Ward 6

Visited on Saturday, June 15th

Ben's Review
For my birthday I was tasked with choosing a place to get dinner with Erin as her mom had offered to watch the kids while we went out. In typical fashion I had a hard time deciding and enlisted the help of my coworkers. I got several awesome suggestions and settled on Ward 6 in Saint Paul.

Ward 6 is on the east side of Saint Paul in an old saloon (apparently the bar is the same one that was installed in 1903) and has a retro feel to it, even though the place has obviously been spiffed up a bit. I could tell it had opened not too long ago since the paint on the trim wasn’t even dirty yet.

Pints of beer are $5, except for Hamm’s which is only $3, and the tap beers are a great collection of local beer: Summit, Fulton, Flat Earth, Steel Toe, Indeed, Pour Decisions, Surly, and Lucid are all represented. They also have a full bar and several cocktail suggestions on the menu. I started with a Lynchburg Lemonade while we were deciding on food and had a Steel Toe Size 7 with my food.

The food menu is not huge, but there are several good looking options. Erin’s reuben even looked good to me, and I’m not a reuben fan. The daily special that day was a pork loin with warm potato salad, which easily sealed the deal for me. The potato salad was just as much of a draw as the pork, I love that stuff!

I had my beer and my German food and I was all set. The portions of food at Ward 6 are refreshingly reasonable, not the gargantuan plates you get at many places these days, and the prices are proportional as well, which I appreciate.

The pork had good flavor, but was not as moist as it could be, but paired with the potato salad, it was excellent and I wolfed it down in no time, leaving me to finish my beer as dessert :) We were done so quickly that we had to figure out something to do, lest we get home to Erin’s mom too early! We went for a walk down Grand Ave where Erin had some ice cream and I got a cigar, great ending to a birthday dinner.

Erin's Review
For once, I left the dinner decision completely up to Ben! We are completely out of the loop on restaurant openings lately, so I wasn't too shocked to hear that his coworkers had recommended several places we hadn't even heard of! I did look at the website for Ward 6 before we went, but wasn't quite sure what to expect.

This is definitely an awesome place that I WISH was closer to us! It's not like it's that far away, obviously, but it would be nice if it was even within a few miles, or not on the other side of downtown St. Paul. We went to downtown St. Paul for a drink at Barrio prior to heading over to Ward 6, which is pretty close to The Strip Club. It's one of those places that is casual but feels nice, serves really great food, and is affordable. Definitely kid friendly, too, I'd like to go back for breakfast with the kids sometime.

I saw that the bar had some ties to Hamm's (apparently the actual bar itself used to be in the brewery which was next door or something) so felt it was my mission to have a Hamm's while we were there. Also it was $2 cheaper than everything else, and I think we ALL know that I don't care what kind of beer I'm drinking, and in fact the closer it tastes to water, the better.

The Reuben was calling my name - to think of my younger self, never even trying a Reuben because it sounded gross to me. Now I love them! They are pretty rich for me, so I actually only ate half but the other half reheated well for another meal. The fries were delicious as well.

Really loved this place - excellent service, friendly atmosphere and good food. Worth the few extra miles from Minneapolis even!!

Deets

Ward 6

858 Payne Avenue

St. Paul

Black Forest Inn

Visited on Friday, May 27 with Jake and Allison

Ben's Review

Erin heard about spargelfest at Black Forest Inn and wanted to check it out. Her parents took Annie up to the cabin one day early on Memorial Day weekend, so we took the opportunity to meet our friends Jake and Allison for dinner before heading up ourselves on Friday night.

I had heard that Black Forest Inn had a great patio, but I wasn’t really excited to try this place out. After having what I considered to be bland, uninteresting food in Germany during our honeymoon, I had written off their food entirely. Spargelfest sounded cool, and I do like asparagus, so we headed over after work.

It was cold out the day we went, so the patio wasn’t going to happen, which was unfortunate. The inside of Black Forest Inn reminded me of the beer halls in Germany with the high, painted ceilings, the woodwork, and the customers and staff.

We had arrived early which gave us plenty of time to look over the menu and consider our options. I started with a beer (Erin insisted that I get a German beer, which I was going to anyway) and got the Paulaner Salvator.

I was surprised at how much of the food actually seemed good, not what my prejudiced mind was expecting, which was nice. I actually didn’t end up getting any spargelfest specialty, but I made sure to try Erin’s asparagus soup. I went traditional and got the bratwurst dinner which consisted of two bratwurst links, hot German potato salad, sauerkraut, and rye bread. I also noticed that they had a maibock mentioned on the spargelfest menu that was not on the beer list, so I got a maibock with my meal as well (can’t recall the brand now).

I was amazed at how good this food was. I don’t know if I just happened to get bad food in Germany, or if my tastes have changed in the past five years. The bratwurst was excellent, and I even slightly enjoyed my sauerkraut. The best part though, was the hot potato salad. I had breezed over the word ‘hot’ in the menu and was expecting the cold variety that we know and love. This potato salad was phenomenal and I fully intend to try making this at home because it cannot be that difficult.

Jake and I also got to have the lion’s share of Erin’s pork because she had ordered a ridiculously sized portion for herself and found herself not really needing her third slab of meat. Needless to say we left incredibly full and with leftovers for the cabin.

Service: The service was just OK, it took awhile to get our drinks and orders taken. Our server changed halfway through, so there must have been a shift change or something going on.
Food: The food was excellent and the portions were huge.
Drinks: Small beer list, but they have light and dark German beers and a couple macro brews.
Ambiance: Kind of loud and boisterous, while also friendly, which also reminded me of Germany.
Convenience: Black Forest Inn actually has a parking lot, which I did not realize. We parked on the street, and we’ve always managed to find a close street spot when we come to this area.

Erin's Review

Like many places on our list, I'd been wanting to go to Black Forest Inn for many many years. German food just isn't high on my wish list, however. The patio was the biggest selling point for me, so I was pretty disappointed that it was cold and raining on the day we planned to go. I do definitely think we'll have to go back sometime to sit on the patio, because it looks beautiful!

Ben and I took our honeymoon, now 5.5 years ago, to Germany, and Jake and Allison just went on a trip to Germany last year, so it was fun for all of us to reminisce about our time in the FATHERLAND (not Motherland as I sometimes have been known to mistakenly say).

I was having a REALLY hard time figuring out what to order. I started off with a refreshing root beer, and then stared at the menu for a good 20 minutes while we waited for Jake and Allison to show up. I knew I wanted SOMETHING with asparagus, and wanted a pretzel. Those were my basic requirements.

Finally I decided to order the asparagus soup as a starter - it was creamy and delicious, with mostly pureed asparagus but with enough chunks to make it interesting. It brought back pleasant memories of the asparagus soup I had in Amsterdam on the last night of our vacation in Europe 2 years ago.

After MUCH deliberation, I decided to go with the hausplatte - it was described on the menu as "A generous sampling of rippchen, bratwurst, polish sausage, red cabbage, sauerkraut, and potato salad. Served with a fresh-baked pretzel and homemade mustard". I mistakenly thought that this would be a "sample" plate - which is what it said on the menu. But no. This was FULL portions of EACH of those meats, PLUS a pretzel and full orders of each of those sides. Um. A bit much for me, you could say. I did think this was DELICIOUS - especially the pretzel. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the "rippchen" which was some kind of huge slab of pork. No thanks. Anyway - my advice is that this plate is PLENTY for two people. I made good headway with the brat and potato salad, and some saurkraut but that was about it. Far too much for one or even probably two people. Despite the solo pretzels not being anywhere that I could see on the menu, you can just order one on the side. Probably a better idea than ordering an enormous meal just because it came with a pretzel. Oh well, live and learn.

Black Forest Inn was friendly and inviting - everyone seemed to be having a great time. Upon looking at their website, they have a kids menu and I saw plenty of high chairs too. We might have to go back with Annie in tow for a patio visit later this summer.

Deets

Black Forest Inn

1 East 26th Street

Minneapolis

Red Stag Supper Club

Visited on Wednesday, October 22nd with Justin and Brittney

Ben's Review
We met my friend Justin and his girlfriend Brittney last Wednesday for dinner at the Red Stag Supper Club. Erin and I both read some reviews during the day of Red Stag to see what other people were saying. Several reviews mentioned the spotty service they received, so even though the most recent review I read was from May, it still made us a little nervous about what to expect. The pictures that I had seen made the place look pretty cool and it's interesting to note that they are the first LEED certified restaurant in Minnesota.

After a forty minute drive from 11 St. & 3rd Ave. in downtown (Google maps puts the distance at 1.8 miles - meaning you could run there AND BACK in the time it took us to drive) we finally got to Red Stag. Justin and Brittney had arrived ten minutes earlier so they had already grabbed a table. From the outside it's obvious where the Red Stag is because they actually have a statue of a red stag that hangs over the entrance to the restaurant. We walked in, spotted our friends and had a seat.

Our server was clearly not the server that we had read about in the reviews, because she was excellent. She was always prompt with getting drinks, water, and our order and she also knew the menu and the specials for the night. This is all I ask for in a server :)

We had gotten there in time to get a drink during happy hour, so I had a beer (Furious? Two-Hearted? I can't recall now, I need to write my reviews earlier apparently). We also ordered some appetizers; Justin and Brittney got a cheese plate and I ordered some smelt fries without knowing what "smelt" is/are. Turns out smelt are exactly like the minnows I was fishing with a couple weeks earlier, albeit more expensive and breaded. The smelt fries were pretty good, but I could only have a couple of them, they were a little heavy to be having a bunch of them, and I had a pork chop with cheese grits coming.

Justin and Brittney's cheese plate - not on the menu, but they have a small cheese plate for $5

The menu at Red Stag has some unique options: roasted duck, halibut cheeks, venison stroganoff (Justin got this). Getting a pork chop seemed a little unadventurous, but I really wanted the cheese grits. In hindsight it was a great decision because they were both really good. After the smelt fries, pork chop, and beer, I was completely stuffed.

The bar at the Red Stag looked cool. It's a long wooden bar with a generous assortment of booze choices and some good beer options. I would consider coming here for happy hour if someone suggested it. I think the traffic on Wednesday was a fluke, so forty minutes was not the norm.

I can put to rest the bad reviews we had read from earlier, there was nothing about the Red Stag that I would complain about. The service was good, as was the food and the atmosphere.

Justin and Brittney's food - foie gras and venison stronganoff. not pictured: house salad.

• Service: Our server was great, she knew the specials and offered opinions of the menu when asked.
  
• Food: My pork chop and grits were excellent, and everyone seemed to enjoy their food.
  
• Drinks: Full bar with a decent beer selection. $3 happy hour domestic taps that actually include the "premium" domestic beers.
  
• Ambiance: I loved the exposed structure inside, I thought it looked really cool. The Red Stag had a cozy atmosphere the night we were there.
  
• Price: Our tab was around $55, which seems reasonable, given that the 'big plates' are around $20 apiece (although Erin didn't get an 'big plate').
  
• Convenience: There's no parking lot, but we found some free on-street parking around the corner. There are also meters on the street.

Erin's Review
Kate has been blabbing to me about how AH-MAY-ZING Red Stag is for months. Since she likes to be hip and with it, I think she went right when it opened about a year ago. Which means I have been hearing about this place for awhile. You could say it had been built up in my mind. I was nervous that it would let me down especially after reading some so-so reviews on Chowhound, but thankfully it did not! I loved Red Stag and would gladly go there again and again.

After our harrowing drive from downtown, we were not in the best of spirits when we arrived. Luckily it was still happy hour, so that made everything better. I ordered a Pear Cider, which was also $3. This put me in a good mood immediately, because normally even though this was under "beer" and is "domestic" at other places that will not be named, it would not be included in happy hour specials. I also liked how the water was served - you choose still or sparkling, and there is no ice, but it is still cold. My glass was kept full most of the night, which is no small feat considering the amount of water I drank.

After staring at the menu for a good long time, I told the waitress I was debating between the duck terrine and the smelt fries for an appetizer and asked for her recommendation. She said "the terrine is really good" so she must have something against minnows. Since Ben still wanted to try the smelt fries without knowing what smelt was, we just got both. After we ordered, the waitress brought out the bread which came with their home made bean dip which was a nice change from butter and tasted great.

The duck terrine was delicious. I didn't have a clue was terrine was before I ordered it, but apparently it is a way of preparing meat and when cold it is similar to pate. It came with a soft boiled egg, toast points, poached pear and shoestrings. A very odd combination to me at first, but it all worked. The smelt fries were great too - kind of unnerving to eat the whole fish though, so be forewarned. They were perfectly breaded so that they weren't too greasy.

For my main dish I ordered the side of mac and cheese which right now comes with scallion, sausage, and mushrooms. I thought that there was a little too much sausage in this dish, but it was still VERY good - it reminded me a lot of the pelmini I got at Moscow on the Hill. After the 2 fairly substantial appetizers, I could barely finish half of my side of mac and cheese - it was very rich!

I loved the atmosphere at Red Stag - it is a little old school with the carpet but still contemporary looking. The bathrooms are cool too, with the hard core handdryers and the "flush/half flush" options on the toilets.

Deets
Red Stag Supper Club
509 1st Ave NE
Minneapolis

Highly recommended for the food and atmosphere

Moscow on the Hill

Visited on Friday, March 7th with Leigh, George, Jamie, and Daniel

Erin's Review
I had heard great things about the food at Moscow on the Hill, so I was excited to try it out. I wasn't quite sure what to expect in terms of decor, but I would compare the place to a random strip mall Chinese restaurant, but with some scarves on the lights. Maybe this is Russian decor - I have no idea. It was kind of blah, especially when we got there since the place was empty, but once it filled up it seemed more fun.

I had a martini at the bar while waiting, it was gross. It was mostly gross because I wasn't expecting it to actually taste like straight liquor. I'm too used to the downtown/uptown Minneapolis martinis that taste like grape juice. Once we got to the table, I followed my co-worker Kelley's recommendation and got the champagne with cherry vodka. I'll be honest and say I didn't taste even one bit of cherry vodka in there, but since I like champagne, I enjoyed it!

We all decided to split the appetizer sampler and a flight of vodka. I enjoyed the appetizer sampler a lot - it consisted of: scallops, beet salad, liver pate, artichoke heart, salmon, lamb stuffed grape leaves, and blini with chicken. My favorite was the liver pate and the lamb stuffed grape leaves. It was kind of a rip off at $20 but oh well. The flight of vodka was just straight up disgusting. I had a tiny sip of the garlic and caramel vodkas - as expected, I didn't like them at all, because I just don't like straight vodka.

For my main dish, on the recommendation of my other co-worker Jenelle, I ordered the Peasant style Pelmini, which had pasta and some meat and mushrooms and cheese and creamy goodness. It was delicious, and VERY rich. I had about 3 bites and was full. I took half home, and it was just as good when I had it for dinner yesterday. I tried everyone else's food too (at Leigh's suggestion) and really liked the walleye that Ben and Leigh got, and the czar's medallions that George got. Daniel had the same thing as me, and Jamie had Russian empanadas (that isn't the technical term, but it is what they looked like) that I didn't really care for.

Overall, I had a great time at Moscow on the Hill - the menu was extensive and there were a lot of other things that looked really good. I'd definitely go back, and it was fun with a bigger group since we could all try other things.

OH! I almost forgot the bread. It was so good. I could have eaten a whole loaf, and the butter was DELISH, it had some flavoring in it maybe chives or garlic or both. At any rate, it was awesome.

Ben's Review
Erin and I ditched out of work a few minutes early on Friday to head over to Moscow on the Hill in the cathedral hill neighborhood, near the redundantly named Nina's Coffee Cafe. We had 6pm reservations with two of Erin's co-workers and their significant others but we got there a little after 5 to take some photos outside (Erin) and get a drink at the bar (Ben).

I ordered a dark German beer thinking that I might as well get a European beer at a European restaurant, even though they had "old faithful" on tap. Erin mistakenly ordered a martini, forgetting that it wasn't going to be a girly martini you might get at Drink, but was instead strawberry vodka and midori, so I was helping her with that in addition to my beer.

I noticed a beer tap that said "Moscow on the Hill - Light" and I was intrigued - did they brew their own beer here? I called over the bartender and asked him about it. He said that its a beer that is brewed locally for the restaurant, here's how the conversation went:

Me: Is that your own beer?

Bartender: Its brewed locally for us.

Me: So what kind of beer is it?

Bartender: Its local.

Me: Uhh, right. But what style is it?

Bartender: Its a light beer.

Me: Soooo.....is it a lager?

Bartender: Its just like Bud Light or Miller Lite.

Me: Okay then, thanks.

Clearly it was silly of me to think that the bartender would know ANYTHING about the beer that is brewed specifically for the restaurant, but anyways I didn't order it.

Our friends showed up right at 6 and we went to our table. The restaurant was pretty empty when we arrived but by 6 it was nearly full. Our server came over and got our drink order: "Can I get you something to drink? A bottle of vodka?" A bottle of vodka?!? This guy must have known that the gratuity was included for parties of 6 or more, he was already giving us the hard sell! We did order some champagne things with a cherry in them that were pretty good and we also ordered a vodka sampler to share with everyone.

The sampler consisted of six shots of different flavored vodkas: garlic & dill, horseradish, caramel, pepper, cherry, and tiramisu. I thought the garlic and dill and tiramisu were decent, the pepper was REALLY spicy but it would probably be good in bloody marys. We all grabbed a shot glass, took a sip, and passed the glasses around the table, it was pretty fun to try them all.

For dinner I ordered a walleye broiled in a white wine sauce with rice and vegetables on the side. It was fantastic and huge. I got full part of the way through the meal, but there wasn't enough left for a respectable second meal, so I forged ahead and just finished it there, it WAS delicious after all. Everyone's meal looked really good, although I was put off by the prevalence of mushrooms on the menu, not being a fan of mushrooms and all.

We didn't stay too much longer after we ate because we were meeting some other friends at a bar that we had to get to, and our car was parked in a two hour parking zone :)

The ratings:

• Service: In spite of the bartender who didn't know the beer, the service was great. Our server was very friendly, funny, and attentive.
  
• Food: My food was delicious and I heard no complaints from anyone else, its good winter food, very hearty.
  
• Drinks: Five or six beers on tap, including Summit, nothing special. They do have fantastic selection of vodka, if that's your thing.
  
• Ambiance: When we first got there the atmosphere was subdued because there were hardly any customers, but by the time we sat down to our table the place was a little more lively. The decor of the restaurant is a little bland and not really Russian, like I was expecting.
  
• Price: The prices are towards the high end for casual dining, my meal was $15 but I thought it was a good value for the quality and size of the meal. The six of us split the bill and for us two of us it came to $72 with tip.
  
• Convenience: No parking lot, but plenty of street parking. Its also just off of 94 & Dale, very easy to get to.

(Leigh with her vodka - she recommends Moscow on the Hill too!)

Deets:
Moscow on the Hill
371 Selby Ave
Saint Paul, MN

Recommended for the great service and comfort food.