Heidi's

This delightful bistro is the love-child of Stewart and Heidi Woodman, both of whom earned their stripes in NYC. Minneapolis St. Paul magazine, in their February issue, has a nice piece on them along with other husband-and-wife-owned/operated restaurants. My wife recently met a friend there for dinner and they had a wonderful time and meal. They started off with a special tasting menu appetizer, which was a salmon spring roll that has been described as fabulous. They agreed to share entrees and ordered the Pan seared trout with artichokes, gremolata, lemon vinaigrette for $19.00 and the Roasted petite filet of beef tenderloin, braised romaine, potato tuile, “Caesar” sauce 19.95. The trout was delicious. To quote my wife, which seems appropriate, "everything was seasoned, prepared and presented perfectly". Apparently she wasn't too jazzed about the braised romaine when she saw it on the menu, but once she tasted it, "I don't know what they did, but man that was good". They were both members of the clean plate club. For dessert they split some sort of chocolate decadence that they both loved and regret not getting two. Heidi's does take reservations and it's highly recommneded that you make one before you go.

Good Day Cafe

We've been to Good Day Cafe twice. It's kind of in a stupid location and it's much bigger than I imagined it would be. You see, I heard so much about it before I had been, so I was imaging a small, cute, trendy place. Instead it's in a big space and has a Cracker Barrel sort of vibe. I don't mean that in a bad way. Noramlly I would because I'm kind of an elitist, but this time I don't. OK, so we've been twice and both times the food was great. They have a policy where you can call ahead and put your name on the waiting list, which we did. We still had to wait about twenty minutes. Did I mention that we were there for brunch? No, well we were, both times. We had our daughter with us and both times we were meeting friends with kids. This is definitely a kid-friendly place and you're not coming here for atmosphere. Again, the atmosphere is not bad it's just not one of those places. You come for really good food. Even though it was brunch time we split an order of their famous clam chowder and it rocked. My wife got the rueben, which she raved on and on about. I hate ruebens. They are stupid. I got an egg/breakfast burrito of some sort, I'm sure. I remember liking whatever I got, but not what I liked. If I really thought about it I could remember, but you're not here to read what I have to say about restaurants. Wait, what? Oh, maybe you are. Why?


5410 Wayzata Blvd
Minneapolis, MN 55416
(763) 544-0205

Pizza Luce

I've only been to the Pizza Luce on Lyndale and 32nd. I've had a slice at Grand Old Days in St. Paul. I've also had pizza delivered from the one in St. Paul when I was participating in a fantasy football draft. In all instances, I enjoyed the pizza. I don't remember the slice I had at Grand Old Days, but it was something appropriately Pizza Lucean with an assortment of toppings. At the draft we had The Bear (Pepperoni, marinated chicken, ground beef, Canadian bacon, homemade Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese on red sauce), and a make your own that had somthing unusual on it, but was very good. When we went to the restaurant we ordered the Baked Potato Pizza (Pizza crust smothered in buttery-garlic baby red mashed potatoes and topped with broccoli, fresh diced tomatoes, cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of smoked apple hickory bacon. Served with a side of sour cream). I've told friends who aren't from around here about it and there was a range of reactions from angry to intrigued. The angry reaction seems surprising, but if you know the guy it's not. Maybe I shouldn't count that reaction. We also had some nice salads, I had the Ceaser, which was traditional and nice. We ate outside and were attacked by mosquitoes, but I don't really blame Pizza Luce for that. If we had more disposable income and still went out in the evening, we would definitely eat at Pizza Luce more. They have a nice selection or beers on tap and in bottles as well. I think they do wine, too. So to sum up, good, non-traditional pizza, good traditional ceaser salad and nice been selection. I'm sure there's much more, but I'm just telling you what I know. OK then.