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. 

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 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!

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.

The Steak Pit Part 2

Saturday, October 17, 2015

In true supper club style they had a Friday night fish fry. I simply HAD to have it. It was a generous portion of trout that was lightly breaded and lightly fried - not greasy at all! It came with the option of French fries or baked potato. I had had fries with lunch so I went with the baked potato. Dale had the broiled Lake Superior trout. He said it was awesome. Warren had the surf and turf. I think they called it a tug and hoof. Hoof, for the steak and tug (as in tugging the tail) for the shrimp. Gary had a steak.

We all had dinner salads to start. Gary asked what the salad dressing options were and Kathy said she would bring all of them out when serving the salads. When the salads appeared, she brought a caddy of three dressings including green goddess, blue cheese, and French. She also produced four bottles of dressings. I can’t remember all of them. One was a cranberry something or other which Dale loved. Another was a Hawaiian poppyseed which sounded divine. I went with the green goddess which is something I’ve never tried before. I loved it. It’s basically ranch dressing blended with avocado.

The dessert tray which Kathy brought over had a lot of different cheesecake options all under Saran Wrap. One was cheesecake wrapped in a flour tortilla. That’s how it was presented on the dessert tray, although if ordered they would deep fry it and then cover it with something like cinnamon and sugar, possibly caramel sauce. The non-cheesecake item was a chocolate hot lava cake which is what Warren ordered to split with Gary.

After going through all the options on the tray Kathy mentioned that they also had ice cream drinks. I wanted to tell her she was a woman after my own heart but thought better of it since she didn’t come across as a warm-fuzzy kind of gal. Instead I simply asked if the pink squirrel was an option. She said that it was along with the grasshopper. Since I had a grasshopper most recently at Jax I decided to go with the pink squirrel. I almost fell out of my seat when she brought it over as it was massive. Absolutely delicious though.

Our server, Kathy, was exceptional. She was not overly familiar with us but courteous and very attentive. I could tell shortly after she greeted us at our table that she would take exceptional care of us which is exactly what she did.

Lots of supper club hallmarks at The Steak Pit: attentive and friendly service, great cocktails, Friday night fish fry, prime rib, ice cream drinks, and of course, cloth napkins (purple ones at that). Didn’t see any evidence of live music but that’s not to say there isn’t. Next time I call ahead I’ll definitely have to ask. We’ll most certainly be back.

I've heard it said that a supper club is always for sale.  Interesting to find this sign outside.

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.