So my aforementioned hot wife had a birthday this week so we had the chance to celebrate. Which birthday you ask? It’s none of your business, just know she’s aging well. Really well. With two full-time working parents in the house and two active children, you can imagine we don’t get out that often. However, I have spoken with you previously about the importance of getting away as a couple, and birthday’s are a great reason to try someplace new.
So that was the plan. The wife mentioned she wanted to try the 112 Eatery. Remember when I said we didn’t get out much? Yeah, turns out you can’t try to book the #1 rated restaurant in Minneapolis according to Yelp on Wednesday for Friday night. Oops. You also can’t get into a number of the other top restaurants in this city two days before you want to go, including: The Butcher and the Boar, The Bachelor Farmer and Bar La Grassa.
So where do you turn when you don’t know where else to go for restaurant recommendations? The Jen and Co. Restaurant Reviews page of course. Now as a reader, you should go there to see all the amazing opinions, good and bad, about the restaurants the fine folks at Jen and Co. have blogged about. As a contributor, and one looking to keep my job, I wanted to find someplace not on the list. And thankfully, I did just that. And, AND, the place happened to be the next restaurant on Yelp’s Top 10 in Minneapolis. Double bonus.
So, I made a reservation at Lucia’s. Success. The babysitter’s lined up, the reservation’s made, we’re good to go. So we send the kids to my brother’s house (he lives across the street) and date night is on. FINALLY. But where to go before dinner? Good question. Lucky for us, we’re lucky. And we stumble into Prime Bar. Now, for an aspiring beer geek, and current hop-head, Prime Bar is a great spot to be. Take a look at the IPA menu for goodness sakes. The choices are endless.
I went with the Hop Session from local favorite LiftBridge, very tasty. In fact, so tasty we stayed for two. Delicious.
Then it was on to dinner. Lucia’s, in case you haven’t been, is a very quaint little place in Uptown. They have the wine bar attached to the restaurant and we were lucky enough be seated at a tiny table for two right smack dab in the middle of all the action. And I mean that sincerely. We got to take it everything that happened around us. The 60-plus year-0ld man who ‘forgot’ his wallet at home. The couple on a first or second date trying to decide on a dessert to share. And the elderly lady-friends enjoying a night out with a little scotch/whiskey and some wine. Man, this place had it all.
On, and the food. We did eat here. For starters we ordered the Pan Seared Scallops with Salsa Verde, Herb Salad, and Caramelized Cauliflower Puree (taken straight from the menu). I was a little nervous about the verde because the wife isn’t big on the spice. But the cauliflower, scallop and salad tempered it nicely, and it was a very tasty app.
Next came the entrees. Lucia’s has a very limited menu. Only four or five entree’s at a time, but that’s not a bad thing. For one, it makes choosing what you want not that difficult. And for another, when the special is a bison with a cream sauce, fries and green beans, you can go for it, and that’s exactly what I did. And oh boy was it tasty. Here’s the before photo:
Mel went with the Roasted Callister Chicken with Porcini Demi, Yukon Potato Mash, Sautéed Kale, Mushrooms, and Toasted Almonds (again, straight from the menu. what, you think I know what that all is?). She really liked it and turned out to be a lot of food. So much that I even got to eat some of the Yukon Potato Mash, and it was SUPER.
So, there you have it. The review of Lucia’s Uptown. Would I go back, absolutely. When you put together the food, the atmosphere and the company I had, it was a very successful evening.
