Good Eats - La Chaya Bistro (brunch)

I had read a review of La Chaya earlier in the week and was intrigued by the concept of a Mexican-Italian restaurant. 

Once I saw the brunch menu, I knew I was going to have to try it soon and since brunch ended up just being Liane and I today, it was a perfect opportunity.

It turned out to be a great choice too as we both had fabulous meals.

We started with a pecan scone that was excellent and a fresh squeezed glass of blood orange juice.

Liane had the huevos rancheros which were simple but very tasty.  a single homemade corn tortilla topped with a fried egg and then a red salsa.  it had fried black beans and a small salad on the side as well.

I had the mollete, slices of bread topped with fried black beans, chorizo, and topped with cheese.  all of this run through the oven to make it nice and toasty and melty.  this also came with a salad that was a nice complement to the meal with its bright lemon dressing.

I am looking forward to trying their dinner menu, but they are definitely going to be a regular part of our brunch roster from now on.

katzenjammer

L and I decided to check out Toast a newish wine bar in the warehouse district on Friday.

I am not completely sure of the ownership but the former Sommelier from Auriga is involved in some way and he has created a fabulous wine list. It is full of small wineries with most being organic or biodynamic which is always a plus. It is also very affordable with a few quirky or less well know wines to interest hopefully even the wine snobs in town. We went with a simple selection of a 2005 Sangiovese that was fabulous.

The food selection is good with a selection of very thin crust pizzas, salads, sandwiches, and a selection of bruchetta that you order by the piece. We had an excellent plate of antipasti with olives and cheese to start and followed up with a pizza with olives, arugula, and something I am forgetting.

It is lacking a little in atmosphere being a sparsely decorated, echoey space, but not annoyingly so. It was very intimate earlier in the evening but by 8-8:30 it started to get loud.

Also Sam's Wine Shop (the best wine shop in Minneapolis maybe the twin cities) is having a tasting there tomorrow the 25th. I know last minute.

If you are into wine and good food, I highly recommend checking this place out

Busy weekend so far

It's been a busy weekend so far though Sunday looks to be a study day for me.

Friday L & I went to an art opening at Cliche, a clothing boutique she likes. The art wasn't my thing, but L found a great new top and another handbag to add to her collection. After that we went to the Walker to check out the film Urban Explorers. If you are not familiar with urban explorers, they are people who explore abandoned buildings, caves, sewer systems, etc. The film focused on a group from around the twin cities, but also traveled to Chicago, Florida, Scotland, and Paris. One of my favorite parts was in Florida with this warehouse in the everglades where NASA abandoned the remains of the largest rocket engine ever created. It was pretty incredible stuff and I would highly recommend checking out the movie if it comes your way.

Saturday we checked out the latest Electric Arc Radio show and like the one in January it was a tone of fun. I thought Brady was on fire this time and with Walker Kong as the musical guests its hard to go wrong (is it just me or does Ackerman kind of have a Elvis Costello thing going on?). Following that met up with pals Brian and Sarah for a tasty dinner at Tum Rup Thai. This was my first time eating here and I can say it is highly recommended.

Sunday so far has been about meeting up with Heidi for some brunch at the Modern and hopefully taking it easy the rest of the day.