Two Thumbs Up For Granite City Brewery

Well, we had a fantastic weekend in those beautiful Twin Cities. It’s always great to visit with my brother and sister in law, but what makes it even better is that they live somewhere where there is always something to do. It does make it a bit of a challenge just picking one or two things to do though.

Saturday morning since my brother had to work, the rest of us decided that we wanted to check out a farmer’s market and then head on to Ikea at the request of Abigail. We had originally planned on checking out the big St. Paul market, but logistic wise, we weren’t sure if there would be enough time to fit that AND Ikea in, so instead, we opted to check out the Richfield Farmer’s Market. Clearly, Minnesota has had the same cool spring as we’ve had here in Wisconsin. I suspect that in a few weeks it will be bustling with vendors, but there were perhaps a dozen at it this week, and the only one with anything “grown” had bedding plants. Overall though…it has potential as the season goes on. We bought some fantastic local honey, some almonds that were freshly roasted, and we purchased a cheese that none of us had ever heard of. Aged Tilsit was a fantastic eating cheese- it had a great complexity and a creaminess, it wasn’t sharp at all, and looking it up online it seems to be compared a lot to a havarti- but being a top of the line havarti. I don’t know the dairy it was made at, but we all noticed that the label specifically said that it was made using vegetable rennet, so it would be suitable for vegetarians. A really excellent cheese, I recommend it if you ever come across it.

After the farmer’s market, we made our way to Ikea where we spent a few hours meandering through and picking up odds and ends. We were really close to picking up a new bed, but ultimately, weren’t sure it would fit in the van on the way home, so we left it behind. While at Ikea though, we took the opportunity to check out their cafe and have lunch there. Odd as it sounds, lunch was great! We paid fast-food prices but came away with much better food. We all agreed that it was much better than if we’d headed across the highway to the Mall of America and eaten at the food court there. Here’s a picture of the kids sharing a soda while there. The other highlight of the afternoon that day was driving past the construction site of the new bridge being built. Remember the one that collapsed? We drove right alongside of the new construction- truly amazing. Driving around the city, it really is incredible to see how they’ve compensated for losing that main artery. And they’re clearly working quickly on the new bridge which looks like it’s going to be about the sturdiest bridge ever, and it’s supposed to be finished by September. It will be interesting to see how it looks when we go back for Labor Day.

Later on, since we felt bad for my brother who missed all the fun and had to work, we decided to go out to dinner to a microbrewery, Granite City. According to the beer-drinkers, the beer is just okay- it’s good, definitely not bad at all, but it’s not spectacular, it’s not what keeps you going back to Granite City. In this case, it’s the food that keeps you coming back for more. Really, it was an amazing dining experience. One of the things that sold me was the kids plates. I didn’t take a picture, but they took to time to garnish and dress up the kids plates, and they had options other than french fries and carrot sticks as options for kids sides. All the adults had something different. Andy opted for the steak with a loaded mashed potatoes, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Uncle Ben tried the Buffalo Chicken Pizza, which well delicious and incredibly well done, was very rich, and difficult to eat as a main course, it would have been better served as an appetizer and shared. Auntie Belle tried a special of a Bruschetta Burger on Focaccia, and really enjoyed it. It looked nice and refreshing to me, compared to normal brew-house burgers loaded down with bacon and cheese and fried goodness.

I also ordered a special, mine was called Bang Bang Shrimp, and I did take a second to snap a so-so picture. The shrimp was lightly fried and then tossed in a sweet and spicy Thai glaze. Accompanying it was an Asian inspired slaw topped with a cucumber-tomato relish and a wasabi cream. The salad and the shrimp were the perfect counterpoints to each other. I would bite into a shrimp and first meet intense sweet and gingery flavor, followed by the fire of the chiles used. Then I would take a bite of the slaw and first encounter the heat of the wasabi, followed by a sweetness of the veggies and dressing used. I couldn’t have asked for better- and the portion was perfect, I cleaned my plate and felt satisfied- but not stuffed. My only complaint was with the description of the dish. The description said it was served with Asian greens, and in my mind that meant something like bok choy at the very least, the greens I was served was shredded cabbage and shredded snow peas. And while it was delicious, wasn’t quite what I expected according to the description. Overall, we were all thrilled with Granite City. While I knew that it was one that had several locations, I didn’t realize it was as widespread as their website indicates. I never would have pegged it as a chain type of restaurant- it was that good.

And if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day! As we had pulled into the restaurant, I had spotted a Trader Joe’s across the parking lot,and I informed everyone at dinner that we were going to Trader Joe’s afterwards. I was not going to pass up this opportunity to check out the grocery store that everyone talks about, but I’ve never been to. I wasn’t disappointed, and I really wish there was one nearby to home. One of the notable things we picked up was some of their fair trade organic coffee. Ours is the Cafe Pajaro blend, a dark roast, and we absolutely love it. If we had a Trader Joe’s nearby, this would become our everyday coffee as the price was ridiculously reasonable for the quality of coffee it is. Something that also caught my eye were some of their Cinnamon Graham crackers- they are the perfect little something to snack on. Delicious and crispy, I’ve decided they would take smores to a whole new level, and I fully intend to try it sometime. Abigail begged me to pick up some cashews and some kumquats, as she’d never had a kumquat before. Later this week, I’ll also be sharing something with kumquats, since we’ve discovered that we don’t quite care for eating them out of hand. I have an idea or two rolling around, so we’ll see if I get around to that idea or not.

It’s a busy week ahead! I hope I’ll have a few things to post. I have some ideas, and a garden update is due- provided I am able to prevent frost damage with tonight’s impending frost. So stay tuned. We’re back from a mini vacay and feeling refreshed and ready to go. I’ll leave you with this picture of the kids in front of a tank.

This tank is at a Veterans memorial along highway 29 in Wisconsin. It’s almost the halfway point between here and the cities, and is a great place to take a break and stretch the legs.  There is also a helicopter, a gun turret and a cannon there to look at, as well as a gorgeous new 9-11 memorial.  It really is a nice tribute and worth the time to stop and check out if you have a chance.