Pepper Steak Pepper Steak
Eastside Eat Drink

Eastside Eat Drink

305 Washington Ave SouthMN 55415, Minneapolis, United States

Salad • Drinks • Dining • American


"No valet and distant parking on a Saturday night in Minnesota in mid February caused us to be late for our reservation. Topping it of was the event parking charge in the ramp three blocks away. We completely missed the entrance and walked around the corner in our search due the ridiculous placement of the sign that can only be seen from across the street. We were clumsily greeted and then seated at our table by the windows as requested. A welcome and appreciated bonus which was quickly or slowly negated by waiting for minutes for our drinks. They did comp the booze which was a nice gesture but I would have rather paid to have the drink in my hand.Our server was friendly and knowledgeable but mostly absent during our time there. The place did not seam at all full and came across short staffed for even the modest crowd.On to the food. When three diners make a point of calling out the drinks and the wedge salad as being the highlights there is something not right happening in the kitchen. My scallops were minimal and seared nicely albeit on just one side. The lobster spaghetti had a wonderfully sublime flavor with the cognac sauce but you had to really hunt down the alleged lobster. The roasted quail was a big meh. Not much flavor, quite diminutive even for quail and just barely above room temperature.Not a difficult endeavor for the kitchen and maybe telling was the wedge salads. Served on properly chilled plates were fresh tasting with a zesty dressing, crunchy bacon and dill that brightened up the ubiquitous offering. Sad that it was the best thing set in front of us that evening.We had high expectations knowing that the “chef of the year” was running the show but those hopes were dashed by the experience overall and mediocre food. Far too many other choices in our great Twin Cities to put up with that"

Kiki's Bistro

Kiki's Bistro

900 N. Franklin St. , Chicago, United States Of America

Wine • French • Bistro • European


"The service was outstanding; we were warmly welcomed and offered coat check. Our waiter was very friendly, and since it was a slower night, our food arrived quickly—within ten minutes of placing our order. Now, let’s talk about the food. It was all fantastic! We started with three appetizers: the French onion soup, which is one of their signature dishes (or so I hear), foie gras, and frog legs (which I was initially hesitant about). We thoroughly enjoyed all of them, and we weren’t too full to savor our main courses: duck and lamb shanks. My fiancé declared his duck the best he had ever tasted, and I completely agreed about my lamb, which was both tender and full of flavor. For drinks, he chose a Duvel, a strong Belgian beer, while I had a sparkling rosé (nothing extraordinary, but reasonably priced) and Kiki's martini, which was flavored with white grape juice, giving it a sweet, almost iridescent quality that made it easy to drink. I typically don’t indulge in martinis, so I appreciated this unique flavor, although a more seasoned martini drinker might feel differently. To finish off our meal, we shared the crème brûlée, which was delicious—rich and crunchy, complete with a candle for the birthday celebration. There was some chocolate at the bottom that I didn’t care for (as I’m not a fan of chocolate), but my fiancé enjoyed it immensely. I don’t usually write reviews, but I hope I’ve encouraged others to check out Kiki's if they haven’t already. I believe they will have just as amazing, relaxed, classy, and delicious an experience as we did."