with a brandy Old-Fashioned while Dale and Mom both had merlot. 

We started with a relish tray which featured their pickled vegetables. I was leaning toward ordering the fried chicken for dinner which is their Sunday night special however I went with the prosciutto carbonara linguine which was simply divine. Dale ordered the chicken breast and Mom got salmon. They both said their entrees were excellent. 

Dale and Mom shared some carrot cake for dessert. Red Stag has the BEST carrot cake. It's dense yet very smooth tasting. I got a Pink Squirrel. This is the first time I've gotten one there that wasn't very good. It wasn't blended well (lots of big ice chunks) and not very flavorful.

Weather-wise I don't think we could have gotten a much better day for this time of year. It's always nice to see the sun and I think it made it to the lower-60s today. Mom said Sam and Pete both called her this year so all-in-all I think she had a pretty lovely Mother's Day. 

Dale did too!

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. 

     

Red Stag with Mom

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Dale, Mom, and I all have birthdays that fall within 6 weeks of each other. This year we consolidated the celebrations into one and headed to the Red Stag Supper Club for brunch. Dale and I both had the vegetable breakfast hash (although I had them add corned beef to mine) and Mom had the eggs benedict. Mom had never been before and she loved it. Also, I had an Old Fashioned. Surprise.