Day 1:
Famous Dave's BBQ in Fargo - Charlie had never eaten at Famous Dave's so I suggested we stop there for lunch while driving through Fargo. He loved it! The ribs fell off the bone and their sauces are amazing - five different ones available (Rich & Sassy, Devil Spit, Sweet & Zesty, Texas Pit and Georgia Mustard). I got my usual baked potato stuffed with pulled pork which I covered in a mixture of the regular, spicy and sweet sauces.

India House - once we got to Minneapolis, we met up with Mike's friends and headed downtown for the Indian fudz. I had my fave - Chicken Vindaloo - and C had the Chicken Tikka Masala. It was delish! We also ordered a version of naan that they stuffed with cashews, coconut and raisins. Incredible! I've never had anything like it.

Day 2:
5-8 Bar and Grill Maplewood - we had seen the original 5-8 on Man vs Food a few weeks ago and knew that it was a moral imperative to seek out the Juicy Lucy while in Minne-Paul. Since the specialty cheese versions take a bit longer, we ordered an appetizer of Buffalo Popcorn Chicken. When it arrived, there was a distinct lack of sauce which was unexpected. The waitress said they coat the chicken with sauce before they bread and fry it. Way less messy but still very flavorful. Then the burgers arrived. Oh dear lord! I ordered the bleu cheese version and C ordered his with Swiss. Basically they take two 1/4 pound burgers, put a mound of cheese between the patties, pinch the sides closed and then throw it on the grill until the cheese becomes molten lava. The burgers are served with fries, onion rings or jojos (spicy potato wedges). Have to say the Juicy Lucy was one of the best burgers I've ever had! We're going to experiment with making them at home. :)

Origami sushi - obviously we didn't eat much the rest of the day but figured a light sushi dinner would be fabulous. Dawn took us to Origami which has been voted best in Minneapolis for the last few years. It was amazing! The salmon sashimi was melt-in-your-mouth good. We also tried the Lava, Spider and California (their version had king and snow crab in it - yom!) rolls. With our bellies full of sushi goodness, we went back to Dawn's, had a few cocktails and watched season one of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." I'd never seen the show but it is hilarious! Political incorrectness at its finest.

Day 3:
Our last day in Minneapolis and we wanted to make it count. Dawn suggested we check out the Midtown Global Market.  That place has everything! After walking around and seeing what all the vendors had to offer, we decided to eat at Holy Land, a middle eastern restaurant. I ordered the gyro combo plate and C had a gyro sandwich. It wasn't terribly expensive so I assumed it would be a manageable amount of food. I was so incredibly wrong. We could have fed four people with what we got. It was so delicious though! Hummus, lamb, chicken, pita, salad... After we ate ourselves into uncomfortableness, we stopped by Café Finspang, a Scandinavian bakery, and picked up dessert for later. I got a Sarah Bernhardt (cookie piled high with chocolate mousse with a hard chocolate shell over it) and C got a Florentine (in his words: two pieces of cooked sugar dipped in chocolate with sugar fluff between them). And because we are gluttons, we also bought a piece of baklava at Holy Land.

Surdyk's - while at the Global Market, we asked one of the cheese vendors if she carried Piave Vecchio, a cheese we discovered while in CA and assumed we would never see again. She carried only local cheeses but suggested we try Surdyks, a gourmet wine and cheese market/deli. We checked it out and they had it! And it was half the price we paid at the cheese shop in Santa Barbara. Major yayz! We ended up with two pounds of the Piave and a half pound of Old Amsterdam (another fave). We also checked the beer selection as C has been jonesing for Bristol beers lately. He'd bought a case of Beehive while we were in the Springs in June and he drank his last bottle a week ago. Unfortunately, no Bristol but he did buy a six-pack of Holy Grail Ale. :)

Blue Nile - even though we were decidedly not starving, we knew we couldn't pass up the ethernopinomz while in the Cities. So glad we went! We ordered Gosa Gosa C which was a veggie and meat combo. Absolutely amazing! Their Doro Wot was spicy and delicious and I loved the red lentils and yellow split peas. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the green lentils. Not sure what it was but the flavor was "off."

The Local - my friend Dawn was at a work event downtown and said she would meet us when we were done with dinner. She suggested a bunch of different places but we settled on The Local, an Irish pub. On the way there, we walked past Hell's Kitchen which my aunt Ginny always raves about. That is on the list for our next visit. :) Anyway, the Local was a lot like Jack Quinn's in the Springs. Heavy dark wood bar and the privacy booths. Apparently there was a "kissing room" in the back. Charlie walked past it on his way to the rest room. Said it was dimly lit and had red velvet couches. That's just awesome! After a few drinks, we headed back to Dawn's to eat the dessert we bought earlier and watch more "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

Day 4:
We were so full of food that contemplating more seemed ridiculous.  Of course, we had a 7+ hour road trip ahead of us so we needed sustenance.  We stopped by Famous Dave's for a quick lunch before heading out of town.  It was delish, of course.  Charlie even got one of their t-shirts.  They all have different sayings on the back.  His says "have some of what we've been smokin'."  Hehe.
( Nom nom nom... )

...I was smooching Charlie for the very first time. =) I still smile every time I drive past a Denny's.

Starting to try and put my TF7 experience into words.  It was all so overwhelming.  I'll begin with the workshops that I took:


I'm leaving this post open so it can be read by those who can see LJ from my tribe.net profile.  :)  Here are a few pics from our adventures:

 

Okay, Short Ann, Margie and Barb are in the Indy.  :-)

We start Ten Minutes Max tonight!  Our first performance may be a little shaky but it's going to be a lot of fun!  Very excited!  Must use lots of exclamation points!!!!!!