A Surprise trip to Minnesota

I recently got a chance to go back to the Twin Cities in Minnesota and visit some of my favorite places and find some new favorites. My last trip I had a great meal at Nyes Polish restaurant but this time I decided to try one of the many German places in the area. I settled on the Black Forest Inn,

The Black Forest posted on their web site that they have Christmas cookies during the Holidays and I wanted some Springerlys, which is a German cookie flavored with Anise. I also made it back to Caspers Cherokee steak house in Eagan which used to have a all you can eat Walleye and Prime Rib but that has ended and now they have some new offers. I had the $1 an oz Prime rib and it was delicious.

Next morning I went to The St Paul Cathedral and then to a nearby place for some Walleye

I found a Place called the Tavern on Grand which advertises the Best Walleye Sandwich in MN and it did not disappoint.

Tavern on Grand

I could not visit Minneapolis without going to The Mall Of America

If you have watched any Food network shows on MN then you know what a Juicy Lucy burger is. If you dont know, It is a burger with cheese cooked inside, I went to one of the original locations for it called Matts

I also made it to one of the newest locations to serve a Juicy Lucy. it is called the Blue Door Pub. Both of them were good.

Then I was off to downtown Minneapolis to see some Christmas sites. The Holidazzle  parade happens every weekend in December Thursday through Friday.

I had a great lunch at a long time St Paul favorite called Cossetta's Italian, they have a line for sandwiches and another line for Italian dishes and Had a nice Lasagna with a good and crusty bread stick.

Then one last trip to a chain called Chevys for a huge Mexican platter

Pensacola Beach, an under appreciated jewel of the Gulf Coast.

We had the opportunity to take a quick 2 night trip to Pensacola Beach and stay at the Holiday inn Resort. The resort was a fine place and look like it has been recently remodeled. Here is a View from the Ferris wheel across the street.

speaking of the Ferris wheel here it is. It is very large and has air conditioned cabins.

Now on to the food. I found a little Breakfast place just down the road called Natives I tried Google to find some Pumpkin Pancakes but the nearest place seemed to be in Fort Walton so we settled on this place then after we were seated the waitress told us the special of the day was indeed Pumpkin Pancakes! We were so happy I failed to get a good picture so here is the best I got.

I took a few pics of the beach on a peaceful morning.

The wifey wanted to shop so we drove down to Destin. I wanted to eat at Mcguires Irish Pub and they have 2 locations, one in Pensacola and one in Destin so that were we went. I love the food here and have been to the Pensacola location many times. I went with the Shepard's Pie and hose made Root Beer

And don't forget the 18 cent senate bean soup

The misses ordered off the lite menu and this is what she got

A woman across from our table came over and asked what it was and said she wants to order it next time. We had a laugh when we told her it was a Lite menu Item. It comes with 3 slices of cheese bread and a mountain of chicken salad.

later that day after swimming and riding the Ferris wheel we went to a famous seafood restaurant in Pensacola beach called Peg Leg Petes It is owned by a company that also owns the local seafood market. I ordered a Grouper sandwich that was delish and I also ordered a frozen drink that I did not like and I told the waitress I would drink it but she insisted that she would bring me another type of drink and she brought me a frozen Hurricane and it was much better.

My wife have the Mahi Mahi and I tasted it and it was also very good

We finished up the trip with breakfast at the hotel on the beach front ant then a trip to the Naval Air Museum which is huge and free.