Chaucer's Ollalieberry Wine

Price: $10.99
SoG Score: 90
User Score: --
Region: Santa Cruz, California

Jeff and I first tried this dessert wine in the Bargetto winery tasting room on Cannery Row in one of our favorite getaway spots, Monterey, California. This dessert wine is a dessert in itself- it is really like drinking a sweet juicy slice of blackberry pie in a glass- or maybe blackberry jam in a glass. Drinking pure sugar couldn't be sweeter. It almost tastes more like juice than wine. Ollalieberries are a hybrid cross between the loganberry (raspberry and blackberry cross) and the youngberry (blackberry and dewberry cross). Basically ollallieberry= larger sweeter blackberries. It's particularly good with anything chocolate.
It won a double gold at the California State Fair and gold at the Salinas Valley Fair and the Tasters Guild International among others. If you like sweets, you'll want to try this one.

the ideal meal: a piece of flourless chocolate cake sprinkled with fresh berries and confectioner's sugar with a glass of sweet olallieberry wine

Evergreen Chinese Restaurant

SoG Score: Food: B++ | Ambiance: B
Type: Chinese, Taiwanese
Address: 2424 Nicollet Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Price: $

I didn't think it was possible to get authentic Taiwanese style home cooking and breakfast items in the twin cities until we tried Evergreen. The owner acts as your host, server, and cashier, while his wife makes classic home cooked meals in the kitchen. The decor (or lack of) is very basic, reminiscent of small family run restaurants in Taiwan. Visit for the authentic food not the decor. They also serve Let's Tea boba- we had taro tea with boba, boba was hard tea had good flavor but taro was made from powder.

We had delicious steamed and fried dumpling and spicy beef noodle soup 紅燒牛肉麵 with homemade noodles. We'll have to make it back on a weekend morning for the ultimate Taiwanese breakfast: sweet and salty soy milk with my favorite, fan twan 飯糰 (rice rolls) and the greasy but oh so yummy shao bing you tiao 燒餅油條 (crispy sticks of fried dough wrapped in a sesame biscuit). Oh I can't wait!

the good: serves up unexpectedly authentic Chinese and Taiwanese classics hard to come by in the twin cities
the not so good: lack of decor
Overall: recommended: grandma's kitchen Chinese cooking that won't dent the pocketbook

Barefoot California Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Price: $6.99
SoG Score: 85
User Score: --
Region: Napa Valley, California

For those that know me, the stinky foot on the label is enough to keep me far far away from this wine, but the 5 gold medals for a $6.99 wine were just too tempting. It's not bad for a cheap bottle of cab that is available everywhere- you can pick it up off any supermarket shelf (well except in Minnesota where supermarkets don't sell wine). Very fruity and jammy, complementing well with a juicy savory steak or meaty red sauce pasta. Its strong cherry aroma also makes it especially good with dark chocolate. A little too sweet for a Cabernet for my taste. Worth a try for the price but not sure if it deserves quite as many gold medals as it has won.

the ideal meal: sprinkle sea salt and fresh pepper on a marbled steak and grill to medium rare perfection, enjoy with sips of barefoot cab.

Redstone American Grill

SoG Score: Food: B Ambiance: A
Type: American
Address: 8000 Eden Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344 (multiple locations)
Price: $$$

Classically American, Redstone offers simple American favorites in an upscale Midwest lodge setting. If you're lucky to find a thunderstorm-free day to go, the patio (at the Eden Prairie location) itself makes it worth the visit, overlooking a pond with a few Bellagio style fountains. It's an ideal versatile setting guaranteed to impress for a business lunch, a night out with friends, brunch with your in-laws, or a dinner date.

The food is reliably decent but not spectacular. Appetizers were very artfully presented, and the buffalo shrimp was particularly good. The sea bass was a little fishy, lacked imagination, and was a touch overcooked. Their twists on banana creme pie and fresh berry tart were the highlight.

the good: patio, beautiful setting, live music
the not so good: long-wait on weekends, pricey for quality of food
Overall: recommended: worth a visit for the atmosphere