Red & blanco sangria at WSK

I’m a few months into my goal of eating at every restaurant in Minneapolis and things are going swimmingly. Don’t ask my bank account, though; it’s not very happy with me.

I’d like to say I’ve followed all my rules. I’ve stuck to Minneapolis (except for that one trip to India Palace in SLP), I’ve made sure my family and friends are a part of the experience, and I’ve taken a few pictures. I even wrote a letter to my grandma! Last time I saw her, she had to ask if she ever responded, so maybe I’ll stick with the pictures.

Here’s a sampling of the delicious places I’ve been to:

The Bachelor Farmer

The Bad Waitress Diner

Quang

Krungthep Thai

Rainbow Chinese

Common Roots Café – BAGELS.

World Street Kitchen

Moto-i – You can’t go wrong with house-made sake and ramen.

The Republic Calhoun Square

The Office Pub & Grill

The Bulldog Uptown – Best pulled pork I ever did have.

The Third Bird

Pancho Villa – 2-for-1 giant margarita Thursdays make for awful Fridays at work. 

The Lowbrow – That bloody, though.

Town Hall Brewery – Shout-out to our server for handling our two-top-turned-12-top day-drinking table with jokes and smiles. Also, way to give me enough drinks to make me tip you twice 😉

Our Kitchen – Watching my burger being cooked a foot in front of me was almost as enjoyable as eating it.

Uptown Diner – The 4 a.m. crowd and the 11 a.m. crowd are worlds apart; I sampled both in the same day.

Herkimer Pub & Brewery – Get the grilled cheese fondue, just do it.

Himalayan Restaurant

Chiang Mai Thai

Vo’s Vietnamese

Smack Shack

Black Sheep Pizza

Bryant Lake Bowl – Don’t just eat here — utilize the fun and games!

Salsa a la Salsa – I learned that ketchup should never be near ceviche, but grapefruit soda compliments tequila perfectly.

Can you see why my bank account is crying? But having a permanent excuse to get friends together, meet up with family or experiment with a new cuisine — or a chef’s creative take on a cuisine — has made it all worth it. Not to mention the satisfaction of working toward a goal and crossing things off the list, no matter how silly it is.

Latin cuisine for a cause

Last night I got to cross one more restaurant off the list while supporting a good cause. It was Dining Out for Life, an annual fundraiser where restaurants across Minneapolis and the state donate a portion of their sales to AIDS service organizations. I’ve always said, if you want people to open up their wallets, make sure to fill up their stomachs. When eating and drinking is all you have to do, even better! Thank you to Café Ena and the Panamanian-beach-flashback-inducing guava sorbet for making that possible.