Characters at the Gym: NOT My Cup of Tea

They're at every gym.  You know, those people that you just have to ask "what are they thinking?".  I have actually have had enough run ins with these people that they have earned themselves names in my book.  Here it goes:


"Mr. Mom" - yeah you, I'm talking to you.  The guy in the mini-van that just cut me off in the parking lot trying to get a spot.  You're license plate might say "1HTMOM" but you're ice cold buddy.  By the way, this was true...right down to the license plate.

Mr. Mom burn out, find more of them here!

"The Refugee" - listen lady, I see you in here EVERY single time I'm in here.  Nights, mornings, weekends, middle of the day.  All I can figure out is that your mom drops you off here at 8 AM and then the pickup isn't until 7 PM or so.  And what are you doing!?  You don't even work out!  I saw you do .3 miles on the antelope machine and then .25 miles on the treadmill.  Don't think that people aren't noticing. You've been had.


"Dancing Queen" - you might be gay, you might be proud...but that doesn't mean that you have to dance like a j@ckass and take up three normal sized spots in an already crowded popular group fitness class.  I understand that you want to pirouette just like the rest of us....but that doesn't mean that you get three times more room Twinkletoes.

Yup, that's about right.  But my guy has black Zumba dance shoes...not kidding.

"Green and Mean" - the devil has a special spot next to him in h*ll for you buddy.  Thanks for being a REAL man and cutting me off on the way OUT of the parking lot.  But guess what, I get the last laugh because you're a 34 year old man driving a lime green Toyota Civic Hybrid.

High gas mileage, low self esteem.

While it's unfortunate, especially around the holiday season, I'm sure that these characters will continue to rear their faces.  


Do you like hearing about these characters?  Don't fret...I'm also sure that they have friends that I'll probably meet before the winter is over to talk about in another post since the gym is a place that I'm not going to hate this year.  It's something that I'm going to embrace and just remember to get there early instead of trying to fight the crazies at 5:30.

The Green Room: Stillwater, MN

The Green Room
215 Main Street South
Stillwater, MN 55082



Website: http://www.thegreenroomstillwater.com/

Menu: http://www.thegreenroomstillwater.com/dinner.php

How Did We Find This Place?
On a whim quite honestly.  We were walking downtown and decided to step into the restaurant since it appeared to have enough variety for a group of six people from around the country.

What Makes This Place Unique?
It's got a little bit of everything from a chef that appears he's been a little bit of everywhere.  From Northern Minnesota to Minneapolis to the Caribbean and back!  His culinary specialties are across the board as well with backgrounds in Italian, Indi-Latin fusion, American and I have to assume a bit of Caribbean.  

In addition to that I loved the interior.  While it's a narrow dining room and bar area the interior is brick-exposed and keeps it simple and clean.  And with a backdrop of Stillwater, why would you need anything more complex?

What's on the Menu?
They have a global variety focusing on wonderful dishes from Italy, India and Minnesota.  Some of the ones that stood out to me included: Brie and Pear Stuffed Chicken Breast (Candied Pecans and Raspberry Aruula Salad, Port Wine Sauce), Manchengo Almond Walleye (Covered with Manchengo and Almonds and Oven Roasted. Served with a Fresh Thyme Compote) and Lobster, Crab and Shrimp Stuffed Shells (Fresh Tomato Sauce, Saffron, Basil, Ricotta and Seafood Stuffing).  

What Did We Have?
Well, we had a few different dishes as follow.  SIDERANT: Also, I apologize for the screwed up font.  I was having major issues with these photos that I had saved a long time ago and couldn't go back to the originals!  

The Green Room's House Bread and Herbed Butter (Comes With Meal) 

The Green Room's Classic Caesar Salad ($4)

The Green Room's Indian Seafood Congee: Mussels, Shrimp, Scallops and Seasonal Seafood with Rice and Vegetables in a rich Vegetable Ginger Stock ($28)

The Green Room's Summer Baked Penne: Asparagus, Tomato, Artichokes, Roasted Artichokes, Roasted Red Peppers, Portabellas and Spinach with a Lemon Garlic Sauce Topped with Pecorino Romano ($17)

The Green Room's Manchengo Almond Walleye: Walleye covered with Manchengo and Almonds and Oven Roasted.  Served with Mashed Potatoes, Garden Fresh Vegetables and a Fresh Thyme Compote ($25)

Would We Go Again?

Yes.  While the Summer Baked Penne was less than impressive and actually quite runny, the Manchengo Almond Walleye was one of the best walleye dishes that I've ever had and the sage sauce was a PERFECT compliment to the dish; it really pulled the whole thing together.  AH-mazing. 


The Caesar salad was also extremely fresh and you could really tell that they take pride in what they are putting on your table based on the details that I saw that day (ie: the actual sardine in the Caesar salad!).


All and all, would go again and would order whatever is local and fresh within the season.

Cheddar Jalapeño Corn Muffins

Where Did I Find This Recipe? 
Another blog called "love and butter".  Apparently the author originally got it from a book called "Cupcakes! from the Cake Mix Doctor" so I'll give them credit where credit is due as well.  Any-who, these little corn muffin nuggets are absolutely perfect as a side to a chili and were super easy to make.  This recipe makes about 1.5 mini muffin pans worth of biscuits.

Cheddar Jalapeño Corn Muffins
(Printable Recipe Here)
Makes about 30 mini muffins


Ingredients

• 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 egg
• 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles
• 8oz can cream style corn
• 8.5oz box corn muffin mix

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 and grease a mini-muffin pan liberally.
2. Mix jalapeños, cheddar, egg, chopped green chilis and cream style corn in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl put the corn muffin mix around the edge making a well in the middle.  Put the wet ingredients in the pond you've created.
4. Mix only about 20 times and not very quickly, you want this mix to be chunky.
5. Spoon your mix into the pan and bake for about 13 minutes (mine seemed to need longer).
6. After you take them out of the oven they will still be quite moist and you might have to let them harden/dry a little before scooping them out of the pan.  When you can scoop them out with a spoon, let them cool on drying rack.

Easy as that!

White Chicken Chili

Where Did I Find the Recipe?
Google!  Was looking some something a little different to make for a chili cook-off at work so I thought that a White Chicken Chili might just do the trick.

White Chicken Chili
(adopted from the Neely's, the Food Network power couple)
Makes enough for 4-6 people easily

Ingredients

• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans white beans
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium jalapeno pepper, minced
• 1-2 medium poblano peppers, chopped (depending on desired spice level)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (1 box)
• 2 limes, juiced, plus lime wedges, for serving
• 1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed and meat chunked
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• Sour cream, for topping

Directions

1. Drain and rinse the canned white beans. In a medium bowl, mash half of the beans with a potato masher (or meat pounder in my case; ) until chunky. Reserve the beans until needed.
2. Add the canola oil to a large Dutch oven and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the peppers, onions, and garlic and saute until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt, and pepper, to taste. 
3. Add the cumin, coriander, and chili powder and continue to saute for 1 more minute to toast the spices. 
4. Stir in the chicken stock and lime juice and bring to a simmer. 
5. Add the beans and continue to simmer for 20 more minutes.
6. After 20 minutes of simmering, taste for seasoning, and adjust if necessary. 
7. Stir in the shredded rotisserie chicken and cilantro and simmer until heated through, about 5 more minutes. 
8. Serve the chili in individual bowls topped with a dollop of sour cream (take their advice), crushed tortilla chips, and lime wedges.

“War Horse” by Michael Morpurgo

How Did I Find This Book?
Last month me and the future hubster went to a movie, “Ides of March”. SIDERANT: Which by the way I suggest that you not waste your time seeing unless you’re a Ryan Gosling fan. The movie ended with no conclusion and my synopsis was “well, at least Ryan Gosling is hot or I would be pissed about spending 1.5 hours of my life and $10 to see this”.

The highlight of the movie for me was actually a preview called “War Horse”. Once I saw that it was based on a book so of course I had to pick it up when I got home on the Kindle.

War Horse Movie Poster

About The Author and Book
There is more to tell than just about the book since it’s actually been made from a novel, into a musical and now into a Steven Spielberg directed movie. SIDERANT:  The last five years have been VERY nice to Michael Morpurgo and his family financially if I had to take a guess.

The book was originally written by Michael Morpurgo in 1982 and was inspired from a variety of places.

• From a WWI veteran that hung out at a local bar and a fellow villager that had been assigned in cavalry
• His experience working with a charity group called “Farms for Children” where inner city kids work on a farm for a week. During this time he met a boy who has an unspoken connection with a horse that was inspiring to him
• Lastly, a disturbing painting that he had seen done by F.W. Reed in 1917 that showed horses in WWI charging into no-man’s land through barbed wire. He said that the sight haunted him but that he wanted to show the war through the eyes of the horse.

Then the book was picked up by Nick Stafford and written into a play that was also called “War Horse” that was performed at the National Theater in London. It opened in 2007 and was critically acclaimed because of it’s extremely life-life horse puppets that were manned by more than three people per horse. After winning numerous awards the show was then transferred to 2010 to Broadway…and already has stacked up five Tony Awards including “Best Play”.

War Horse Play: Credit of Paul Kolnik of Lincoln Center Theater Production

In 2010 as well, Steven Spielberg decided to adapt the book and play into a full length movie. And as you know, Steven Spielberg rarely disappoints so I had to read the book after seeing a few of the scenes in the trailer and after reading the novel, I have high hopes that the movie will actually be better than the book which is rare but in this case could be executed depending on how he interprets the relationships and emotions of the horses.

War Horse Play: Joey the Plow Horse

Overview of Book
A beautiful Bay foal with a white cross on his nose named Joey is purchased from an auction and dragged back home to become an English plow horse. But no one could have prepared him or his loving master, Albert, for what was about to come next or how close WWI was about to hit home.

From a plow horse to a cavalry war horse within one afternoon, Joey is forced to endure multiple years of running into machine gun fire, being handed off between many owners crossing enemy lines numerous times and loses many of the people and horses that he grows close to. But will he ever be back where he really belongs and somehow find his way back to Albert on the farm?

Review
It’s a kid’s book so you have to be prepared for the fact that you will read it in two sittings but all in all I found the book very moving, touching and interesting since it was from a horse’s point of view instead of a human’s. SIDERANT: But I might be biased since I’m an ex-horse owner as well as a horse freak. I’m the girl that always wants to go and pet the riot squad horses that are in downtown Minneapolis or Madison…even though I know better and that they are trained to be bad a**es that plow down hippies and gang bangers, not pets.

Albert and Joey

I’m very excited to see the movie as I’m pretty sure that they will be able to add details in that weren’t entirely spelled out (romance that Albert has and some of the specifics in the closing that seemed rushed).

Lastly If you get to read the book or see the movie you’ll have to let me know what you thought in the comment section below!

Search Terms: Warhorse, warhorse the book, warhorse the movie, warhorse book review, warhorse the play, war horse

Goodbye Post Office, Hello www.stamps.com!

My ridiculous postman stories are for a totally other post but after finding www.stamps.com I just had to talk about why I will never go to the post office unless it's humanly impossible for me to ship something through www.stamps.com.  Even if I have to pay like $5 more for shipment.

Ann Marie's USPS, now open for business!

Why Am I So Against Going to the Post Office?
To summarize, I disrespect the post office and their inability to adapt.  It's like the boyfriend that you had and realized you didn't respect him (for whatever reason) and then it just needed to end.  Right there and then.  The post office is that person for me.  I've been burned too many times and it's too late for me and the USPS storefront to ever "make it work" again.

While I try to be sympathetic that there are deals out there between them, FedEx, and UPS, they travel into rural areas and they have rates that they have to stay below mandated by the government, there has to be a way for them to figure out how to make the experience less painful and increase their customer base!  Heck they owe it to all of us that pay taxes!  In some way or another we are all paying for their $10+ billion deficit that they will probably see this year!
 
Now onto their super convenient and customer friendly hours.  When my grandmother was a postmaster (a wonderful one at that) it made sense that in our small town that it was only open from 8:30-5:00 PM.  But it's 2011 people.  With locations that were picked out decades ago, lack luster service, and totally unreasonable hours for 90% of the US population, how can a place that is supposed to be service oriented have hours from 8:30-5:00 PM?  It's ridiculous to think that it's even reasonable for their business model to compete in the real world like this!  While I know that they had to make a lot of cutbacks, wouldn't you think that instead of cutting Saturday delivery they could have moved some hours and opened at 7:00, closed mid-day on the check out counter if they had to, and then close at 6:00 like anywhere else that deals with direct consumers?

While I don't know exactly why they haven't capitalized on this extremely obvious solution for making more revenue I can take one guess at it: union.  Enough said.

The Good News?  I Don't Have to Go In There Ever Again!
Now back onto stamps.com!  I LOVE it!  Here's how it works:

1. Take out your cooking scale (or they will send you one for free)
2. Get your package or envelope ready
3. Set up an account with a credit card on www.stamps.com
4. Put some money into your account ($25 is what I did) 
5. Put in the dimension, weight, address (even easier if you have the flat rate boxes or envelopes - which are free at the post office, probably your office, or you can get them sent to your house for free)
6. Print off label
7. Tape on your shipment
8. Stick on your doorstep to be picked up by USPS

Done.  How I didn't find this sooner is beyond me and I hope that all of you believe me when I say that you can now have the hours back that you have wasted on standing in line at USPS on a Saturday just to have them be mean to you!!

Raku Sushi: Edina

Raku Sushi
3939 W. 50th Street
Suite 101
Edina, MN 55424


Website: http://www.rakumn.com
Menu: http://www.rakumn.com/Raku%20dinner%20menu.pdf


How Did We Find This Place?
My friend Emily and I had a sushi craving and we wanted to find a spot to meet in the middle so I googled "sushi Edina" and ran across Raku.  It had good reviews so we decided to take a chance on a new sushi spot.


What's Unique About This Place?
Raku is an upscale restaurant that focuses on Japanese with a flair for French, Italian and other Asian influences.  As far as for uniqueness, I would have to say that their posh interior definitely fits in with the rest of the neighborhood and the use of high end finishes, soothing colors and fancy fixtures make you feel very relaxed.  


In addition, they have good happy hour specials running Monday-Thursday from 3-5pm and 9-10pm; soup, appetizers, sushi and salads are up to 50% off. 


Our Meal
We started off with a edamame appetizer:

Raku's Edamame Appetizer: $5

And goodness knows that me and Emily can't go to a sushi place without trying it's escolar (aka super white tuna):

Raku's Escolar ($5) and Fatty Tuna (Market Price)

Then onto the main courses, but where to begin....there were just SO many good options that they had...but we finally narrowed it down to two.

Raku's Captain Crunch Roll: Shrimp tempura, crab, avocado cucumber and crispy tempura flakes outside.  $14

Raku's Lotus Roll: Spicy tuna, yamagobo (pickled carrots), topped with fresh tuna and avocado, served with spicy mayo sauce.  $14

Our Thoughts
Yum. Yum. And Yum.  The edamame was good (yes I've had bad edamame before), the escolar was top notch, the fatty tuna was amazing (and was actually one of the best pieces of fish I've ever had), the tempura shrimp in the Captain Crunch roll was hot and fresh, the fish in the Lotus roll was stellar, the spicy mayo sauce had some kick and was yum-o.  I have nothing bad to say at all as it relates to the cuisine; we got what we paid for as it relates to quality vs. price.


The service was good; there weren't many people out on a cold weeknight and the waiters were always quick to fill up our water and bring out our dishes in a timely fashion.  


Would We Go Again?
Yes, we will be going again.  Don't ask stupid questions.

Shanghai Bistro: Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Shanghai Bistro

2930 Craig Road

Eau Claire, WI 54701

Website: http://shanghaibistro.org/?index=home

Menu: http://shanghaibistro.org/content/catview.php?view=CurrSpecials

How Did We Find This Place? 
Shanghai has been around since 2005 and we were right there with it when we had enough money in our broke college accounts to afford a $9 meal, which wasn't often.  On this occasion, Shanghai served as our reunion location while I was in town for work.

What's Unique About This Place? 

Sushi in Eau Claire, that is what's unique about it!  There just isn't another place that does sushi in EC like they can.  Their high level of fish quality might be partially due to the fact that they have two other restaurants (that started after this one) that they are able to help source fish through, located in Stillwater and Hudson; but that's just a wild guess.  Either way, they make it work.

Our Meal

I didn't get pictures of our sushi dishes because I'm a dummy so I apologize.  See my thoughts on those below.

Shanghai Bistro's Moo-Shu Chicken: $9

Shanghai Bistro's Chinese Pancakes (come with Moo-Shu Chicken)

Shanghai Bistro's Orange Chicken: $8

Our Thoughts

As far as the atmosphere, it's a renovated restaurant that used to be something else but dangit, they work with what they have.  

For the meal, the Moo-Shu chicken is enough for my friend Amanda to have two leftover meals which is always a plus.  The Chinese pancakes were really interesting and good, the orange chicken was crunchy and had enough sauce.  But the rice was not the best I've ever and seemed dry if anything.  


But the sushi (that I didn't take pictures of.  Dummy.) was the real star.  We split a tuna/avocado roll and a shrimp tempura roll; they were the best part of the meal in my mind.  Yum!

Holy rice!

Another nice thing is that while the rice might not have been that great, they refill your it when you run out which is key when you're splitting meals.

Would We Go Again?

One thing that does yank my chain about this place is the fact that their happy hour runs from 3-5pm.  Come on!  I know that there is no rush hour to limit the patrons like there is here in the Cities but I would be interested in knowing what was behind that decision making.


Also on a sad note, from what I saw on Urbanspoon, the service is pretty bad so I wonder why if that is such an issue why it hasn't been addressed?  


What we experienced wasn't the best or worst service I've ever had but it was good enough for us on a Thursday night and we would go again...and especially when we get one of those mean sushi cravings.  The sushi here rocks and if that is what you're looking for, you've found your place!

Lexus Christmas Commercials: Not My Cup of Tea

One of my favorite Christmas memories was when my Dad and Uncle got trucks for Christmas from our farm at my Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I know that you're thinking...holy crap, we must be loaded.  


What you didn't know yet is that my grandparents probably did that because they were scared for their lives.  Literally.  My Dad and Uncle's trucks they were driving around everyday were probably over a decade old.  And as I recall, my dad's truck had a rust hole rotting in the floor and my Uncle's truck had a bunch of very large cracks in the windshield.  

Yup, that looks about right.

In addition to that, they both probably inhaled 2 cups of dirt a day from the farm residue in the seats alone.  

This has nothing to do with it but I laughed so hard when I saw it that I had to put it  in.

In summary, these trucks were definitely OSHA inspected and certified.


So you can imagine when I see these Lexus commercials, I get pissed and today I asked myself a question that Andy Rooney would have asked.  


Are people really buying each other Lexus' for Christmas or is this just a big ploy to make us all feel inadequate during an already stressful season?  
To begin let's ask some other questions that you've always had about those commercials and get back to that one later.


First of all, what's with the song?
Turns out that Lexus has been using this tune called "Friends and Family" composed by a guy named Steve Kujala for 13 years.  I encourage all of you to check out the full PR release from 2010 here to find out more than you ever thought you would about a song that drives us all nuts during the Holiday season.  The picture of him and his flute is pretty priceless.  And of those of you wondering, YES you can purchase the jam on iTunes.


Do You Get the Bow When You Buy the Car?
From what I could find, yes.  I even found the company that makes these bows but couldn't find a price on them besides what people claimed on blogs as being "$300 or so".  


I almost called a local dealership to get more details but then thought to myself "Would $300 stop them from making a sale on a $30K+ vehicle?".  Answer from my 5 years of sales experience: "No.  They would just give you the dumb bow."


Is Anyone Else Ticked Off About These Besides Me?
After some due diligence and research I found out that I am definitely not alone.  There were quite a few mock videos and angry "99%" bloggers.



Here are some other blogs that went off about the commercials that I found funny:
What I Think
Jalopnick
The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit



And even Honda is hatin' on Lexus and their Christmas campaign. 


Honda is taking advantage of the cheesy and unrealistic "December to Remember" campaigns in one of their "Happy Honda Days" ads that ask "Are you a millionaire? No? Well then you probably don't give cars to people as presents."  Then go into how no matter what time of year, a Honda is a smart choice.  I recommend that you check it out here ASAP!  Also check out the other commercials that are part of the series since they are pretty hilarious as well. 

Is this Marketing Campaign Working? 

Let's just start by saying that Lexus sales in 2011 aren't doing so hot.  Apparently they are down 14.2% through October compared to last year.  Which could explain why "December to Remember" started in early November this year.

So for 2011, I have no data to confirm or deny that it's working or not this year.  But I can speak to historic trends that I was able to find below.



So, Are People Really Buying Each Other a Lexus for X-mas?
While Lexus sales overall are most likely becoming more and more rare based on our current economic situation, from what I could tell, people have indeed done this in the past and I have to assume that they are indeed still giving each other luxury vehicles as gifts. 


While I know that these findings from 2006 are outdated, it claimed that Lexus' top sales month is December and December is usually one of the lowest overall car sales months of the year, which leads me to believe that people are actually doing this.



So in summary, this isn't just a ploy people!  There are people out there that don't spend enough time with their family just buying each other luxury vehicles to overcompensate. 


Just don't plan on me or anyone I know ever being a part of it!

Nacho Mamma's: Stillwater, MN

Nacho Mammas

312 Main Street South

Stillwater, MN 55082

Website: http://www.stillwatersnachomamas.com/ 

Menu: http://www.stillwatersnachomamas.com/dinnermenu.html

Where Did I Find This Place?

I found Nacho Mamma's many moons ago when I had some friends that lived in Bayport that took me here (thank you to Rob and Jill!).  My life hasn't ever been the same since and this restaurant was one of the places that inspired me to want to start blogging about places that I had never heard of so that other people could also enjoy some of the spots that I've been fortunate enough to find over the years.

What Makes This Place Unique?

It's hard to find and it's off the beaten path in a tourist area and unless you are looking for it's little green door on a side street you won't find it or even think to eat there.  Other things that make it unique are their use of fresh ingredients and monster portion sizes.  If you're wondering why the dishes seem a little on the pricey side or if you should split it...you just should.  Believe me.  If not, be prepared to carry your to-go box around Stillwater.

Our Meal

I took my friend and work colleague Cailee (who has been featured in other blogging adventures) as a "goodbye" luncheon a few weeks back and what better place to celebrate a closing and beginning of a new chapter then Nacho Mammas?

Salsa was a little spicy but tasty: No Charge

Steak Street Tacos with Fried Beans and Rice: $13

Pork Carnitas Street Tacos with Fried Beans and Rice: $13

Our Thoughts

While the $13 price tag is pretty rough, we should have split them and we knew it (but couldn't resist).  And there was no reason to on a celebration luncheon!  The food was extremely fresh, the portions were huge, the service was good over lunch on a weekday, and the only thing missing was a big @ss margarita but we couldn't have it all now could we? 

Would We Go Back Again?

I can't speak for Cailee but I will be going back again.  I have yet to be let down with anything at Nacho Mamma's and will continue to give patronage!

Barrio Tequila Bar: St. Paul and Minneapolis

Barrio Tequila Bar: St. Paul Location

235 6th Street E.

St. Paul, MN 55101

Website: http://www.barriotequila.com/Barrio_lowertown.html

Menu: http://www.barriotequila.com/BarrioSTPDinnerMenu.pdf

How Did I Find This Place? 

Was meeting with a photographer down the street (that ended up being overpriced as it related to their travel charges) and decided to make the trip worth it and stop by a place that I had been hearing about for the couple of years, Barrio.

Cool paintings and what I would call a "hip" atmosphere

What Makes This Place Unique?  

Owned by Twin City restaurant veterans, Barrio opened it's doors in 2008 on Nicollet Mall.  In addition to their monstrous tequila list, they also offered Latin street inspired dishes...that many people enjoyed; they became a huge hit.  A year later they opened a location in Lowertown in St. Paul and in 2010 they also added a set of wheels and jumped onboard to become part of the food truck craze sweeping the nation.  In short, they're taking the Cities by St. Paul, Minneapolis and anywhere in between!


What's On The Menu?
Mexican street food at it's finest.  Small plates include: grilled corn with chipotle creme, queso cotija and epazote, red snapper ceviche, potato sops, crab empanadas, chicken quesadillas, and made to order guacamole to name a few.  Then there are the tacos and enchiladas: pork carnets, skirt steak tacos, amish chicken tacos, beef barbacoa tacos, spiced shrimp tacos and fried mahi tacos.  There are not many larger plates but they do have: Oasaca style baby back ribs, seared tuna, sautéed shrimp, and grilled skirt steak.


My Meal
After my ceviche cooking class in Mexico I couldn't pass up the red snapper ceviche since it's rarely seen on menus here in Minn-e-so-da.

Barrio's Red Snapper Cevhice: $9.50

As many of you know from previous posts my favorite food is slow cooked pork.  It's something that is just so wonderful and that is rarely screwed up; I love ordering it whenever I see it on a menu.

Barrio's Pork Carnitas Taco with Salas Verde: $4.00

My Thoughts
Loved the atmosphere and would be a great date or night out with friends location since there is a little bit of everything as it relates to Latin foods (unless they hates Mexican food and honestly who doesn't like Mexican food?).  


I also thought that the food was exemplary.  The ceviche was top notch (and I'm a tough critic of this) and the pork carnita tacos were moist, flavorful adn still had some crunch on the outside.  The tortillas were also very tasty, warm and noteworthy. 


Would I Go Again?
Yes, with no hesitations I would go again.  Great atmosphere, great food and while I didn't have any cocktails since it was a Monday night, I found the prices reasonable and felt that even if you were skimping you could make a meal work for you.