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Anniversaries

Posted in Everyday, tagged on October 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

What is it about anniversaries?  Not counting birthdays, which I think should be acknowledged come hell or high water, the acknowledgement of anniversaries sometimes baffles me.

I got my hair cut the other day and my stylist was celebrating the ten-year anniversary of her divorce.  Every year I acknowledge the anniversary of my first day at my big-girl job by taking the day off and being as far away from the job as possible.  Lots of us even acknowledge death anniversaries.

Do we need to constantly remind ourselves of the passage of time?  Is celebrating an anniversary a way of validating some kind of accomplishment?  And those death anniversaries ~ are they marked on our mental calendars as a desperate attempt to never forget the one who’s died?

Maybe we recognize anniversaries simply to give us a reason to celebrate, to realize how we’ve advanced emotionally, or to remind us that, tic tock, time’s a-wasting.

Yesterday Husby and I recognized our wedding anniversary.  It gave us an excuse to treat ourselves to a nice dinner, to recall the fun day we had when we were wed, and to realize how much has changed or stayed the same in those years since.  It brings to the forefronts of our minds how content we’ve been after making the decision to commit. 

It doesn’t much matter if the actual day was recognized or not, to me.  Cards exchanged and a bouquet of flowers from Husby are nice touches, but for me the things recognized on anniversary dates should be part of everyday living.  Remember those you have lost on all days of the calendar.  Be proud of your accomplishments every day instead of the yearly mark of specific ones.  Be happy and content always with the one you chose to marry.  Each day is an anniversary of something significant or trivial, and each day should be celebrated. 

Little Red and Wolf by Akina

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Dive Night ~ Brine’s

Posted in Everyday on March 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Once again it’s time for a Dive Night review.

Depending on where you enter, this is Brine’s.

This is the front.

This is the back.

I love the old buildings in Stillwater, MN, and Brine’s inhabits one of them.  If I were to own a restaurant or a shop I’d want it to be in an old building.  The inside of Brine’s is nice too.

The curtains add a nice, homey touch. I wasn’t thrilled with the whole salad bar thing going on in the middle of it all. In fact, the salad bar itself wasn’t much to write home about. I’ll get to that a little later.

As in many old buildings comes old signage, which is always cool.

 

I don’t usually comment on the drinks we order, but Ray and Husby ordered something a little different called Woodpecker Cider.  Both of them took a sip and simultaneously their eyes lit up and their lips curled into smiles.  Also simultaneously they offered a sip to Ruthie and me.  I don’t drink a lot of beer (and this drink was on the beer list) but this stuff was something else.  Sweet like apple cider, but with a nice fizz and a little hint of that hoppy, grainy taste that beer is.  Woodpecker Cider.  I think it would be especially refreshing in the summertime.

If you don’t know about Brine’s it has been known for many years as providing supurb deli sandwiches. They have standard sandwiches or you can create your own with a wide variety of meats and cheeses. Brine’s didn’t really offer appetizers, per se, but rather “sides.” We always order appetizers, but this time we had to order sides to start our meal. We ended up with deep fried cauliflower with a ranchy, horseradishy dipping sauce and potato skins with cheese and bacon.

 

I especially liked the cauliflower because 1) people don’t normally like to share cauliflower because it’s a weird a bumpy vegetable and 2) the fact that it was fried and also had a delicious dipping sauce made it delectible.

On to the main courses.  Husby decided to go with soup and salad bar.  That brings me back to the salad bar itself.  It was just kind of a garish thing in the middle of the room, which in my opinion takes away from the vintage feel of the restaurant.  If it were off to the side of the room it might not have made such a bad impression on me.  It just didn’t fit in as it was glaring and bright.

Plus, in my opinion it wasn’t that great of a salad bar.  It was okay, but there wasn’t much in the way of originality.  I chose the salad bar too, but I think I could have filled up on something better had I checked out the bar before ordering.  Anyway, Husby’s soup was divine.  Mmm, beer cheese…  Look at all that popcorn!

Ray also started with a cup of soup.  Chili to be precise.  The fun thing about this was, it was actually served in a cup.  A coffee cup.  Cute!  He also had a BLT.

This is a really bad picture, which is why it’s smaller than the others.  The chili was good though!

Ruthie ordered the fish sandwich special.  It came with fries and coleslaw.  I should have tried one or five of her fries, because they looked so good.  And that bun?  Yum!

I chose the salad bar, as you know, and a tuna melt.  Not only was it a tuna melt, it was a tuna melt with gouda cheese.  Like I said, Brine’s is good about giving you what you want.  I mean really, would you rather have a tuna melt with plain old American cheese, or gouda cheese?  If you chose American you have to go stand in the corner for two minutes.

The service was fine except for one thing.  Our waitron didn’t ask us if we wanted any dessert.  Normally we’re too stuffed for dessert, but tonight was an exception.  Well, not really an exception.  We were stuffed, but Ruthie and I couldn’t resist ordering a piece of cheesecake to go.  When I ate it the next day I nearly died.  It was so creamy and delicious.  Just plain cheesecake without the fancy fruit on top or swirls of flavor throughout, but man it was some of the best cheesecake I’ve had in a while.

The lower level of Brine’s is the bar.  It was more happenin’ than the restaurant section.  I bet you can probably order food in the bar too, and it would probably be better for people watching and definitely better if you’re in the mood for a game of after dinner pool.

So that’s Brine’s for you.  If you’re in Stillwater stop on by.  They’re right on the main street.  And remember, gouda cheese, not American.

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Dive Night ~ Meister’s, Shoreview

Posted in Dive Night, Everyday, tagged , on February 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

It’s cold and snowy here in Minnesota, but that doesn’t stop the Dive Night crew from braving the weather and checking out another year of dives.  Unfortunately what became a tradition was not the best choice of places to kick off the 2011 dive adventure.  Meister’s, which was really good in Stillwater and pretty good in Scandia turned out to be kind of mundane in Shoreview.  Of course that’s just my opinion.

The decor is frighteningly ordinary, except for the occasional dancer you might find in the hallway outside the restaurant.  You see, Meister’s in Shoreview is contained in a strip mall and shares a hallway with a dance studio.  We got to see a spinny guy in a matador costume when we were there.  But other than that the place is pretty ho-hum.

These little cut-outs of German people (we called them Heidi and Hans) were taped to a mirrored wall on one side of the dining room.  The room itself was pretty well lit and except for Heidi and Hans was pretty devoid of any character.

There was also a very large party of people in the dining room, and they took up the whole length of the room.  They were all really old, and one guy had exactly one tooth.  I think it was Grandma’s birthday, because the lady at the head of the table looked to be about 127 years old.  I thought it was sad that Meister’s was the place her family chose to celebrate what could be her last birthday, but who am I to judge?  Anyway, the four of us were seated in the back corner booth, which was fine.

First we ordered our drinks.  Ray and Husby got a big old pint of beer and Ruthie and I ordered a glass of white zinfandel.  Our wine choices were generic.  I don’t know why I think I can get a good glass of wine in a dive, but I’m always a little disappointed when I can’t.  I should probably start drinking hard liquor if I want to get a good drink in a dive.  Our wine came in little splits and tasted like the kind you would get out of a box with a spigot.

No matter, we’re there for the food, not the libations.  First of all I will give Meister’s kudos on the temperature of their food.  Everything was hot.  Like, really hot where you’d have to let it sit for a while before biting into it.  That’s good.  The choice of appetizers was limited and pretty ordinary.  We ended up getting onion rings and mushrooms.  The mushrooms came with a little ranch dipping sauce.

Ray couldn’t resist getting a cup of the sausage tortilinni soup, which he said was tasty.  It came with three packets of crackers.  Very generous indeed!

As for the entrees, we each had something different.  I had the philly sandwich (sans green peppers *burp*) with au jus, Ruthie had taco salad, which was huge, Husby had a buffalo chicken wrap sandwich, and Ray had a rueben.  As I mentioned, everything came to us really hot and tasted fine, but in my opinion the menu in general and my dinner lacked any kind of originality or pizazz.  The rest of the gang might have different opinions.

 

 

 

And what kind of dive would Meister’s be if it didn’t have a Friday Night Meat Raffle?  Of course we had to buy a couple of chances because who doesn’t want to go home with a hunk of raw meat after an evening out?

Unfortunately none of our numbers were winners.

Long and short?  We kicked off the third year of Dive Nights with a tradition, but the least favorite of the three Meister’s.  Nothing about it was outstanding, but nothing was icky either.  It was just…zzzzzz.

One thing I must mention is the service.  That was pretty decent.  Our waitress was very attentive and did a good job of keeping up with us and the large party of old people.  Nice and friendly, but not too friendly to get in your way.  I like wait staff like that.  Our waitress was excellent.

So that wraps it up.  I feel a little guilty not being more positive.  I will say if you’re going to go to an average place to eat you should be accompanied by superior company, like Husby and I are every time we’re out with Ruthie and Ray.  Thanks, guys!

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Dive Night ~ St. Clair Broiler

Posted in Everyday on May 6, 2010| 2 Comments »

Back to the old neighborhood it was for me on this night of Dive hunting.  I love the old neighborhood.  The suburbs can be so drab.  I miss the old restaurants in the city like this one on the corner of St. Clair and Snelling Avenues in St. Paul, MN.  The St. Clair Broiler has been broiling up bugers and mixing up malts since 1956.

Husby and I were in the mood for something other than burgers, so we thought this would be a good place to get a variety of food.  This guy was our “maitre d’…”

Yes, that was pretty much the expression he kept on his face the whole time.  I think he’s been in the business forever.  This is an example of some fun you could find inside the menu…the very large and diverse menu.

As always we started out with some appetizers.  We ordered walleye cakes and turkey quesadillas, which were both very good.  The walleye cakes came with a delicious honey mustard drizzle and the quesadillas were packed with turkey, cheese, and salsa, served with sides of guacamole, more salsa, and sour cream.  I also got a cup of clam chowder, which was just about the best chowder I’ve had in a very long time.  Appetizers were a score.

For our entrees we all ordered something different.  From left to right there was all-you-can-eat fish fry with what looked like to-die-for steak fries (Ray), beef tips with garlic mashed potatoes (Ruthie), salmon burger with seasoned kettle chips (Husby), and beef stroganoff (me).  Everyone was very happy with their meals.  I had a bite of Husby’s salmon burger and it was very good.  My stroganoff was really good too, although it was so rich I had to take most of it home.  (Don’t forget I also had appetizers and soup.)

Oh, and plus, I couldn’t resist ordering a piece of homemade red velvet cake to go. It was scrumptious when I ate it two days later. I probably would have passed out from joy if I had eaten it fresh that day.
There were only two minuses in this dining experience. 1) I originally ordered a pork cutlette dinner, which apparently is no longer available…ever. I was pretty disappointed to hear that. 2) There are no automatic refills of pop (soda) or ice tea. Ruthie and I both ordered soft beverages and our waitress did not offer refills. However, if we had asked for some maybe they would have been provided at no cost.
The place itself is a typical old-fashioned diner.  It’s clean and well-lit.  It’s actually a lot bigger than it seems.  There are three rooms in which to dine.  And guess what?
The first room even has a counter!  I want to go back again, maybe to try their breakfasts.  I also want to have a burger and malt someday too.  I’d recommend the St. Clair Broiler for some good, substantial food made by people who have been in the food business for decades.
As an aside, after our dining experience we went back to Ruthie and Ray’s house for a nightcap. Husby really loves to do this because he can bond with their dog, Hoover. He must have found Hoover’s g-spot because he was sprawled all over, loving Husby’s scratches. This is what I got to look at for the majority of the evening. Lovely.

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Dive Night ~ Neumann’s

Posted in Everyday on April 10, 2010| 1 Comment »

Ruthie and Ray outdid themselves this time.  (I think I say that every time they pick the restaurant.)  They took Husby and me to the most interesting place – Neumann’s,  located in North St. Paul, Minnesota.

As out of it as I am, I had no idea this is the oldest bar with the oldest fixtures in the State of Minnesota.  I know it’s true because the sign said so.
It has been a hard couple of months for all of us.  The trials of getting older were getting the better of us and a night out was just what we needed.  Ruthie and I were much more verbose in this opinion, but I could tell Ray and Husby were happy to let loose too.  Because we were so grateful to be out, and even more grateful to be in a place that caters to people our own age (albeit much more biker-type – I was embarrassed to be wearing a cheery yellow sweater among all that leather), the food wasn’t a big priority, for me at least.
Ruthie and I had the seafood special which was a fish filet, a few shrimp, and a crab cake, served with french fries.  I’ll have to admit, the seafood all came from a box, but I love that stuff.  Plus, it was fried in a frier and not baked in the oven, which makes it that much better.  The fries were fabulous (if they were from a box I’d love to know what brand they use) and we shared them with our husbands.  They ordered gyros, which didn’t come with any sides.  According to Ray and Husby, they were very good.  Of course we got an appetizer too.  Onion rings that were absolutely perfect.

The most fun thing about Neumann’s is the ambiance.  I’m sure its charm could be lost on some, but for us, two couples who had been there done that but not in a long time, it was very refreshing.

Not only is it quaint, it has marvelous fixtures.  Well, the oldest of any bar in Minnesota, as the sign said.

 

Look at that copper ceiling!  I don’t know if it’s copper, tin, or what, but I want to believe it’s original to the joint.

Check out that mounted alligator head in the upper right of the photo.  It’s wearing sunglasses and from its jaws hangs a pair of child’s tennies.  My kind of place!

These lovely photos were hanging in the women’s bathroom.

If you’re in the mood to hob nob with with a crowd that’s a little rough around the edges (but sweeter than pie) and be waited on by a waitress with biceps as big as your thigh (but wouldn’t hurt a fly) I would highly recommend Neumann’s Bar.  Fun food, great atmosphere, and interesting crowd.  If you own a motorcycle, even better.  Don’t wear a cheery yellow sweater unless you want to stick out like a sore thumb.

A special thanks to Ray, who provided the pictures in this post.  It had been such a hectic day I forgot to bring my own camera.

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