Category: Restaurants

Famous Dave’s is a restaurant that has lots of barbecued food. The portions are large.

I ordered the boneless barbecue chicken wings and it came with mashed potatoes, corn bread, an apple compote and veggies. There were too many chicken wings and we had enough leftovers to have 2 snacks later in the week. The corn bread was absolutely delicious. There also are a few barbecue spices to choose from.

The other two entrees at our table were the Briskets and a Barbecued Chicken Sandwich.

The “extra” napkins at the table are on a “faucet-like” holder. Quaint.

Famous Dave’s is definitely a place for meat eaters. It was a bit much for me as I don’t like to take leftovers home since sometimes they don’t get eaten. The food was average — the chicken wings tasted a little “doughy.”

I like Italian restaurants as they are so varied. The more homey ones serve lots of food – an entree is enough for two people with a little bit of leftovers to take home.

Donatelli’s is in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. The kitchen is located right when you walk in. When we arrived around 5:15 pm, it wasn’t very full but by the time we left the place was bustling with local patrons.

I liked the outside of Donatelli’s menu.

And the meal was good although they really slathered on the sauce for both entrees – baked mostaccioli and spinach noodles with a cream sauce. The garlic bread was delicious!

Yum! We’ll have to go back with empty stomachs. The sauces are rich.

In our search for a good Mexican restaurant in the Lake Elmo area, we ran across Plaza Garibaldi Mexican Restaurant in Oakdale, Minnesota – a neighboring city.

I ordered the burrito which came with a ranch sauce slathered on the top of it which was not very appetizing unless you REALLY like ranch dressing.

My husband had the combo Chili Relleno/Burrito/Enchilada combo which was okay.

The pico de gallo sauce they gave us tasted old.  Bummer.

Still hunting for a really good Mexican restaurant in our area.

We recently went to a restaurant for breakfast called Keys Cafe and Bakery in Woodbury, Minnesota.

The restaurant is in a strip mall and appears to be very well attended.

We decided to share the ominous looking cinnamon roll to start.  It was good and I’m glad we didn’t let the size deter us. It is full of air, light and fluffy.  I don’t know why they give you butter for it.  It’s plenty moist.

I had fried eggs with hash browns. The eggs were a little undercooked as you can see.

My husband had the Italian Sausage Hash which was filled with lots of vegetables and which he devoured.

The service was great.  Overall, a good place to have breakfast.

Keys Cafe & Bakery, 1750 Weir Dr, Woodbury, Minnesota.

I’ve often wondered if all Olive Gardens are the same.  Seems like the menu with food, salad and drinks is the same.  This last time we went, we experienced about a 10 minute wait before being seated in a booth.  In previous times, we’ve had to wait up to 30 minutes.

After being seated, the “usual” Olive Garden atmosphere engulfed us.  Noisy and bustling.  I wonder if the types of buildings they buy are more conducive to noise or maybe they cram too many people in one place.

But — the predictability continued.  We placed our orders and the breaksticks and salad were brought out.  I have always enjoyed their breadsticks — warm and soft.

Olive Garden Breadstick

Olive Garden Salad

Ravioli with Chicken pieces

Stuffed Chicken Marsala with Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Uh, I think it was good.  I wonder if his palette is not as discerning as mine.

I also had the strawberry mango lemonade which didn’t taste very much like mango and was served in a very tall glass.  I had to ask the waitress to bring me a “short” glass so I could sip the drink with a straw.

Overall, there are things I like about the Olive Garden.  But it’s hit and miss with some of the dishes they serve. The service we had was good even though it was crowded.  This is probably not a place you want to go to for an intimate dinner though.

Traveling back and forth to Chicago now to visit relatives, we usually stop along the way to have a bite to eat.

The last time we stopped it was at a restaurant called the Orange Moose in Black River Falls, Wisconsin.  The restaurant is located right off of I94 between Chicago and Minnesota.  Outside, is a large orange moose.

Orange Moose Bar & Grill, Black River Falls, Wisconsin

The bar is apart from the main dining area which is nice.  They have tables instead of booths where we were seated.

For being off the interstate, and not a MacDonald’s, this restaurant is pretty good.  The tables have a paper placemat on them that accentuate their name.

The food came quickly and was hot.  We had a Ruben sandwich (looks uncooked but my husband says it was cooked) and a Philly Steak sandwich.

Ruben Sandwich

Philly Steak Sanwich

It looked like we were the only ones there around 5:00ish.  Too much food though.

We’re still searching for a good Mexican restaurant to eat at and decided to try Mi Familia Restaurante y Cantina.  A cantina in Spanish means bar.

Mi Familia Restaurante y Cantina in Woodbury, Mn

Normally, the restaurant’s that have bars have separate eating areas. Not so with this one.  When we entered, there was a sign that said “Our credit card machine is down.  Cash only.  ATM in … ”  Since we had cash we continued to enter.

To the left of entering, is the bar area, directly ahead is the above, uh, let’s call it a  sculpture.  From the tables directly past the sculpture are tables and booths.  We were seated immediately.

We were served chips with guacamole dip and hot salsa.  The chips were not very good.  I’ve bought better ones at the store.

I had the super burrito (it’s hidden under the lettuce).  The burrito was served with whole cooked pinto beans and rice.  The rice was cooked a little too long but the burrito tasted good.  The beans lacked flavor.

Super Burrito at La Familia Restaurante y Cantina

My husband had the enchilada verdes with rice and beans.  His response was “it was okay.”

Enchiladas Verdes

It’s always nice to find a restaurant that has good pizza.  Mansetti’s is fantastic!

We weren’t sure what to expect when we entered.  There were a lot of seniors leaving the restaurant.  Walking very slowly.    We seated ourselves.  The wait people were all young looking — a big contrast from the clientele that just left.

It wasn’t long before we were the only ones in the restaurant.

Mansetti’s Pizza & Pasta, Shoreview, Minnesota

Mancetti’s has booths and tables available.  There was no music on when we arrived but once everyone left, the music came on — loudly.

I think they were having problems adjusting the volume.

We ordered our pizza and it came promptly — thin crust, barbecue chicken.  The barbecue was nice and tangy.

A definite place we need to return to.

Mancetti’s Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Mancetti’s is located at 3999 Rice St, Shoreview, Minnesota.