Captain Hook Restaurant

Captain Hook Restaurant
1460 University Avenue West
Saint Paul Minnesota 55104
(no website so I don't know the hours of operation)

Out on a hut to eat on a Sunday with the Bf we were originally going to stop and try the Hickory Hut which is across the street from Captain Hook's but decided to go here instead because of a advice my sister told me was somewhat good and near by. They have a parking lot in front of the building though its not very big and fills up quickly. Located right next to a old strip mall and the sun ray oriental mart.

When first approaching the place they have a hand written posted sign naming off the special which is 3 wings and a cat fish. Both my BF and I decided to get because the pricing seemed very out of range for the type of food your getting. They have a fairly large menu from Fried chicken, shrimp, fish, and even philly cheese steaks. Assortment of desserts are offered as well for under $3.00. They also only have three small tables to sit at and a large bench for those doing take out (which it seemed like a majority of the customers did do, we decided to do sit in).

Right away I noticed the service was somewhat slow there was only 3 guys working at the time 2 frying and the other one taking orders or packing up the food. After we received what we ordered the fish was fresh and juicy very tasty. The chicken tasted nothing special like any other fried chicken you can get out there. Though for the price I don't know if I would come back. the special was $6 and when looking at the menu they had everything was in the area of $8-10 for a plate with out the drink.





Another thing to keep in mind is that they don't have plates it seemed like they put everyone's food in a take out container and ask if you want to take out they just put it in a bag for you. The condiments are included inside the box that they hand you the food. I noticed that they had plenty of fans lined up against the walls which would mean the place may get heated up during the hot humid days of Minnesota.

Overall
I would come back if I was craving fish on University but not make a special trip to get the food. Not as greasy as Mac's fish and chips located in Roseville but better fish.

al Vento (dessert)

** 2/5 stars for Dessert
***/5 for food
al Vento
http://www.alventorestaurant.com/
5001 34th Avenue South
Minneapolis Minnesota 55417
4:30pm-10:00pm Sun- Thurs
4:30pm-11:00pm Fri-Sat
10:00am-2:00p Sunday Brunch

Another restaurant I've tried once during restaurant week of last year. After going to see 127 hours at my favorite theater the River View located about 5min away my bf and I decided to go grab some dessert and knowing that al Vento was located so close that was the location we decided to go to.
Its a small Italian restaurant, with dim lighting when walking in there is a curtain you go through in order to get to the host. Having open table reservations she took us in and seated us. Everytime that I've been here it seems like multiple people end up serving us last time about 3 people did and this time a total of 2 its like you never know who your waitress or waiter is which can be quite confusing. Also I checked into my foursquare they had a special for a free glass of house wine which I took advantage of.

They print out their menu daily on a piece of paper they make it to look old with burnt edges. We ordered the Creme bruelee trio and he ordered the chocolate decadence cake. They came fairly quick. Mine consisted of a pistachio, vanilla and a chocolate bruelee which was mini versions of a larger one. His was a small cake with a chocolate ganache filling and topped off with cut up strawberries not being a huge chocolate fan but it was good. Nothing special though compared to alot of places and a bit over priced for the portion size you are getting here thats they I gave it a 2/5 for the desserts.

One con of al Vento with the space its quite small so it feels like you know what all the other tables are doing what they are ordering and what their conversations are about. The table next to mine was a couple out on their first date with awkward conversation. Also whenever someone came through the doors you could feel the breeze of cold air hit you I felt bad for who sat next to the doors because its freezing out who wants to be cold while eating out at a nice restaurant. This wouldn't be a problem during the summer time but sure is for winter.

Pro theres parking in the back and street its not the best neighborhood but there isn't much traffic on the street they are on. The menu is small so you don't feel overwhelmed they also offer a date night on Tuesdays 3courses for $20 per person.

Grand Ole Creamery

**** 4/5 Stars
Grand Ole Creamery
http://www.grandolecreamery.com/
Two Locations

750 Grand Avenue
St.Paul Minneosta 55105
12:00pm-11:00pm

4737 Cedar Avenue South
Minneapolis Minnesota 55407
12:00pm-9:30pm Weekdays
11:00am-10:30pm Weekends


Having been at the Grand Location a few times during last summer I decided to give it another try considering My bf and I were in the area. Came into the store considering its still winter here in Minnesota was a good crowd of people I had to wait in a line of 2 other families waiting to pick and sample out the flavors they wanted. A girl in here late teens was the only one working at this time so it was a little wait. She was indeed friendly and very helpful whenever anyone had questions

The location is fairly old its been there for 25years so it says on the sign they hang. its somewhat cozy but there are plenty of awards hanging around the walls. Right next door they have their new Pizza Parlor which wasn't very busy but if you wanted to get delivery they give you a free pint of ice cream!

I decided to do a one scoop split for $5.75 in a waffle bowl. You have a choice to choose if you want a sugar cone, waffle cone, or waffle bowl. Keep in mind that they do make their waffle cones and bowls fresh everyday and even sell them in bags if you wanted to bring some home for later. I decided on the Coffee break ice cream and the butter brickle for my split scoop. Which is just half scoops of two flavors. Still plenty of ice cream for two if you wanted to share with someone which I did with my bf.
The waffle cones come with a malt ball at the bottom, and so does a kids cone which comes with the ice creamed topped with a malt ball.

Overall good experience the ice cream is one of the best in Minnesota I must say its creamery and they have a large variety to choose from.

I gave them a 4 because they could have used extra help instead of leaving the one girl hanging by herself with a fairly good amount of people waiting to be helped on. I guess I shouldn't be so harsh since they had a "help wanted" sign on their window when walking in.

Restaurants and the Internet

One topic that I love when it comes to restaurants is when they interact with the customers not in a overwhelming way where they put a twitter up every hour and need to reply to useless things. The fact that they even have a twitter is a great plus for me I love to give instant feed back to the places I go to.

For example your at X location and you dislike their service you can tweet not only to all your followers aka friends on twitter but also to the restaurants twitter there for no need to call them later, write a letter snail mail, or a e-mail. Text and send in a few buttons. Your letting go of your frustration and letting them know where to improve. Whats even better is if they actually reply eventually letting you know how they can improve it doesn't have to be anything fancy but letting me know that this won't happen again makes me pleased.

The same goes for Facebook pages many companies have decided to go the route of having a Facebook page to let customers know about special events, coupons and other things of interest, plus its always fun when you get a free app or dessert just for "liking" them :). Same concept you can let them know how you feel and everyone else is able to read what you wrote.

Few things you should always have on your website along with a Facebook or Twitter account,

Store Hours (I went to Chilis today and had no idea what hours they operated everything was a telephone message where you there wasn't even a option to hear the hours)

Directions and an Address- I always find it handy because I use my GPS on my phone to just copy and paste the location and wabam I am there without any trouble.

Menu and Pricing- I like to scope out what I want to eat before hand without taking a million years at the restaurant deciding what to get. Knowing the price is also great I hate having a surprise tab added to my check (again Chili's didn't list their drink prices!!)

and finally a phone number if all fails and nothing above is listed (which are the basics) I can always rely on a phone number and hopefully that won't be machine operated.

BTW restaurants if you plan on having a flash website please spend some money for a mobile version my smartphone does not support flash and when I can't see anything at all because of my failure to have flash I just won't bother to go to your place I would rather check out another restaurant then waste my time trying to figure out all of your information on different websites.

Thats pretty much my jist on food places and the internet a quick blog since I didn't feel like writing a review.

Tiffany
Btw my camera is currently out of town soo that means all the places I go this week are going to be snapped shots on the BB.
I ate at
D'amico Kitchen
Chili's
today different price points and atmosphere for both lol.

The Sea Salt Eatery

The Sea Salt Eatery

4825 Minnehaha Ave South
Minneapolis Mn
$$

http://seasalteatery.wordpress.com/

Only open half of the year (April2-October31) with fresh seafood I had to check this eatery out before it went back to hibernation. Located in Minneapolis and having the Minnehaha Falls as the backyard pretty much gives it a nice feel to the restaurant.

A few things you need to know about the restaurant before heading out there to eat.

1.The parking - you need to find in a lot where you have to pay there is a toll machine where you buy a ticket to place on your dashboard it does get full so expect to park either on the streets where its metered or the next lot over the Machines located in the lots do accept credit cards and are priced at 75cents a hour (you will get a ticket if you don’t purchase one to place on your dashboard because the parking police checks frequently).

2. There is usually a long line during lunch hours the wait can be about a few minutes to even 20min. and if your only waiting to grab the Sebastian Joes ice cream they serve there is a separate line usually with no wait.

3. Seating on a sunny day the outdoor seating they have is great patio and some tables just outside of the restaurant, On rainy days or cooler weather they have a building connected to the restaurant where there are plenty of tables next to a big fireplace to sit.

4. Serving- Once you place your food order you go look for a place to eat the food usually comes 10-15min after ordering they call out your name to find where you have decided to sit to eat.

Finally onto the food I ordered

They have a list of local breweries of beer they carry but considering the fact that I am still underage (almost legal in October!) I ordered pop to go with my meal of Fried Shrimp Po Boy and my sister had ordered the Tilapia Fish tacos
Tacos were descent too much of the salsa added for my taste and the Fried Shrimp Po Boy was delicious loved the sauce and how much shrimp I got definitely my money’s worth.

Overall Rating
Those are the facts and basics for The Sea Salt Eatery I enjoyed the service I received the food was good decently priced .I would definitely come back and try some more of their food.

So Have fun eating the seafood and explore the area with the falls and there is also a wheel fun location right next to the place where you can rent bikes and little bike cars to go around with :)

Hooray

My first post on this blog I've decided with the title and name for this blog
Meet- Because you meet with people while eating (nothing wrong with eating by yourself though)
Seat- You get seated obviously before taking in the calories
Eat- Chow down time baby!

yay I have a large list of places I've gone to already and getting ready to post up my thoughts and opinions along with the pictures of food I've tried and tasted. I try to eat at a location at least twice before giving it a review and all of my opinions are honest :)
Btw I'm a huge fan of websites like Groupon LivingSocial and CrowdCut so a few of the locations I will be writing about are from those sites (best value and saves me some moola).

Have fun reading, judging, leave a comment I love others opinions and thoughts on places and trying new places from suggestions.
Btw I Live in the Twin Cities of MN thats why everything is from MN!
Toodle Loo
Ti